Summer Camps for the Blind by Dixie Plata – NAD Pathfinder Historian
I don’t know about you but at times I can be quite afraid to try something new. Maybe that has come with age as when I was a child climbing the highest evergreen tree to swing in the wind was exciting. Also learning to snow ski or ride a unicycle was great fun but stepping into the unknown, and for me learning to swim in a lake was just that, was quite terrifying.
As I got older and read about the work that Christian Record was doing for blind individuals and how they could learn Braille and other ways of communicating was very interesting. I do not remember knowing a blind person as a child and yet my appreciation for them was great as they seemed to be able to maneuver obstacles and live what seemed to me a happy life. Of course I read the story of Helen Keller and marveled at the way, with resistance, she was taught to live in a sighted world.
When I heard about camps for the blind I wondered what on earth did they do? How could they take part in the activities of a normal sighted person and enjoy the experience? How could a blind person be brave enough to try new activities and challenges? Maybe not being able to see makes it easier to ride high on the back of a horse or take the plunge on a giant water slide or a zip line? Maybe not –stepping out into the unknown has got to be difficult, at least at first. How does a counselor explain just what lies ahead?
Norm Middag
Of course through the years Camps for the Blind have become quite well known so then I wondered where did it all begin? That is when I called my friend, Norm Middag, retired North American Division Youth Ministries Director. The following is his story.
In 1965 Norm Middag accepted the role of Youth Director for the Florida Conference and Camp Director of Camp Kulaqua. He said that planning the 1966 summer camp program was a thrilling experience as he developed a summer camp staff and program that would be exciting for the campers.
Summer Camp was a joyful experience as he watched staff relate to the campers through meaningful activities. Among the 130 Junior campers his attention was drawn to two blind campers and how they related to the camp activities. Before the camper week ended he had an opportunity to talk with the two blind campers and their appointed staff. He was not surprised to learn that both the campers and their appointed staff had enjoyed a thrilling experience and expressed that they would like to return the following hear. The seed of having a camp for the blind was beginning to germinate.
During the off camp season Norm called his friend William Alford, former Field Representative for Christian Record Services, Inc. and asked if he would help him conduct a week of camping for the blind.
Christian Record Services, Inc. is a non-profit organization that serves people who are legally blind and visually impaired. Christian Record Services, Inc., is an international organization serving blind and visually impaired individuals in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employs about 15 people. It is a ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but services blind people regardless of beliefs.
Mr. Alford accepted Norm’s challenge. Norm had given Harold Schmidt, then Florida Conference President, a report of the summer camp experience and requested to have a one-week camp for the blind the following summer. Norm sat with the conference committee and gave his summer camp report. The request to have a one week camp for the blind was approved.
In 1967 Norm and his summer staff conducted a one week summer camp with twenty-seven blind campers. Elder Harold Roll, conference treasurer, and the Christian Record leaders were also in attendance. The camp staff and observers were delighted to witness how well the campers related to sighted camper activities and expressed interesting in having a second camp for the blind. The following year Elder Alford and Norm Middag recruited eighty-seven campers. Christian Record sponsored the third year and every year thereafter.
After the third Camp for the Blind in 1967, Cris Etheridge, one of the blind campers was invited to be the camp office manager and fulfilled that role for seven years. Cris learned of the Seventh-day Adventist message through the influence of the staff and was baptized at the camp. It is interesting to know that one of the 1967 campers has been returning to Camp Kulaqua for over fifty years.
So that is how it all began. The summer camp program of encouragement and fulfillment for blind individuals has grown and served hundreds of individuals through the years. In 2018 Blind Camps were held at the following Adventist camp grounds: Camp Kulaqua – Florida Conference, Yorktown Bay – Arkansas/Louisiana Conference, Timber Ridge – Indiana Conference, Camp Lawroweld – Maine – Northern New England Conference, North Star – Minnesota Conference, Wewoka Woods – Oklahoma Conference, Sunset Lake – Washington Conference, Valley Vista – West Virginia – Mountain View Conference, and Camp Wakonda – Wisconsin Conference. How exciting to hear the report that a total of 188 blind campers enjoyed the summer camping experience at those camps in 2018. What a blessing Christian Record Services, Inc., Camp Directors and staff have been and continue to be to those in the blind and visually impaired world through the camp ministry.
It has also come to our attention that various other Seventh-day Adventist Camps offered camps for blind campers this year including Au Sable in Michigan with 18 campers and Cedar Lake in Michigan with 19 campers. If your camp was not mentioned and held camps for blind campers please let me know. Dixie Plata.
We want to thank Norm for thinking outside the box and following the leading of Jesus Christ in serving others. Thank you to the other leaders that were willing to listen and support the endeavor and to the many staff members that helped and learned at these special camps in the last 50 years.
A beautiful story to be included in the Adventist Youth Ministries Museum when built in Battle Creek, MI.
