-Courtney Burrow (honored guest writer)

Three weekends ago Camp DeSoto in Mentone, AL hosted a quick and sentimental 100-year celebration for all alumni to gather for 24 hours.

It felt odd to be packing in a duffle rather than a full trunk (although others may have packed as if they were still staying a whole month). I scrounged for twin bedding and a crazy creek for my one night stay.

Arriving to camp and waiting in the car line stirred up many surprising emotions. I was anxious to see old friends, old counselors, and old campers. Both the fears of not being remembered and me not doing the remembering were present (thankful for the name tags).

The familiarity of camp immediately set in. We unpacked in our cabins and reunited with friends old and new. The heat of summer and no A/C for 24 hours was alarming to me because how did I use to deal with it all summer?

Nostalgia continued as we gathered outside near the horses and began to dance to our favorite line dances from all decades. Definitely the hottest I ever remembered dancing directly under the sun. This was also a sweetmoments for me as I saw three of my previous campers. Last time I saw them they were in 6th grade. This time, they were juniors in college. Their response? “You’re old.” And I felt it. But the joy was overwhelming as we reconnected!

Our cabin was so excited to stay up all night and giggle and chat. But guess what happened at 11:00? We were all fast asleep. And thankful for a decent night of sleep with no A/C.

Our Sunday morning started with coffee, morning watch, and a breakfast buffet. Nothing better.

Nostalgia crept in as we all dressed in our Sunday whites to line up for church and sing “Onward Christian Soldiers”. Following church was our traditional Sunday lunch but this time buffet style. There is truly nothing like peanut butter and honey on vanilla bean ice cream and singing worship together.

As we packed up and headed out the gates to drive back down the mountain, our hearts and stomachs were grateful and full. I saw many generations of DeSoto girl campers smiling and telling old stories, catching up with old friends, and soaking up the mountain air that gave us so many wonderful summers.

For many of us, DeSoto led us to the Lord and was a big part of our spiritual journey. DeSoto molded and matured me spiritually. Camp is responsible for my physical existence because my grandmother started dating my grandfather many years ago on a summer on Lookout Mountain working at Camp Alpine and DeSoto. Wouldn’t be here without it! The quick 24-hour reunion was packed with many memories and a lot of gratitude.

Thank you for 100 years of Camp DeSoto!