Youth camp for the
children of Central Washington has a rich history. The first
camp was organized by Dr. Charles Ghormley in April 1939. Dr.
Ghormley loved the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and brought
together many volunteers to develop a camp for the young people
of the Walla Walla Presbytery. During its first two months,
over 5,000 volunteer hours went into the camp to ready it for
the first camping season. Today Ghormley Meadow is a year-round
camp and conference center living out the vision and mission
of Charles Ghormley.
In 1956, the Presbytery of Wenatchee hosted young people for
their annual camp experience at a YMCA camp at Lake Wenatchee.
On the last day of camp the directors, the Revs. Larry Roumpf,
Ed Toevs, and Herb Schulze, decided to show the young people
the property they were considering purchasing as a presbytery
camp. With the campers in pickup trucks, they journeyed fifteen
miles to a meadow surrounded by Glacier Mountains. They gathered
in a prayer circle and asked God to find a way to purchase the
camp. They decided to collect offerings for the camp by passing
an old-fashioned butter churn from church to church. The people
of Central Washington “churned” up $20,000 to purchase
135 acres for Tall Timber Ranch. The first camp at Tall Timber
Ranch was held the next year with 130 campers. Today the mission
of Tall Timber Ranch continues the tradition “to glorify
God through Christ-centered camping programs in connection with
the local churches.” In 2007 the presbytery celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of Tall Timber Ranch.
Today the Presbytery of Central Washington acknowledges the
vital importance of camp experiences for all ages and carries
on the vision of two former presbyteries. Together these camps
annually minister to over 12,000 people. The presbytery is home
to 42 churches and 7,576 members. |
