Craig Family Camp

Once in a while someone I know does something so good that it keeps me positive about our current situation…you know, you see someone on TV pulling someone out of a burning car or a young adult returning a lost wallet that is full of cash. I guess we call it hope in humanity and the lack of is a very disappointing thing. I have a friend who has done just such a thing … Jack Craig has built a lodge in Greene County specifically for the purpose of getting kids out into the outdoors … and what an absolute beautiful place he has created.

Jack grew up in rural Greene County. This past weekend we had some time to talk a bit and I learned that he came from some very poor roots; his home didn’t have running water or an inside bathroom…maybe why inside the main lodge there are 5 bathrooms for kids to use? Jack and I had a nice discussion about today’s youth and the direction that they are heading…and I have to agree 100% that too many of our youngsters never go outdoors and experience nature as God intended for us to enjoy. If Jack has his way…this number of these kids will be reduced…and what a legacy to leave behind!

I knew that Jack’s son, Mick, had passed away just a couple years back but didn’t know the exact reason Jack had gone to such lengths to build and share such a place with our areas youth. It was a very touching moment that Jack shared with me that as Mick was weakening from cancer he and Jack were together one day and Mick said to his dad that he had had 41 good years but it was the kids…like the one close by, just 6 years old, that he, Mick, felt so bad for. What a selfless thing to say in a tough time. Jack told his son that he would make sure that his legacy lived on and that kids would have a chance to better enjoy their childhood.  It was while Jack was telling me this story that I came to better understand what a quality man stood before me….he shared with me that God had blessed him, through hard work, to own and then sell a local company and his life goal was to live for Christ through the Craig Family Camp.

This is where my group of 18 volleyball girls enters the picture. A couple months back I checked with my gal Vickie and asked her to see if there would be a chance we could bring the team down for a night. I wanted to both share this wonderful place with them as well as to share the beauty of southern Indiana in the fall. In a short time it was confirmed that in deed we could enjoy the lodge and facilities to have a great night out just before we play in sectionals.

I turned the food over to my incredible wife…who jumped in and planned and cooked an incredible meal for the girls on Friday night. Uncle Kenny (Kenny Williams) took the time from his busy schedule to drive to Odon and get marinated turkey for us and I cooked a big batch of turkey to go with the meal and there, under one of the most gorgeous fall skies, surrounded by color in every direction, the team communed together…laughed, joked, relaxed and for a while sat aside all the worries that teens face in today’s world.

After the meal was over I was surprised as my orange leader (Kristen Headdy) asked if they could go on a long walk…like a proud papa I jumped up and led the way as we hiked down, up, over and across a landscape full of trees, critters and color. We found our way to Jack’s pond…which I learned sat on the original home place; I stopped and watched as these kids were just kids for a while. They walked around the pond, acted like Sacajawea leading the Corps of Discovery (led by Vanessa Brown) and enjoyed the autumn dusk for a while. It looks like Jack’s legacy will be passed on as this beautiful lodge and facility will be here for many years to come and hopefully hundreds or thousands of our youth will pass through these doors as they learn to Enjoy the Great Outdoors.