Regarding “Camp Mystic co-director: Here’s how we go forward | Opinion,” (March 9): I am a Louisiana girl who left her heart in the Texas Hill Country back in 1972. I’ve returned in attempts to retrieve it many times, but it will forever stay in Hunt, Texas. I was a long-time Mystic camper, then the mother of a long-time camper and counselor and a camp representative. Eventually I became a staff member. This summer will mark my 26th summer at Camp Mystic.
Thousands of women have grown up and have been forever changed because of Camp Mystic. I am no exception. I have friendships that are 54 years old. I have a master’s degree in counseling and became a certified school counselor because of my love of summer and helping young children. My faith was solidified at Camp Mystic. It has been a place of reconciliation, respite, joy and renewal. I have worked for Dick and Tweety and the Eastlands and their staff for almost 20 summers now. Unequivocally, the Eastlands have always (every minute of every day) put the physical, emotional and intellectual well-being of their campers and counselors at the forefront of their mission.
The flood of last summer was an unprecedented, extraordinary act of God. The deaths of so many people (adults and children at Camp Mystic and other places along the Guadalupe River) are unfathomable, and we pray for peace beyond understanding for all of us. Committees charged with investigating the events surrounding the flood have not begun their work nor concluded their findings.
Returning to Camp Mystic will be healing, restorative and therapeutic for many of us. Parents have the fundamental right of deciding what is best for their own children. We pray that campers and counselors will be given the opportunity to once again continue the mission and ministry under the new safety standards which Camp Mystic Cypress Lake has met. Failure to allow this is a blatant breakdown of due process.
Wendy Cocchiara Tannehill, Louisiana
An entire community beyond Mystic was devastated. Do they not deserve to be within the committee’s scope?
Over 100 additional people died in that flood, dozens of houses were wiped off their foundations, countless cars carried off and people inside were screaming for help. Over 50 families along Highway 39 on the South Fork have stories that, if heard, might help outsiders understand the magnitude of the nightmare. But, unless you were there, you will never understand. Those who were there will never forget. Those who were there know the truth. Their stories should be heard and contributed to the committee’s findings.
Thank you Heaven’s 27 for ensuring the passing of the Camp Safety Act. But that was after the fact.
It is incumbent upon all of us to honor every hero, every soul who fought and loved fiercely as the river rose. Not just in one three-hour window on 725 acres. This shattered but stalwart community, as resilient as they have shown themselves to be, deserves to be heard. Their futures deserve to be protected.
Louise Bayless Parsley, Houston