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"What happens when we offer hospitality? We invite someone into a space that offers safety and shelter and put our own needs aside, as everything is focused on the comfort and refreshment of the guest. For a little while at least, mi casa es tu casa, as the Spanish gracefully put it. There are provisions for cleansing, food, and rest . . . At its simplest, hospitality is a gift of space, both physical and spiritual . . ."
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- Margaret Guenther
Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction
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The Director's Column
Summer is a beautiful time here in Valle Crucis. We can mark the days with hummingbirds and the nights with fireflies. It's a fascinating time of year, too, as we offer hospitality to a very diverse groups. From bagpipers to teenage mothers with their babies to Towel Ministry teens to church groups and family reunions, every day is full!
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| Pipe Master Sandy Jones |
For over 20 years, pipers have come to the Center to participate in the world-renowned North America Academy of Piping and Drumming led by Pipe Master Sandy Jones. There is, indeed, a "joyful noise" in the hills and halls, as bagpipe, drum, and Scottish fiddle music fill the air for four weeks here. It is like walking into a living Celtic prayer every morning when I come to work! For those of us who are not musicians, it is a true delight when those who are, share their gifts with us.
As the pipers leave, we host four weeks of Towel Ministry work camps which bring youth from throughout the southeast to help area families in need of home repairs. Led by Chris Greer, Deacon at the Church of the Holy Cross, and Ken Kelly, these youth help mountain families by doing roof repairs, building wheelchair ramps, new porches, and many other repairs and improvements.
Working with Beth Turner in the Diocesan office and the Mountain Area Perinatal Substance Abuse Program, we host "Celebrating the Lives of Young Mothers", a program for teenage mothers and their babies. This unique experience for young women at risk for substance abuse and other high risk behaviors, offers an opportunity to enjoy the Center's hospitality while learning parenting skills and reinforcing healthy spiritual beliefs.
In closing, I note that this summer marks my one year anniversary as the director here at the Valle Crucis Conference Center. Every single day I feel blessed to be a part of this ministry of hospitality.
- Tom Eshelman, Executive Director
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Raymond Farthing, waiting on the Inn's porch.
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"God moves here in much peace and harmony. Our teens love being here!"
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- Pastor Mike Ridge
Ressurection Lutheran Church, Charlotte, NC
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New Meeting Space
Built at the turn of the century, this building provided classroom space for the Mission School and was the original building for the Church of the Holy Cross. After the new church was built in 1924, the history blurs a bit but we know the building was later used as a barn and then transformed into the first child care center in the valley. Eighteen years later, the Day School has now moved to a new home, and Crab Orchard Hall is providing much needed additional meeting space at the Center.
Crab Orchard Hall consists of a large meeting room which holds up to 80 people and a small meeting room that comfortably accommodates up to 20 people. Even though we are still in the process of fund raising to fully renovate the building, groups are already using it and are delighted to have this new meeting space. Future plans for Crab Orchard Hall include a library and an informal worship space.
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| Crab Orchard Hall then . . . as the original Holy Cross Church. |
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| Crab Orchard Hall now! |
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"I have fond memories of VCCC from EYC conferences - and I was the adult!"
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- Lee Berger, Franklin, NC
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Our Heritage
Late this spring we received a wonderful letter from Shirley Williams Hyland, who now lives in Vienna, Virginia, reminiscing about her days at the Valle Crucis School for Girls. Here are some excerpts:
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"I was a boarding student . . . for my junior and senior years of high school, 1935-1937. There were 16 students in my senior year. I came from New Haven, Connecticut, where my mother saw an ad for Valle Crucis in Vogue magazine . . . Our minister was Dargon Butt whom we called by his first name. He conducted a short worship service each evening in the chapel on the first floor. On Sundays, Dargon would go out in his old car to remote valley spots because people couldn't get to the church. Some of us would ride with him because it provided an outlet but we also learned about the people who lived in remote areas without electricity or running water in their two room cabins. They were very friendly and offered whatever they had to us.
"Three out of every four weeks we had to work in the kitchen; one helping to cook, the second to wash dishes, the third to wait tables. The kitchen was run by Alma Tester who was married to Earl. He maintained the property and did repairs. She was an excellent cook given her limited resources - mostly cabbage and apples from the School's orchard and garden. Each night we had fresh buttermilk biscuits which the students made and on Sundays we had chicken and gravy, grits with most meals. Most of the girls drank buttermilk which I found nauseating because it had chunks of butter in it.
"The enclosed picture was taken in 1936. The girl on top was Katie McBryde from Fayetteville, North Carolina. She was graduated that year, went to New York to become a model. First she worked at Radio City as a tour guide and lived at the YMCA. She soon got jobs as a model and I lost track of her when she went to Paris to model for Vogue. I heard about 20 years ago that she had returned to Fayetteville. The middle girl was Anne Muse . . . and the bottom one was Jean Watson who came from Colonial Beach, Virginia . . . She only stayed one year because she found it dull - she entertained herself by walking through the valley in thunderstorms with the thunder rolling from one mountain to the next. I'm sorry to say I was dumb enough to go with her. When we were completely soaked we would stop at a cabin. We were always welcomed.
"I remember all of this so well because I was very happy at Valle Crucis School for Girls and I believe it turned my life around. I am delighted that you have done so much with the property and that it is still a warm, vital place."
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"You're awesome. We love this place and all of you do an excellent job making folks feel welcome and right at home. I hope that you will be here for generations to come."
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- Jennifer and Ted Patrick
Church of the Holy Spirit, Greensboro, NC
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| Who You Gonna Call . . . ? |
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| L-R: Deana Coleman, Charles "Chief" Davis, Shannon Townsend, Mitchell Townsend, Dale Townsend, Steve Love. |
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When a lightbulb burns out, a toilet overflows, or the grass needs mowing at the Center, we call on the maintenance crew. Headed by Dale Townsend, other members of the maintenance staff include Shannon Townsend, Charles "Chief" Davis, Mitchell Townsend, Steven Love, and Deana Coleman (who also works on the housekeeping crew).
This hardworking group also cuts and stacks all the wood for our many fireplaces, plows and shovels snow, handles trash pick-up, runs errands, and paints. They repair everything from broken screen doors to tractors. They get up in the middle of the cold winter nights to stoke the coal furnace at the main Inn.
They do a splendid job of caning broken chair bottoms, refinishing furniture and floors, and even building new furniture. Thanks to the maintenance crew we have several new oak tables in the dining hall and two Adirondack-style chairs on the lawn by the Farm House. Early this summer, the crew also constructed a new deck and handicapped accessible ramp up to the Apple Barn and a cement pad for the basketball goal.
It's the work of this talented and dedicated crew that keeps things looking fresh and in good working order at the Center.
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Mailing List Cleanup
Thanks to all of you who helped us by responding to our survey in the last issue of this newsletter. Your response helps us keep our mailing list up to date and saves resources. Congratulations to Dick and Carolyn Schneider of Greensboro who won the book Valle Crucis by David Yates and William Bake!
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