Camp Mowglis - Our Chapel of the Woodsby
Camp Mowglis - Our Chapel of the Woodsby
The sound of the organ drifts through the woods as you walk down the chapel path, wearing your dress uniform and trying to stay quiet and you march in line with your friends. You feel welcomed by the clean smell of the tall pines. The carpet of needles has been neatly raked, and you follow the meandering route, up and over the small bridge, until you can see neatly lined stone walls that envelope the small chapel.Camp MowglisThe organ stops and there is a peace to the place like none other. A gentle breeze works its way through the evergreen canopy like a second verse. You take a seat on the bench and breath deeper. This is a time apart from a busy bugle-born schedule, a time to pause. It's hard not to be thankful, happy to be here at Mowglis, but happy too just to be in this special spot, surrounded by friends. It is both a coming together and also a time alone, for quiet reflection. Camp Mowglis
Created to honor the camp's founder, Elizabeth Ford Holt, after her death in 1925, the stone chapel was constructed on the site of an earlier wooden one, whose location she selected and which was blessed by Bishop Courtney of Canada in 1917.
The stone altar dates back to the original wooden chapel. Adorned only by a simple birchwood cross, the altar has two special stones built in. One small white stone is said to be from the Parthenon of ancient Greece, a gift from a Pasquaney man who brought back a stone for each camp. The other stone came from Arizona, a gift from Matthew Baird when he started a second camp there. Camp Mowglis
The chapel bell dates back to 1917, when boys and staff collected their coins to honor Colonel Baird, a former camper and staff member under Mrs. Holt. Camp MowglisThe coins were melted when the bell was cast, which is why, they say, its music is so sweet.
The organ, too, has a story of its own. A young man named Gilbert Crosby Paine played the flute quite well, but he couldn't tune it to the chapel's earlier pump organ, which was too far from standard pitch. He gave his life for his country, and he remembered Mowglis in his will, providing the funds in the 1940s for an electric organ that continues to play today. Camp Mowglis
Not surprisingly, Mowglis' Chapel of the Woods holds a special place in the hearts of many alumni. So much so that some have chosen to get married there.
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- Posted by jamesvanblaricum on 17/04/2008.
- jamesvanblaricum's site
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