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parkcitiespeople.com | March 2019 33
Camps
LEAVE THOSE CELL PHONES BEHIND
2020 EDITORIAL CALENDAR
Sky Ranch leaders want campers to escape pressures, enjoy activities By Lisa Ferguson
Special Contributor
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couple of memor ies standout for John Morgan about his boyhood experience attending a sleepaway summer camp: The cabin where he bunked lacked air conditioning, and the scheduled activities were few. “I was roughing it,” he recalled. “But the beautiful part of getting away and finding yourself in the wilderness a little bit was still there.” As was a youth pastor whose positive influence “changed my trajectory” in life. “I had somebody investing in me, caring about how I turned out,” Morgan said.
Even though we’re crazy and fun and loud and silly … it’s way more silent than the world. John Morgan The latter, Morgan said, is one of the “underlining principles” of Sky Ranch, a Christian-based camp with locations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Morgan started with the company in 1998 as a camp staffer. He now serves as vice president of its ministry programs and oversees its sleepaway camps and
PHOTOS COURTESY SKY RANCH
day-camp programs for schools and churches around Dallas-Fort Worth as well as camps designed to accommodate entire families. Located about 70 miles east of Dallas and situated on a 90acre lake, Sky Ranch’s site in Van boasts modern amenities and facilities for children in grades one through nine. The campus can house up to 700 campers in its wooden-structure cabins, which feature air conditioning and indoor bathrooms, during each of its 11 weeklong sessions scheduled from May 26 through Aug. 10. The Van facility also has three pools, numerous waterslides and inflatables, climbing walls, treehouse-like structures, amphitheaters, an outdoor laser-tag course,
Campers enjoy a range of activities including a ropes course and water sports. a vertical playground with ropes obstacles, and an interactive nature center. Activities traditionally associ-
ated with summer camp are also available. “We still sing. We still have campfires,” Morgan said. An extensive horsemanship
program, led by champion steer wrestler Rope Myers, is offered on an adjacent 240 acres where arenas and horse trails are located. Getting outdoors and away f rom modern-day pressures is important for children, who are not allowed to bring their cell phones to Sky Ranch. In a camp setting, Morgan said, “Even though we’re crazy and fun and loud and silly … it’s way more silent than the world … you get to leave behind, and you get to know your real self a little better.” Although it is not affiliated with any one denomination, Sky Ranch’s curriculum does include religious discussion and activities. Campers “sit down once a day as a cabin and walk through … some pretty basic fundamentals,” Morgan explained. “There are all kinds of campers out here, all different belief structures. We still adhere to what we know is true during those teaching times,” he said. “We love and care for everyone so well that even nonbelievers come back year after year and … feel cared for while they’re here.” Fees at Sky Ranch average upward of $1,000 per camper for each Sky Ranch session. Scholarships are available for those who qualify. Additional information can be found at skyranch.org. Morgan said the camp experience often proves “life-changing” for children. “There is some sort of personal development, spiritual development that happens.”
40 September 2019 | parkcitiespeople.com
Crystal Charity Ball
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SPECIAL SECTIONS
Tiffany Divis Tiffany is a first-time honoree. She and her husband, Paul, have three adult children and three grandsons. The Baylor graduate is an active member of the Crystal Charity Ball and is president-elect of the Equest Women’s Auxiliary. Her previous chairmanships included the Zoo to Do, Council for Life Luncheon, Callier Cares Luncheon, and the Dallas Opera. Tiffany was selected by Laura Bush to serve as the senior gifts officer and special assistant in the Office of the Chief of Protocol at the U.S. Department of State and the White House from February 2006 to January 2009.
Q: What’s been the most valuable learning experience as part of Crystal Charity Ball? A: Through Crystal Charity Ball’s beneficiary selection process, I
have learned of the critical need for children and their families in Dallas County that live under the poverty line in food deserts and communities where more than 100 languages are spoken.
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Jennifer Dix Jennifer, a second-year honoree, and her husband, Richard, have two children, Nate and Gracie. Jennifer earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Baylor University and a doctorate from UT Austin. She is chairman of the Silent Auction for this year’s Crystal Charity Ball. Her past charitable affiliations included serving as Cattle Baron’s Ball chairman, the Junior League of Dallas, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Genesis Women’s Shelter, Equest, and the Elisa project.
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Q: What is your favorite eatery to get dressed up for lunch with girlfriends? A: Cheers to Park House’s brilliantly executed vision! With a fun vibe and delicious lunch choices, it’s the perfect spot. An order of the Brussels sprouts for our table, please!
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Cate Ford Cate is a second-year honoree. She and her husband, Jeremy, have three children, Curran, Jerry, and Chloe. In addition to her involvement with their schools, Cate serves on the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas Board of Directors and development committee. Cate received her bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University. She then worked for the Walt Disney Company and Revlon in New York before moving to Dallas where she worked at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. Cate serves on the Women’s Auxiliary at Children’s Medical Center, the Sweetheart Ball Committee, and the UT Southwestern Medical Foundation Board of Trustees.
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Cara French Cara is a second-year honoree. She is married to Jim French, and they have two children James and Lilly. She graduated from the UT Austin with a liberal arts degree. She chaired the Equest Luncheon and is president for the Women’s Auxiliary. She is a recipient of the Pi Beta Phi Community Service Award, a former Flower Show chairman, and president of the Junior Group of the Dallas Garden Club. She is an active member of the Crystal Charity Ball. Cara also is passionate about her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Maggie, and Purdy.
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Karla McKinley Karla is a first-time honoree. She and her husband, Mark, have three adult children and one grandchild. She worked for the Kim Dawson Agency and the Eileen Ford Agency from 1979 until 1992 as a model. She serves on the board of directors of the Dallas Contemporary and Baylor Scott & White Foundation. She was the recipient of the Lindalyn B. Adams Award at the Celebrating Women Luncheon in 2018. Karla is a co-founder of the nonprofit Think Human First organization, which partnered with Free The Children to build schools in underserved countries.
Q: Tell us about your favorite Park Cities or Preston Hollow place to get pampered.
Q: Tell us about your favorite Park Cities or
Q: Tell us about your favorite piece of clothing in
A: OhZone Clinics – their lymphatic massage is my new favorite thing! And I love The Gem — I pop in weekly for their Radiant Glow juice and Forever Young Iced Green Tea.
A: I love getting a manicure and pedicure from
A: My Dior black tulle skirt (dress up or down) or a
Preston Hollow place to get pampered:
Sophia’s on Lover’s Lane or using the Cherry App to come to my house.
your closet:
long black vest that was my mother’s that works with everything!
10 Best Dressed
3B
4B
6B
FASHION EXPERTS: DON’T BE BORING THIS SPRING
FIND OUT WHY THIS YOUTH ORCHESTRA MATTERS
STEP INTO THE GOLDEN AGE WITH MAD HATTER’S TEA PHOTO OF KATHY FIELDER BY DANNY CAMPBELL
22 August 2019 | parkcitiespeople.com
Real Estate Quarterly BUILT WITH BACKYARD LIVING IN MIND
Endangered midcentury modern homes still loved by many
SHARON ADAMS
MARCH
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Special Sections: Camps
Special Sections: 20 Under 40
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ALEX LYDA
ALEX LYDA
FROM LEFT: Marla Boone, Patty Pritchett, and Cele Johnsen tour midcentury homes in the Park Cities.
By Alex Lyda
Special Contributor
T
FEBRUARY 5
SHARON ADAMS
he midcentury modern structures that once defined many neighborhoods are increasingly threatened by soaring lot values, unmitigated disposable income, and North Texas’ perpetual drive to build new. “The culture of Dallas is to always be looking forward and never in the rearview mirror,” said Mark Lamster, architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News, at a recent preservation symposium hosted by SMU. The midcentur y modern architectural and interior design period rose to prominence in the early and the mid-1950s and began a resurgence at the turn of the century. Its characteristics include: ample windows, open floor
plans, and advances in post and wooden beam construction that created high ceilings with exposed rafters, eliminating the need for bulky support walls while allowing more light through large glass panels. Think Frank Lloyd Wright’s cantilevered “Fallingwater” house in Pennsylvania or the more pedestrian Southern California house seen in the iconic 1970s sitcom The Brady Bunch. Architect and University Park councilmember Ta y lor Armstrong led a tour this spring for mid-century modern fans, homebuyers, and preservationists alike. Two of the houses on Park Cities Preservation and Historical Society (PCPHS)
The days of Webergrilling and backyard barbecues were not really seen until after [World War II], and the way these houses are built is an extension of that. Taylor Armstrong
tour stand side-by-side in the 3500 block of Villanova Street. Their giveaway characteristic: carports – basically open-air garages – adjoining squat single-story houses made conspicuous only when compared to newer homes across the street. “The orientation is more toward a life that plays out in the backyard, not the street,” Taylor said. “The days of Weber-grilling and backyard barbecues were not really seen until after [World War II], and the way these houses are built is an extension of that.” Former dancer Emily Bywaters Cochran invited the 20 tour members into her expansive living room that holds not one but two grand pianos, and renown oil-oncanvas paintings bathed in plenty of natural light afforded by design. “We’ve had 50 people who have been over for dance parties and music,” said the Julliard-trained dancer who once performed to international audiences in New
York, Paris, and Washington. “Some great and memorable evenings we’ve had here, made possible by the layout.” Alex Jodry, 33, a bank credit officer and prospective first-time buyer, wants to buy a midcentury modern, so he and his wife (who studied historical preservation at Baylor) “can actually have a backyard,” he said. How many midcentury moderns young people like Jodry will have to choose from in the coming years is the question, said Rick Brettell, the Margaret McDermott Distinguished Chair of Art and Aesthetics Studies at UT Dallas. “We may not be saving them, but they are selling like hotcakes,” Brettell said. “The good news is that inexpensive houses are not at risk. The difficulty is midcentury modern houses in high-value areas [where teardowns are occurring]. I wish, I truly wish that the Park Cities could be designated a national historic district, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”
MELANIE THORNTON | 2019
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