A peek into Tulsa’s past
Evan Taylor
Courtesy Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society
THE WAY WE WERE
The Tulsa YWCA built Friendship Lodge in 1919 at Camp Parthenia southwest of downtown. The building is shown in an undated photo, left, and today. In 1959, the YWCA sold the camp to First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa, which renamed the camp Loughridge after a pioneer missionary to the Creek Nation. The 188-acre grounds host various camps and special events during the year.
Camper’s delight A former YWCA camp continues to shape young minds. by ANNA BENNETT
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lack-and-white footage from the Oklahoma Historical Society shows lanky 11-yearold Mildred Pruett preparing for her stay at Camp Parthenia. She flashes a toothy grin from under a straw hat before loading her suitcase onto a pickup truck. Later, she and her fellow campers practice archery and take a dip in the lake. The year is 1938, but the scenes are familiar. Camp Parthenia (now Camp Loughridge) was a YWCA camp from 1919-59. Anna C. Roth founded the Tulsa YWCA in 1914, perceiving a need for civic involvement among young women. One of her earliest endeavors was establishing the summer camp for girls age 7-16. The YWCA built Friendship Lodge in 1919 on 15 acres southwest of downtown, and the building remains in use. The acreage was named after Parthenia Miller, the Creek woman originally allotted the land. By the 1930s, the camp had grown to 40 acres.
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TulsaPeople JULY 2015
When the stock market crashed in 1929, the YWCA was overwhelmed with women in need, and it found an elegant solution in Camp Parthenia. The facilities and grounds became camps offering lodging and “made-work” for more than 1,000 unemployed women — many of them widows — seeking refuge with their children. Eventually, the economic tide turned, and Parthenia was once again a summer camp for girls. During this time, Ruth Nelson attended Camp Parthenia. At age 79, she can still remember swimming in the lake. And she has other camp memories, as well. “I still remember vividly, but not fondly, the outdoor toilet facilities called ‘Little Egypt,’ in which one had to avoid nature in the form of insects and the occasional snake,” she says. The YWCA fell on hard times again in the 1950s and in 1959 sold the 40 acres to First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa for just over $20,000 (still only $162,281 in
2015 dollars). The church renamed the camp for the Rev. Robert M. Loughridge, a pioneer missionary to the Creek Nation. Camp Loughridge became an independent nonprofit in 1995. Today, it encompasses 188 acres. Loughridge rents out its various amenities — a well-equipped conference center, a popular wedding chapel and more — to subsidize the cost of its signature camps. Each year, more than 1,400 kids age 6-16 experience Loughridge’s “classic” camps during the seven-week season. Combined with the children who participate in more specialized camps — like those tailored to cancer patients or to children with autism or physical disabilities — the number is closer to 2,000. Since 2006, Loughridge also has offered the Outdoor Classroom program, which gives students in grades 1-6 a day of nature-based learning. “Nature can be a very good teacher,” says Executive Director Don Skillern.
Outdoor Classroom instructor Brian Bovaird sees first-hand how STEM education comes alive in the wilderness. On any given day, students might orient themselves on a map, identify edible plants or discuss the scientific reasons a person can’t push down a tree — force and mass, root structure and plant respiration, all explored by a simple question. “We want to restore their curiosity,” Bovaird says. “Let them ask questions and help them to answer their own questions.” Despite new missions and innovations, the camp’s leadership strives to maintain a respect for the camp’s heritage, according to Skillern. Bovaird, who is the great-grandson of YWCA founder Roth, agrees. “A lot of the values (of the YWCA in 1919) — inclusion, diversity, personal growth, Christian growth and friendship — are all the same values we have at Loughridge today,” he says. tþ