Nancy Carrier and Peggy on The Rockbrook House lawn
As part of our continuing efforts to document the history of Rockbrook and its founders, we have been doing some genealogical research on camp founder Nancy Carrier and her famous Great- Grandfather P.T. Barnum. We have explored some fascinating genealogy books and websites and have also visited the Transylvania County Courthouse and Library. We will soon be blogging a more detailed story of their lives, but we need your help in unraveling some of the story.
Those of you who were campers and counselors during Mrs. Carrier’s time at camp can add a lot of detail to the story. We are particularly interested in any information that you remember about her children, Henry and Helen. We would also love to hear any recollections you have on her daughter in law Helen, who directed the camp. Your stories, photos and memories will assist us in painting a more accurate picture of Mrs. Carrier and Rockbrook. Please let us know if you have anything to add!
Visitors to western North Carolina often remark that there are a lot of summer camps located in the area. There sure are! The awesome natural features of this part of NC— the highest peaks east of the Mississippi River, millions of acres of State and National forests, whitewater rivers, rock climbing crags, and beautiful lakes —make it ideal for adventure activities, cooler summer temperatures, and the outdoor setting for summer camps. It’s not too surprising western North Carolina has a long history of summer camping.
Looking at the entire state, there’s a clear pattern to where summer camps are located. Take a look at this map.
It shows the youth summer camps in western North Carolina. In the entire state, there are approximately 186 camps, with more than half (about 90) located in the western mountains. The others are concentrated near 3 major population centers (Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh). Many of these are smaller day camps that serve the local communities.
The red pins are accredited by American Camp Association accredited camps, like Rockbrook. Here too, more than half of the State’s ACA accredited camps are located in the western region.
For more information about the precise location of Rockbrook, visit our NC Location page.
My daughter came home just bubbling with self confidence! She had a wonderful counselor and I’m so pleased with how much she’s grown personally and socially. Absolutely priceless!
“We have shifted our culture from one that is engaged in a healthy, interactive, imaginative way to one that is inwardly facing, sedentary and expecting things to be fed to us.” — Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center of Media and Child Health
Summertime Hiking
The National Wildlife Federation has joined the ongoing discussion among educators about the importance for children of outdoor experience. In response to the drastic decline of the time modern children spend outdoors, they have launched a well-organized campaign to provide “practical tools for families, schools and communities [that] will make being outdoors a fun, healthy and automatic part of everyday life.” It’s called “Be Out There.”
The NFW reports some troubling facts. “Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. Today, kids 8-18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day (more than 53 hours a week).” And there are equally troubling related consequences: increased child obesity, decreased creativity, imagination, and social skills.
The benefits of outdoor experience have been well researched as well. “Outdoor play increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies. Spending time outside raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues. Exposure to natural settings may be widely effective in reducing ADHD symptoms. Exposure to environment-based education significantly increases student performance on tests of their critical thinking skills. Children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces. Outdoor play protects children’s emotional development whereas loss of free time and a hurried lifestyle can contribute to anxiety and depression. Nature makes kids nicer, enhancing social interactions, value for community and close relationships.” Likewise, on this blog, here for example, we’ve discussed the benefits of regular outdoor experience.
The point, of course, is that summer camp provides an excellent antidote to this modern trend. As children spend more of their time indoors isolated from nature, as they begin to show symptoms of “Nature Deficit Disorder,” outdoor camps like Rockbrook become even more important. Being outside, most if not all of the time, is one of the secrets that make summer camp so beneficial for children.
The National Wildlife Federation agrees; it’s one of the best things parents can do for their kids… turn off the screens and send them to camp!
We were so excited to see former Rockbrook counselor and Junior Line Head extraordinaire Christy Middleton Buchanan when she stopped by the RBC office last week. She came by to introduce us to her sweet baby girl Mirabelle! Mirabelle was born July 1, 2010. She is absolutely adorable and already has been introduced to all of the Rockbrook songs! We wonder what her favorite song is?
Christy says that she is already counting down the days until Mirabelle can be a Rockbrook camper! Summer 2018 will be here before you know it! We will be waiting Mirabelle!
The Transylvania County Historical Society has made an interesting find that ties the Rockbrook Camp property to the oldest Presbyterian church in the area. Local historians Keith Parker and Gene Baker now believe the “Mamre congregation” had its “Presbyterian Meeting house below the mouth of Dunn’s Creek” right across from the main entrance to Rockbrook. What’s phenomenal is that this church was in place in 1798. That’s the same year that the U.S. government officially obtained this land from the Cherokee! This means the property that would later become Rockbrook Camp (when Nancy Carrier’s father Henry Peck Clarke purchased it) was a thriving community more than 100 years before the camp was founded. This area, known as the Dunn’s Rock Township, was the third largest in the area when Transylvania County was formed in 1861.
Now take a look at this view of the French Broad River valley from the top of Dunn’s Rock. We’re not sure what year it was made (and whether it’s a colorized photograph or a painting based on a photograph; thanks to Roger Raxter for giving us a copy), but you can clearly see, along the bottom edge, the old “Dunn’s Rock Bridge” crossing the river. Right next to it, you can make out the red roof of what we think is that old Presbyterian meeting house from 1798. It was just south of where the bridge crossed the river. Like the church, this bridge is no longer there.
Who doesn’t love receiving a great homemade craft from a friend or family member? We are so impressed how some of our counselors (past and present) have been using their crafting skills to surprise folks throughout the year. Take a look at these fantastic crafts!
2009 Curosty counselor Anna Myers sent us a beautiful handcrafted bird (a Rockbrook Cardinal!) that we now have hanging in the camp office. Since her teaching days at Rockbrook and graduating from NC State University, Anna has been teaching art in Raleigh and most recently in Providence, RI. Her sweet gift most definitely brightened our day!
Charming Cardinal
Longtime camper and counselor Christine Alexander, who served as both a CA counselor and the Junior Linehead in 2010, just sent us a very fun shot of a group of her mom’s adventurous friends. Christine heard they were preparing for a big outdoor adventure trip, so she took the time to make her mom and each of her mom’s friends a friendship bracelet and picked out colors specifically for their personalities. Now that takes a lot of time and dedication!
One phrase camp professionals often use to describe their work is “Youth Development.” Beginning, most likely, with the American Camp Association (ACA), most camp directors are quick to point out the beneficial outcomes children gain from the summer camp experience, the power camp has in developing young people’s character, confidence, and other important life-skills. In this way, summer camps are “youth development organizations.” Just about everyone who knows about camp, and Rockbrook is no exception, will agree.
Did you know that “Youth Development” also refers to a multidisciplinary academic discipline (drawing on psychology, education, sociology, family science, and public health, among others) dedicated to studying the development of school-aged children? Well, it’s true and there’s a peer-reviewed journal published to prove it! The Journal of Youth Development reports original research and focused studies with applied consequences that can make a difference in youth development professional’s work.
One article particularly relevant for camp professionals was published in the Journal back in 2007— “Components of Camp Experiences for Positive Youth Development.” Working with survey data gathered by the ACA from its member camps, the article tries to identify those aspects of camp life that have the greatest positive effect on youth development. Most significantly, the researchers conclude it is the supportive relationships children have with camp staff that are most important, followed by “program structure, elements of accountability, assessment of outcomes, and opportunities for skill building.” The take away lesson here, of course, is the importance of great people working as a camp’s counselors. We certainly know this at Rockbrook. A great staff of caring, attentive, supportive role models really benefits the campers and brings the whole camp together throughout the summer. Our campers make all kinds of strides as a result. We’ve all seen it, but with this research, there’s academic credibility backing it up!
While going through our archives recently we came across this fascinating article about Nancy Carrier, published in The Transylvania Times in 1989. It was printed in honor of what would have been her 100th birthday. It is a wonderful addition to our archives, and is a testament to the legacy of Nancy Carrier. Besides being the founder of Rockbrook Camp, she also was one of the founders of Brevard Music Camp, now Brevard Music Center. She also was a chairman of the first hospital auxiliary in Brevard and helped found Lyday Memorial Hospital, the first public Hospital in Transylvania County.
We also loved learning more about the early days of Rockbrook. Did you know that through Mrs. Carrier, the local Red Cross met at Rockbrook and made bandages for the war effort. Or that sewing circles were held at Rockbrook to make useful items for soldiers during World War II?
Nancy Carrier passed away in 1977 and is buried right down the street from Rockbrook in St.Paul’s-in-the-Valley Cemetery. We hope to locate more information on Mrs. Carrier and will share it with you as we uncover more about our remarkable founder.
