Our Dining Hall is made up of three sections. The oldest section is the part on the right as you face the main entrance. This was once a “portable” schoolhouse in Northwest, Washington, D. C. We do not know the exact date of its manufacture, but Ms. Joey Lampl, author of Montgomery County’s “Historic Context Report,” refers to it as being from the World War I era. That would be about 1918. We know from our own oral and written history that it was purchased from the Washington, D. C. Government in the mid-1930’s. The reason we were able to obtain it was because new fire regulations in Washington, D. C., were dictating that schools had to be made of masonry materials. Besides, there was no plumbing or heating in the old schools, such as this. Ours was one of two such buildings purchased at that time. The other schoolhouse became the East Washington Free Methodist Church located on Minnesota Avenue, S. E. About ten years after it was put in place, it received a renovation, which included a stone façade and retaining wall. It was sold in 1966 when the church moved to Forestville, Maryland. The original building is still being used as a church.

Dining Hall Entrance

Wayman Fincham was our Camp Manager for forty years, and it was he who transported our Dining Hall in sections to our site on his truck. Mr. Fincham was a member of the Washington Free Methodist Church, which was by the nineteen thirties named the B. T. Roberts Memorial Church, in memory of the Father of Free Methodism. My mother was a young teen at the time and witnessed the assembling of the Dining Hall. In later years, she enjoyed telling of it. She’s the one who told me of the “numbering system.” One day I checked it out. If you walk into the “schoolhouse” portion of the Dining Hall, and look down at the floor, you can see 9x9-foot sections designated by Roman numerals carved in the corners. These numerals indicated the order in which the flooring was to be put together. In addition, there are two doors in the front (probably for “girls” and “boys”) and one in the back. The original chalkboard is also still in place.

This would have been called a “blackboard” in its day, but has since been painted green, hence, “chalk” board. It is this “schoolhouse” that gives our Dining Hall its historic significance. The windows are also quite interesting. Instead of sliding straight up and down, they are on hinges. They are designed to be opened using a pole with a hook on the end that gets inserted in a ring-type fixture at the top of the lower window frame, which is then pulled to open. The lower window opens into the room and the upper section goes to the outside. This makes for a unique screen situation. The screens cannot be flat. They are designed with a sort of “V” shaped frame to accommodate the shifting windows. The original screen frames appeared to have been cut with a handsaw. They were replaced about 1994, initiating a “makeover” for this portion of the Dining Hall.

Dining Hall

For approximately 20 years, this room had been closed off and was being used for storage. The story was that it had been “condemned” as unsafe due to a leaking roof. When it became obvious that the roof wasn’t leaking on the contents of the room at the time, a new plan was born. In the fall of 1995, over Thanksgiving weekend, with a dusting of new snow on the campground, a team of workers installed a new roof. In the spring, the ceiling and walls were upgraded, fans were installed, the room was painted, and new curtains and floral arrangements were added. Further upgrades were added in 2005. Nearly 90 years old, the schoolhouse turned dining room is still lovely and useful.

During the early 1940’s, under the leadership of Elder (Superintendent) Jesse Jennings, a kitchen area was added. It’s been remodeled over the years to keep up with County codes. Over the years, improvements were made including a tiled floor and better countertops. The historic dishes and old silverware have disappeared and disposable ones have taken their place. Family style meals are a thing of the past. Cafeteria style is now the norm. Below is Julianna Rosasco waiting for lunch.

Dining Hall Entrance

About 1948, Superintendent Fred Van Sickle added what is now the main part of the Dining Hall. With the swelling crowds, additional seating was required. In recent years, the Dining Hall has been winterized with the addition of drywall and heaters. Storage cabinets have been custom-built and it’s all been painted. The windows were re-hinged to open flat against the walls after the drywall was installed. In the early years, as people transitioned from tents to cottages, a cook’s cottage was located behind the kitchen. All that is left today is the cement slab.

A favorite personality of the Dining Hall during the middle years was Sadie Allcock (later Sadie Ground). Pictured are her daughters, Charlene and Pat. Sadie was the “Hostess” during my teen years and as such she organized the dining hall activities and supervised the waitresses (and one year the waiters). She was strict in a loving way and made sure that the tables were set properly, food was delivered quickly, no glasses went empty, and everything was cleaned up afterward. Salt and pepper shakers were filled and peanut butter and butter were plentiful. Teens could earn their way to camp by working in the kitchen and waiting tables. We had a dishwasher in those days, and names would be called out during the evening service so that all teens had a turn at drying dishes.

Charlene and Pat

Too, if you were naughty, you could receive “K.P. Duty” and have to peel potatoes. (I seem to remember paying that penance at least once.) The hand bell “Aunt Sadie” used to call us to meals is on display in the Camp Museum. It was replaced in the early seventies by the bell that used to be on the roof of the Tabernacle to call us to services, when electronics came into vogue and we were summoned to services via a microphone and speaker system, which is no longer used. One of the old speakers is also in the museum.

	Kenny Poole		Sometime in the fifties, I believe, a nice pavilion was constructed just outside the Dining Hall. It sure made standing in the rain waiting for the dinner bell a bit easier to take. I remember standing under an umbrella during a downpour with my grandmother when I was a little girl and getting my white socks and sandals all splattered with mud before the pavilion was there. Seems like it always rained around dinnertime. It was customary to “dress up” for dinner in the old days. Once everyone entered the dining hall, they stood behind their chairs for prayer. Then, everyone sat down at the same time. I can still remember the familiar sound of the wooden chairs scraping on the floor as everyone was seated. Today, the pavilion is used as a craft site as well as for outdoor dining. And, chairs like our old wooden ones sell for $30 at a nearby antique store. Times have changed, campers have changed, but one thing never seems to change, and that’s the delicious food! Here’s Ken Poole getting a helping.

Update 5/30/2007