When we first moved to Midland, we were invited each year to come to Bloys Cowboy Camp Meeting by the Beals. This is their cabin at Skillman Grove, site of BCCM. We attended several times, usually just for one or two nights, sleeping in one of the many sleeping rooms in this cabin. The porch held a wonderful swing on the end, and the big wooden rockers would be brought over from the ranch and placed on the front porch. All day and evening there were folks sitting on the front porch, visiting with each other, praying together, talking about the Bible Study that morning, or sharing insights from one of the sermons we had heard. And the children--lots of children and youngsters of all sizes and ages, running up and down the stairs, climbing the nearby boulders and mountains, coming in for water, playing on the tire swing. The walls of the kitchen of the Beal cabin are covered with signatures and comments from previous years, newcomers adding their names to the growing list. Each year grandchildren and friends were measured and their growth recorded on the sheet rock. Let's not forget the homemade ice cream--one evening of the week, ice cream was churned in the kitchen, and we would gather after evening worship and share in its deliciousness, with all the toppings. In my years of attending Bloys, this cabin has been the center of activity and family times, so it was heart-breaking to walk by and see the cabin windows all closed up, and the doors padlocked. The absence of any of the Beals in our Bloys community left a real void in the lives of many of us who were regular visitors on this porch. We treasure the memories that we have built being there. The absence of any of Beal family at the 2010 Bloys Campmeeting was our loss, and we hope that next year we will be reunited there, and once again, the cabin will ring with laughter, hugs, ice cream, and special conversations.
P.S. The absence of any of our friends in the Beal cabin this year was just "one of those things"--conflicting schedules, pre-school activities, a 50th anniversary celebration the weekend prior out in Colorado--just scheduling conflicts that could not be avoided. So perhaps that will change next year.....
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Empty Cabin
When we first moved to Midland, we were invited each year to come to Bloys Cowboy Camp Meeting by the Beals. This is their cabin at Skillman Grove, site of BCCM. We attended several times, usually just for one or two nights, sleeping in one of the many sleeping rooms in this cabin. The porch held a wonderful swing on the end, and the big wooden rockers would be brought over from the ranch and placed on the front porch. All day and evening there were folks sitting on the front porch, visiting with each other, praying together, talking about the Bible Study that morning, or sharing insights from one of the sermons we had heard. And the children--lots of children and youngsters of all sizes and ages, running up and down the stairs, climbing the nearby boulders and mountains, coming in for water, playing on the tire swing. The walls of the kitchen of the Beal cabin are covered with signatures and comments from previous years, newcomers adding their names to the growing list. Each year grandchildren and friends were measured and their growth recorded on the sheet rock. Let's not forget the homemade ice cream--one evening of the week, ice cream was churned in the kitchen, and we would gather after evening worship and share in its deliciousness, with all the toppings. In my years of attending Bloys, this cabin has been the center of activity and family times, so it was heart-breaking to walk by and see the cabin windows all closed up, and the doors padlocked. The absence of any of the Beals in our Bloys community left a real void in the lives of many of us who were regular visitors on this porch. We treasure the memories that we have built being there. The absence of any of Beal family at the 2010 Bloys Campmeeting was our loss, and we hope that next year we will be reunited there, and once again, the cabin will ring with laughter, hugs, ice cream, and special conversations.
P.S. The absence of any of our friends in the Beal cabin this year was just "one of those things"--conflicting schedules, pre-school activities, a 50th anniversary celebration the weekend prior out in Colorado--just scheduling conflicts that could not be avoided. So perhaps that will change next year.....
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