Foundation For Youth’s Columbus Youth Camp has put up a new archway and sign to improve the appearance at the entrance and restore it to an earlier time.
FFY executive director Chuck Kime said that while the arch and sign are new, they have an "old spirit" and harken back to the camp’s history.
When the camp opened in 1936, there was a stone arch across the two pillars at its entrance. In 1953, a grocery truck driver was coming into camp one night and didn’t see the arch. He cut the truck to one side as he drove through, and the top corner of the trailer hit a curve in the arch, causing the entire arch to fall. The cab of the truck was completely demolished, but the driver survived unscathed.
At the time, the camp committee’s chairman said that the arch would likely not be rebuilt, out of concern for safety.
Kime said the new arch is "reminiscent, but much safer." He said it is made of aluminum instead of stone and is much higher than the old one.
"Our pillars were widened for better bus access, built taller, and the new arch sits on top," he said.
He said that the new arch was added not only to keep a "strong heritage" at the camp, but also as part of their "Front Door Project" for improvements and beautification. Kime said that the project is being funded by a $30,000 award given by the Reeves Foundation in 2020.
This award is paying for the arch and other improvements, including other signage, he said. For example, an additional sign is going up on the far east corner of camp on Youth Camp Road, he said.
Kime added that the Reeves family and its foundation have been very generous to Columbus Youth Camp over the years.
“Millie Reeves also left camp an endowment," he said. "So at the Heritage Fund, there’s an endowment that supports us each and every year for maintenance and beautification. This Front Door Project is an additional allotment."
When Millie Reeves passed away in 1999, she left multiple endowments through the Heritage Fund. One was to Columbus Youth Camp with a principal amount of $2.1 million (never to be touched), with the camp receiving annual interest payments based on a 5 percent rate. The gift was to be used for maintenance, construction of or expansion of facilities or lands to enhance the effectiveness and natural beauty of the camp. Reeves also contributed to the camp prior to her death.
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For video footage of the arch going up, see FFY’s Facebook page. To learn more about FFY, go to foundationforyouth.com.
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