Camp Resurrection A Facelift Helps Camp Cross, Perched On A Lake Coeur D’Alene Island, To Shine Bright Once Again

It’s a quiet spring morning on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Loffs Bay, the silence broken only by Canadian geese honking gently in the shallows. A row of canoes lie on the shores of Camp Cross, waiting for summer and hundreds of children who will eagerly paddle them across the small bay.

Camp Cross, owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this summer. The camp is situated on 110 acres near the bay’s shore, but the majority of land remains in its natural state, perfect for nature hikes and exploring. Only 11 acres next to the mile-long shoreline have been developed.

Even that development, though, has been kind. The buildings are painted a particular shade of green so they blend with the surrounding vegetation. The unique hue was dubbed “Camp Cross Green” by the paint company that mixes it.

The camp started as a house and a few small cabins owned by Bishop Herman Page in the early 1920s. In 1923, he sold it to Bishop Edward Cross, who sold it to the Episcopal Diocese for $1. It’s been a place for youngsters to swim, canoe, hike and play ever since.

On this spring morning, the only activity is created by three workers laying carpet in “The Ark,” a building with an arched roof that serves as a gathering place. Construction has been a way of life at Camp Cross since 1990, when the Episcopal Diocese raised $1.5 million for improvements.

New bath houses have been built and the dining hall has a large new deck. Inside the dining hall, which smells faintly of hot dogs, new hardwood floors gleam, protected from the pounding of hundreds of small feet by multiple coats of varnish. A new basketball court, volleyball court, sandbox and play equipment are being added.

A group of retired men has added windows, insulation and heating to 20 of the 48 small cabins.

The Rev. Brian Prior, the camp’s executive director, points out the improvements with pride.

Motioning to the new tables in the dining hall, he says campers formerly dined on sheets of plywood perched atop sawhorses.

When one considers that the only way to reach the camp is by boat, each new improvement commands new respect. All workers and materials must be barged from shore.

That was particularly impressive earlier this month, when concrete for the new basketball court was poured. A large barge was rented to haul a cement truck across the water.

While it can be a headache for construction, the limited access is also a blessing, Prior said. It’s a natural security system, making vandalism and unwanted visitors virtually nonexistent.

Plus, it’s a great excuse for a ride on the camp’s boat, “Saints-a-Cross.”

Prior delights in showing off the camp’s every nook and cranny: the hand-poured concrete walkway that winds through the camp, and the turn-of-the-century house with no foundation that’s mostly unused these days except for its wraparound porch, where art projects are created.

Prior knows each change intimately because he’s been coming to the camp every summer since he was 10 - first as a camper, then as a camp director when he was 20, and now as executive director. He even made the annual trip during the years he was away attending seminary.

The intimate knowledge gives him an advantage, Prior said, because he knows what kids like and what works. And what works is a lot of volunteers and a small paid staff recruited from all over the United States - and overseas.

He recruits staff from abroad because he believes youngsters benefit from exposure to a variety of cultures. Besides coming from Boston and California, staff members have hailed from Australia, Russia and Northern Ireland.

Prior also gets a kick out of introducing them to his “little slice of heaven.” He has a set line he utters as he drives around a bend in the road where the lake unfolds below: “Welcome to God’s country.”

“You should see the look on their faces,” Prior said.

The staff works in two teams of five people each and rotates tasks each week to avoid burnout. One week a team will run the various programs and the next week will work on the facilities.

Because the camp is licensed by the American Camping Association, its programs are regulated, along with food preparation and sanitation, and it must follow health and safety codes. All staffers have CPR and first-aid training, and some are trained lifeguards.

“We really are very safety and health conscious here,” Prior said. “You’re trusted with folks’ No. 1 asset - their children.”

The camp, which can sleep 120 at a time, hosts several sessions each summer. There are six weeklong camping sessions for kids, a men’s weekend, a women’s weekend, two family camps and a “Me and Mom/ Dad” camp. Campers come from places as varied as Cle Elum and Western Canada and occasionally from as far as Singapore and New York.

In addition, parishes arrive for various retreats, and several non-profit organizations have day camps.

Cost of regular sessions is $150 per week or $55 for a weekend. But Prior said cost is not an issue.

“We don’t keep anyone away for financial reasons,” he said. “We want them to have the camping experience.”

Sessions begin in June, but Prior is also busy planning for the camp’s 75th anniversary celebration July 12. All former campers and staff members are invited.

That day, the soccer/baseball field, which includes the basketball court and play area, will be dedicated to Bishop Jeff Terry of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, who will attend.

Camper Gwen Pollock is looking forward to the new field and the additional activities it will allow. The 15-year-old Valley resident has gone to camp every summer since she was 10 and this year plans to be a camp counselor at one of the sessions for younger children.

“I think it’s an excellent camp,” says Pollock. But it’s not just her love of swimming that brings her back every year.

“I think it’s the kindness from the staff and the kids and the joy of making new friends and seeing old,” says Pollock.