OUR HISTORY
Over 80 years of ministry
Where the Lord Whispers
Thousand Pines 1939-2009
By Susie Gran
Step off the front porch of the newest Thousand Pines log cabin onto the path to Inspiration Point for a breathtaking view of Lake Gregory.
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Named for the man who built the lake, the cabin was reconstructed of logs harvested recently from the 255-acre Thousand Pines Christian Camp and Conference Center in Crestline, California.
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The Gregory Family Cabin, which houses up to 25 campers, was the first renovation completed with pine trees from this mountain retreat where a logging camp thrived a century ago. And, it is a testament to Arthur Gregory Sr. who was inspired by his faith to donate 10 acres to start a Baptist camp here in 1939, the same year the lake was finished.
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The loggers of old were taking down trees to build orange crates needed in the Gregory fruit-packing houses in Redlands. Today's loggers -- camp employees -- are turning 6,000 pines killed by drought and bark beetles into lumber to replace dilapidated cabins that were assembled decades before these woods became a church camp.
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The last inhabitants on Gregory's 10 acres were lake workers who occupied the Civilian
Conservation Corps cabins that dotted this land. After $25,000 in renovations, Baptist campers
arrived in the summer of 1939 for a junior high guild camp, a boys camp, and a young married
couples camp.
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Hundreds of former campers and camp supporters plan to share memories and stories of salvation at a June picnic when the camp celebrates its 70th year. Among them will be the granddaughter of Arthur Gregory Sr., Frances Gregory, who recently offered building materials, including roofing paper and ceiling tile, floor tile, electrical and plumbing supplies to continue the upgrades throughout the camp.
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To read the whole story, download the ebook.
About the Auther
Susie Gran is a New Mexico journalist with 40 years as a newspaper reporter and editor. She is the great-niece of Aruther Gregory Sr. Her late father, Charles Bruckart Sr., helped his uncle build Lake Gregory. A former Redlands and Twin Peaks resident, Mrs. Gran worked at Lake Gregory as a teenager.
Gran's mother, Ruth Bruckart, has donated her stained-glass art to the camp and an electric organ to provide music in the McKee chapel.
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Her book, "Lake Gregory -The Early Years, " was published for the shared 70th anniversary of Thousand Pines and the lake.