Posted by: John Clay Gibbons - Posted June 11, 2006 As of Spring 2006, the camp is now under new ownership. Joseph Backman who bought the camp last year has sold the camp to Darren Blum and his wife, Cheryl. Darren and Cheryl attended camps as children and are planning to turn Camp Mishemokwa back into a camp and we as campers and counselors remember as children and young adults. The Blum's have begun renovations and are projecting an opening date in the Summer of 2008. They have invited all campers to a reunion sometime in the Spring of 2007. They are very excited about rekindling the days of Dr Smith and are inviting any previous campers to contact them directly (darren@campmishemokwa.com ). Continue to check back as more information to be announced. Posted by: John Clay Gibbons - Posted Jan 1, 2006 Well, as of Dec 2005, the camp is under new ownership. I got a call one day in December from the new owner, Joseph Backman. He is a developer that lives in South Florida and has long time roots in Gerton, North Carolina, not far from Bat Cave. He has been in communication with Dr. Smith and after seeing this website, he has an interest in learning more about the Camp. He is meeting with Dr. Smith early in January 2006 to learn more about the history of the Camp, the camp industry and possible future of the Camp Mishemokwa location. From my conversations with Joseph, he states that Dr. Smith has made improvements to the Camp prior to the sale trying to get it back in working order. After seeing this website and the interest of others to keep their camp memories alive, he has taken an interest in the campers that once attended. Conitune to check back. More to come. Posted by: Raquel Schor Giorgio - Posted Nov 15, 2005 In early October of 2005, my husband and I went to a wedding just outside of Asheville, North Carolina and there was NO WAY I could not stop by camp to see how it was! It was my first visit back to the area since I was 16 years old ... and I am 33 now! It was something I had to do. I had butterflies in my stomach and I could hardly breath as we drove up the windy road to the camp. At first, I didn't recognize a thing! But once we rounded the corner in Bat Cave and passed the antique shop on our left, I knew I was home!!! I saw the Broad River where we went tubing. And Burntshirt loomed ahead of me! The ride up was as I remembered it ... however the road had been paved. The horseback riding facility a mile away from the camp was a complete mess! You couldn't tell what had been there so long ago!!! We reached the gate to the camp and parked the car outside on the road and my walk down memory lane began! I brought a little video camera with me and my husband and I took turns shooting our trek while I narrated where we were and what I remembered. Perhaps I can figure out how to post the movie on this website? Everything was exactly the same .. yet smaller! Not as spread out .. although I was breathless by the time I reached the last step up to the ceramics shed fromthe dining hall! And I thought I was in shape!!!! :-) Alas, the camp looks like no one has taken care of it in years! Cow patties were everywhere, including on the concrete steps leading up to the water slide! They were also on the porches of the girls' cabins! We went inside the unlocked gym and there were snakes climbing the rock walls!!! And the inside of the cabins were creepy ... because they were dark .. and I had no idea what living creature lurked inside!!! I really wanted to find my name scrawled on all the cabin walls and ceilings .. but they had been painted over! The bell was gone that had been next to the dining hall. And there were a few new structures built in various locations by the owners of the camp that took over after Dr. Smith. The dining hall had been painted a beige color. I was unable to break into the dining hall or the rec center to get a peek inside. The lower lake was all grown over and hardly look like a lake at all. But it still felt the same! It was a wonderful visit! I had dreamed of returning for years! Yet, I had a bittersweet feeling as I drove away. I longed to be young again ... a camper ... a CIT ... a counselor! It hit me for the first time in many, many years that I can never go back. My days of fun at Camp Mishemokwa were over! It would never be the same! The camp is in bankruptcy now under the ownership of Dr. Smith again ... but I hear a doctor is looking into purchasing it. If I was retired with time on my hands and some extra money, I would grab it up now and open the camp myself .. but the timing is off! Perhaps one day? Posted by: John Clay Gibbons - Posted Jan 23, 2005 On a recent visit to Bat Cave on January 15th, 2005 proved to be an informative trip. My first stop was at the Lake Lure Visitor Center where I met Pat. She proved to be very helpful and started a chain of events. She referred Burch Real Estate, stating Burch Real Estate might know the current state of the camp. Well, I left the Visitor Center and continued toward Bat Cave. Between Lake Lure and Bat Cave is the tourist town of Chimney Rock. Passing through Chimney Rock, I passed by the offices of Burch Real Estate. As luck had it, they were open. I walked in asking about Camp Mishemokwa. Well, here I got an enormous about of information. Kimberly and her mother, Ada, of Burch Real Estate proved to be instrumental. Kimberly and Ada were very helpful. They processed to tell me that the Camp was back in the possession of Dr. and Mrs Smith from the old owners, originally from Germany. They also processed to tell me that the Camp was back up for sale. I was a bit concerned that I might not be able to visit the camp during this trip as there might not be anyone to let me in, but I continued my trek up to the Camp. Before I left Kimberly and Ada, I gave them my contact information to past along to the Smiths' hoping that in the near future I would hear from them. I made my way up to Camp hoping I get into the Camp. As luck had it again, I approached the neighbors and I was able to gain access to the camp. Walking through the gates memories starting rushing back. WOW!!! This was a bit erie as I was walking around the camp with no one else around. It was quite surreal. Check out what I found. See the Photo Album entitled, Camp 2005. This trip all the way out from Denver proved to be a worthwhile trip. My next hope is that Dr. and Mrs. Smith contact me. I will keep everyone posted. Posted by: John Clay Gibbons A recent attempt to try and contact Camp ownership has proven to be a dead end. The only email address I have found is no longer working, campmish@bellsouth.net. Plus the only phone number I found, (828) 625-5554, has been disconnected. Posted by: Courtney (Corey) Bender My husband & I visited camp in Sept. 2003 & it was really depressing because of the state it was in. A foreign family owned it, I think from Germany. There were COWS on the field, the paths had not been tended to (overgrowing grass everywhere) and broken glass in windows. It was far from how I remembered it. It was also strange to see that the girls' cabins had been painted white inside and had ceiling fans! The last I knew, Doc & Mrs. Smith had moved back to GA full-time. When I was a counselor, they bought a house on Lake Lure for the camp to use, but I think they sold that when they sold camp. They had also bought a bed & breakfast in Gerton, which is right near Lake Lure, but I think they also sold that property. One of the guys that I have kept in touch with through the years, returned to camp after Doc & Mrs. Smith sold it & it sounded like the new owner was quite different. That was at least one owner ago, before the ones we met last year. I will be interested in hearing what you find out about the current owners & what shape it is in. |
