Retro Friday: House on the Middle Green
Posted by phil
One of the first private homes in Ridgecrest, NC was located on the middle green at Camp Ridgecrest for Boys. The name of the house was Hon-O-Lulu Cottage, and sat where our New Infirmary currently sits. After the house was removed long ago, there was a horse riding ring, then there was a trampoline, and finally, the outdoor Arap Chapel was located there for many years. It was a few years ago that the New Infirmary was added. If you have any specific memories about any of the things that were located on this spot, then please share below! Does anyone know any details about the house in this picture? If you have similar pictures, please share them with us!
Posted in News | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, Hon-a-lulu Cottacge, Lake Ridgecrest, Middle Green, Retro Friday, Ridgecrest Alumni, Ridgecrest Summer Camps
I remember jumping on that trampoline lots of times..
I remember a camper who played on the trampoline in the late 1960’s…and broke his arm on opening day. When he headed out of camp to Mission Memorial, I thought his summer was over. Low and behold, by dinner time he showed up for chow with a fresh cast, saying that nothing was going to keep him away from camp.
I remember the trampoline(s)…weren’t there two of them…in ground?
Wow. I’ve never seen this picture, nor had I ever heard of this place, though the ground in that area had always suggested that some structure had once been there. It looks like the lake road over there was much lower at one time and that the lake actually extended into the bottom of what’s now the middle green – looks like a low wooden bridge crossing it there where the four square courts are now. This also shows where the first staff pic from 1930 was taken – on what was a dock located where Roger’s is now.
This probably explains why it gets (or at least used to get) so muddy and swampy near the flag pole after heavy rains – fill dirt and poor drainage. A great picture.
I always remember seeing a foundation near the Arap Chapel and always wondered what was there before. The infirmary does the spot justice.
The foundation you saw were the edges of the trampoline pit… the pit was concrete, and was sunken in the ground, so that the trampoline was level with the actual ground. Made it a bit safer, but still way too many injuries… it disappeared in the early 80’s!