This webpage is devoted to those Old Timers who have passed on.  Fell free to send in a few lines in memory of someone you knew.

George Leatherwood  (camper in 1960's)

Recollection by Lisa Rogers:  I'm super sorry to report that George Leatherwood died several years ago.  I can't think of Crucis without thinking of him.  The diocese sent George and Peggy Adcock and me and several others to the Philippines in 1967.  He was one of the good uns.   George is at the far left in the picture below.

From left, George Leatherwood, Ginger ??, Janet Epp, Lisa Rogers, Peggy Adcock (Corrie), Adrian ??

Jim Leatherwood (camper in 1960's)

Recollection by Joe Riddell:  I enjoyed working with Jim on a number of Youth Commision and EYC activities.  He was the Youth Commission treasurer one year.  He had a good sense of humor.  We shared a number of adventures and, as the years went by, bottles of rum.  Jim is at the lower left in the picture below.

Steve Poteet (counselor in 1960's, died in late 1960's)

Recollection by Joe Riddell:  Steve was about three years older than I was.  He was a pleasant and caring counselor.  He lived hard and played hard.  I learned some from his mistakes.  (Like about not drinking and driving.)  I got to visit Steve and his brother at the University of Minnesota and experience a Northern Winter (not for me!) when I accompanied my older sister on a college-visit.  One spring weekend I was visiting Steve and John Amsler in Duncanville, and we decided we'd try to hitchhike to camp.  We spent a luckless hour or so on the side of Highway 67 before giving up.  In the late 1960's, Steve was injured in a motorcycle accident in Austin and went to the hospital but left after feeling he was OK.  He soon died of undiagnosed internal injuries, ones that probably would have been detected and successfully treated in an emergency room today.

Karen Preslar (camper and counselor in early 1960's)

Recollection by Merrill Hall:  Yes, I too have many good memories about Camp Crucis.  I had my first serious romance there in the summer of 1961.  I was a counselor on the boys' side of the river, and Karen Preslar was a counselor on the girls' side of the river.  We got together every time we had a free moment that we were not corralling our cabin full of kids.  Here is a picture of her.  She is on the right.  I thought she was beautiful.   [continued below picture]

[Editor's note: from left, Diane Burke, Jim Franklin, Sally Powell, Karen Preslar, 8-25-1962. 

Check out the old Refectory and the old boys' cabins in the background.]

I remember meeting her every day, at every opportunity we could find to be together.  We met and held hands at the canteen breaks.  You remember the place we called the canteen.  It was the big recreation center with a snack bar.  We also met each afternoon for the all-swim time at the swimming pool.  I would show off by being a daredevil on the diving board.  I remember hitting my head on the diving board while doing a full gainer.  The back of my head was bleeding badly, and Karen walked me to the nurse's station for first aid.  I recovered quickly, but I loved the sympathy I got from her.  My fondest memory was meeting her every night on the bridge that separated the boys' camp from the girls' camp.  While our campers were taking a shower and getting ready for bed, we would sneak away and meet on the bridge.  We were allowed to kiss on the bridge, and yes, we did some serious kissing, lips locked for fifteen to thirty minutes. 

I was not sure what love was back then, but all I knew was that Karen was the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing on my mind at night.  I guess it was puppy love, but we thought it was real.  We never saw each other again after that summer because we lived far apart.  Now, I see that her name listed as “deceased” on the roster for the Camp Crucis reunion.  She could not have been more than 60 years old when she died.  It is sad to me that she is gone, and I will never get a chance to talk to her again.  I would like to know what happened to her and if she had a good life.  I hope to go to the reunion this weekend, and maybe someone can tell me about her.