CLARKSVILLE -- A gift of 160 acres of wooded Ozarks is truly one that keeps on giving and spreading joy to legions of youngsters.
When Beatrice Johnson looked over the rolling forests on her property east of Clarksville, she could almost hear the laughter of young campers making s'mores around a crackling fire. She envisioned a camp for kids for the tract's future.
Kiwanis Youth Kamp
The camp is located east of Clarksville in Johnson County, 3.5 miles north of Interstate 40 near Arkansas 359.
Information: www.kampkiwanismoar…, email kiwanis.kamp@gmail.… or call 479-567-1831.
To make a donation, send checks to the Kiwanis Youth Kamp Foundation, P.O. Box 1998, Russellville, Ark., 72811.
She deeded the property to the Kiwanis club's Missouri-Arkansas district. Her vision is real today when kids and adults visit the youth camp that bears her name, the Beatrice Johnson Kiwanis Youth Kamp. The camp is not far from Lake Dardenelle near Clarksville.
Dolores Stamps with the Springdale Kiwanis club strolled about the camp in March with a gleam in her eye.
"She knew the good works Kiwanis did," Stamps said of Johnson. "She wanted a place for kids to get back to nature."
The camp is a cooperative venture of Kiwanis clubs in Missouri and Arkansas. Since acquiring the property in 2009, 15 tent camping sites have been built in five different areas of the property. Level tent pads make for a comfortable night's slumber, but campers are welcome to pitch tents wherever they please.
Groups bring their own gear and supplies for camping and any other activities.
Each pod of campsites has a fire ring. An open air pavilion is a centerpiece of the camp for meals and programs, with a large group campfire site nearby. Kiwanis members, along with the Russellville chapter of Ozark Off-Road Cyclists, have built hiking trails.
Groups started using the camp three years ago for day camp programs and overnight stays, said Spud Westmoreland of Russellville. He's an officer of the Missouri-Arkansas Kiwanis district and vice president of the camp's foundation.
The camp gets financial backing from Kiwanis clubs, donations from private business and grants, Westmoreland said.
There's no charge for youth groups to use the camp. Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Boys and Girls clubs and the like have hiked the trails and heard park-ranger presentations at the pavilion. They've climbed the boulders and walls of low bluffs and played in a stream that bisects the camp in wet seasons.
Some campers had never experienced nature and outdoor activities until they visited the camp.
"This is a total change of pace for them," Stamps said.
She remembers one high school student, a native of Pakistan, who was terrified of a campfire. The student eventually relaxed to the sight of rising sparks and smoke and joined her classmates in making s'mores.
Those moments reward the Kiwanis members.
District members see big improvements for the camp. Bringing electricity to the pavilion is on the agenda. So is building a restroom.
They see an archery range and trap shooting range, cabins and a multipurpose building.
"To really develop this, you're talking about a million dollar project," Westmoreland said.
A lodge is in the grandiose plan.
Spring is a prime time at the camp, with dogwoods popping, the stream flowing and birds chirping. It's all ready for young campers and their leaders.
Sports on 04/02/2019