For me the picture above is remarkable in that I came to know several of the kids quite well in later years, but this year, the summer before 5th grade, I was only acquainted with one of them.
This is Wendell, the only one of the bunch that I knew when I was there. He's now an architect living in New York City with his family. We still see each other at least once a year or so.
Katherine was from Odessa, too, but I didn't really know her well at the time. Later we became very good friends. We lost touch for a couple of decades after college, but became re-aquainted. She was founding director of the Undermain Theatre in Dallas. Sadly, she passed away in 2019 after a short illness.
Donnie met at church when I was 12 and he was 10, and became great pals, and moved to Austin together when we left high school. After a long career as a master chef, he and his wife retired and moved to San Marcos. Donnie provided many of these pictures. He loved going to church camp, too. Because we were a year apart in school, there are pictures where we're both there and others where we split by class.
Ren spent a career as a school psychologist living in Odessa. She has been the hub of our circle of scattered friends, a "connector" to use Malcolm Gladwell's term. That is, even people who have lost each other almost always kept up with Ren. She and I have had many wildly interesting conversations over the years. She's retired, and lives with her husband in Denton.
And, finally, me, scared to death about being away from home and my family for the first time. Quiet, painfully shy, wearer of long pants in all weather. But in the end, I loved the Conference Center, and looked forward to it every year I was able to go, and missing it when I couldn't.
