PITTS THEOLOGY LIBRARY
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS
CAMP GLISSON COLLECTION (DAHLONEGA, GA) 1915-2005
RG# 023
EXTENT: 16 BOXES, 5.76 CUBIC FT.
ACCESS: Unrestricted.
REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in
departmental policies on reproduction.
COPYRIGHT: Information on copyright (literary rights) available
from repository.
CITATION: Camp Glisson Collection
(Dahlonega, GA), RG# 023, Archives and Manuscripts Department, Pitts Theology
Library, Emory University.
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Camp Glisson is a United
Methodist retreat facility located in Dahlonega, Georgia. Its history as
a Methodist institution began in 1926 when the Rev. Elbert Hale, pastor of the
Hapeville M.E.C., S. in Hapeville, Georgia rented the facility for use as a
summer camp for Methodist youth. At that time the area was known as Cane
Creek Falls. He continued to administer the camp through 1930 when the
Rev. Fred L. Glisson succeeded him as manager.
Rev. Glisson continued in this position until 1944, often
using his own funds to finance the operation of the camp. The camp was
renamed Camp Glisson in his honor. A lake
constructed in 1951 was named Lake Hale in honor of the camp founder.
During the 1930s the North Georgia Methodist
Episcopal Conference gradually purchased the land and existing cabins from the
Dahlonega Chamber of Commerce. In 1947 the Cane Creek Falls area was
purchased from the Georgia Power Company. By 1953 the camp consisted of
175 acres, and continued to grow throughout the 1950s and 60s, adding a 60,000
gallon water tank and a reservoir lake in 1955 and numerous expansions to
existing buildings in the 1960s. From 1968-1972, the camp added backpacking and
wilderness skills to its program, as well as canoeing and backpacking trips to
surrounding areas.
In 1979, Fred L. Glisson,
the camp’s manager and director from 1930-1944, died. In 1984, the Sparrowwood Camp Building was built, and the camp formally
initiated a program for campers with mental disabilities (such a Methodist
program had existed in the area in one form or another since 1969). Handicapped
accessibility was improved throughout the 1990s.
The camp program has continued to grow and Camp Glisson is now a year-round conference retreat center.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE:
The Camp Glisson collection is housed in sixteen manuscript boxes
and is arranged chronologically. The bulk of the collection consists of a great
variety of camp materials, including budget reports, camp newsletters,
photographs, pamphlets, minutes of camp board
meetings, newspaper clippings, registration materials, and handouts for campers
and staff, culled from the Camp Glisson archives by
Jennifer J. Richardson, who wrote a book on the history of Camp Glisson.
There is a
voluminous amount of material in this collection, and while it is organized
more or less chronologically, there is a vast amount of undated material (such
as photographs) that has been left in the original order in which it was
delivered to these archives. Within spans of dates, dated material is organized
chronologically, but the presence of undated material requires a broader date
range for each folder than might seem necessary. In general, a researcher
searching for Camp Glisson material from the year
1971 would do well to examine all folders from the 1967-1971 date range, with
the knowledge that any dated material from 1971 will likely be in the latter
portion of that span of folders (in this case, folders 3 and 4 in box 6).
The amount of
information in this collection is extensive. In addition to a significant
amount of material relating to the business and budgetary concerns of the camp
from year to year, there are also many examples of material given out to
campers and camp staff that provide an insight into the day to day experience
at Glisson. There is also a wealth of photographic
material, especially in the slides (which cover the late 1970s most
thoroughly), which grant an insight into the activities and social experience
of the camp. Box 12 contains a folder with material relating to Sparrowwood, Camp Glisson’s
program for campers with mental disabilities, and Box 13 contains an
essentially complete list of all Camp Glisson staff
members from 1970 to 1997. Boxes 14 and 15 include training manuals for camp
staff in their original binding, providing significant insight into the
training process and philosophy behind the camp experience.
Box 16, which formerly existed as a
separate collection, consists
of a scrapbook, an account book, copies of "The Glissonette,"
a newsletter composed daily during summer camp sessions, and miscellaneous
materials. It provides a useful starting point for those wishing to get a
sense of the contents of the collection as a whole. The scrapbook contains
materials collected by Zola Marshall, who served as camp director from
1937-1941. The materials include program books, financial reports, sample
copies of registration materials, and the director's annual reports to the
General Board of Christian Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
all from 1937-1941. Also included are photographs and newspaper clippings
about the camp. The account book contains camp financial records from
1942 through 1947. The Board of Managers materials consist of meeting
minutes, reports, and handouts from 1973 to 1976. "The Glissonette" newsletter (July 7-11, 1941; July 9-15,
1944; July 8-19, 1945; July 1-19, 1946) provides information about daily camp
activities, cabin inspection reports, and other news items of interest to
campers. A folder of miscellaneous materials contains a cash
report for 1943, a list of camp officials for July 9-15, 1944, a 1945 letter
regarding soft drink supplies, fundraising brochures for 1946 and 1961, a 1951 flyer for the Rome District Youth Camp, and newspaper
clippings.
The collection as a
whole furnishes information about the daily operation of summer camps for
Methodist youth that were held at Camp Glisson from
1915-2005. The camp director's annual reports supply the most detailed
information by providing the names of all camp staff personnel, attendance
statistics, plans for daily activities, daily
schedules, and thorough evaluations of each camp session. The Rev. Fred Glisson is mentioned frequently in newspaper clippings and
other materials, along with Waights G. Henry, Jr., R.
G. Sisson, Joe Crawley, and J. Walker Chidsey, all of
whom later became prominent as ministers in the North Georgia Conference.
CONTAINER LIST:
Box 1 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1915-1920s 1915-1920s
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1920s-1930s 1920s-1930s
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1930s-1940s 1930s-1940s
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1940s-1947 1940s-1947
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1948-1952 1948-1952
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1948-1952 (cont’d) 1948-1952
Folder 7 Camp Glisson, 1948-1952 (cont’d) 1948-1952
Box 2 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1952-1953 1952-1953
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1952-1953 (cont’d) 1952-1953
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1952-1953 (cont’d) 1952-1953
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1954 1954
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1955 1955
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1955(cont’d) 1955
Box 3 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1956 1956
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1956 (cont’d) 1956
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1956 (cont’d) 1956
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1957 1957
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1958-1959 1958-1959
Box 4 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1958-1958 (cont’d) 1958-1959
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1958-1959 (cont’d) 1958-1959
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1958-1959 (cont’d) 1958-1959
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1960-1966 1960-1966
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1960-1966 (cont’d) 1960-1966
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1960-1966 (cont’d) 1960-1966
Box 5 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1967-1971 1967-1971
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1967-1971 (cont’d) 1967-1971
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1967-1971 (cont’d) 1967-1971
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1967-1971 (cont’d) 1967-1971
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1972 1972
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1972 (cont’d) 1972
Box 6 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1973 1973
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1973 (cont’d) 1973
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1973 (cont’d) 1973
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1973 (cont’d) 1973
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1973 (cont’d) 1973
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1974 1974
Folder 7 Camp Glisson, 1974 (cont’d) 1974
Box 7` Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1975 1975
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1975 (cont’d) 1975
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1975 (cont’d) 1975
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1976 1976
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1976 (cont’d) 1976
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 1977-1982
Box 8 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1977-1982 (cont’d) 1977-1982
Box 9 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1983-1987 1983-1987
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1983-1987 (cont’d) 1983-1987
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1983-1987 (cont’d) 1983-1987
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1983-1987 (cont’d) 1983-1987
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1988-1992 1988-1992
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1988-1992 (cont’d) 1988-1992
Box 10 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1988-1992 (cont’d) 1988-1992
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1988-1992 (cont’d) 1988-1992
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1992-1994 1992-1994
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1992-1994 (cont’d) 1992-1994
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1992-1994 (cont’d) 1992-1994
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1992-1994 (cont’d) 1992-1994
Box 11 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1995-1997 1995-1997
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1995-1997 (cont’d) 1995-1997
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1995-1997 (cont’d) 1995-1997
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1995-1997 (cont’d) 1995-1997
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, 1995-1997 (cont’d) 1995-1997
Folder 6 Camp Glisson, 1998-2005 1998-2005
Box 12 Folder 1 Camp
Glisson, 1998-2005 (cont’d) 1998-2005
Folder 2 Camp Glisson, 1998-2005 (cont’d) 1998-2005
Folder 3 Camp Glisson, 1998-2005 (cont’d) 1998-2005
Folder 4 Camp Glisson, 1998-2005 (cont’d) 1998-2005
Folder 5 Camp Glisson, Sparrowwood 1970-1979
Folder 6 Photographic Slides 1958-1977
Folder 7 Photographic Slides (cont’d) 1976-1977
Box 13 Folder 1 Photographic
Slides (cont’d) 1977
Folder 2 Photographic Slides (cont’d) 1978
Folder 3 Photographic Slides (cont’d) 1978
Folder 4 Photographic Slides (cont’d) 1978
Folder 5 Staff Members, 1970-1997 1970-1997
Box 14 No Folder Staff
Handbook 1997
No Folder Leadership Team Training Manual 1969
No Folder Bible Study Readings ca.
1990s
Box 15 No Folder Staff
Handbook 1997
No Folder Staff Handbook 1997
Box 16 Folder 1 Account
Book 1942-1947
Folder 2 Glissonette newsletter 1941-1946
Folder 3 Miscellaneous 1943-1944
Folder 4 Scrapbook 1937-1941
Folder 5 Board of Managers Meeting Materials 1973-1976