Brown shares the story of Camp Echoing Hills

  • October 25, 2009
  • 909
                        
It was early on Oct. 13 when Lion Rev. Cordell Brown and First Vice-District Gov. Tom Calhoun drove the curvy roads from Camp Echoing Hills in Warsaw to Dunlap Community Hospital be at the 7:30 a.m. Orrville Lions meeting. Lion Brown shared about the camp for disabled individuals that he started more than 40 years ago. Born in Amherst, Brown’s parents refused the advice to put him in a state institution after birth. It was three years before doctors labeled him with cerebral palsy. His parents never told him he was handicapped but let him know that “God does not make junk.” His father, a member of the Amherst Lions Club, bought land in Coshocton to use for the family in later years. Little did he know then that his purchase would serve so many. Brown loved camping and outdoor activities, especially the teen camp he attended. He believed camping could unleash the potential often hidden in every disabled person, if only they had the opportunity. Brown, then engaged, asked his father to donate a piece of the farm. He presented his dream in 1967 to the Amherst Lions Club, soliciting $200 for materials to help build one cabin and offering to provide the labor. That was the beginning of Camp Echoing Hills. That $200 start turned into $1.2 million in the last 43 years that Lions all over Ohio have given. Brown said, “Last summer, 575 children and youth attended camp to turn disabilities into abilities in the nature center, fishing, and swimming while making new friends, and realizing they were created by God for a purpose.” Brown, married with two adult children, credits much of the success of the camp to the many volunteers who help keep the camp running smoothly. The next meeting of the Orrville Lions Club will be at 7:30 a.m., in the community room of Dunlap Community Hospital, on Oct. 27. Chuck Fleming, principal from the Opportunity School, will be the guest speaker. For more information, contact Lion Kathi Bond at 330-683-1482.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load