Before catastrophic flooding swelled through the grounds of Camp Mystic and Central Texas in early July, it was known as a sacred site for idyllic girlhood.
It was the place where Fort Worth resident Carolyn Lorimer became a Tonkawa when she first started going to the camp in 1959 and it would remain a pillar in her life. She’s attended almost every camp reunion since they began in the early ’80s.
At Camp Mystic, members of the Tonkawa or Kiowa “tribes” saw girlhood fun blossom into lifelong friendships. Camp was the place where cypress and pecan trees as tall as buildings scraped the sky, and campers traded the hum of the highway for the roar of Hill Country cicadas. It was the place where metropolitan girls learned devotionals, how to win or lose a sport with grace, and earned Coca-Cola and chocolate on special occasions…