"The Rat Castle" aka "The Haunted House"

"Monday morning we helped serve the breakfast.  We’re going to the Natural bridge Tuesday.  We went to the Rat Castle for Arts and Crafts." ( Jana Shurtz [Mesa 14th or 16th Ward]  July 1958)

                                                                                                  

This house was built in 1914 making it 44 years old when Jana (above) went there for "Arts & Crafts". 

William Thomas McClendon built this house.  His wife was Edith Woodward Fuller, daughter of original Pine settlers, Elijah Knapp Fuller & Ellen Celeste Woodward Fuller.

I was thrilled to find mention of this farmhouse in Edith's Life Sketch on Family Search!

"After they moved back to Pine, they all lived with Edith's mother until William Thomas bought a place about two miles up in the canyon from Pine. He bought it from an old man who lived in a cabin about a block from where William Thomas and a cousin built their home. The house had four rooms downstairs and two big rooms upstairs, one for the girls and one for the boys. Just before they moved into their new home, Edith lost another premature baby on the 15 Jun 1909. They named him Hyrum McClendon. At last Edith moved into her own place and here she planted trees, garden, and had a place for flowers. It was so very good to have a place at last of her own. The children played in the creek, gathered wildflowers on the hills, gathered black walnuts in the summer and Edith would make cakes and the older girls would make candy. The children always ate more nuts then what went into the cakes. 

(The above entry says the McClendons moved into the house in 1909 right after the loss of their premature baby, Hyrum.  But Gila County Assessor records show William didn't buy the property until 1914) 

 

 

In a letter to parents, Lo Wright affectionately called the farm house "Haunted House".  

Thanks to Doris Sloan, longtime Maricopa Stake Camp Secretary, the following documents were preserved and shared with me.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS 

MARICOPA STAKE 

Mesa, AZ 

March 18, 1958 

Dear parents:

               We are very happy in the plans for our girls’ camping this summer.  Truly we are trying to make camp a more joyous place each year for both the girls as well as the counselors and staff.

Our staff for this year are the following: 

Eva F. Winmill, Camp Director 

Wanda Meredith, Program Counselor 

Dessie Bielefeldt, Arts and Crafts Counselor

Martha Bartson, Sports Leader

               The greatest attributes of these women are the lives they live, permeated by their testimonies of the Gospel and their love for our girls.  We plan on three or four Junior Counselors who will help out in the places they are needed.

               At our last camp meeting we found that all six stakes in this valley are planning on going to Pine for Camp.  The building committee reported that there will be six sleeping cabins and a bath house ready for use the last of May.  We will still do pioneer cooking on a Ward basis as it was last year, and we will use the “Haunted House” for arts and crafts.

                Maricopa Stake Camping will start July 22, so please plan your family vacations so that every Beehive and Mia Maid girl and all others who are interested, will have this wonderful experience of camping with other girls of her age.

                                                                           Sincerely your brother 

                                                                           MARICOPA STAKE PRESIDENT

                                                                           (signed)

                                                                           L. Harold Wright

LHW:gkw 

 

For many years, Maricopa Stake asked all the campers to write a summary of their camp experience.  In 1958 two campers wrote about the "Rat Castle" and the accompanying barn    

"July 21st, 1958  Today we had to clean up a spot with Sally Sue.  After we cleaned the spot we fixed our lunch and went on a long hike up the mountain by the Rat Castle.  Now we are going to sleep up in a barn by the road."

                                                                                                    Janice Jones (Lehi)

Sharon Jones didn't mention the name, "Rat Castle" but she talked about going on a hike to arts and crafts.  I find it interesting it was called a "hike" to walk from Main Camp to Orchard Camp. 

July 21   "Today we got up and ate breakfast --- good old pancakes.  Then went on a hike to Arts and Crafts; then a hike and stayed all night."

                                                                                                    Sharon Jones (Lehi) 

In a more recent Camp Skit, we learn a bit more about the "Rat Castle". 

THE HISTORY OF CAMP LOMIA

A SACRED TRADITION  

(Section of a Camp Skit written by Judy McGanaghie 

in the [then] Mesa East Stake [currently Mesa North Stake])

(Date of Skit Unknown)

Sis. Seaman:

... Well, at first in the early days, probably your grandmothers stayed in the old house that was on the property.  It was affectionately called, “The Rat Castle” because of it’s deteriorating condition and the many rats that shared rooms with the girls.  So they tore it down and built the Orchard Camp.  Then when most of your moms and leaders came to camp, they had the kitchen and dining area where the craft lodge is now at Main Camp.  Soon after that, they built the Main Camp lodge and new kitchen and then the rest of this old building that you see around you tonight.  Everything was brand new (with no names or grafitti).  And because of President Lo Wright’s involvement in purchasing the property and seeing that the land became a girls’ camp, the name of our camp became “Camp Lo-MIA” (Lo for Pres. Wright’s first name and MIA for Mutual Improvement Association.)

(It is interesting to note, also, the first Main Camp kitchen and dining area was where the current Craft Cabin is.)

                    (Notice the benches the girls are sitting on.  Those benches are still in use today.)