Published: June 11, 2008 05:16 am      

Camp explores Parker County past

Carman Williams

cwilliams@weatherforddemocrat.com

Time travel and adventure await campers at the “Gone to Texas” camp,” held this week at the Doss Heritage Center.

The camp follows the journey of Oliver and Susan Loving (of the Goodnight-Loving Trail) from their home in Kentucky to their new life in Parker County.

Monday, campers went to the general store to buy supplies, such as bedrolls and chamber pots, to pack their Conastogas. They will arrive in Texas today, where they will design their frontier homes.

Throughout the week, the kids will experience first-hand what life was like in the 1850s.

They will milk goats, churn butter, and watch the camp cook use a Dutch oven.

They will also watch demonstrations, such as hide tanning and wood chipping.

When the camp ends Friday, campers will meet Nancy Dozier, the great-great-granddaughter of the Lovings.

This is the second year of the Gone to Texas camp, which was created by Pam Tarpely and Judy James.

The idea came from Trail Bosses and Wild Hosses, a book they had written with Mary Kemp which chronicles the lives of Oliver Loving, Charles Goodnight and Bose Ikard.

Tarpely and James realized a camp would be the best way to teach children about the leaders of Parker County’s past.

They especially wanted to focus on Susan Loving.

Tarpely explained that although women in the 1850s were not usually written about, Susan left a legacy in her own, unique way.

She educated each of the Lovings’ nine children, many of whom went on to be doctors or lawyers.

Fittingly, Tarpely and James gave Susan the limelight in the Gone to Texas camp, where as a time traveler she teaches modern children about her time period.

The Lovings are portrayed by Heidi Boles and Tom Saunders.

James said months have gone into the preparation and planning for the camp, and people all over the county have provided props and services.

Tarpely said the kids have great enthusiasm as they learn about their local history, and she looks forward to continuing the camp programs for years.

A second “Gone to Texas” camp will begin June 23 for children going into second through fifth grade.

A “Ranching in Texas” camp will begin June 30 for children going in to sixth through 12th grade, and an “American Indian Studies and Celebration” camp will begin July 14 for students going into fifth through eighth grade.