Sacred Grounds

The longer you spend at a place, the more you see its hidden parts and pieces. We are often unaware that this process is taking place at all, but it’s an unavoidable course.  The story and nuances of this place called Burgess have revealed themselves to me in continuously surprising ways.  In the last two weeks, new fractures in this property have given me yet another peek into what lies beneath these sacred grounds.  And so it goes with change and repair, a parking lot that has remained the same for years, is excavated one day to expose a giant septic pipe.  Let’s not talk about what has traveled that pipe, we all know where that goes, but instead what can be found when soil is upended.  Every time I see a hole dug into this property, I bring my kids along and we search the mounds of dirt for little treasures.  Something always appears – bits of ceramic debris, trash, decayed fabric, bricks.  We gather it and walk it home to Triangle House for examination.  My wife thinks I’m a hoarder.    

On the other end of camp, Adventure Mountain has been partially cleared to make way for better views and programming areas. Our new high ropes course on its plateau has quickly become a huge attraction at Burgess.  This steep hill was once the site of rustic cabins, with buried pipes and foundation supports.  Hurricane Bob took most of it out in 1991, leaving only Kaskaskia Cabin behind.  My kids and I walked up and down to see what might be viewable now with fewer trees in the way.  We found cement bases, protruding rubber pipes, and flattened areas where structures must have once sat.  Our exploring there has just begun. 

In recent years, with the clearing of land for the farm and new bathhouse and walking trails, I have put together a small collection of found materials. That search goes on with my own kids, and with the campers and staff in the summer months, all these things sitting in the ground, waiting to be discovered, if only by mistake. 

 By Asa Gallagher – Camp Burgess Director