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By the time Mark Wickham became the Camp Administrator, he already had a rich history at Hickory Cove Bible Camp. Mark, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, had attended Camp for the first time when he was eight years old and over the years, Mark continued his attendance and involvement at Hickory Cove. In the spring of 1993, Bill Hubler came to speak about Hickory Cove at a Christian conference near Roanoke, where Mark and his wife Emily were living. Bill mentioned the need for a young couple to come to Hickory Cove to help and eventually take over the administration of the Camp. Mark and Emily began praying about moving to North Carolina and serving at Hickory Cove. In December 1993, Mark and Emily traveled to Hickory Cove to direct a youth retreat. After this retreat, Mark and Emily felt the Lord’s leading to move forward. The Lord soon provided a home to rent and the Wickhams moved to Taylorsville in February 1994.

During 1994, Mark worked under the supervision of Bill Hubler, learning the various aspects of the administrative role and helping with the various projects underway at the time. One of the major initiatives in the mid-1990s was the construction of a gymnasium. Bill had a vision for the gymnasium, and his son Gary Hubler, an architect, was heavily involved in planning and construction. When Bill and Nancy retired from Hickory Cove in October 1995, the concrete slab for the floor had been poured and the metal girders were in place. When Mark assumed the role of Administrator in the fall of 1995, one of his first responsibilities was to oversee the completion of the gymnasium. He worked with local inspectors to make sure the gym met health and building codes.

Many people assisted with the construction of the gym, including Chris Fail, who framed the stage area; Steven Detwiler, who provided the heat and air conditioning; and Brian Knisely, who

installed the lights. One weekend a group of men from Tri-City Baptist Church put up the paneling that surrounds the interior walls. By the winter of 1995-96, the windows were installed and the lines were painted on the basketball court. Although there were a few items to complete, the gym was used for the first time in the summer of 1996.

1995 also saw some internal changes to the Camp. Previously, the Camp Administrator had been a member of the Board of Trustees. In 1995 the role of Administrator moved outside the Board of Trustees, leaving the Administrator responsible to the Board. The Camp continued promotion with booths at fairs and other events. The number of camper days was also expanding. In 1996, Hickory Cove hosted a ski weekend, a senior adult week, a married couples’ weekend, a women’s weekend, a men’s weekend, a work week, and a weekend youth retreat in addition to summer camp weeks for elementary through high school. Rental camps were also on the rise and by 1997 almost every open weekend was filled.

Summers were fun-filled but hectic. Among popular activities were intense basketball games and a team-based game called Mission Impossible. One week, Mark was directing high school camp when Emily went into labor with their second child. Fortunately, Vern Gibson was there to take over the directing so Mark could be with his wife.

After the Hublers left the Camp, there arose a need for a Camp Food Service Manager. While Bill was Administrator, Nancy spent many hours in the kitchen along with her mother, Bernice Cox. Over the years many people assisted with the running of the kitchen, including Elsworth and Helen Dougherty, and Irene Witt. Following the Hublers’ retirement, Lydia Todd of Charlotte took on the job of Food Service Manager. Lydia and her husband Richard C. Todd had been involved in the Camp for a number of years; Richard served on the Board for many years and Lydia assisted the Hublers with financial records. Their family, including sons Richard, Charles, and Philip, has served over the years as counselors, Board members, camp directors, cooks, among many other jobs.

As Food Service Manager, Lydia took the Food Service Manager’s Training Course and became certified in food protection and sanitation. Some of her responsibilities included preparing food service manuals, recruiting staff, purchasing new equipment, managing kitchen staff, ordering food, and cooking when needed.

As early as 1995, Bill Hubler had inquired about the availability of land surrounding the Camp. By the end of that year Mark learned that Duke Power would be surveying and selling off 66 wooded acres surrounding Hickory Cove in 1997. This acreage included a creek, lake access, and a varied landscape suitable for hiking trails and nature activities. Mark became concerned that if builders purchased the land, the Camp could be forced out of the area in the future. At the fall 1996 Board meeting, Mark showed the Board members the land in question, and they agreed it would be in the best interest of the Camp to purchase the land. The cost for the land was $220,500; however, there were no funds available at the time for such a purchase, and everyone involved felt it would be unwise to go deeply into debt. A celebration for Bill and Nancy Hubler was scheduled two weeks after the Board meeting, so Mark asked the Board for that time to find financial support for the project, and the realtor agreed to give them until the Monday following the Hubler celebration to make a decision. During that two week time period, Mark called about 40 individuals. Due to the Lord’s provision and Mark’s diligence, those two weeks yield $40,000 in donations, commitments of monthly payments over the next three years amounting to $60,000, $8,500 in interest-free loans, and an additional access to $30,000 in loans. By dividing the acreage into lots and selling some of them to friends of Camp, the Camp was able to offset the cost of the loans. In late March 1997, the Camp purchased the new property.

Also in 1997, George Vedder, son of Camp founder Eugene and Madeline, moved to Taylorsville from St. Louis. George had served as a counselor and summer staff member at Living Waters Bible Camp in Westby, Wisconsin, and decided to volunteer at Hickory Cove. He helped Mark with various jobs around Camp, including clearing trails on the new property, building low ropes elements, and serving as a counselor in the summer. In the off-season, George lived in the old Camp trailer. In the fall of 1998, George moved to Newton to start a business, but continued to volunteer at Camp in his available time.

After the summer 1996, there was an apparent need for a full-time Maintenance Director. Paul Hartman had been serving in a maintenance capacity since 1988, and his retirement would leave a large gap in the Camp staffing needs. In October 1997, the Board began advertising for the position of Maintenance Director.

In the spring of 1998, the Lord brought an answer to prayer when Dean and Karen Siler moved to Taylorsville with their two children. Both Dean and Karin came to know the Lord through the ministry of Living Waters Bible Camp. Dean, an experienced carpenter, assisted with Camp maintenance and construction as a volunteer until becoming the full-time Maintenance Director in February of 1998. Dean and Karin spent many hours improving and helping the Wickhams run the Camp. Dean began dressing the buildings with the wood siding that is familiar at Camp today, a tradition carried on by Luke Thomas in the 2000s. The off-season was filled with many projects during the late 1990s, including the construction of soccer goals, additions to the boat dock, renovating the former recreation building into the current office, the removal of the old mobile home across from the current office building, and the installation of a new mobile home near the gym, both in December 1998. The late 1990s also held some very intense work weeks, with help from many volunteers. One volunteer that stands out is Elwood Tangren, who has traveled to Hickory Cove from Minneapolis for many years and is a familiar face at Work Week today.

In 1998, Steve and Sylvia Mooney became the Food Service Directors at Hickory Cove. Steve Mooney had been a camper as far back as the 1960s and through Camp he met Sylvia Partenheimer of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Both served as counselors during the 1980s and in 1987 they were married. When Lydia Todd retired from Camp food service in 1998, Steve and Sylvia took over the position and helped with food ordering, menu planning, and recruiting kitchen staff. They served in Camp food service until Cecile Ford arrived in 2004.

Following their daughter Sylvia, Egon and Eva Partenheimer moved from Kenosha to Taylorsville in the mid-1990s and became heavily involved in kitchen work. Eva is well-known for her special pastries and breads. Egon formalized the fishing program at Camp, arriving early in the morning to ready rods and bait hooks for campers who wanted to fish.

On March 20, 1999, Hickory Cove celebrated its 40th year with an anniversary event. The Camp had expanded far beyond the original few weeks of summer camp in 40 years, both in size and impact. The vision for the Camp, however, remained unchanged: to reach children and youth for Jesus Christ. One notable aspect of Camp in the 1990s which illustrated this continuing vision was the many baptism services held at Hickory Cove. Many children saved at Camp were not necessarily from Christian homes or local churches. Often someone from Camp would call the parents, tell them what had taken place in their child’s life and invite them to the baptism. Most of the time parents would attend. Sometimes it appeared that the baptism would have to be canceled due to storms, but each time the weather would clear in time for the baptism to take place.

In September 1999, Fred and Susan Green retired from their paramedic work in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to their newly-constructed home on a lot purchased from Camp. Susan had attended Hickory Cove as a child, and both Fred and Susan had participated in Camp sessions for a number of years. Fred planned to help Mark full-time in the summers and part-time during the off-season.

In the fall of 1999, Mark and Emily Wickham left Hickory Cove and became involved in other local ministries. They left behind a legacy of hard work and enthusiasm that brought many campers to Christ. The Wickhams settled in Hickory with their four children, and Mark currently serves in a leadership capacity in a local community church.

Following Mark and Emily’s departure, Fred and Susan Green continued the operation of the Camp. At this time, Richard M. Todd (son of Richard and Lydia Todd) and his wife Connie were also putting in many hours assisting Fred with various jobs that needed to be done. Richard, a current member of the Board, had been a camper at Hickory Cove as a child and had served as a counselor, activities director, kitchen helper, lifeguard, and session director before joining the Board of Trustees. During Mark’s tenure, Richard became involved with the financial and administrative responsibilities of Camp. Now Richard was spending late nights after work assisting Fred with Camp administration duties. Richard’s wife, Connie, also spent many days serving at Camp. She, too, had attended Hickory Cove as a child and spent many summers at Mountain View Bible Camp in Pennsylvania. With her previous camp experience and background in physical education, Connie helped to organize Camp sports equipment and programs. In 1997 she launched an archery program at Camp which is still in place today.

In January 2000, Fred and Susan sent out a letter to the Board asking for additional help. It was after reading this letter that Dave and Phyllis Baseler decided to leave their home in Memphis, Tennessee, and move to Taylorsville. Dave, a former ServiceMaster executive, had participated in Camp with his family for several years and joined the Board of Trustees in 1998. In early 2000, Dave and Phyllis discussed the possibility of moving to Taylorsville. Reading Fred’s request, they realized the Lord was opening the door. Dave left the Board to help Fred with the Camp administration and in May, Dave and Phyllis arrived in North Carolina to immediately begin work at Camp. Together, Dave and Fred formed the “Office of the Administrator.”

In the midst of this transition period, Hickory Cove hosted an All Camps Meeting on the weekend of March 16-19, 2000. During this meeting, camp directors and staff members from several Bible camps (all associated with the Plymouth Brethren) met together to share ideas, discuss camping trends, and talk about the future. Attendees came from Beacon Bible Camp in Ontario, Canada; Living Waters Bible Camp in Westby, Wisconsin; Mountain View Bible Camp in Snydertown, Pennsylvania; Ocean View Bible Camp in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica; and the Adventure Learning Centre in Nassau, Bahamas.

Under Fred and Dave’s care, Hickory Cove progressed in several areas. Fred, with the help of George Vedder, took particular care with the training and discipleship of counselors and volunteer staff. Fred and George held training weekends both at Camp and in various locations in North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to prepare teenagers and college students for ministering at summer camp. These weekends eventually evolved into week-long training sessions at the beginning of each summer season. Fred’s view of the counselors and staff as a “camp within a camp” helped many young men and women to mature in their relationship with the Lord and their ability to minister.

Dave Baseler’s leadership and corporate experience raised the business aspect of Hickory Cove to a new level of professionalism. Dave made pricing adjustments and refined the Camp’s public identity. By the summer of 2000, Hickory Cove initiated a formal scholarship program for campers in need of financial assistance. By the fall of 2000, Hickory Cove had a new logo as well as a new slogan: “Reaching and teaching youth for life in Christ.” The logo, designed by Micah Chin, a former camper and staff member from Charlotte, features the now-familiar flame and wave which represent both the spiritual and physical characteristics of Hickory Cove Bible Camp. In February 2001, the Board of Trustees approved the new logo and in March, Hickory Cove launched its first web site at www.hickorycove.org.

In addition to a change in administration, the year 2000 also brought a transition in the maintenance of the property. Dean Siler moved with his family to Ocean Isle and, with his son Jonathon, launched Faith-Building Missions, a ministry to third-world communities. This of course left Hickory Cove in need of a new Maintenance Director. The Lord answered prayer when Luke Thomas and his soon-to-be wife Ruth-Ann Partenheimer called the Camp in the summer of 2000. Luke Thomas was familiar with Christian camping through his mother, Pam, who was the Food Service Director at Living Waters Bible Camp. Ruth-Ann had served at Living Waters since her teenage years as a counselor and full-time summer staff member. After hearing about the open maintenance position, Luke and Ruth-Ann began to pray about relocating to North Carolina. In October 2000 they moved to Taylorsville and after their wedding on October 21, met with Fred and Dave to discuss Luke’s interest in the Camp maintenance position. While Luke had never served as a Maintenance Director, he had a background in construction and farm work, as well as an aptitude for learning new skills. In early November, Luke became the full-time Maintenance Director at Hickory Cove and, with the help of Paul Hartman, Helm Rink, and father-in-law Egon Partenheimer, Luke quickly acclimated to the new position. Over the years, Luke has worked hard to maximize the use of Camp facilities and keep up the appearance of both the buildings and the property.

Before the summer of 2001, Hickory Cove made a change in its weekly schedule. Up until this point, week-long camps began on Sunday afternoon and ended on Saturday morning following breakfast. The new schedule began on Sunday as usual but ended after supper on Friday night. This schedule was advantageous for two reasons: first, it allowed the staff a full day off, and secondly, each Camp session now ended in a family picnic with a brief program.

As planning moved forward for the 2001 summer session, it became clear that Ruth-Ann Thomas’s previous experience in programming serving under Chris Sanner at Living Waters made her a perfect candidate for the Camp’s first full-time program staff member. Ruth-Ann improved the Hickory Cove program and helped to bring a spiritual focus and application to Camp activities. One area of Camp that Ruth-Ann expanded was the low ropes course. George Vedder and Jerry Hartman had both used low ropes initiatives in the past, but with Luke’s help, Ruth-Ann established several fixed low ropes elements that are still in use at Camp today. She also organized manuals and systems for facilitating the course. Her enthusiasm for teaching resulted in memorable spiritual lessons with summer themes such as creation and American heritage. Ruth-Ann left programming in 2003 to focus on ministries with her family and community, but she continues to support Luke in his role as Maintenance Director and is responsible for the beautiful plants and flowers around the Camp grounds.

In 2001, John and Marcia Russell, Dave and Phyllis Baseler’s son-in-law and daughter, moved from Tennessee to Taylorsville and began renting the mobile home. By spring of the following year, John and Marcia Russell were serving at Hickory Cove and that fall John Russell became the Camp Administrator. John served as Administrator until the fall of 2003 when he and his family moved back to Tennessee. With John in charge of administrative responsibilities, Fred was free to focus on the Camp program and staff training.

One of Fred’s ideas during the early 2000s was a tree house village situated deep in the woods of the new property. In 2002, Board member Helm Rink, who helped during the summer by driving the boat and leading nature hikes, volunteered to build an elevated platform and begin constructing tree houses. With Luke’s help, Helm hauled the lumber and tools into the woods with golf carts and completed the first tree house. Helm was also able to complete construction of a large elevated platform for outdoor meetings attached to the tree house before he went home to be with the Lord in 2004. The tree house and platform have proved a valuable asset to Hickory Cove’s outdoor camping program during both summer camp and off-season retreats.

In 2003, Luke found a tractor near his hometown in Wisconsin and the Camp was able to purchase it for a reasonable price. Luke also found a hay wagon and rebuilt it for Camp use. That summer, the archery range moved to the wooded area and the tractor and hay wagon provided a way to transport campers from the main Camp grounds to the archery range. In the spring of 2003, the Board of Trustees approved a new Camp house and in the August of that year, the new home was constructed and the old mobile home was hauled away.

In the office, Sylvia Mooney began helping with secretarial duties and eventually took over the role of Registrar from Susan Green. After John and Marcia moved back to Tennessee, Dave became Acting Administrator and the Board of Trustees appointed Richard Todd to find a new Administrator.

On September 27, 2003, Hickory Cove held a celebration in honor of Paul and June Hartman and their 40 years of service to the Camp. While their work was often done behind the scenes, their dedication and commitment resulted in many saved lives and even more who were changed through the ministry of Hickory Cove.

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