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Pensacola Man Visits 4-H Camp 76 Years Later

By. Kristin Guira, 352-846-0996 ext. 237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Samuel "Jethro" Mathis.  Photo by Kristin Guira

June 23, 2004

NICEVILLE, Fla. – The soil was soggy, the sky dreary and the clouds weeping as he got

out of his car and slowly made his way up the sidewalk and into the dining hall.  He removed his hat and gently sat in a cushioned chair across from Ferol, his wife of 65 years.  His head turned to take in his surroundings.  “Yes, things have changed since I camped here.”

He may not get around as well as he used to, but Samuel “Jethro” Mathis has 90 years of memories, experiences and a few photos he’s eager to share.  His thoughts are interrupted as a group of Escambia County 4-H’ers burst through the doors and out of the rain.  They’re full of energy and excitement as their first morning at 4-H Camp Timpoochee winds down and they anticipate the week’s remaining activities.  

Mathis shares his experiences with Escambia County 4-H'ers.  Photo by Kristin Guira.

The campers settle in their seats and Mathis begins to tell his story.

Mathis said boys in those days didn’t do anything but work.  As a boy, he had to get up before breakfast, feed the mules and pump the water.

“4-H was a holiday that was looked forward to,” Mathis said.

Separated from the Destin beaches by the Choctawhatchee Bay, water was the only way to reach 4-H Camp Timpoochee when it opened in 1928.  So Mathis, then living in Walnut Hill, and other 4-H’ers from the Pensacola area boarded an open top Coast Guard boat with a suitcase, a

 pillow and a quilt and set off on their first weeklong adventure as 4-H campers.

The 4-H boys pose in their "bathing" suits in front of the recreation hall, 1928.  Back row left to right: Kenneth Brown, Grey Dungan, George Lucas.  Front row: Jethro Mathis, Name Not Recalled.  Photo courtesy of Jethro Mathis.

“I never had been in the water like this…this is big water,” Mathis said.  “That boat couldn’t come in more than

about four-foot deep water.  So we stopped out there I’d say 150-200 yards from shore.”

According to Mathis, the young men jumped into the water, the sailors passed their belongings to them, and they waded to shore to find one recreation hall and five or six small cabins.  Each cabin could hold only eight campers, so the group was divided into squads of eight, and each squad leader tossed a coin to see who would get to sleep in the cabins.

“My squad leader lost,” Mathis remembered, “so we had to sleep with our quilts on the wood floor of the rec hall.”  

Mathis, then 13, poses near the small cabins in 1928, the first year the Camp Timpoochee was open.  Photo courtesy of S. Jethro Mathis.	Jethro Mathis, 90,  stands stands in front of the only original boys cabin remaining at Timpoochee in June 2004.  Photo by Kristin Guira.

Following their morning activities, the 4-H’ers participated in a work program, during which they used shovels, axes and the few tools available to dig up palmettos and cut down trees, clearing the area now used as an athletic field.

“Until we cleared that field, volleyball was about the only thing we could play,” Mathis said.  “That and horseshoe pitchin’…horseshoe pitchin’ was a big thing.  There just wasn’t enough cleared space for other things.”

Mathis returned to 4-H Camp Timpoochee the following year, but rather than wading ashore with all of their gear, the youth traveled by school bus, through woods and dirt roads.  He said there were certain areas that if the driver was not careful, they would get stuck in the sand.

While he does not recall how much money, if any, camp cost in 1928 and ’29 Mathis said it couldn’t have been much.

“If it had been more than two or three dollars, I couldn’t have made it.  I don’t even think we had to pay for transportation,” Mathis said.  “It was an enjoyable time looked forward to by us country kids.  Just like you are still enjoying it today.”

As he gets ready to take a short tour of the camp that has changed so much in the 76 years since his last visit, Mathis leaves the Escambia County 4-H’ers with a bit of advice and wisdom.

“You don’t know how bad you’ve got it today.  I hardly run into any of you that haven’t got a cell phone in your pocket and a nice car.  Take advantage of what you got, be serious about it and be grateful.”

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