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El Dorado Times - News
Concluding with a pig roast on Saturday, the fourth annual Mid-Kansas Deaf Camp began Monday at Quail Run campground in the Bluestem Point area of El Dorado State Park.
The deaf campers host a week-long camp at El Dorado Lake every two years, and camp hosts Walter and Pat Trollope said most of the campers have been coming since the program's inception, and the people love coming to El Dorado.
“It is very nice to have them here, even if the communication is hard at times,” Trollope said.
Wagon Master Ronald Starks estimates there will be somewhere between 200 and 250 people at their campground on Saturday. Two years ago, he said, 265 people from 11 different states attended the deaf camp. There is also a wide range of ages of people who participate, and many don't stay at the Quail Run campground.
“Some might have to camp at other places, and some stay in cabins at the lake or in town,” Bill Pyles, a camp attendee, said. “Some are even staying at my house, and I am camping out here!”
The group has different cookouts and potluck breakfasts while playing games and socializing, and on Tuesday, some of the campers played golf at the American Legion course.
“You get to meet a lot of new friends and talk and socialize with different friends,” Linda Dale said. “It's like a reunion.”
One might think it is difficult for a group of deaf people to plan and organize such an event, but when asked, several campers pulled out cell phones and Blackberries they use for text messaging.
Many other states host deaf camps, and the Mid-Kansas group is trying to get the National Deaf Camp at El Dorado Lake in 2016. The campers are also planning a fifth anniversary celebration in 2009 and want to have special games and events.
To attend this year's deaf camp, participants pay $10 to their host organization, Mid-Kansas, to cover food and game costs, and dues to the organization are $5 a year per person.
The group is holding a mountain oyster dinner Friday at 6 p.m., where they provide the oysters and anyone else attending is to bring a covered dish.
The campers emphasized how much they enjoy the socializing and fellowship that comes from the week-long event.
Concluding with a pig roast on Saturday, the fourth annual Mid-Kansas Deaf Camp began Monday at Quail Run campground in the Bluestem Point area of El Dorado State Park.
The deaf campers host a week-long camp at El Dorado Lake every two years, and camp hosts Walter and Pat Trollope said most of the campers have been coming since the program's inception, and the people love coming to El Dorado.
“It is very nice to have them here, even if the communication is hard at times,” Trollope said.
Wagon Master Ronald Starks estimates there will be somewhere between 200 and 250 people at their campground on Saturday. Two years ago, he said, 265 people from 11 different states attended the deaf camp. There is also a wide range of ages of people who participate, and many don't stay at the Quail Run campground.
“Some might have to camp at other places, and some stay in cabins at the lake or in town,” Bill Pyles, a camp attendee, said. “Some are even staying at my house, and I am camping out here!”
The group has different cookouts and potluck breakfasts while playing games and socializing, and on Tuesday, some of the campers played golf at the American Legion course.
“You get to meet a lot of new friends and talk and socialize with different friends,” Linda Dale said. “It's like a reunion.”
One might think it is difficult for a group of deaf people to plan and organize such an event, but when asked, several campers pulled out cell phones and Blackberries they use for text messaging.
Many other states host deaf camps, and the Mid-Kansas group is trying to get the National Deaf Camp at El Dorado Lake in 2016. The campers are also planning a fifth anniversary celebration in 2009 and want to have special games and events.
To attend this year's deaf camp, participants pay $10 to their host organization, Mid-Kansas, to cover food and game costs, and dues to the organization are $5 a year per person.
The group is holding a mountain oyster dinner Friday at 6 p.m., where they provide the oysters and anyone else attending is to bring a covered dish.
The campers emphasized how much they enjoy the socializing and fellowship that comes from the week-long event.