We're so lucky to have the pavilion back in the woods. It feels so much different than all the buildings in the front of the property, which still have a "boys' home" feel to them. We really haven't used it for anything other than showing people around, until tonight.
Thanks to Bill Shafer, who built this wonderful fireplace, we were able to have a dinner in the pavilion with the temperature going no lower than 62. It was assisted by a giant wood stove (also warm temps for a December day), but still, the fireplace was the star player. Here's a photo that was shared with me, of Bill building it.
The chimney on the fireplace is massive. I laid down inside to look up the chimney before I was going to clean it. What I saw was the cleanest terra cotta flu liner I've ever seen. It drew so nicely and put out a good amount of heat for a fireplace with such a big chimney.
Dinner with friends was fun and it was a great place to gather and share a meal. We definitely need to do that more often. After our friends left James and I sat in front of the fire for another hour watching the embers die. Thank you Bill, and everyone else who had a hand in building this place 40 or 45 years ago.
This brought back wonderful memories of Camp New Hope. My late husband, Jimmy Painter, was the Food Service Supervisor at Camp New Hope for many years. I was the Accountant at NBFC for 19-1/2 years. Bill Shafer was so talented. Thank you for sharing.
Peggy Painter
Such a cool space. Thanks for sharing.