Skinner Family Visit

One afternoon in the summer of 2008 I found a strange car parked along Brandt Road and saw a young couple walking in the cemetery. Of course I made it my business to find out what they were up to. It turned out that they were descendants of the Skinner family who had traveled from their home in Missouri to the Northeast on a family heritage tour. They told us several other family cemeteries had been in such bad repair that they couldn’t even find the grave markers. They were so impressed with the care that had been given to our cemetery. We invited them to come sit on the front porch of Spruce Lodge where we took a photo of them sitting in the same place their ancestors had once sat. They purchased some souvenir sweatshirts and were on their way. Unfortunately, we do not have their contact information.

Through my involvement with the local Cuddebackville Fire Department I have become friends with Rich and Deb Skinner, whose father, Ernestus, grew up on the farm that later became the Walter Mehr property. The Ernestus Skinner family came to visit the cemetery after it was restored. Rich conveyed that the cemetery visit opened the door to conversation and stories that Rich had never heard. The Skinner family expressed their appreciation for the way Camp Deerpark has preserved their family history.

The Brandt Road cemetery also has special meaning for the Bontrager family; it is where we buried our daughter and sister, Hadassah Ruth Bontrager, on April 13, 2015.

Written by Ken Bontrager, current director.

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