Honor the spirit of the gift that gave us Mallo

Mallo Camp was gifted to the organizations and citizens of Weston County in 1935, and it is remarkable that it has stood the test of time. The lodge was even brought back to life after a fire in 1977 after the Newcastle Jaycees organized a fund raising campaign and the lodge was rebuilt in 1980. There are many individuals and groups to thank for the longevity of this treasured gem, including the current board and caretaker, who are maintaining the buildings and grounds nicely.
It is important to remember and preserve the original intent, tradition and legacy. How and why Mallo Camp came to be does need to be taken into consideration by the Mallo Board and county commissioners when they consider Extension Educator Brittney Hamilton’s request to rent the facility over an open weekend in June for a 4-H camp (see page 1 article). In this case, I believe the current decision makers should step back in time, and lace up Walter Schoonmaker or Arthur Hay’s shoes to see the vision they had for the recreation camp they created.
A desire to preserve the legacy and vision responsible for the creation of the camp should be reason enough to grant the 4-H group’s request. Connections to our past are vitally important for it is easy to lose our history when there is no connection to it. Weston County’s children will be tasked with caring for this facility at some point in the future, so they must be able to connect to Mallo Camp now.
A highlight of childhood for many generations of children in Weston County has involved attending a summer camp at Mallo. It was tradition and a rite of passage where you learned many basic necessities and outdoor skills wrapped in the beauty and awe of Mother Nature. A three-day camp at Mallo was not nearly long enough to fully grasp every sight, smell and sound the beautiful setting offers, and children were never ready to go home when parents arrived on the final day.
Nature hikes were taken, crafts were made, lessons were learned, tasks were assigned, songs were sung around a campfire, and friendships and memories were formed within tents or cabin walls. After camp was completed, tales were shared with other children who quickly joined a 4-H club to get their chance to make a trek to Mallo.
Those fortunate children who attended the very first 4-H camp at the “Old Mallo Place” have attested to the fact that those memories have remained with them for eight decades. Weston County resident Mary Capps’ first memory of Mallo Camp — that she recounted for a News Letter Journal interview in 2011 — was attending 4-H camp in the valley in the mid ‘30s before the log lodge was built. Capps recalled camping at the lower camp, which was about 1/2 mile down from where the current camp is now located.
“Mrs.Toth cooked our meals on a primitive stove outdoors, and we slept in a tent. Mallo Camp as we know it, started in the mid ‘30’s,” making reference to the original lodge’s formation along with six or eight cabins around 1936. As an adult, Capps would add to her Mallo file, as she took her turn cooking for over 400 kids at a four-county 4-H camp in the late ‘50”s or early ‘60’s at Mallo.
“Everybody survived, but there were too many Indians in one camp. Cabins were overflowing, programs and leaders were overwhelmed. They had rifle practice and games of all kinds and fishing. The cooks worked from 4:30 in the morning until 10 at night,” she revealed in the NLJ interview. 
(At the time, Capps was working alongside other members of the Weston County Historic Preservation Board in 2011 to save Mallo Camp’s oldest remaining Cabin #3, after Mallo had secured grant funding to upgrade older cabins with newer ones. Capps reported the WCHPB was applying for grants from cultural and historical entities to aid their efforts in preserving the cabin and were seeking photographs, artifacts and stories relating to any event held at Mallo. The Interpretive Mallo Cabin Project, Cabin #3 is located at Mallo Camp, and the exhibit records the original campers  “austere” environment, along with a timeline of the camp. Cabin #3 at Mallo Camp can be seen by appointment.)
One of Mallo Camp’s main roots can be traced back to an active county extension agent. Arthur Hay landed a County Agent job in Weston County on April 1, 1928, and he hit the ground running, performing many tasks for the county residents — combatting prairie dogs and grasshopper invasions (mixing lethal concoctions on the basement floor of the courthouse with a scoop shovel that was distributed to area farmers and ranchers), helping doctor sick animals, giving university programs, starting a turkey marketing program, organizing the first Associated Marketing Cooperative, and starting many 4-H and homemaker’s clubs. 
His strong 4-H club work paid off, and the program grew rapidly in the ‘30s. He also believed in recreation camps, and helped organize  women’s camps at Buckhorn that were popular for miles around, as surrounding counties travelled to partake in the learning and fun. Hay also held 4-H club camps, and he made it known that he desired a permanent recreation camp for such outings. Walter Schoonmaker made an offer to purchase and donate a plot of ground for the purpose of building a permanent camp in Weston County, if the county would accept the gift for recreational purposes, as printed in the August 1, 1935 issue of The News Letter and the News Journal. 
“Tentative plans for the improvement of the camp call for the drawing up of a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project for the building of roads, construction of buildings and other recreational work,” the article announced.
The August 3, 1935 issue of The News Letter and News Journal headline read, “Committee Inspects Site for Recreational Camp.” The article announced the committee inspected the location at the head of Beaver Creek and found it favorable, and Schoonmaker made the offer to make a gift of the land for the camp as a permanent location for the meeting of different local organizations.
Weston County Courthouse records confirm Schoonmaker purchased the 160 acre tract of land from F.M. and Blanche E. Schmalle on August 3, 1935 for the sum of $1,000.
Hay wasted no time in taking 4-H clubs to the newly purchased land, as the Tuesday, August 6, 1935 issue of The News Letter and News Journal read “4-H Club to Hold Three-Day Camping beginning Thursday” announcing the first camp at the permanent recreation grounds. The article reported that 30 Weston County 4-H club members — with the possibility of more coming from Crook County — were enrolled. Campers were treated to a speaker, rope work demonstration, as well as a campfire program, native hikes, games and more. 
The 4-H Clubs were wrapping up their camp when the warranty deed was signed by Walter Schoonmaker and filed on August 10, 1935 at 11:15 o’clock. The deed reads... “in consideration of One Dollar, in hand paid; and the further stipulations and agreements hereinafter set forth, to be carried out, performed, and forever adhered to; the said Grantor CONVEYS AND WARRANTS TO Weston County, Wyoming... this 160 acres of land by grantor is dedicated as a memorial to Susie L. Schoonmaker, the grantor’s beloved deceased wife.”
“It is distinctly understood and agreed between said grantor and said grantee...shall NEVER in WHOLE or ANY PART thereof, be sold, rented, leased or in any manner be taken out of the immediate and/or DIRECT control of Weston County, Wyoming through its Boards of County Commissioners; and it shall be FOREVER retained for the use of the organizations and the citizens of Weston County, Wyoming, under rules and regulations to be from time to time set forth by it Boards of County Commissioners.”
The August 13, 1935 issue of The News Letter and News Journal announced the transfer, “Land Gift for Recreational Camp Accepted,” and noted Schoonmaker’s land donation was accepted by the county commissioners and that building plans would start in a very short time. The commissioners appointed a three person committee to have charge of the camp.
Weston County 4-H and Mallo Camp have a storied history together, and campers say these memories last a lifetime. I believe that’s exactly what Schoonmaker and Hay were shooting for, and we are fortunate to have been gifted this lasting legacy. One could argue that with the amount of computer games and technology competing for children’s attention these days — along with the shift from a mainly rural population to an urban one — that 4-H camp and the outdoor experience it provides could likely be more important today than it was in 1935!
I applaud Hamilton’s efforts to bring Weston County 4-H camp back to Mallo Camp where it should be, and I strongly encourage the board and commissioners to preserve the tradition and history of Mallo Camp and grant the group one of the 18 weekends that are available for rent in the summertime.