I won’t beat around the bush or make excuses but I am about to blog about my own book. So there….I’m sure there must be something wrong about that but I’m doing it anyway!!
Since childhood, I have always been a voracious reader and a lover of books. At Ole Miss, I even graduated with a degree in Library Science and worked as a librarian for several years. I was a reader…never a writer. There was one book, though, that I always dreamed of writing. I wanted to tell the story of how my grandmother Norma Bradshaw (from Jackson, Miss.) bought a girls summer camp in 1946. The camp was (and is) Camp DeSoto on top of Lookout Mountain and I can objectively say that it has gone on to become a veritable southern institution. To make a long story short, the book happened! My mother wrote it with me and Camp DeSoto: A History by Norma Flora Cox (me) and Norma Bradshaw Flora was published at the end of 2004.
We had a wonderful time recounting hundreds of stories, pictures, songs and little known facts about this very special place. Also, countless women sent us their own memories and we included as many of those as was possible. Early on there were many obstacles to be faced. When Brad (my grandmother) and her business partner, Bess Herron, were attempting to buy the camp in 1946, no bank would lend them any money…saying that women could not get along peacefully for any length of time and certainly not long enough to make a successful business venture. So, undaunted, they sought money from everyone and anyone they knew and proudly paid back all personal loans within two years of owning and running DeSoto! Purely from a business perspective, they were extraordinarily successful and their “impossible” dream has continued every summer to this day! That’s operating continuously for 63 years if anyone is counting!! Not too shabby for a couple of women.
Why am I telling you about this now???
There are several reasons. For starters, we have just recently paid off our book loan! A huge thrill and an even huger relief!! Mother and I figure that since my grandmother’s day, well over 40,000 girls have passed through DeSoto’s front gates so there are a vast number of women throughout the southeast who, we assume, would be interested in knowing about and owning a book! Over the last few years, we have had the privilege of seeing, reminiscing, crying and laughing with literally thousands of people who have been touched by Camp DeSoto in a myriad of ways. Now that our loan is a memory, we are committed to making sure that anyone who wants a copy has no problem affording one. To that end, Mother and I have dropped the book price to $25.00.
Also, just this past week, Sue Henry, who came to work for my grandmother when she was 17, died after a very brief illness. Sue started out as a camp counselor in 1949 and never stopped coming back!! Eventually, she bought Camp DeSoto and was a very important, influential and greatly loved person in the lives of thousands of girls. Camp DeSoto: A History chronicles not only my grandmother’s story but the entire history of DeSoto…before, during and after…my grandmother’s tenure. Sue’s life story and legacy are very much a part of the book.
For those two reasons, this seemed like a perfect time to blog about it all!
In case you’re wondering if you have to be familiar with DeSoto or even the least bit interested in camping to want to read the book, I say a resounding NO!! I believe this story transcends its actual subject matter. Certainly, one of the wonders of books is that they lead us into worlds that we might never have known and offer us experiences that enrich our lives. This book takes you into the heart of a real southern woman who dreamed of making a wonderful place for children where every summer they would be loved and respected, challenged and enjoyed. Seeing how others achieve their dreams can serve as a model as well as motivation for the rest of us!
I am unabashedly proud of my grandmother.
I always believed it had the makings of an unforgettable story so please help me spread the word that Camp DeSoto: A History can now be bought at a brand new price through Lemuria Bookstore and also from our own book website…www.campdesotobook.com.
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