There Is So Much Joy
Bill Childs was on Mountain T.O.P. staff in 1990. He now lives in Minnesota and serves as a lawyer, adjunct law professor, and produces the nationally syndicated family radio show Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child.
Thirty-four years ago, I was midway through my one summer on staff (three weeks at Overton, one at Cumberland Pines, if memory serves). I’d been a camper three or four times before as part of the youth group at Stillwater (Minnesota) United Methodist Church, had always enjoyed it, and being on staff seemed like a fun thing—and it was! I learned so much about leadership that I still use in my legal and academic careers in the years since. But I hadn’t been back to the Mountain since—until this summer.
Here’s how the whole thing happened: Paul Harcey (also from Stillwater) and I were reminiscing about two years ago on my back porch about those trips—he was on staff several more times than I was—and I idly said, “You know, a staff alumni camp could be really fun.” He told Julie Willems Keel the idea, and one thing led to another. In early July, a couple dozen staff alumni from the first 49 years of the organization showed up last week to spend a few days doing home repair or other community work in Grundy County.
The amazing YRG I was in did two projects over three days, working to make it easier for a couple of folks with mobility challenges to get out safely. We replaced a rotted/essentially non-existent staircase off the back of one woman’s home so that she could get out if there was a fire in the front of the house. For the second and third days, we replaced an also-rotted/essentially non-existent ramp for another woman so she could get out at all. They’re not the prettiest construction, but they are sturdy and functional—and they exist. And it turns out I mostly remember how to do (homely) construction.
Even though it was partially my idea, I admit I was a little uncertain going in about how much I really wanted to be there. I’m fuzzy on the religion thing; Tennessee is real hot; I travel a lot already; I like Dena; I’d be missing seeing some bands I wanted to see; I didn’t know a ton of the other folks who were going; etc.
But I’m super glad I went—made some new friends, renewed some old friendships, and reached the same conclusion as I do from time to time: even if I’m not real sure about where I am on all things spiritual, I am fully on board with people getting together to do good things for other folks (and to sing together). If you’re a former Mountain T.O.P. staffer with any reluctance about going next summer (we do plan on this being annual), I very strongly urge you to go. It was renewing and fun.
An aside: I so admire how Mountain T.O.P. has evolved to be much more embedded in the community, engaging with the folks in the county—to live the phrase “Nothing about you without you.” I think that was always the goal, but to see the work that Julie and many others have done in the decades since I was on the Mountain is truly inspiring.
My favorite band these days is The Hold Steady, and they do a lot around the unifying power of community. At the end of every show, singer Craig Finn declares, “There is so much joy in what we do up here.” I think what he really means is that there’s so much joy when we act together to help each other.
And, indeed, there is so much joy in what we do on the Mountain. I can’t wait to do it again next summer.
