Minor Miner Miner
This past weekend was the gathering of the Minerd-Minard-Miner-Minor Family Reunion. The family has gathered since its inception in 1913. The first Minerd family assembly was held at the Ferncliff Hotel in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. This year our reunion was held at Camp Christian, in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. The second reunion was held in 1914 at the same place. It was called Killarney Park at that time. The site has changed hands several times since the park was initially designed as a respite for city dwellers to ride the train from Pittsburgh and spend a day, a weekend, or even a week in the fresh air of the country away from the smoke and noise of the city.
Cabins and the Millhouse offered lodging for the visitors. The Millhouse offered meals or the travelers could bring their own victuals as picnic lunches. The park grounds offered boating, fishing, and swimming. Eventually a church group purchased the Killarney Park site and it became a church camp called Red Fern. Later another church group bought the camp and it became Camp Christian. Slowly improvements have changed the camp from what it looked like in 1914 to what it is today. The old Millhouse has been torn down, replaced by an updated place for gathering and lodging. The old chapel that had wooden shutters and rough wood flooring has been changed into a sleek updated chapel. Some of the cabins remain, but there are two buildings that now house campers who visit.
The groundskeeper’s cottage has been brought into the present by remodeling and replacing the gray Insulbrick covering, the windows, and the porch. They made the 1 and ½ story house into a full two story home. The activity building that housed the boys in the second and third story dorms were removed when bats tried to claim them and after the new dormitories were built. The swimming pool has been replaced by climbing walls.
One thing that remains the same is the rocking chairs that grace the wraparound porch of the Millhouse. The bent laurel and curved slat seats of the chairs are comfortable and contoured to support the tired visitor’s bottom and back. Relaxing in the sunshine, feeling the cool breeze, and looking at the scenery is part of the camp’s charm.