I never made it Falls Creek, the large Baptist church camp in Southern Oklahoma, because I was raised Methodist and going there would be like a Sooner fan rooting for the Cowboys during Bedlam. But I heard it was nice, especially around church camp recruiting season.
I heard from my mother that Falls Creek was going to be opened up for Katrina refugees, an impressive move. Each cabin is owned by a particular Baptist church, which means that Oklahoma hospitality would take over and each cabin would have a small army of Baptist church ladies bringing in a never ending supply of casseroles. Not a bad set up, as these things go.
Then I learn (thank you, Paul), that FEMA has taken over the camp, lock, stock, and barrel. A Baptist family made a trip to the camp to deliver a large load of personally assembled supplies to their church’s cabin, only to discover:
- No food donations to cabins are allowed. Or no non-FEMA food, anyway. Because word of a steak dinner in the next cabin over could cause a riot.
- No cooking in the cabins either. FEMA will supply two (!!) meals a day to each cabin. Oh, and all the peanut butter you can eat.
- Back to the riot: there are no potential rioters at Fall Creek. At all. No refugees are there yet. (I heard about the camp being offered over a week ago.)
- But there are HIPO cars guarding each exit. And soldiers. And at least one military vehicle.
- And a new cell phone tower. So FEMA folks can phone each other instead of having to use one of those embarrasing walkie talkie.
- No clothes donations are allowed.
- The expected 5,000 occupants of the camp will stay there for five months and will not be allowed to leave at all during that time.
- Soldiers have taken over the local Baptist church that sits at the edge of the camp. It is now a barracks.
I wonder if Oklahoma Baptists will stand for this. I’m sure this isn’t what they intended to happen.
that’s pretty effed up.
just so ya know- found out from the governer today, they aren’t coming. At all.
And all those casseroles gone to waste. Damn shame.- And the reason they weren’t accpeting clothes was because they already had so many( this was a common issue here in OK- I guess we were all willing to get rid of our old clothes instaed of writing a check), they didn’t have anywhere else to put them- I think the plan is now to send all of that stuff to LA.
Soldiers have taken over the local Baptist church that sits at the edge of the camp. It is now a barracks.
Uh, wasn’t the Quartering Act one of the “Intolerable Acts” that provoked the American Revolution?
I am just a little offended by what people have written on this site. Why would you be on a website that is for a church camp and be cursing? Or putting fellow oklahoman’s down? I agree that the government could handle things better, that a given but to put down people willing to give their clothing? Some people did not have the money to give so they give the only thing that they do have. Could we please show a little respect for each other? One day this world will change and by Gods grace I will not be here, but many others will be left. I hope you guys aren’t those left behind.
This site is not a daycare or a Chucky Cheese. We cuss here. And drink. And practice other vices (because, after all, practice makes perfect).
I don’t think anyone is putting down Okies (though I will put down my fellow Okies all I please, and hope they return the favor), or Baptists. I think the anger here is that the Baptists’ hospitality was being taken advantage of.
Why wasn’t that clear?