Countdown to the 100th: the 1930s

We are another month closer to summer 2019, which means we are another month closer to celebrating our 100th anniversary at camp! This month, we will be looking at camp-life during the 1930s. With great changes across the national economy, it was a decade that really showed how the commitment to the Lord through difficult times really sustained Greystone and kept it going. Let’s dive in!

Greystone and the Great Depression

America experienced the worst economic downturn in the history of the world during the 1930s. With unemployment at record levels and with banks failing across the country, how was Greystone to survive?

• Dr. Sevier cut operating expenses across all programs and departments.
• Enrollments declined from 153 in 1930 to only 89 campers by 1932. Enrollment didn’t reach over 153 again until 1942.
• Greystone’s staff decreased from 40 down to 27 by 1932.
• Publications ceased, with the Green and Gold reducing from a sixty-two page literary magazine and address book to an eight page address-only book. The Sparks magazine was only sent in 1932, but no other years.
• Greystone did not invest in many facility improvements in the 1930s, keeping the campus virtually the same from what it was in the 1920s.

During this time, the Lord continued to protect camp, while businesses across the United States failed. By the end of the 1930s, Greystone began to see increases in enrollment and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for where camp was heading.

Did You Know?

• Ring Tennis and Volleyball started as new Landsports in the 1930s.
• The Fencing Master gave all fencing commands to the campers in French.
• Girls could ski on an aquaplane.
• Greystone owned 15 horses in its Riding Department during this time.
• The archery department garnered national publicity in the magazine Cosmopolitan with a photo of its archery exhibition at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.

Do you know these iconic Greystone locations?