Karen Kester Areheart remembers her mom picking her up on the last day of school and driving the winding road up to Lutheridge. “We never went on vacations as a child,” Karen laughs. “We always came to Lutheridge for the summer. And we wouldn’t pack up to leave until the day before school started in the fall.”
Karen’s father Virgil Kester helped open the first book store at Lutheridge. Virgil would come up to camp from Columbia, South Carolina on the weekends, after the Lutheran Church Supply store, which Virgil managed, was closed. But Karen and her mother Frances, as well as her siblings, stayed in their family cabin on site and spent their days volunteering and having fun.
Karen has many happy memories of those summers. “I ran all over the place at camp,” she recalls.
“I learned to swim in the Lutheridge pool. And I remember hearing my dad tell customers in the book store, ‘Postcard stamps 4 cents. Mail stamps 5 cents.’”
Karen also remembers worshipping in the chapel most Sunday mornings. “There would almost always be a congregation at Lutheridge who was coming up for Sunday worship and would then go down to the lake for a picnic afterword. The funny thing I remember is that every church who worshipped at the chapel would sing This is My Father’s World.”
Karen spent several summers as a camper at Lutheridge, and as an adult she has been an active participant in the Music Week program for many years. Being connected to Lutheridge made Karen take interest in the Lutheridge 75th Birthday Capital Campaign and the opportunity to give a gift to support a place that has meant so much to her. This summer, Karen gave a generous gift to the campaign that will name one of the porches on the new hill cabins.
“I wanted to give a gift to remember my parents,” Karen shares. “Our cabin at camp didn’t have good lighting, so I remember my parents sitting out on the front porch a lot. Giving a gift for a porch just seems a perfect way to celebrate Lutheridge which has been our home as a family.”
We are grateful to supporters like Karen who are giving generous gifts to the Lutheridge 75th Birthday Capital Campaign and who have made additional plans to include the ministries of NovusWay in their estate. To learn more about making a gift or including Lutheridge, Lutherock, and Luther Springs in your estate plan, contact Rev. Nathan Gragg, Chief Development Officer (NGragg@NovusWay.org, (828) 209-6326).
