WRTCA CAMPS

Camp Founders

Campbell Loughmiller received a bachelor of arts in philosophy and a graduate certificate in social work from the University of California at Berkely in 1935.  In 1951 he received the degree of master of education from Southern Methodist University. Despite this solid background in the social sciences, he still retained the air of a man who had spent seven years at sea, traveled around the world three times and navigated by canoe nearly every major stream on the North American continent.  Later he and Lynn packed to the bottom of Grand Canyon on foot for three days of camping on the river and more recently they completed a rugged canoe trip down the Buffalo River in Northwest Arkansas.   

Campbell Loughmiller’s varied professional career included a period as Director of Public Welfare, Del Norte County, California; Director of the Dallas City County Welfare Department; and as chief of the regional Farm Labor Program of the War Food Administration.  He also authored the books:  Camping and Christian Growth, Let’s Go Camping, Wildflowers of Texas, The Big Thicket Legacy, Wilderness Road and Kids in Trouble.  ...read more about Campbell Loughmiller here.

Buford Mackenzie earned a bachelor degree in history and social science with a major in education and music (voice) from the University of South Mississippi.  After graduating, he became the principal of a country grade school that had run off several previous school principals and superintendents.  Determined to hang in there with the boys, he began his tenure and proved, as he often would in the future, that he would be the “last bull standing in those woods”.  From there, he worked in a summer boys camp and served as a boys worker in a Chicago settlement house, and became a YMCA secretary. Following that, he did a graduate study in group work at George Williams College and extension group work with Northwestern University.