B&B? VRBO? Not in 1991! Now What? St. Noel – Part 3
By Pati Egan
Early programs did include Monthly Murder Mystery Weekends. These started out being presented by professionals. The first Director of St. Noel Programs, Mark Zipfel, had a background in theater. Murder Mystery Weekends were held all over the St. Louis area and were quite popular. It is believed that this was one of the first programs held on a regular basis. A special weekend just for women was held in the nineties and featured outside speakers on health, nutrition, and relaxation for all women. Seminars were held on Parent & Teen Relationships and various other specialized groups.
The rooms were decorated by “adoption teams.” Rooms usually had a theme and were beautifully decorated.
The suites could only hold three or four adults comfortably. Programs were basically limited to 36 adults.
The original Adoption Teams were:
Unfortunately, for tax determination and non-profit status, Camp changed the purpose of St. Noel from one of for-profit programming to one of mission-driven programming. The now very familiar bunk beds replaced the suites. The Camp’s Offices then moved into St. Noel. The Office Manager was located in the first-floor welcome center of St. Noel. The administrative offices eliminated (originally) two suites on the first floor. Another suite housed the Spiritual Administrator and then the Marketing/Development Director. Once housing changed for these positions, a third office was created in that suite for the Marketing Team and Data Coordinator. Later, a wall created an office for the Volunteer Coordinator next to the office manager’s desk.
Because of its mission-driven purpose, Outdoor Education became the focus for the “off-season” and the reason St. Noel was being used by more school groups that participated in the new programming created by the year-round staff. Little by little, the season between summers grew to the success it is today.
The bunk beds were fine for school kids, but most adults would like a little more comfort than the bunks allowed. One room per suite now has a queen-sized bed.
The basement has a nice “living room” and space for meetings.
One program has continued in popularity since almost the beginning. Parents and their camper(s) can arrive on Saturday evening for a nice evening of fun and adventure. The Camper will check in the next afternoon for a week of Camp.
Camp used to have a program called the “Friday Night Finale,” where the parents could stay in St. Noel and check their child out on Saturday, but now, St. Noel is full every week with volunteers!
St. Noel has definitely had an impact on Summer volunteerism at Camp!
St. Noel is still an evolving structure. The massive decks and patio are still a popular meeting spot for volunteer groups and school groups.
Today, St. Noel Retreat & Conference Center and the Fournie Lodge boasts “Preferred Status” on VRBO and “Guest Favorite” on Air B&B as well as “Super Host!”
A very recent addition to the Center is new, more comfortable mattresses. A much-needed improvement! This, like all things at Ondessonk, was taken care of through a generous gift by the Sonderman Family. The Sondermans, like those before them, asked if they could fix this need and then acted to implement their plan. They saw a long-needed improvement and fixed it, just like the volunteers in 1986 who saw a slab of concrete and heard Gene’s dream to create something special on it, and they jumped right in and created it.
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