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Crowes, volunteers keep busy renewing N-Sid-Sen

Randy and Linda Crowe share their enthusiasm for restoring and rebuilding N-Sid-Sen.

N-Sid-Sen was busy through the summer and continues to be busy through the end of October. Previously, it was busy just into mid-November, said Randy Crowe, who is volunteering with his wife Linda to manage and restore the camp.

Randy and Linda Crowe and volunteers keep busy renewing N-Sid-Sen.

“Our focus has been to restore, renew and rebuild the camp,” said Linda.

The being busy included new groups, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints girls, a Unitarian Universalist Group and Seventh-Day Adventist young adults.

“Folks of different faiths appreciate this place as much as we do,” Linda said.

“They appreciate our sense of welcome and the serenity of the place,” she emphasized.

Jan Krakenberg. who came this summer for a family reunion and one of the quilting groups, also came for a day of fall work camp, taking home four of 18 aprons made at work camp to finish them.

Randy and Linda attended a national UCC outdoor ministry gathering in 1989. “The Ministry of Hospitality” was the theme of the event, held at Craigville on Cape Cod.

During that event, as the Crowes reflected on their years of volunteer work leading camps at N-Sid-Sen, they decided to heed God’s call to ministry.

That decision led to a change of careers for both of them.

The ministry of hospitality has been an essential focus of Randy and Linda during this volunteer season at N-Sid-Sen.

Linda told of taking hospitality touches seriously, putting flowers in the men’s and women’s restrooms and saying many thank yous.

In addition, they have worked with the complexities of diets and allergies in planning meals.

“We talked with campers about their dietary issues—allergies, no nuts, gluten free, no meat, vegan, dairy-free and more,” said Linda.

“The fact that we listened, was a good starting point and we did the best we could to meet their need,” she pointed out.

“We are bringing N-Sid-Sen back where it needs to be, rebuilding trust and relationships,” Randy added.

Randy and Linda walked through the camp to develop a task list for the first Fall Work Camp.

He mentioned some of those tasks that filled five pages: redeck cabin six, patch holes in plaster in Ford cabin and the craft room, winterize the bathhouse so pipes won’t burst as they did a year that was not done, close the pavilion walls, put away canoes and kayaks, split wood, wash windows, vacuum the cushions, dust and clear away spider webs from around the windows and much more.

Near Forrester Lodge, they cut dead fir trees to open the view.

A hot water heater was relocated and an outside handwashing station was plumbed.

In addition, work campers replaced the storm door for the kitchen and built a new split rail fence in front of Forrester Lodge.

Four people from the Lady of the Lake dance camp stayed for the work camp.

One woman cut and sewed two quilt tops in two days and took them home to comoplete. Quilts that are long enough for tall campers are needed for beds.

Avista gave N-Sid-Sen a $53,000 grant to replace lights with LED lights through most of the camp lodges and cabins, providing and installing the lights as a way to lower electric bills.

One work camper helped sort photos that Linda will frame and display to share visually the camp/s history and life.

Each week during the past summer, campers and volunteers have spent many hours on “giving back” tasks and projects.

“Priceless gifts of time and energy by those who love and care for N-Sid-Sen are essential for the future of the camp,” said Randy and Linda.

For information, call 208-689-3489 or visit n-sid-sen.org.

 

Pacific Northwest Conference UCC News © copyright Fall 2025

 

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