McLOUD — A popular camp for people with special needs was displaced from its longtime home at St. Gregory’s University, then shuttered through long stretches of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But, the beloved monk and Catholic priest who started the program never lost hope, and now his Camp Benedictine is experiencing a rebirth of sorts in its new, spacious home.
“We prayed to God, and I’m just thrilled,” the Rev. Paul Zahler said.
Despite the litany of setbacks, Zahler, 89, is watching the camp come to life again on a former church campground in McLoud. His determination, along with the work of a small but resilient staff, numerous volunteers and generous donors, helped get the program moved to a place where it can thrive.
Oklahoma businessman and philanthropist Gene Rainbolt is one of the people who jumped in to help. He said he learned about Zahler’s programs for people with special needs when he lived in Shawnee for more than two decades, beginning in 1966.
“Father Paul had an equine program and a swimming program on St. Gregory’s campus so I knew about this all these years,” said Rainbolt, who currently lives in Oklahoma City. “They do remarkable work with children that really need help.”
Amit Gumman, a Camp Benedictine board member, said it has been wonderful to welcome back longtime campers while introducing the program to newcomers.
“You hear a lot of laughter here and there’s a lot of joy,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of struggles and challenges, but we made it. It’s kind of divine intervention.”
‘It’s just been a blessing’
Zahler, a Minnesota native, moved to Shawnee in 1950 to attend (now defunct) St. Gregory’s High School. Shawnee’s St. Gregory’s Abbey and St. Gregory’s University, were both founded by Benedictine monks, and Zahler knew he had arrived at a place where he could play high school and collegiate sports while also pursuing his priestly vocation. He became a Benedictine monk at St. Gregory’s Abbey in 1956, and he remains a part of the monastic community. He was ordained as a priest in 1962.
Zahler founded the nonprofit National Institute on Developmental Delays (NIDD) at St. Gregory’s in the 1960s, and Camp Benedictine was started in 1972.
He said he was swimming in the university pool when he realized that it would be a good place to work with people with developmental delays. He started working with children at the university’s child development center, which opened in 1976, and with the inception of Camp Benedictine, he expanded his holistic approach to helping people from ages 8 to 80 with special needs. Zahler said the camp became a year-round camp offered one weekend a month in the 1990s. The nonprofit Home Integration eventually became an umbrella organization for Zahler’s programming.
When St. Gregory’s closed in 2017, Zahler and the camp’s loyal staff and volunteers packed up and moved items used for the child development program and Camp Benedictine.
Virginia Reeves serves as the program’s longtime administrative director and camp co-director with her daughter, Marcy Reeves. She said they found office space in Shawnee, and were able to relocate from St. Gregory’s to a Christian children’s camp in Pink, which served as a much-needed temporary location for some programming. But everyone involved with Camp Benedictine knew that its specific needs and special clientele meant a more permanent home had to be found.
They found what they were looking for in the 40-acre former church campground in McLoud. Reeves and other Camp Benedictine leaders said the location is large enough to host retreats for campers with special needs, and there is plenty of room for Zahler’s vision of a swimming pool, basketball court and volleyball court. She said the camp’s leaders also hope to eventually use a horse barn at the back of the property to restart the popular equine program, all when more funds are raised.
Reeves said a building that once housed a camp concession stand was transformed into a nurse’s station for the camp nurse. Two newly constructed buildings include a Camp Benedictine retreat center for campers and a multipurpose building for meals and other indoor activities.
Camp Benedictine is listed in the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Services’ Disability Resource Guide, a comprehensive listing of more than 2,500 disability and social services programs, said Jody Harlan, a department spokeswoman. Reeves said parents and caregivers of people with special needs have been calling on a regular basis to ask when the year-round camp weekends would be starting again, and it’s been exciting to tell them that the program has returned.
“It’s just been a blessing,” Reeves said at the recent spring camp. “We have 32 (campers) here today, and we’ve been trying to get the word out now that we’ve started again.”
Jose Muprappallil and Mohan Chandran are also longtime leaders and supporters of Home Integration and Camp Benedictine. Muprappallil said the nonprofit was grateful to Garcia Construction and the city of McLoud for their graciousness toward the camp organization. Chandran said it’s important to note that the nonprofit launched by Zahler provides recreation for campers but ultimately helps teach them skills to help enhance their lives and, for some, gain employment.
‘Father Paul’s kids’
Activities during the recent camp weekend included St. Patrick’s Day arts and crafts, a take-home planter box project, outdoor games and whimsical “leprechaun hunt.” The group also made cards for a camper who missed the weekend event due to illness.
Zahler spoke to campers and volunteers as he walked around the multipurpose building before lunch was served. He beamed with pride as several campers hugged him and talked to him about their crafts and camp activities. Zahler said about 40,000 people have participated in Camp Benedictine over the years.
“They’re my family,” he said.
Longtime Camp Benedictine volunteer Kathi Yeager spread cheer, talking with several campers whom she called out by name. She said many of them had been part of the program for many years, spanning from childhood to adulthood.
One of them was Russell M. who started coming to the camp weekend retreats when he was about 8 years old. Yeager said he is currently in his 40s.
“They light up like Santa Claus is here when he comes into the room,” she said of Zahler.
She said she started volunteering for the camp while she was a child psychology major at St. Gregory’s in the late 1980s and she took one of Zahler’s classes.
Yeager said the camp is great because campers love it and parent and caregivers may go and have a time of respite and they don’t worry because their loved ones are in good hands.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling that this little camp that started in a corner of the gym at St. Greg’s is still going on,” she said.
“It’s all because of Father Paul, the power of his vision, prayer and the passion of the people who are here today.”
To learn more
The next Camp Benedictine weekend is April 19-21. For information about Camp Benedictine and the National Institute on Developmental Delays, go to https://nidd.us/programs/camp.