New Mission Statement

Ownership

Crooked Creek Christian Camp is owned and operated by the Southeast Iowa Mennonite Camping Association composed of 17 Mennonite churches and numerous individuals.  The Association, which meets annually, elects a nine-member board to provide direction for the staff.  Current board members are:  (left to right) Greg Graber, Donnita Payne Hostetler, Jim Miller, Jean Roth, Bruce Hochstetler, Barry Graber, Bob Pusey, Randy Yoder, Willis Krehbiel.

Location

The camp is located on 300 acres of rolling prairie, trees, and grassy areas on the banks of Crooked Creek south of Washington, Iowa.  Numerous trails cut through the wooded areas and along the creek for your hiking pleasure. 

Programs

Programming for children and youth includes (but is not limited to) resident camps for children ages 7-13 each summer, a resident camp for families, day camp for kindergartners with a grandparent, and winter weekend camps for junior and senior high youth. 

In addition, various adult programs are held throughout the year including a day for senior citizens, occasional marriage retreats, biking events, nature days, and others.  When the camp is not sponsoring its own camps or programs, the facilities are available for church groups, families, and others to rent.  See "Facilities" section for further information.

Activities Available

In Summer--

Nature Trail

Outdoor chapel

Natural Waterslide

Frisbee Golf

Volleyball

Horseshoes

Prayer Labyrinth

Children's playground*Swimming in pool*Cookout/campfire sites*Hiking  Canoeing/kayaking/paddleboating on pond*Tennis/basketball court*bouldering wall   

In Winter--                                                                                         

     Inner Tubing on the bluffs

     Ice Skating or ice fishing              on the  pond

     Relaxing in front of fireplace

     Hiking

     Cross Country Skiing               (Bring your own skis)

     Animal tracking in the snow

Year-Round Staff

There is not a more refined, serious group of people than the staff at Crooked Creek Christian Camp.  This is a group of people that take their job very seriously.  The focus, dedication and determination of these fine folks is second to none.  None of them would ever consider hiding a rubber snake to surprise one of their co-workers. 

Mary Lou Farmer, Camp Administrator Mary Lou became camp administrator in August of 2001. Prior to her job as administrator, she was the administrative assistant. Mary Lou is dedicated to customer service and guest relations. Her style of adminstration is hands-on, and if any of the other departments need help she is right there to assist. She is also the one who gets to greet the guests as they arrive!	Gay Widmer, Maintenance Director Most folks notice right away how well the grounds and buildings are maintained. That is because Gay is a very meticulous groundskeeper! You might find him mowing, maintaining the lane, fixing the occasional break or building something in his shop. He's our "go-to guy"; if you need it-- he can build it!	Gloria Widmer, Head Housekeeper You can't operate a camp like ours without some behind-the-scenes assistance! Gloria's attention to detail makes our facilities some of the finest around. (It also helps that she's married to our maintenance director!) If you talk to any of her 'crew', you will find that she makes cleaning one of the most fun jobs at camp! But don't kid yourself, she knows exactly how many toilets there are to clean!
Julie Bontrager, Administrative Assistant Julie has been in the office since taking over from Mary Lou. Staying on top of all the reservations and program registrations and providing support for all the other camp operations is a huge task, but one that she enjoys! Hers is the voice that you will likely hear when you call the camp office to reserve a facility or receive information on any of our programs.	Juanita Benedict, Food Service Manager Ask anyone who has been a guest here, and they will list our food service as one of the reasons they like to come! Juanita likes to prepare homestyle food from scratch. Her dishes might not be fancy, but they are plentiful and delicious. Many of our return groups ask that she fix the same meals each time they come!	Johanna Bontrager, Program director Our newest addition to staff is not new to camp at all! Johanna Bontrager (not related to Julie, really) first came to camp for Grandfolk/Littlefolk day waaaay back, and has been here every year since! She came as a camper, assistant counselor, counselor, program assistant, camp pastor, music director...whew! She's certainly worn all the hats there are to wear during summer program; and we look forward to Johanna using her gifts as Program director.

                                                                                                                                      We work hard, but we like to goof around, too.  Come see us, we'd love to have you here!             

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