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Classic summer camp returns to life thanks to new hot water systems
LAKEBAY, WASH. — On the shores of Case Inlet in the south Puget Sound underneath the long, afternoon shadow of Washington’s Olympic Mountains, the team that brought Camp Gallagher back to life is enjoying a perfect orange-and-pink Northwest sunset.
Known for its spectacular natural surroundings and its overnight canoe-camping excursions, Camp Gallagher holds a special place in the heart of the inlet community — both for kids who look forward their summer adventures with friends and parents who remember fondly their time sailing on the salty waters and playing camp games.
Camp nearly forgotten
Re-opened in summer 2016, the classic summer camp, nestled between brown shoreline and soaring pine trees, was almost lost. In 2010, the original owner ceased operations after serving the greater Puget Sound area for about four decades of camp seasons, according to Megan McArthur Wellings, executive director of Camp Gallagher. For more than five years, the facilities sat vacant, decaying and attracting looters while Mother Nature did her best to reclaim the grounds.
In 2015, a group of Lakebay, Washington, neighbors calling themselves Friends of Camp Gallagher worked together to lease the property from its new owner. Their mission: to recreate the place of discovery and adventure that challenged them to explore and grow as teenagers — for a new generation. Beginning in January 2016, McArthur Wellings and hundreds of volunteer workers united periodically at the camp to clear brush, sort through and replace spoiled equipment and begin repairs on the camp’s 15 open-air cabins, a dining hall, shower house and kitchen — all with the goal of being ready for campers by July.
According to volunteer Megan Miller, formerly a counselor at the camp and now a project manager for Seattle, Washington-based commercial plumbing contractor SJS Mechanical, the shower house and kitchen cabin needed significant upgrades to serve daily meals and hot showers to as many as 65 campers and counselors.
Working with Hollabaugh Brothers & Associates, a Kent, Washington-based agency that represents manufacturers in the plumbing and HVAC industry, the SJS Mechanical team identified replacement options. Jeff Woodard, vice president of operations for Hollabaugh Brothers, said he presented the Camp Gallagher project to the team at A. O. Smith, who decided to donate the needed hot water products.
New hot water systems
The shower house, a simple structure with concrete floors, contains eight shower stalls and eight sinks. In the past, a firebox and storage tank delivered hot water, but after five years of neglect, SJS contractors recommended a new system from top to bottom. Miller said the old system would regularly run out of hot water as dozens of campers who played hard on the Sound cycled through.
For hot water in the shower house, the team decided on an A. O. Smith ATI-540H-P, an Ultra-Low NOx Gas High-Efficiency, Condensing Tankless Water Heater, with a flow rate of up to 10 gallons a minute. The indoor model scores an environmentally friendly 0.95 Energy Factor which lowers operating costs and includes a built-in freeze protection system (helpful for the lightly insulated shower house). To ensure an ample supply of hot water, A. O. Smith paired the tankless model with a 119-gallon TJV-120A Commercial Storage Tank — a glass-lined model with high-density foam insulation for energy savings and reduced standby heat loss.
With the equipment in hand, SJS Mechanical mapped out a plan to extend propane gas to the shower house and replace pipes in the structure.
“All of the copper piping had been cut out of the shower house, and the previous storage tank had rotted out,” Miller said. “The entire system needed to be replaced from re-piping the showers to installing new shower heads and valves.”
In the small, commercial kitchen, which routinely prepares more than 150 meals a day, a propane water heater had supported a three-compartment sink, a hand-washing sink and a bathroom. To better accommodate the cooks, SJS recommended the addition of an icemaker, two food-prep sinks and mop sink.
To meet the less rigorous hot water demands of the upgraded kitchen, SJS Mechanical installed an A. O. Smith Residential Gas Tankless ATI-310-P. This Energy Star-qualified propane model provides a maximum flow rate of 8 gallons per minute — easily providing enough hot water for food preparation and cleaning. It also includes several safety features such as temperature monitoring and an automatic overheat cutoff.
“The kitchen is really important to the camp for meals, but it’s also a hang-out spot,” Miller said. “There are windows on all sides, and the building is almost on the water so when you’re standing on the big front porch, you can feel the air coming off the sound.”
After six months of brush removal, plumbing and electrical improvements, camp prep and recruiting, McArthur Wellings, the new executive director of a camp she once attended as a child, said the community was nearly beyond belief that children would soon be venturing back to the camp that was nearly lost. In July, the camp hosted its first week long session of campers in six years.
“With more than 700 campers, the inaugural summer went better than anyone would have ever expected, and none of it would have been possible without the generous donation of equipment, energy and funding from the community,” Wellings said. “And every single camper told us they want to come back.”
In its first summer, the new Camp Gallagher has already earned an accreditation from the American Camp Association and local awards for “best overnight camp” and “best family camp.”
For Wellings, the new Camp Gallagher serves an important role for the families of Western Washington.
“In 2016, many camps are closing, and we actually opened a camp,” Wellings said. “And that makes our responsibility to these families so much more important, that these kids have a safe, fun and rewarding experience at camp.”
Enrollment for Camp Gallagher’s 2017 season starts in November.