Stephen Ashton

Remembering the Wilderness Road Vol 1 & 2: Stories from the Pioneers of Therapeutic Camping Stephen Ashton

Remembering the Wilderness Road tells the story of Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller, Buford and Lois McKenzie, Ken and Flora Edgar, and the men and women who developed the Wilderness Road Therapeutic Camping Model at the Salesmanship Club Boys Camp near Dallas, Texas.

Chronicling the beginnings of the program in the 1940s as getaway for children to gain weight, the visionary impacts of John Dewey, L. B. Sharp, Fritz Redl and more, and then outlining the many experiments attempted by Chief Lock and Chief Mac as they developed the experiential education groupwork model that came to characterize the Wilderness Road Therapeutic Camping Model - Remembering the Wilderness Road combines story with theory to highlight timeless principles and bring to bear practical application as relevant today as it was when it was first developed.

Continuing beyond program development, Remembering the Wilderness Road tells the story of growth as as acclaim for the program grew and Campbell Loughmiller and Buford MacKenzie began consulting with programs across the nation who were seeking to replicate the model. The most prolific was the visionary effort of Jack Eckerd who, through Eckerd Youth Alternatives, spread the program across the Eastern United States in the 1970's. The founding of the Wilderness Road Therapeutic Camping Association in 1995 led to continued growth and the launching of camps internationally at the dawn of the new millenium. Today this model is employed by nearly a dozen camps spanning two continents and three countries.

"Telling the stories of camp founders and connecting with past campers like Billy Hood, Stephen Ashton has compiled a significant work effectively and accurately telling the story of the Dallas Salesmanship Club Boys Camp and development of the Wilderness Road Therapeutic Camping Model. It is my hope that this volume will help to solidify the principles my dad worked so hard to safeguard and continue to promote the foundational philosophies of camp to a new generation."
Grover Loughmiller
Psychologist and Son of Campbell Loughmiller

"Stephen has done an excellent job in presenting this material and has a solid grasp of the benefits and deeper meaning of camp. He has lived and applied these principles himself, and with campers at camp."
Ken and Flora Edgar - Therapeutic Camping Pioneers