“As visitors to this place, we acknowledge the American genocide that happened here.  We drink the same waters, swim in the same rivers and sleep under the same stars.  May the knowledge of the past guide our commitment to reparations and rematriation”.

Mattole Camp and Retreat Center’s history has taught the Council important lessons
that it feels are keys to the camp’s stability and growth. Structure, organization, accountability
and support have been the major area of struggle in the history of the camp.
Eureka First Presbyterian Church acquired Mattole Camp and Retreat Center, then called CampMattole, from Oscar F and Clara V. Werner on July 27,1959. Prior use of the camp had been as a lodge for sports fishermen, The lodge is estimated to have been built in 1926. The other buildings were built in the 1930’s, except the caretaker’s residence built in the 1950’s.
The camp was first used as a retreat center for the Church. Summer camps were the
main focus in the beginning. In the beginning, 1971, a commission began running the camp. Maintenance of the camp was provided mostly by volunteers and a resident caretaker.
In the 1970s the Six River’s Federated District was formed, and a new acronym (RFD for Rural Federated District) came into use to help organize the twelve most northern churches of the Presbytery of the Redwoods. A new acronym was created for the greater six rivers area of the North Coast and the rural mail areas. The administration of the camp was passed from the commission to RFD
Due to limited funding and the age and deteriorating condition of all the structures, the camp struggled to be a viable resource. In the 1980’s some of the trees on the property were harvested to help create more open space, reduce the spread of disease on the trees, and to help provide some moneys for maintenance. Loans from the Presbytery and Synod of the Pacific were used for various capital improvements and maintenance.
An adequate facility was needed for the evolving needs and uses of the camp. In the late 1980’s plans were drawn for a new lodge. On March 17,1981, the camp’s name was changed to Mattole Lodge, Presbytery Retreat Center. Friends of the Mattole was started in the Spring of 1981. In the Fall of 1981, a five-year loan was submitted as well as job description for a resident manager. In October 1982, there was a move by the Presbytery to combine all camps in to a single entity, but the twelve member churches of Six Rivers Federated District wanted to remain independent.
Phil Nesset was Executive Director of the camp from1988 to 1992. His salary was provided from Presbytery money. He submitted proposals to obtain money to finish the walls and roof of the lodge. The roof was completed in 1990. On September 29, 1993, Rich Fennig and Pete Vallerga were authorized to execute a contract with Redwood Creek Builders.
With the help of Interim Presbytery Executive Steve Combs, a Synod loan was received to complete construction of the new lodge. A grant proposal was submitted to the National Church for 6RFD (now named North coast Presbyterian Parish) and the camp. In 1994 the new lodge was completed by a committee of NCPP, and a celebration was held January 15, 1994. The new lodge was named TAN Oak Lodge in honor of Thelma A. Nesset.
The grant was received and matched by Presbytery funds in 1994, Carfotta Vallerga and Suellen Stewart were employed to manage the camp’s grounds, buildings, marketing, reservations, assignments of work for NOPP, and provide four weeks of camp. After three years the grant ran out, and staff worked for half of their previous salary for two years.
NCPP and the Council are defining the camp’s course from the lessons learned from the history of the camp about structure, organization, accountability and support. NCPP developed a separate, semiautonomous Council in 1998. It now has accountability and responsibility for the viability of Matolle Camp and Retreat Center. The Council is made up of people who have willingly committed themselves to the camp’s mission and who have organization, management, and camp expertise and experience. The MCRC operation will continue to improve by having an onsite director position.
MCBC Council is responsible for maximizing the utilization of MCRC and its improvements. The Council reports to the Presbytery of the Redwoods Mission Finance Committee and has oversight by the NCPP Executive Committee. The council has six committees: Personnel, Budget and Finance, Buildings and Grounds, Marketing, Friends of Mattole (Fund Raising), and Evaluation. MCRC Council through the Presbytery of the Redwoods, employed an onsite FTE Director in the early 2000’s. The Director is supervised by the MCRC Personnel Committee Chair.
Thanks to the gift of Panther Gap Property by the Nesset family and the willingness of the Presbytery Mission Finance Committee to assume loans, the camp was able to run currently mortgage-free and supported by the Presbytery.
For the past seven years, the administration and maintenance has been in the charge of the Council. Major accomplishments in that time have been a revamping of the water system including some irrigation, creation of an arbor, patio, and new entry steps intoTan Oak Lodge. An effort to landscape MCRC has been ongoing with a focus on using native plants. A new camp entry sign was built as well as a new gate at the entrance.
In the future the MCRC Buildings and Grounds Committee has plans to build a labyrinth and build a new residence for the director.