A Magnificant Ancient Oak

Colonel Reeves was a man as big and tough as Mine Mountain, whose heart was as pure as the clean. sparkling water of mountain streams, and whose company was as welcoming as the cool sheltering woods of Buttermilk Springs in the August heat; whose relaxed understanding and acceptance of others was as refreshing as pure sweet mountain air. He was as honest as a wild geranium, and truly the finest leader I have ever known. I remember Colonel Reeves as a truly great good man, a leader of unquestionable integrity and of great love and compassion for those who followed him.

One of his greatest gifts was his ability to see the good in others and to remind them of it. As a high-school junior, beginning my first paid job as a Nature Camp counselor (1981-1984) and living away from home for the first time, I was unsure of myself and my abilities. He believed in me, trusted me with great responsibilities, let me find my own way, and helped me to believe in myself. He was always there to talk to, and was so integral to the workings of Nature Camp that he was Nature Camp in my mind. He was my mentor at a sensitive age, and he became a hero to me through the many simple things he did so well.

He was a generous man, sharing freely the most valuable asset anyone could have asked of him: his true self. I remember Colonel sitting on the porch of the staff house chatting, teasing, instructing, noticing the little things in people that most of us are too busy to see. I remember the smile that spread across my face hearing his voice boom out to me "Detsy Belicate" or at hearing him call fellow counselor Julie Nenon "Jughead". I remember the pride I felt for the first compliment he paid me. Simple things done with great love.

I recall a field trip he led for my botany class and several other classes. The concept of a forest that had never been cut boggled my mind then, and still thrills me to this day. He pointed out huge ancient hemlocks, ramrod straight, thick, magnificently strong and tall and incredibly beautiful. Those trees still stand in my memory, offer a refuge, remind me of the importance of wilderness, of unspoiled land, of the value of all wild things, and make me realize that these things are worth fighting for, are worth sharing with others as he shared them with me and my students so long ago.

He was an instigator of fun. I remember his big grin and the twinkle in his eye as we planned creative new twists to the Percy story -- usually involving screaming counselors, hunched under green rain ponchos throwing spinach -- and other campfire ghost stories. The news of his death has brought me spells of heart-wrenching grief, but also of great celebration of what he accomplished and experienced in his life.

I have never known a person to live his life so fully, and to share so much of himself with others as did Colonel Reeves. He was a truly great man, and he will forever remain in my memory as a magnificant ancient oak standing firmly, bowing gracefully, a reminder to all of what can be achieved over a lifetime well lived. I will miss him terribly.

-- Betsy Delicate Bangley

Betsy wrote this tribute in 1999 shortly after the death of Colonel Reeves.