Shared by Cathy Gettys, as Guest Blogger.

We started meeting at Douthat State Park because there were just too many of us to meet anywhere else. 

My parents were raising 13 kids in upstate NY and my dad's sister had 8 kids of her own, plus another brother had 5 kids.

Charles and Mary Bolen with three children and grandchildren at Cabin 8 in 1970

My aunt lives in northern Virginia and my uncle lived in Kansas City. We could no longer meet at my grandparents' (Mary and Charles Bolen) house in Virginia, so my grandmother found a state park near Roanoke where we could all get cabins and spend the week together, Douthat State Park. 

OUR FIRST YEAR WAS 1964

I was born in October 1964, so I was there that first year, kind of. Originally we would all get together for suppers after a day at the lake, My Grandma Bolen would spend all afternoon fixing big meals for all of us.

Eventually, as families grew and Grandma got older, we each took care of our own meals at our own cabins. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get the old Douthat Lodge at the top of the hill. Today, my Aunt Roberta and Uncle Lee Childs get the Creasey Lodge every year. They now go for two whole weeks (lucky) while the Bolen side of the family meets them there for one of the weeks. Some years we have every cinderblock and most of the smaller cabins. And now with the addition of another lodge and a couple larger cabins, we are often in those too. 

53 OF YEARS OF CHANGE

We have been there over the last 53 years watching Douthat State Park change and grow.

Some of the changes we liked: The new lodges, the slide on the dock, the new boats, the updates in the cabins, and the playground on the beach.

Some we have not liked so much: Getting rid of the horses, (though people can now bring them), the removal of the old jukebox and the open counter at the snack bar where we would order cotton candy. We miss playing games on the beach with the rangers, the stone wall at the top of the beach where we could sit with our feet in the sand, and the karaoke nights in the Lakeview Restaurant.

We are now in our 5th generation of kids,

with no plans to stop

Every year we say, "Maybe we should go to a different place next year." But without much thought, we all agree, we would miss Douthat too much not to go. 

A SAD DAY AT DOUTHAT

A few years ago we had a sad sad day at Douthat. My sister is a missionary overseas, and hadn't been to Douthat for a long time. She was in poor health and needed a heart transplant. She came home for that procedure of course.

But before she had it, she insisted on going to Douthat one more time, in case things didn't go well with the surgery. She had missed Douthat so. She did make it to Douthat, but sadly, while wading in the lake with many of us, her heart gave out and she passed away instantly.

She left her favorite place on earth,

to go to Heaven!

The poor lifeguards were scared and shocked I am sure, to deal with this. But they did all they could, and we will always be grateful for the concern the entire staff and even fellow campers showed us.

We got permission from Douthat State Park to place a bench at the beach with a plaque honoring Mary Lou Bolen Walker who loved Douthat. My brothers and nephews dug down 8 feet through that rocky, mountain soil to place the posts for the bench. It was a gift of love. 

Digging near the beach to put in Mary Lou’s bench took all day, but it’s a beautiful bench

The plaque on Mary Lou's bench at Douthat State Park

A TYPICAL DAY

A typical day at Douthat State Park for our family would be, after eating a quick breakfast, heading down to the lake for a long day of swimming, boating and fishing. Eating snacks at the snack bar, playing music on the jukebox, meeting the lifeguards, catching salamanders, playing horseshoes, hiking and sunbathing on the beach filled our days.

After dinner, we’d go to each other’s cabins

and play board games until the wee hours of the night

Monopoly, Careers, Statego, Rummy, Michigan Rummy, Spades, Hearts, Trivial Pursuit, and dozens of other games filled Douthat nights. We love hiking the trails, shopping in Clifton Forge, campfires, going to local attractions like the Natural Bridge and Cass Railroad.

Five generations now meet every year at Douthat State Park 

The photo above is from our 50th anniversary at Douthat of the Bolen-Childs Family. Those are the shirts my daughter designed. Childs family in blue, the Bolen family in maroon. 

TIME FLIES

Every year the week at Douthat flies by far too quickly. That last day of packing up and driving out that long road back out is the saddest day of the summer. Our next visit is seven months from now!

But as soon as we leave,

We start counting down the time until our next visit

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Editor's note: We thank Cathy Gettys for sharing her precious memories with us from 53 years and five generations at Douthat State Park. What a beautiful family, her parents are now age 94 and 89.

What a wonderful testimony to the importance of family, and the unique role Virginia State Parks is privileged to play in the lives of so many. Did you see their cute t-shirts? Douthat CCC cabins.

If you would like to experience the wonderful Douthat State Park, to learn more about the cabins or lodges at this park, click here or call 800-933-7275.