V E R S I O N O N E

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R U B R I C S

maturity : originality : creativity : respect

E N R O L L

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A B O U T

Some secrets weren’t meant to be told…

Norris, South Carolina has always been a quiet place; a place any one would want to live. Lake Trinity was settled into the center of the small town, and was the prize of the whole city. Fishermen won contests with fish from the lake, families spent their summers on the white sand beach, and the Lake provided the more of the city with water. People from all over would pass through the town in admiration, and Norris was well known for its sparkling water front houses. In 1971, Mary Sutter, a naturalist, first grade teacher, and head of the town committee fell in love with Lake Trinity the moment she first set eyes on it. Her love for nature and children- and of course the lake sparked the idea of a summer camp for kids. A year was spent building the site, which the camp was placed on. Trees and under grow were removed, buildings were constructed, the lake floor was dragged and Mary was ecstatic. Camp T-Wood was built in the center of a reserve far off from the town. It was settled neatly and miles into the evergreen trees fifteen minuets from down town Norris. It stretched over one hundred fifty acres of woods and campers inhabited less then half of the land, which had been cleared. The camp was not only to provide a safe and fun place for kids during the summer, but also to help preserve wild life and nature. It was a long haul through the winter to attempt and complete the camp before the summer of ’72- the summer Mary had intended on opening. Her time and money was run into the ground with the project, yet July, 18th 1972 Camp T-Wood was officially opened.

The town loved it; all of Norris wanted to send their kids to camp. Mary and Camp T-Wood was a ledged and they hadn’t even been open for more then a month. The camp was built to only hold so many kids, and parents became angry when other kids got in before theirs. Waiting lists were pages long, and every one was frantic to be part of the biggest thing the ever happen in little Norris. Mary soon became over whelmed yet she was like a solider and wouldn’t let the town see her under pressure. It didn’t take long before her husband left her and took off for England. Mary was devastated; she never knew that this could happen. Her husband wasn’t her only problem though. Mary had trouble with money and blew the little she had on liquor to try and drink away her pain. She soon stopped appearing in public and left Camp T-Wood to fend for it’s self. The camp stayed open for a few months longer before Mary officially went bankrupt and stopped paying her bills. The government claimed everything she owned including her home and her precious camp. After that Mary snapped- it was too much to loose everything that meant something to her. People were never sure what happened to Mary- some said she drove herself off a bridge; others said she was locked into a white padded room.

Camp T-Wood was closed after the government claimed it in 1979. They contemplated wither to sell the land to a privet owner or to divvy the land up between construction companies and build new neighborhoods along the shore of Lake Trinity. It took a year before any decisions were made and Camp T-Wood was left untouched. A young woman named Gale Peers appeared into the lime light in 1980. She offered the government over six million dollars for the land and the vow to reconstruct Camp T-Wood. The deal was settled onto the table for a long time before it was closed and in September of ’80 Gale became the official owner of Camp T-Woods reservoir and land. Things after this became hectic. Families were impatient for the camp to reopen, and Mary Sutter appeared once again to try and reclaim what was hers. The town was shocked- and the government became frantic as she started going to extreme measures. She vandalized personal property of town officials, made direct threats and vowed to set the reserve on fire. The government struggled to keep Mary and her sadistic threats quiet, and with mere success Mary became livid.

In January 1981 Gale Peers’s body was found hanging from a beam in farthest cabin from the lake. Her dogs body was found butchered, remains were left spread across the cabin floor. Her daughter was reported missing and the town searched the campsite for two months before she was recovered. They found her with a slice across her throat settled onto the bottom of the lake, the more of her flesh rotted away. Town officials became frantic and panicked. They couldn’t let this get out. Norris was to well know for its peacefulness and two murders and the slaying of an animal would ruin their reputation. The kept everything in silence and the bodies were burned. They refused to tell the families of the findings and allowed them to think that they had just gone missing. Police went to find Mary, yet she was nowhere to be found. With their only lead, and suspected murderer at large, along with two dead bodies being covered for, town officials were anxious.

As time passed the town had success in keeping Gale Peers and her daughters murder a secret. The camp was researched and cleaned for several months after their discovery. The Peers family was asked to move in attempt to keep from fear breaking out over the town. Any newspapers speaking of the camps sale, Gale, or her daughters missing report were destroyed. All back copies were burned, and the Library held no records of it. The town had managed to completely keep Gale Peers and her daughter from ever even existing.

Twenty-four years later the town is beginning to recognize the camps existence once more. The realization of the money the camp could bring in was surfaced and soon the town decided to keep it owned by the government, yet reopen Camp T-Woods gates. The whole camp was reconstructed, and cleaned. They spent six months redesigning the layout and creating modernized buildings. Today it stands open, waiting for campers to return to its four walls of secrets and deceit. What is to come for Camp T-Wood, Lake Trinity, and the town of Norris? How long can two humans existence be covered, and how long before guilt causes the town to crack? Will more bodies be discovered- or were Gale and her daughters the only ones? So many questions left unanswered. So many secrets left untold.