To celebrate the life of Agnes Morgan Jeter, I want to share with you some thoughts and memories, both my own and those I have borrowed from Jane Neblett Tims, a fellow camper. I am one of Jete's hundreds of daughters...her Yonahlossee girls. Girls is a bit of a stretch now, but that's what we were to her! I speak from the heart for all of us everywhere.

Once upon a time there was a magical place near Grandfather Mountain on Shulls Mill Road called Camp Yonahlossee. Happiness, friendships, life lessons, and great adventures reigned. The mountainside was filled with laughter and music. In the Stockade the Four Tribes gathered for Pow-Wows with the Magic Fire. The incredible aroma of cinnamon coffee cake filled the dining hall on Sunday mornings, and Sunday evening Vespers echoed with the sound of girl's voices singing "Abide with Me" and "For the Beauty of the Earth" as the sun set behind Grandfather.

Jane asks, "Do you remember Frank and Chick in the Luxury Wagon, bumping along behind Pat and Prince...cooling the Catawba milk cartons in the stream at Reflector's Island...the cabin roll call in Morning Assemblies...what about that giant frog who lived at the edge of Memories Trail near the diving board...and the morning sun sending shafts of light down through the trees to the stone seats.....I'm delighted I still don't know the secret to the Magic Fire. I will always believe that Wa-Kan-Da, the Great Chief, heard our cry."

And the heartbeat, the soul, the True Spirit of Yonahlossee was Jete. She was the guiding force of camp. As Jane said, "She kept the Trail of the Bear straight, and sunny, and happy."

One of the most wonderful things about Jete was that somewhere, sometime, some moment when it was really needed, she made you feel special. Long before self-esteem and empowerment were part of our everyday mental health vocabulary, she knew what to do. She nurtured us; she mentored us. She expected good things...great things...of us, and she showed us the way. We could do more than we thought, reach higher than we imagined, and she showed us how. Occasionally, we disappointed her. But Jete didn't give up on people. Her love for us was unconditional.

She was our mother, our friend, our confidante. She shared with us her strength of character, her values, her wisdom, her truth, her humor, her faith.

Some perhaps looked at Yonahlossee and wondered what was so special about it. The cabins were a bit rustic, the showers weren't always as warm as desired, a trip to the bathroom after lights out required a counselor, shoes, and a flashlight. The dining hall could be chilly in the mornings...especially if you forgot the required sweater. But not to worry! You were sent back to get it! And the lake was never warm! But this was Camp! Yonahlossee was our Shangri-La, our Utopia, our Paradise, our Cher Chateau...cabin names that defined the place we loved so dearly...Our "laughing place" as B'rer Rabbit would have said. What blissful summers we spent in our laughing place!

As a counselor, I understood more completely what this woman...this remarkable. amazing woman...gave of herself to camp. She worked endlessly, tirelessly, to make Yonahlossee work. No detail was left untended; no task left undone. Her mind was sharp, focused, full of purpose. Her memory was legendary. Concern for her campers' welfare and safety was constant. As Jane wrote, "Jete ran a tight ship to ensure our safety. What responsibility, to take girls from hundreds of families and promise their parents not only fun and friendship and learning, but 24/7 protection."

Jete expected nothing less than your best efforts as her counselors. And you did not want to let her down. Her expectations were demanding, but she never asked more of you than she gave of herself three or four times over. I wondered as a camper why she fell asleep...often...during Evening Programs. You would look over and she would be snoozing away in her chair. As a counselor, I knew why.....It was one of the few moments she was sitting still.

I never thought of Yonahlossee as simply Jete's occupation or livelihood. Yonahlossee was her life's work and purpose...her mission on this earth. I think she was born for it. And, oh my, how well she fulfilled that mission! For us, for our daughters, for some of us, our granddaughters....hundreds, hundreds of girls whose lives she influenced and enriched. How blessed we were to be her Yonahlossee girls.

And finally, these thoughts from Jane, " I can hear her voice, see that fabulous smile. I feel her love that has embraced me for 50 years. For every moment of every year at camp she set the tone. She lives...and always will...in our Yonahlossee hearts."

A camp song that we sang so often in Morning Assembly ends this way...(with a little help from my friends)

And we will.

Lucy Lane Riddle
CY 1955-63