‘Helping every dang soul’: Beloved camp director was among those lost in Texas flooding
Jane Ragsdale spent her summers by the Guadalupe, the very river that killed her a week ago today in the catastrophic July Fourth flood. Mention her name in Kerrville, Texas, this week, and folks tend to do two things: tear up and smile.
“I mean I can’t tell you how many people, acquaintances of mine say, ‘My dear, dear friend died.’ And then they said, ‘Did you know Jane Ragsdale?’ and I say, ‘Yeah, I did,’ ” said Karen Taylor, who lives in nearby Hunt, Texas. For her, Ragsdale was West Kerr County personified.
“Everybody’s friendly here, but she embodied that friendliness and generosity and love for others. I just can’t imagine life without her,” Taylor said.
Ragsdale, who was in her late 60s, did a lot of things, but she’s best known as the owner and director of Heart O’ the Hills camp for girls. She was born into the business.
Her family bought a boys’ camp, Camp Stewart in 1966, the year Ragsdale turned 9. They bought Heart O’ the Hills about a decade later. Ragsdale helped run it from the start. By 1988, she was in charge.
Unlike Camp Mystic, the girls camp where at least 27 perished when the deluge hit, Heart O’ the Hills was between sessions. The only person killed there was Ragsdale.
“I’ve never in my life met someone like Jane,” said Kathy Simmons, who was a good friend of Ragsdale’s.
Simmons was at Heart O’ the Hills picking up her granddaughter just the week before the flood, on the last night the camp was open.
“We had a candlelight service on the river at 9 p.m., and it was so beautiful. There were prayers and there were songs,” Simmons said. “Jane always led the children in songs. And every one of those girls and those counselors absolutely idolized her.”
The summer camps on the Guadalupe River in Kerr County are institutions. Generations of girls and boys go through them, often forming life-long attachments. Simmons considered Ragsdale the heart and soul of her camp, both spiritual leader and educator.
“I mean, Jane taught these girls how to change a tire, how to ride a horse, how to swim, how to shoot a gun, archery, cooking. I mean, the necessities of life,” Simmons said.
In the off-season, when she wasn’t running the camp, Ragsdale often traveled to Guatemala, where she volunteered as an interpreter and a project organizer. It was mission work she started doing when she was 19 and studying journalism. She was a badass. But she was also about the sweetest person in town.
“Jane was one of the most genuine, kind, honest people and very intelligent, very warm,” recalls Mindy Wendele, president and CEO of the Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce. “She had a smile that you knew Jane Ragsdale was smiling at you.”
Wendele grew up with Ragsdale, who she describes as a real go-getter: deeply involved in the Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the local liberal arts college, a class leader in high school.
“Anytime that we were out with Jane and her family at Heart O’ the Hills, we had just a fabulous time, just fabulous memories out there,” Wendele said.
Now, with some of the camps and almost all of the riverfront in ruins, Kerr County faces a monumental clean-up and rebuilding effort.
Another reason to miss Jane Ragsdale.
“Oh, she would be out there volunteering. She would be out there clearing property,” Simmons said. “She would have her boots on, her gloves on, she would be helping every dang soul that needed to be helped.”
So the flood took one of Kerr County’s most capable citizens, but Ragsdale’s influence on the community and the girls who came through Heart O’ the Hills camp is going to last a long time.
Transcript:
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
We are learning the names of people who died in last week’s Texas flash floods. At least 120 were killed and 170 others are listed as missing – young girls, longtime residents and stalwarts of the community. Jane Ragsdale spent her summers by the very river that killed her one week ago today. Summer camps hugging the Guadalupe River were a family business for Ragsdale, and she ran one herself for almost four decades. As NPR’s Frank Morris reports, she was a close friend to just about everyone who knew her.
FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: Mention Jane Ragsdale in Kerrville, Texas, this week, and folks are likely to do two things – tear up and smile.
KAREN TAYLOR: I mean, I can’t tell you how many people – acquaintances that I have, and they will say, my dear, dear friend died. And then they said, did you know Jane Ragsdale? And I’m like, yeah, I did.
MORRIS: Karen Taylor says Ragsdale was the essence of her community.
TAYLOR: Everybody’s friendly here, but she embodied that friendliness and generosity and love for others. I mean, I just can’t imagine life without her.
MORRIS: Ragsdale did a lot of things, but she’s best known as the owner and director of Heart O’ the Hills camp for girls.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JANE RAGSDALE: OK, let’s sing number two, Johnny Appleseed. Ready?
JANE RAGSDALE AND UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Oh, Lord is good to me. And so I thank the Lord.
MORRIS: That’s a recording of Ragsdale on her website, leading a song at Heart O’ the Hills. Ragsdale grew up on the river. Her family bought a boys camp, Camp Stewart, the year she turned nine, 1966. They bought Heart O’ the Hills 11 years later. Ragsdale helped run it from the start. By 1987, she was in charge. Unlike Camp Mystic, which was full of campers when the deluge hit, killing at least 27 from there, Heart O’ the Hills was between sessions. The only person killed there was Jane Ragsdale.
KATHY SIMMONS: I’ve never in my life met someone like Jane.
MORRIS: Kathy Simmons was at Heart O’ the Hills picking up her granddaughter, just the week before the flood, on the last night the camp was open.
SIMMONS: We had a candlelight service on the river at 9 p.m., and it was so beautiful. There were prayers, and there were, you know, songs, and Jane always led the children in songs. Every one of those girls and those counselors absolutely idolized her, idolized her.
MORRIS: The kids camps on the Guadalupe River in Kerr County are institutions. Generations of girls and boys go through them, often forming lifelong attachments. Simmons says Ragsdale was the heart and soul of her camp – spiritual leader and educator.
SIMMONS: Jane taught these girls how to change a tire, how to ride a horse, how to swim, how to shoot a gun, archery, cooking, I mean, the necessities of life (laughter).
MORRIS: In the offseason, Ragsdale traveled to Guatemala, building stone walls and housing, translating, gritty mission work. She started doing that when she was 19 and studying journalism. She was a bada**. She was also about the sweetest person in town.
MINDY WENDELE: She had a smile that – you knew Jane Ragsdale was smiling at you. You knew you were in good company.
MORRIS: Mindy Wendele, president of the Kerrville Chamber of Commerce, grew up with Ragsdale and says she was super engaged in the community – in chamber of commerce, board member of the local liberal arts college – and her camp was a meeting place.
WENDELE: Any time that we were out with Jane and her family at Heart O’ the Hills, we had just a fabulous time, just fabulous memories out there.
MORRIS: Now with some of the camps and almost all of the riverfront in ruins, Kerr County faces a big cleanup and a rebuilding effort. And Simmons says, that’s another reason to miss Jane Ragsdale right now.
SIMMONS: She would be out there volunteering. She would be out there clearing property. She would have her boots on, her gloves on. She would be helping every dang soul that needed to be helped.
MORRIS: So the flood stole one of Kerr County’s most capable citizens. But Jane Ragsdale’s influence on the community and the girls who came through Heart O’ the Hills camp is going to last a long time. Frank Morris, NPR News, Kerr County, Texas.
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