'This keeps me young.' Ashland's Donna Messerly, 81, makes summer camps active and fun

MIFFLIN TWP.  Volunteers prepared for a messy camp session at Charles Mill Lake Park with clothes that could get splattered.

Fortunately, most of the paint shared by the young participants during the first activity of the day was landing directly on their sailor's hats, creating a distinctively tie-dyed effect.

They took their turn at covered picnic tables in view of the lake as camp Director Donna Messerly and her assistants offered a hand when needed.

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"We're making a mess, and we're good at what we do," quipped Joyce Chaney, who camps and works at Charles Mill.

There were more chances to get clothes smudged and stained on Thursday, July 21.

Other projects included balloon paint splatter, fizzing foam paint, slime making and footprint art — the latter to be accomplished by dipping feet into paint and walking and jumping on a roll of butcher paper.

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Messerly, 81, is hardly a novice when it comes to thinking up fun things to do for children and adults.

"I taught school for 50 years," said Messerly, of Ashland, who grew up in Martin's Ferry.

She was a professor at Ashland University for four decades. Her courses have included adapted physical education, in which she earned her Ph.D., and sports sciences. She also has worked with children as a volunteer at St. Edward School in Ashland.

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Hired by Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, she directs multiple summer camps a year at Charles Mill Lake Park and masterminds a schedule of events for the entire year.

"I come up with all the activities," she said, producing multiple pages of schedules outlining events for all ages.

"I keep a notebook beside my bed," she said, indicating sleep isn't a priority for her. "I read a lot; I get on the internet. I can take an idea, enlarge it and be creative with it."

"All her weekends have a theme," said Chaney, such as wacky backward, featuring breakfast for dinner, ice cream for breakfast and other atypical agenda items.

"This is our jungle weekend," Chaney said recently while painting a tiger under the tutelage of Linda Goodman, who traced the image onto the canvas of each participant.

Other themes include slow-cooker meals, the great outdoors, starry nights and chocolate lovers.

Messerly even involves campers who have golf carts by sending them on a scavenger hunt.

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A recent bingo night drew a crowd of 39.

An upcoming August mystery glow weekend will use a mystery pontoon boat ride to look for clues.

"She thinks up everything," Chaney said about Messerly. "We have to follow through."

"I have a wonderful staff," Messerly said.

Working with children keeps Ashland camp director young

In between camping events, Messerly's life is equally active.

One of her favorite pursuits is water aerobics at Kingston of Ashland. She recently returned from a trip to Iceland with her nieces.

"We didn't get close to the puffins," she said. "I was a little disappointed about that."

She has also traveled to Alaska and Ireland.

"I have always been active. I must have been (an active child)," said Messerly, whose grandfather was a family practitioner and father, an oral surgeon. She blended the fields with adaptive sports.

Some of her camp participants have come to Charles Mill from Dale Roy School and a group home in Mansfield.

Messerly and her staff are trained to work with youth diagnosed with autism.

Participants in her activities at Charles Mill Lake may be camping on the site, but many come from the outside community.

While some activities have a minimal fee, others are free or by donation.

Messerly started out by camping at Charles Mill and then by volunteering as a helper to the activities director.

Since 2013 the camp has had an activities building named after her and is complete with a kitchen, ample storage, a patio overlooking the lake, a butterfly garden and a memorial area made from donated pavers.

"I gave seed money for (the Messerly Recreation Center)," she acknowledged modestly. 

Before there was a building, Messerly toted supplies from shelter to shelter on the campground.

Messerly's enjoyment of the children shines through.

After they finished painting their hats on Saturday, she veered from the schedule to ask if they'd like to play with water balloons and, of course, get wet — a suggestion that generated an enthusiastically positive response.

"I love kids," she said. "This keeps me young."