Shirley Sherrill and her husband, Jim, worked tirelessly Friday to put the finishing touches on their newly built tent at Balls Creek Campground just in time for the annual campmeeting to start Sunday night.  Although it’s basically the same design as the family’s old tent that burned in September, it’s just not the same.

“We had years and years of memories (in that tent),” said Shirley Sherrill.  “We didn’t want a new tent even though it had termites and boards that needed to be replaced.  It had a homey feeling.”

Her tent, No. 23, was one of 10 tents that burned in a fire on Sept. 14, 2007. The cause of the fire has never been officially determined. 

The family had rented the tent since 1976 from Janie Wilson before purchasing it about 10 years ago from her nephew, Willard Huffman.  Sherrill remembers taking her granddaughter, Tara, to campmeetings since she was a baby.  Now, she’s 23 and she won’t be coming back to the same tent she grew up knowing.

Some of the wooden cabins, traditionally known as tents, that burned dated back to the beginning of the campground in 1853.

It wasn’t just a loss for the families whose tents burned. It was a blow to the entire community and the people who gather there each year for two weeks beginning the second weekend in August.  The fire literally ruined years of history for the campground, which is included on Catawba County’s registry of historical sites.

“There was nothing left after the fire,” said Robert Eades, chairman of the Balls Creek Campground Board of Trustees.

There was no question whether the tents would be rebuilt, said Paul Beatty, another campground trustee.

“It’s just of those things — everyone knew they were going to build back,” he said.

He said families have been working since last fall, clearing the ashes and beginning reconstruction.  Beatty said the process kicked into high gear in the spring as people worked diligently to have their tents ready before the campmeeting, which starts Sunday night and runs through Aug. 24.

“The last two months have been a frenzy,” he said.  “It’s like any construction project — organized chaos.”

All of the tents were reconstructed in the traditional style of the original campground tents, minus some modern advances like electricity and plumbing, Beatty said.  He said the trustees developed a standard to follow a few years ago to maintain the historic value of the tents, including the requirement of wood siding and wood slats instead of windows.

“Never will anything be the same, but hopefully it’s better,” Beatty said.

Some families were able to include savage mementos from the ruins — the original door, furniture, a picture — while others were not as lucky.  Jim Sherrill said the devastation to their tent was severe.

“There was nothing left but ashes,” he said.

The Sherrills took the opportunity to make minor changes. They extended the ceiling upstairs higher so no one would bump their heads, and added an upstairs porch overlooking the arbor, where the family can sit and enjoy the singing and concerts.

The fire also destroyed the Rink, Setzer, Wilson, Carter, Gabriel, Brown, Henry, Thompson and Hewitt tents.  

Beatty said there is still concern about the potential of another fire, especially considering the suspicions of arson.  

“I think everyone in the community is more wary,” Beatty said.

He said it’s resulted in the community taking a more active role in protecting the site.  Many of the people who attend the campmeetings make an effort to drive through regularly and check on the campground.

 “We can’t do nothing about that now,” he said.  “You just have to move on.”