Renovation work continues at Swan Valley's Camp Ponderosa

Allen Erickson’s dream of converting Camp Ponderosa in the Swan Valley from a correctional training center to a veterans retreat continues, but progress is slow.

Erickson and his family have spent the past two years working steadily to rehabilitate and modernize the four main buildings and various smaller structures on the 79-acre property, but there is still much to do before the facility can be open to the public.

“It’s a work in progress and I would like to get it open pretty soon so people can come and enjoy themselves and so we can help some vets get back on their feet,” Erickson said. “Everytime I help a vet, it helps me, too.”

Erickson’s passion for helping veterans is very personal. A Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, he is always on the lookout to help out fellow veterans while dealing with the health effects of Agent Orange.

Erickson and his wife Linda got involved with helping veterans in the area in 1999 when they hosted the first Libby Stand Down. In 2002 they opened the Veterans Food Pantry in Evergreen and founded the North West Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry nearly 20 years ago, one of the first food pantries in the country to serve exclusively veterans in need.

Their dream expanded in 2018, when The North West Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry purchased the Swan River Correctional Training Center from the state for $1 and later signed the lease for the 79 acres of school trust land surrounding the facility for $19,000 per year.

Now rebranded as Camp Ponderosa, the Ericksons and their nonprofit organization say they look forward to partnering with the community to fulfill a dream of creating a place of serenity and support to help veterans successfully integrate into civilian life after serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

LOCATED ACROSS Montana 83 from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation District office at mile marker 59, Camp Ponderosa was once a military-style boot camp named the Swan River Correctional Training Center. The center was built in 1967 and was in operation until 1995. The Montana Department of Corrections shuttered the facility in 1997 and later leased it to a Colorado company for use as a rehabilitative youth camp. That lasted until 2006, but then the buildings sat empty and unused for more than a decade.

While winter shut down the hopes of any restoration work immediately after the facility was purchased in 2018, the Ericksons and an army of volunteers have been putting in countless hours of work whenever possible as the project continues to move forward.

With help from the Montana Youth Conservation Corps last week, much work was done to help remove the more than 40 trees downed by a recent wind storm on the property, as well as brush clearing and firewood stacking. When they weren’t working outside, the six Conservation Corps workers also helped move antique tables and chairs into the kitchen and dining facility, helping to give the empty building a more homey feel.

‘We wanted the tables and chairs your grandma and grandpa would have used — none of that institutionalized stuff. We want it to feel more like home,” Allen said. “Those kids cut a lot of firewood and cleaned up a lot of branches and things. They’ve really helped us out a lot and taken the burden off of us.”

With the help of a retired plumber who volunteered his time to replace much of the plumbing, and an electrician who rewired the entire building, the dining area has been fitted with all new equipment and is nearing completion. A grant from the USDA also paid for the installation of a meat processing facility in the building.

“I can’t say enough about the people who have been helping us out. We would never be able to finish this project without them,” Allen said.

Cinnamon Davis, Allen’s daughter and community outreach director for the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry, added that they “have found that once people come down and start volunteering, they can’t help but come back and help even more.”

THE FACILITY’S administration building has been converted into a fully functional lodge, with several well-decorated bedrooms, all of which have been given colorful names by Linda Erickson. Along with the Cowboy Room, Southwest Room, Elk Room, Tree Room and Buffalo Room, the building also houses several meeting rooms, a media room and a library.

The main building houses a gym facility and full-size basketball court as well as the original dormitory, but is still in need of extensive renovations before it is ready to house veterans.

“I need an architect to help me with turning the old bunk area into bedrooms,” Allen said. “I need one who really knows what the hell they are doing. We want to change everything, but keep the integrity of the place. So far, I think we are doing a really good job.”

Allen is also on the lookout for someone with the materials and knowledge to help rebuild the more than a mile of crumbling sidewalks connecting the facility’s buildings.

The mission for Camp Ponderosa is to offer mental and physical therapies to veterans to ensure they have the care they need and receive the benefits earned when they return home from service. Through various traditional and non-traditional therapeutic programs, providing room and board and offering training for technical and professional skills, they hope to assist veterans with addressing challenges, fears and stigma that they faced during and after they served in the Armed Forces.

THE PROJECT has three phases for getting the camp ready to open it to veterans. Currently, Camp Ponderosa is well into Phase I, which includes cleaning up the grounds, renovations to the administrative building and dining hall and developing 15 full-hookup and several primitive campsites at an area named “The Rock” after the large boulder that sits near the entrance.

Once operational, the campground will have an on-site manager, will be open to the public and the revenue will be used to support the veterans camp.

Phase 2 of the renovations will include renovations and expansion of the lobby, bathrooms, gymnasium/basketball court and dormitories while the final phase focuses on renovating the workshop spaces, outbuildings and wastewater lagoons.

For more information about the North West Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry and Camp Ponderosa visit https://veteransfoodpantry.org/, call 406-756-7304, or stop in 1349 U.S. 2 E., Kalispell Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Food Pantry is available to all veterans in Northwest Montana.

Reporter Jeremy Weber may be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com