Since the early 1900’s, Massanetta Springs in Harrisonburg has served tens of thousands of people each year as a National Historic District anchored around the original springhouse and the 1910 historic hotel at its camp and conference center. A five million dollar renovation effort is underway. WMRA’s Chris Boros spoke with Executive Director Clayton Rascoe to talk about his Massanetta Springs journey.
Clayton Rascoe: Originally as a high schooler, my church youth group would come up and do ski trips. We'd go to the Massanutten resort and ski during the day and stay at Massanetta Springs at night. And I had been involved in Presbyterian camp and conference work for a good long while before I took the Executive Director position at Massanetta Springs, and I've been there not quite 9 years now.
WMRA: So you were going as a kid?
CR: Yeah, exactly.
WMRA: What do you remember about those days?
CR: We only came up during the Winter. A lot of Massanetta Springs ministries are during the summer, right? So we came up during the Winter. So a lot of what I remember is skiing at the resort, staying overnight with my friends, and I just remember it being a real welcoming place. Sort of a place where people went out of their way to make sure you had what you need, that kind of thing.
WMRA: And how different was the campus when you were a kid, as to when you got the job I guess?
CR: That's a good question, because it's, the parts of campus that I remember are almost exactly the same.
WMRA: Oh, wow.
CR: And while that's nostalgic, it means that it's probably time for us to move forward a little bit. So we're, you know, we stayed in Richardson, which is a place where about 2/3 of our accommodations are. With the exception of, like, mattresses, a little bit of paint color and some bedspreads. That building is pretty much the same as it was in 1993, 94, 95 when I, when I first came.
WMRA: And so you're going through a renovation right now?
CR: Yeah. We're going through a capital campaign, which is the first step towards a major reconstruction project in Massanetta Springs. Yeah.
WMRA: Let's talk about the history of the campus. How far back does it go?
CR: Sure. So the history of our campus goes way, way back. Native Americans used it as a place to travel through, and there's evidence of that going back thousands of years. Back towards the late 1800s between people just owning it. It was a Methodist encampment for a little while. It's been around for a really long time. The Presbyterian Church has owned it since 1922.
WMRA: And what's the overall mission?
CR: So Massanetta Springs' mission is to be a place for all people to experience God through renewal, discovery and hospitality. We do that in a variety of ways. We're probably most known for our Netta Day Camp, which is our summer day camp that has been here since 2019. And then we've been partnering with Church World Service for quite a while now to help them provide temporary shelter for refugees that they are welcoming into our community.
WMRA: So in this current capital campaign for renovation, what do you hope that will turn into?
CR: Yeah, so back in 2022 launched the Building A Place for All campaign. And part of that had to do with when we looked, after we celebrated 100 years of ministry in 2022, what we wanted to be. And it kind of goes back to that mission that begins with the "be a place for all people," looking at what we need that to be. So the Building A Place for All campaign is a $4.5 million effort.
WMRA: A Building Place for All.
CR: Yeah.
WMRA: What does that mean to you?
CR: Having new shiny rooms will be great, but for us to be able to welcome all people, regardless of your mobility challenges or not. Mobility challenges for our lodging not to be a distraction from what people are there for. Whether they're there for our programs, or whether they're there for their own that at the end of the evening, they go back to a space where they feel warm and welcome and it's easy for them to navigate. And it helps us to be able to extend a level of hospitality that we've become known for.
WMRA: And when you say for all, this means also people who are other religions, correct?
CR: We welcome a wide variety of folks through that guest group and hospitality ministry throughout the year.
WMRA: If there's one place on campus that you go to that makes it your thing, what would it be?
CR: Yeah, I'm gonna hedge my bets a little bit. I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you two.
WMRA: Okay, you're allowed!
CR: So the first is Massanetta Springs. Like, the actual spring house is right behind our hotel, and we have fresh water that bubbles up at about 480,000 gallons a day.
WMRA: Wow.
CR: It feeds our stream. It feeds our lake. It is a gathering and social spot for all of our groups. It's fun to watch the kids get in that near 58º to 60º water every day during the summer and try to stay in it. And the second is Hudson Auditorium, which is up on the hill across Massanetta Springs Road. We as Presbyterians have been having worship and other events there since the 1930s. And it is a large open air tabernacle pavilion kind of place, and when that place comes alive during the summer, there's just nothing like that. You can almost feel the history kind of seeping out of the wood and the seats and the stage when you go in there.
WMRA: What's the best part of your job?
CR: Honestly, [it] is getting to develop relationships with people year after year. Whether that is our young people who come through our middle school conference and go into what we call our advocate program, which is a high school leadership program, and then we see them into college and into young adulthood. That is a real joy of mine. Or there are people that have been adults that have been coming to our Bible and church music conference. I'm 47 years old, and there. People that have been coming to that conference longer than I've been alive, and to hear their stories and to get to know them and to be welcomed by them into a place that they really hold sacred. I think that relationship building and connection is probably my favorite part of my job.
WMRA: Clayton Rascoe is the Executive Director of Massanetta Springs. Clayton, thank you so much for joining us, and good luck with the campaign.
CR: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
