Volunteer campers provide extra helping hands to lake staff

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
Published June 6, 2023
Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

Tim and Margie Carter help with various tasks, like landscaping, to help maintain the property at Patoka Lake in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

The staff at Patoka Lake in Dubois, Indiana, recently welcomed two members of the “family” back, just in time for the busy summer months ahead at the lake. Tim and Margie Carter aren’t paid staff members, instead, they are volunteer campers who help with various tasks to help maintain the property in exchange for being able to park and connect their 38-foot camper there.

The Carters started volunteer camping last summer after a conversation with Patoka Lake Park Ranger Jim Merkley.

“We already had the camper site in place, so I think it was originally the goal of another manager here to provide opportunities for volunteer campers,” Merkley said. “When I started looking for volunteers, Tim and Margie were the first people I even asked to see if they knew anyone. They came over and checked out the park and the site, we talked for a couple of hours, and they came out for the first time in spring 2022 and became part of the family.”

Tim said he and Margie were immediately interested in the volunteer camper post Merkley was hoping to fill.

“We had been coming here for years. Back when our kids were little, we would come and camp over at the state recreation area and we just love the area,” he said. “We had volunteered for state parks the year before we started here, and we did that a month at a time that summer.”

“We met Jim three years ago when we were hosting over at the state recreation area. He said they were thinking of starting a program over here and asked if we knew anyone who would be interested. We said yes, we do – us,” Tim added.

The Carters volunteer around 20 hours per week to help park staff in a variety of ways as part of their agreement through the Corps of Engineers Workamper program.

“We help out with the water safety program, hand out informational flyers, remind them to be safe around the water and wear life jackets, work in the flower beds, pick up trash, check the trails for things like downed limbs, we do a property check to make sure everything is locked and secure,” Margie explained.

Merkley said the extra help around the park is invaluable.

“They’re able to check on things across the park and let us know if there are any problems. They also stay here at night so if anything is going on they can let me know and I can follow up on it the next day – when we aren’t here, they’re here and it makes a huge difference for lake operations,” Merkley said. “Tim also knows how to care for bees, so he helps me with beehives. We also harvest honey as a team project. Overall, they do the stuff that we may not have time to get around to – they tie up the loose ends. They take this park from looking good to looking great.”

The Carters, who are from Lewisville, Indiana, plan to stay on until November before they move on to Florida to volunteer there.

“We sold our house three years ago and decided to live in our camper full-time. We do here in the summer and at a county park in Orlando in the winter from November to March, then we come home for April and park in our son’s driveway so we can take care of things like doctor’s appointments, taxes, and those kinds of things,” Margie explained.

The Carters said they enjoy their new lifestyle and don’t regret it a bit.

“We took part in a Workamper Rendezvous event that answered all of our questions about volunteering, and after Tim lost his younger brother at a young age, we decided life is too short,” Margie said. “We knew there had to be a way to do this by getting by with less and enjoying life more, so we retired early and hit the road.”

She added that they have recommended programs like this one to friends who have also started doing it because they have seen how much the Carters were enjoying it.

“It’s just a great experience. We love the lake, the wildlife and just being outdoors. The team here has been wonderful and made us feel like a part of the team. They make sure we have everything we need to get jobs done – it’s been great,” she said.

For more information about the Corps of Engineers Workamper program, visit https://www.workamper.com/femp/64521/index.html.