MIDDLETOWN — A bit of Lake County history was brought down in ashes on Monday evening because of improper disposal of fire pit ashes. The fire destroyed the main lodge and kitchen facility at Four Springs Retreat, which has been known as a sacred place of retreat for many since the mid-50s.
According to CAL FIRE, mid-day on Monday, fire pit ashes were improperly disposed of by placing the ashes into a plastic bag, then placing the plastic bag into a cardboard box next to the structure.
“It”s a tremendous shame. It”s a real loss, not just for us but for Lake County, too,” Pastor Timothy Locke, PhD, Four Springs Seminars executive director, said. “It”s been a well-known location for therapists, pastors and psychologists, especially in the ?70s. People came from all over the world. It”s been a significant place in Lake County for a long time.”
Locke commended the efforts of firefighters, who responded from Southlake County Fire Protection District and CAL FIRE in Middletown. “The firefighters were terrific,” he said. “They were able to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring buildings and the forest around the lodge. They were out there all night.”
Originally built in the 1920s by the Sheveland family; the retreat, which is nestled in the hills south of Middletown on Sheveland Road, was purchased in 1955 by Elizabeth Boyden Howes. Howes purchased the property to support the work of the Guild for Psychological Studies in San Francisco, a group she founded with colleagues Sheila Moon and Luella Sibbald.
Locke said the women, working initially with psychologist Fritz Kunkel and later with C.G. Jung, combined their interest in depth psychology with their individual interests in the life and teachings of Jesus, religious studies, mythology and experiential learning.
“The first guild seminars were held in 1956 and they are still being held. All the founders have passed away and now the retreat is operated by a nonprofit called Four Springs Seminars,” Lock said. “We are still interested in the focus of the founders. We are still teaching religion and psychology. We focus primarily on the teachings of Jesus and other religious wisdom.”
Locke said between 1956 and 1985, 15 cabins were built and a library was added to the property”s amenities. The library is dedicated to Claude Petty, who Locke said was a student of Henry Sharman. Sharman, he said, was a well-known scholar of the New Testament, who developed a method of group discussion guided by study questions designed to empower individual discovery. “This is a real historic place,” he said.
Locke said efforts are under way to begin the rebuilding process with a plan in place to accommodate guests in the interim. “We”re not going to quit,” he said. “We are putting up temporary kitchen and dining facilities for the groups that will be coming this summer and then we will be rebuilding the lodge.”
Locke expects the rebuild to result in significant expense.
He said any and all donations to the Four Springs Seminars nonprofit would be greatly appreciated. For donation information, contact Locke at 246-1326; donations may also be made through the website at www.foursprings.org.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call directly at 994-6444, ext. 14.
