Dining Hall

The Dining Hall

The FNCA Dining Hall was built in 1930. It is located just inside the main entrance to the Main Building from the front porch. It holds not only our dining area, but also the Sales Table, the Puzzle Club table, the old mail table, the camp phone, and a fireside lounge area that gets a lot of use by Sparks and Flames.

© FNCA 1993Between meals, the Dining Hall gets used for a wide variety of other activities including dances, impromptu games of all sorts, art projects, Sparks Games on rainy days, some Evening Program activities, working at the Puzzle Club table, and the annual Sales Table auction.

© Beki Greenwood 2010The 2nd floor above the Dining Hall contains 5 private bedrooms, the recently configured Single Women's Quarters, the Mouse Closet (a small mouse-proof room where we store the Assembly's blankets, linens, and pillows), and the two upstairs ladies' bathrooms.

Attached to the front of the outside of the Dining Hall is our large, covered front porch which is a major hub of social activity during camp. It is packed with deck chairs and is a popular relaxing spot where many a conversation happens, many a good book is read, much handwork happens, and plenty of just taking in our gorgeous mountain view both alone and with friends.

The Assembly's camper sign-out sheet is also conveniently located on the front porch bulletin board for campers to leave a record of when they are off campus and when they return.

"The Dining Hall from the Loop"

"The End of the Dining Hall from the Back Lawn"

This stretch of 3 table pushed together became known as "the kids table" throughout the 1950's and 1960's. At first, families with children tended to sit there. In later years, the older Sparks sat here together for meals and were fed Sunday dinner (the big noon meal) a half hour early so the adults could have a quiet dinner on the Sabbath.

The above photo was taken shortly after the Dining Hall was built in 1931. Neither the Dole Wing or Whitehead Lecture Hall was built yet. The Dining Hall was referred to then as the "Assembly Room". The back end was used for meals, and the front end was used for chapel and lectures, with comfy chairs around the sides of the front end for people to relax in as well as seating around the fireplace. Note the piano in the far left corner --- we still have it: it's now in Whitehead Hall where we current hold chapel and lectures. The double screen against the far wall is secluding the altar with the Bible on it. After breakfast was cleared, some of the tables were either folded up and/or pushed back, and rows of chairs were set up facing the altar for chapel and lectures. And then afterwards, the precedure was reversed to set up for lunch.

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