By Bill Pumford, Image from Russ Keller Collection

TITLE: CAMP O-ONGO IN SKYFOREST: With the passing of Running Springs area community leader Tom Preston last week it seems appropriate to have a column on the camp that was started by Tom’s parents and that he eventually ran. In 1940 Albert and Esther Preston purchased about 65 acres of land east of Skyforest and built Camp O-Ongo for boys and girls. O-Ongo was reportedly a Shoshone word that means high place. The camp had multiple-week sessions that offered ice skating at Blue Jay, dramatics, and a variety of recreation and sports that included sailing on Lake Arrowhead and nature lore. By the early 1950s there were two popular tow ropes for skiers – one 700 feet long with a 225-foot rise and another tow that was 350 feet in length with a 75-foot rise, which had all been managed by Tom’s older brother Jim. In January 1954, a fire in the main lodge, valued at $100,000, destroyed the entire building and sent Albert and Esther out into the cold to escape. By the summer, a new lodge had been built, pictured in this week’s image. A unique feature of the camp was a chapel. By 1960 Tom Preston was running the camp and offering 3- or 6-week sessions for boys and girls aged 7-15 and he also married Margaret Chapman, who became a vital partner in operating the camp. In 1987 the camp became certified as a tree farm and in 1990 Preston won the award as the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year. In 1991 the cost of the camping sessions was $1295 for a three-week session or $2495 for both three week sessions. In December of 1991 Camp O-Ongo Inc (the corporation that owned the camp) was sold for 2 million dollars to Lake Arrowhead Ranch Inc and the name changed to Arrowhead Ranch. In 1999 the area became Pali Mountain.