Blanco County’s wheelchair ramp-builders turned bunk-builders last week for the benefit of a non-denominational Christian summer camp for boys near Bastrop.

The camp burned in the Labor Day wildfires, and needed volunteer help to get ready to open on schedule for this summer. One need was replacing the burned bunk beds. The ramp-building crew in Burnet County said they’d build half if the Blanco builders would do the same, and the friendly competition was on.

“We had the advantage,” said module-building chief David Hamm. “We had more volunteers in Blanco County than they had in Burnet, so we were able to set up more assembly lines.”

Both groups made their beds in modules, but discovered a hitch — the camp hadn’t finished constructing the sleeping shelters. There was no place to put the bunks yet. In a couple of weeks, the shelter-makers caught up with the bed-makers, and the job was on again.

The Blanco County group, towing two trailers of bunk modules, rolled out for Bastrop Monday morning. By mid-afternoon, the beds were assembled and installed in their shelters, and the crew headed home.

“We were tired and hot and sweaty, but everyone agreed we had done a good day’s work,” said assembly boss Lee Romero, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Johnson City.

“Camp Wilderness Ridge is making solid citizens and Christian men out of boys who might not otherwise get to go to camp, so we hardly could turn down an appeal to help them be ready when the first wave of youngsters arrives in June.”

Now that the diversion from their normal duties is behind them, the ramp-builders are returning to their main focus, wheelchair ramps for Blanco County residents who can’t afford to pay for the ramp the need.