Winifred (Winnie II) Lynch Carson
Honorary Director
(1916-2007)
Winifred Lynch Carson is well known to her many generations of dear friends, campers, and staff members of Girl Scout Kamp Kiwani, YWCA Camp Miramechee, and Old Boy Scout Kamp Kia Kima, as simply Sunny, a name that befits her optimistic and cheerful demeanor. It was customary at Kiwani to have camp names. Born May 4, 1916 in Birmingham, Alabama and later joining the Girl Scouts of America in 1927 while living in New Orleans, Sunny has continued being a true friend of scouting (girls and boys) and in particular to the youth of yesterday, today, and tomorrow in general.
Sunny's scouting experience as a camper spanned the years 1927 to 1930 She continued her devotion in an active capacity through 1958. She first attended Kamp Kiwani, near Hardy, Arkansas, in 1931 as a camper and joined the staff under Miss Julia Hall's direction in 1933 as a Trading Post Assistant. Soon thereafter, she was naturally drawn to the call of the South Fork River when she became a canoeing instructor and subsequently served as the Kiwani Waterfront Director -an esteemed position and title her daughter Paddles (Winnie III) would also assume in 1958-1960. Throughout her years of service to scouting, she shared her love of camping with hundreds of campers. Serving as a Kiwani Unit Director she passed on to her campers the profound appreciation for and the joys and love of nature. Sunny retired from active scouting in 1958, completing her active service as Kiwani's Camp Director.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Sunny was attracted to the teaching profession. During her days as a Kiwani staff member, she was also a third-grade schoolteacher for 34 years in Memphis, Tennessee, where she was known and highly respected as Mrs. Carson. As a mother, teacher, and friend, Sunny generously shared the adventures of her exotic travels to places where others dared not go, including Russia (during the Cold War), Africa, China, Mongolia, South America, and the Antarctic.
Since the infancy of the Old Kia Kima Preservation Association, Sunny has been a stalwart supporter, and among the very first who became a Century member of OKKPA; she has continued her Century membership through the years. One need spend only a few minutes with Sunny to know that she shares in the love of the South Fork River and environs. She knows, as do many who have tasted of the South Fork waters, that the Spirit runs through and links us all to the past and present, and ultimately to the youth of tomorrow.
Sunny's loving support for OKKPA and scouting in general will always be appreciated. Those of us who personally know Sunny can truthfully say we have been blessed. Toward that end OKK is blessed to have Sunny as an Honorary member of the Board of Directors.
In summary, we can share the feeling expressed by Pat Moody, Sunnys, long-time friend and former camper, who offered this statement: "Whether known to children as `Sunny' or Mrs. Carson, this very special lady has been a profound influence in the lives of thousands of young people."
David Fleming
Director as Immediate Past President
April 25, 2002
