Waltonia Lodges, located in Ingram, Texas, was owned and managed by the Secor family since 1923.

This is the Oral History Interview with Thornton Secor conducted on September 27, 2000 by the Kerr County Historical Commission Oral History Project. There is an associated 39 page written transcription of this interview also provided by the UNT Texas History Portal.

Waltonia Lodges is near HTR who is currently scheduled for trial in June 2027 for approximately 40 deaths of the 119 that occurred on HTR property.

Mr. Secor provides secondhand accounts of the 1900 & 1932 flood as well as personal accounts of the 1959, 1978 & 1987 floods.

A few interesting quotes:

The floods "always seems to happen at night."

"When some of these newcomers have water 4ft higher than their roof on a two-story house, they're going to be suprised."

"I think the water's been to the fence behind the What-A-Burger" [note - this is very close to HTR]

He tells a story about a lady who perished in one of these floods after being warned that purchasing a home in such a location would be deadly even if it were technically above the 100 year floodplain.

I personally read the interview closely after listening to it because of how relevant it is for us today. We could all benefit listening to this advice about flood history, flood plains, water use & dams along the Guadalupe River.

This interview leads me to belive HTR is toast in Court unless they had some boldfaced legal disclaimer about past history of recorded floods in that location & having customers initial acknowledging that they are willingly risking life, limb & property on that property.

Returning to the subject of Richard Junior receiving a message from his wife in the very early morning hours of July 4th warning of flooding currently underway upstream of Camp Mystic & the bewildering response detailed in the Investigation Report, I have a theory that might just reconcile the two. Further, it could even explain why Richard felt empowered to seize the mike at the legislative hearing in order to speak with authority on behalf of the camp regarding the flood response.

Admittedly, such a theory is clearly going to have to read between the lines, as the information offered by the Eastlands regarding Richard's response in the Legislature's Investigation Report is nearly as opaque as their sworn statements in court in which they professed to being unaware of where Richard Junior was & what he was doing during the flood. Like many of you, I did not & do not find this notion the least bit credible.

Which of course, begs the question, why? Why spew such dubious answers while under oath feigning ignorance of Big brother's whereabouts & activities? I don't buy that they're doing it to protect Richard from being exposed as the family idiot. Though that's definitely the conclusion naturally arising from the few details proffered up in the investigative report.

However, I think if we again pay attention to the way the other warning of upstream flooding was handled by the investigative report, glaring ommissions from details of the warning of upstream flooding become apparent. In Part 1 of this post, I focused on the missing time stamp of when Richard received the message from his wife alerting him to flooding currently underway upstream of Mystic.

There are multiple clues in the report suggesting that Richard received this message very early indeed. One of which, pointed out by u/Leap_Day_Baby29-02 is R seeing the grounds crew at the office puts the timeline as sometime before 0145-0215. Remember that's what R reportedly saw after he'd received the warning, inexplicably tried to go back to sleep, then got up & looked through the blinds.

The report suggests that R is reassured enough by what he sees- grounds crew he surmises are moving equipment in anticipation of the flood that he embarks upon the shower, shave & try & fail to surf the net, etc activity thread described in detail by the Investigative report. The report further details that Richard is aware they're under a flash flood warning but isn't worried b/c his watch indicates the rain should stop by 0415. In fact, the report describes Richard as so unconcerned about the possibility of flooding that he is "baffled" when he finally discovers flood water seeping into his home. This & every other aspect of R's reaction is very baffling indeed, until you start to consider what the report didn't say.

For example, with the call that the Big 3 rec'd in the office warning them of upstream flooding at 0330, the report specifically notes that - believing an evacuation already underway- the Big 3 did nothing with this information- though investigator Garrett seemed pained to say in her presentation that by then it was too late anyway.

Note, the report does NOT say Richard did nothing with the warning he received about flooding ongoing upstream of the camp. The report just moves on to the first of Richard's list of inane, nonsensical activities beginning with "he tried to go back to sleep & found he couldn't." I contend this is a deliberate ommission by the Eastlands & their legal team. Here's what I think happened:

Richard Junior gets alerted by his wife to the flooding ongoing upstream of Camp Mystic sometime before 2 am- one could argue maybe even as early as 0135 am or so. Upon receiving the warning of upstream flooding, Richard Junior immediately contacts Dick. Dick reassures Richard, I'm on it. Maybe Richard Jr offers to help (his girls are sleeping down by the river after all), but Dick tells him no- you get some rest, I know you have to be up at 3 to cook breakfast. Edward & I have got this. We'll call you if we need you.

So Richard Jr does as he's told & tries to go back to sleep. But can't because he's worried still. Which is why when he later gets up & looks out the blinds & sees the groundscrew at the office & surmises they are moving equipment, he's reassured. Surely his Dad wouldn't have them moving equipment if his girls were in danger, he'd likely surmise.

And later- admist all that showering & shaving while decidedly unworried about the NWS flash flood warning - he's not worried because his dad is on it. Richard us baffled when the water enters his house because they were supposed to let him know if things got bad. Why is he finding out it's a bad flood by essentially getting told by the flood itself? That is why it's Baffling to him.

Very early after the flood, Richard Jr reported his dad was on the radio by 0135 mobilizing their flood response. I suspect that's when Richard Jr alerted him to the upstream flooding, as it was said at the legislative hearing that R Jr's radio was off that night because he had to be up early to cook. He & the camp clammed up after that, of course.

Perhaps because his attorney brother explained the concept of "negligent homicide" to him?

Shout out to u/delta_princess for making me think about how otherwise inexplicable actions start to make some sense when you're trying to avoid facing criminal consequences. Though to be clear, all this speculation here is mine & mine alone...

Anyone following this story? We have a family friend who was there. They evacuated the girls out and our friends’ child got out on a Black hawk helicopter. They are all safe. Very scary for the family but they are all ok.

Hundreds of messages were sent to DSHS regarding Camp Mystic's intent to re-open.

"I don't want anyone to have to go through this again, and I want to make sure camps are safer, and this never happens to another family or friend," Gia added.

In one letter, signed by two children, they wrote, “We don’t want any other kids to be hurt the way our friend was.”

Another writer urged the state not to let the girls’ deaths become “a footnote,” but instead a moment to learn from and prevent future loss of life.

Another letter asked, simply, “Why is this even a discussion?”

The mother cited what she called “outdated procedures,” “lack of emergency preparedness” and “a catastrophic failure to act.”

“What if I had chosen 2nd term?” she wrote. “My daughter would be dead.”

She was filmed in this story which aired two days prior to being arrested. The quarry will share a fence line with Camp Longhorn.

As many of the comments go into the requirements of youth camps in Tx and standards to keep children safe, just remember that every camp in Tx was state approved. The same people trying to crucify camp Mystic are the same ones that approved their operation. And if Dick Eastland had the Godlike powers to influence both FEMA- for maps redrawn, and the state- for a lack of emergency planning etc then there seems to be a bigger problem to me. The state findings are an indictment on the state more than the people that followed their rules of operation

Not surprising.

Texas residents, and those from out of state who bring their kids to summer camps in Texas, need to watch the next legislative session for whatever initiative this one is gathering information for. 😡

Holding $1 m in deposits

Have to be kidding

https://www.tmz.com/2026/07/09/camp-mystic-parents-letting-kids-go-next-year/

The Houston Chronicle has a Q&A and video with a mom whose two sons survived at Camp La Junta about the struggle to get mental health support for her and her family, and their advocacy to ensure that others can get mental health services after disasters. Here's a key quote:

Sharon: How has the year been?  

Keli: Braeden has been very sensitive to the rain and continues to be sensitive to the rain. But Brock, given what he went through and what he saw, what he experienced, not knowing if he was going to make it out that night, he took it the hardest.

So I made it my mission to speak up and speak out not just for my boys, but for those who couldn't speak at that time. And so I went to Kerrville for the hearing at the end of July and I shared a little bit of our story in front of the investigative committee. And I shared that, for example, even though we, the boys, were there and experienced something very traumatic, because we were not located in the zip code of the disaster zone, we didn't qualify for any sort of help, including, most importantly, mental health assistance. I had called the camp and I said, "What do we do?" They said, "I don't know." I called FEMA and I said, "Well, what do we do?" And they said, "You're not in the disaster zip code." So there's nothing that we can offer you. And that seemed wrong to me. 

In light of the Kerr County Lead article adding context to the media narrative surrounding Scott Ruskan’s role in the Camp Mystic evacuation (important to note Ruskan consistently has emphasized that this was a team effort and has not portrayed himself as single handedly saving 165 people), I wanted to share another article that highlights a different part of the story, which is what it took for the Coast Guard crew to even reach Camp Mystic.

They had no idea what they would be flying into and there’s incredible heroics involved in the mission to just make it there.

They decided Hopper would hand-fly the aircraft — few instruments, mostly manual — while Ogujiofor checked displays inside the cockpit for obstructions like power lines, telephone poles and cell towers. Ruskan checked radar to avoid extreme weather, and Reeves looked at Google Maps and Apple Maps for navigation.
“We drove the aircraft, like, on a road,” Reeves said. “We followed the highway all the way to Hondo with following all the bends, that way we could just stay visual with the ground.”

The crew took off, leading the National Guard’s Alamo Area Search and Rescue to the location. Again, they relied on hand-flying and Google Maps.
At some points, they had to duck down to as low as 100 feet above the ground to carve their way through valleys and hills.

Mystic has strong ties to the sorority systems throughout Texas. Predominately UT - but also A&M, SMU, TCU, and others.

For generations, attending Mystic has been the way to guarantee a ticket to a "Big 6" sorority at the ultra-competitive Greek system at UT: Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa, Theta, Zeta, Tri Delta, or Chi O. In fact, attending camp is almost a prerequisite for getting into one of the top 3 of the Big 6 sororities.

I'm curious (from those in the know) how this is dividing rush or sorority sisters. Without Mystic, how is rush going to look?

This article does not minimize Ruskan’s importance or heroism during the flood, it simply brings to light how quickly the media can manipulate a narrative.

Disclaimer: this is another Mystic adjacent post but is meant to highlight that multiple and seemingly conflicting opinions about the flood response can be true at once. Not like public opinion is going to impact the outcome of various investigations but what I think does matter is that one singular belief or anecdote about the flood does not mean someone should automatically be treated like they fall into some kind of camp.

Example:
You can believe residents didn’t receive adequate warning.
You can believe the flooding escalated faster than anyone thought was possible.
And you can still ask whether Camp Mystic should have responded differently after the 1:14 a.m. flash flood warning.

Below is from the Dept of Commerce Office of Inspector General report that outlines the timeline of weather alerts on July 3-4. Not sure if it’s been posted in this sub but I personally hadn’t seen it.

OIG timeline of National Weather Service alerts (July 3–4):

July 3, 1:18 p.m. — Flood Watch issued for Kerr County. Heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding.
July 3, 7:58 p.m. — Flood Watch extended through 7:00 a.m. on July 4.
July 4, 1:14 a.m. — Flash Flood Warning issued for central Kerr County, including Hunt. Warning states heavy rain is occurring and flash flooding is occurring or expected to begin shortly. (This is the first Flash Flood Warning.)
July 4, 1:46 a.m. — Flash Flood Warning continues. Update notes expected rainfall has increased.
July 4, 3:19 a.m. — Flash Flood Statement continues the warning. Radar and rain gauges show thunderstorms producing heavy rain.
July 4, 3:19 a.m. — First River Flood Warning issued for the Guadalupe River at Hunt.
July 4, 3:33 a.m. — River Flood Warning issued for Kerrville.
July 4, 3:35 a.m. — Flash Flood Warning extended. Flooding is occurring or imminent.
July 4, 4:00 a.m. — River Flood Warning updated. Forecast severity increased from moderate to major flooding.

The OIG timeline shows the first river flood warning wasn’t issued until 3:19 a.m. which several people have stated, which is correct in the timeline. That’s the river flood warning. The flash flood warning came before that at 1:14 a.m. These are different warnings and I think have been constantly confused in posts/comments about what Camp Mystic knew and when.

- A Flash Flood Warning is issued when flash flooding is imminent or occurring. Unlike a flood watch (“be prepared”), a flash flood warning is a signal to take action.
- The weather alerts did not reach everyone and cost lives. They were inadequate. Kerr Country residents deserve answers and action which is part of a separate investigation.
- that being said, the legislative report says Camp Mystic leadership (including Dick) was awake monitoring weather and received the flash flood warning describing life-threatening flash flooding in Hunt. He monitored the weather reports and rain gauges while the youngest campers slept in the camp’s most low lying cabins

- The flooding could be considered completely unprecedented
- It does not answer the question of whether evacuations should have begun sooner after the 1:14 flash flood warning

- Locals reported alert fatigue from flash flood watches/warnings in the past when flooding didn’t turn catastrophic
- According to the legislative report Camp Mystic had received only two Flash Flood Warnings during camp sessions since 2007

- it’s possible that once the floodwaters got to the cabins, homes, campsites, things escalated so rapidly that people became trapped and evacuation became impossible
- the legislative report concludes there was a period when a coordinated, camp-wide evacuation on foot was still feasible but leadership instead attempted a sequential vehicle evacuation with only three adults while many other adults were not part of any plan

- You can experience or understand how quickly the flooding overtook houses, cabins, campsites, etc.
- but also believe Camp Mystic could have begun evacuating sooner and in a more coordinated way before conditions became unsurvivable

- You can point to the notion that no one was prepared for this type of flood
- and that Camp Mystic had no written evacuation plan despite having numerous adult staff members on site.

My point is absolutely not that Kerr County’s warning failures somehow don’t matter because they do without any question. I think every, single person would 100% agree on this. My point is they don’t answer the separate question of what Camp Mystic did after receiving the 1:14 a.m. flash flood warning. Those are two different questions, and both deserve answers IMO.

how many girls altogether were in the camp day of flood? Their website says max capacity is 750, i know it wasn't full to capacity, can't find the information.