A telecommunications tower now stands on a patch of land at 2185 Campfire Road in Moss Bluff.

The land, a 75-acre parcel, was once home to Camp Wi Ta Wentin, where children spent warm days enjoying the outdoors.

But since the local Camp Fire council dissolved three years ago, the land — set aside for a camp more than half-century ago — has been sold.

The closure of the local council sent the land into federal receivership, and Camp Fire National Headquarters filed as the property’s beneficiary, said Jeff Randolph, a spokesman for the national group.

Commercial real estate group Kessinger Hunter acted as receiver until a buyer could be found via auction, he said.

In May 2013, local businessman Arnold “Arnie” Natali bought the land. According to Calcasieu Parish tax assessor records, it sold for $830,000.

“As for the assets, the property itself was put into receivership, and we received the proceeds from the sale as a beneficiary of the property after we filed with the court,” Randolph said. “So money from the sale of the camp itself came to Camp Fire through the court, but I can’t speak to any other assets or liabilities.”The last executive director of Camp Wi Ta Wentin, Wayne Bebee, declined to talk about the camp, referring the American Press to the national Camp Fire group.

Carolyn Woosley, a former local Camp Fire board member, said that lack of funds led to the camp’s closure.

“We had a charter agreement with United Way that ran out and wasn’t actively pursued and followed up with. The money was never there — that goes way back,” Woosley said.

“The fundraising efforts and real vision to transform what Camp Wi Ta Wentin could have been just wasn’t strong enough in the end. I co-founded Friends of Camp Wi Ta Wentin before Hurricane Rita came through, and, yes, we had major support. And I so personally appreciate every bit of it, but honestly, with Rita, and lack of funds, it comes down to it being a generational thing that goes back to several decades ago.”

She said the money the local group received after Hurrican Rita was used to pay for plumbing and flooring repairs at the camp.“Honestly, without a significant endowment today — a major funding effort — it was bound to happen,” Woosley said. “The flicker of the flame went out on Camp Wi Ta Wentin in 2012, but the flame’s been slowly fading since the ’80’s.“Society simply demanded their attention elsewhere, and it’s a shame Camp Wi Ta Wentin’s been lost — and officially no longer any Camp Fire affiliates left in Louisiana,” she said.

Rick Hickman