Across from the former entry to Camp King on Hohemarkstrasse in Oberursel, a new housing development is in the making: Am Urselbach
Construction is going at full speed including occasional work at night.
A bit further up the street, Frankfurt International School (FIS) was in its final glow of fall sunshine while offering Trunk-or-Treat to its young students on Halloween.
Walking from Camp King to Frankfurt International School (FIS), I remembered the history and friendship between the two… It has been forgotten by many, but not by Sam Flynn who used to run CampKing.net (unfortunately, this site is no longer available).
Here is what he had mentioned about Camp King and its affiliation with FIS:
FIS students participated in many of our activities such as scouting and sports. Many friendships were made between Camp King youth and FIS students as we shared a common bond of living in a foreign country.
As FIS students were not only American, we were also given the opportunity to discover other cultures.
Occasionally, we would use FIS facilities for our leisure activities. We would use their gym and baseball fields as well as their auditorium.
The German Government also catered to FIS students by providing services. For example, there was an American priest, Father Ernest Beck, who ran his own parish, St. Mary’s, which was sponsored by the German Government. Masses were said in English.
An interesting personal note: Father Beck was initially a Lutheran Minister who wanted to become a Catholic Priest. He, therefore, went to the Pope to seek permission, as he was already married. He was allowed to become a priest as long as he could find a diocese that would accept him. He was accepted and became the only married priest I have ever met. He was also a civilian contract priest for the US Army.
It is believed that after Camp King was shut down, the Boy Scout troop was moved to FIS.
Although not an Armed Forces sponsored School, FIS became an important part of the Camp King community.
– end of quote –
Camp King closed in 1992 and only a few of the FIS staff might remember those days of interchange activities.
