Catholic conference center near San Diego to be rebuilt after fire

Published: 2003-11-05

JULIAN, Calif. (CNS) -- The Whispering Winds Catholic Conference Center, which sits amid pine trees in the mountains just south of the old mining town of Julian in east San Diego County, was 80 percent destroyed Oct. 28, as the Cedar fire swept across the Cuyamaca Mountains. A large part of a dream of decades was destroyed in a few hours, said Don Kojis, executive director and co-founder of Whispering Winds. Kojis, twice an all-star in the National Basketball Association during his 1963-75 career, has been building the camp since the early 1980s. Inspecting the camp after the fire, Kojis found the camp's two 12-room cabins and its bunkhouse still standing. A four-room complex, dining hall, kitchen, recreation hall and meeting room were all destroyed. Kojis and the camp board of directors are focusing on rebuilding the kitchen, dining hall and meeting room as soon as possible, after restoring electricity and water. "If we get those built, we could open by March," said Kojis, eager to keep to a minimum the amount of time the camp remains inactive. The camp is booked for a couple of years in advance, especially during the summer months.

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