Camp Reynolds - World War II Army Cam

 

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ART WILLIAMS

ART'S PARENTS

REYNOLDS VILLAGE

BUILDING T-1153

 
 

Art’s Profile     (Art's CR Profile - PDF)
Art is a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. He has operated his business, ACW Productions Video Services since 1989. He was born in the Greenville PA in 1950. His parents are Arthur C. Williams and Norma Jean Williams, both deceased. He has an older sister, Sondra (Wiggins). He was raised in Transfer, PA. His roots have always been connected to Transfer and the surrounding area.
He attended Transfer Elementary School and graduated from Reynolds High School in 1969. He continued his education at Edinboro University, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Education Degree. In 1979 he earned his Master’s Degree in Speech Communication from West Virginia University.

From his childhood through college he participated in the following sports: baseball, football & basketball.  After college he coached a variety of these sports.

He taught 5th grade in a self-contained classroom at the Whitesville Junior High School in Whitesville, WV from 1974 through 1990. He also taught a computer class for the 9th grade. While  there he was the head coach for the girls’ junior high basketball team and was the boys’ junior high basketball team’s assistant coach.
He moved back to Transfer after his mother’s death in 1990 and substituted as an elementary teacher in the local schools. In 1995 and 1996, he taught a computer class and coached the girls and boys varsity basketball teams at Sharon Christian Academy in Sharon, PA. He also taught a Multimedia Class at Lane Bible College in Transfer. Later In 2018, 2020 & 2026 he taught classes at Slippery Rock University’s Institute for Retirement on Camp Reynolds and the Destroyer USS McGowan during WWII in the Pacific.
He currently resides in Greenville, PA, six miles from his homestead where he still operates his business, ACW Productions, which he started in 1989 in WV. He has videoed over 278 weddings, hundreds of projects including Graduations, Proms, Dance Recitals, Sports Videos, Video Scrapbooks, Plays and First Communions, Anniversaries, Reunions among others. He also produced the Grove City Outlet Malls Grand Opening, the Camp Reynolds 50th Anniversary, and the Reynolds High School’s 50th Anniversary. He also produced several TV programs for Crossing Paths, a Christian Ministry.
In 1997, he expanded his business to include web design and hosting. Presently he only manages and hosts his personal websites; ACW Productions (www.acwpro.com), Camp Reynolds (www.campreynolds.com), ACW Museum (www.acwmuseum.com) and Greenville Area Web Site (www.greenville-pa.com). His ACW Productions website houses the Reynolds Wrestling, Reynolds Raiders and USS McGowan website files.
Art’s Connection to Camp Reynolds
Art’s connection to the Camp goes back to his grandfather and parents. His grandfather, Troy Stuver worked for the Mellon Stuart Company (the general contractor) who built the camp from August 3,
1942 to June 30, 1943. He was the Carpenter Foreman for Area 6. 
In 1943, his father, a senior at Transfer High School worked for the Mellon Stuart Company building roofs on the Camp’s Water Towers. In May he resigned and dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Navy. He was stationed on the destroyer U.S.S. McGowan 678 as a Fire Controlman, in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WW II (1943-1946).
His mother, a 1944 graduate of Penn High School in Greenville PA, worked at Camp Reynolds as a clerk-typist in the Camp Hospital in the Camp Surgeon’s office from September 18, 1944 to November 8, 1944.
After his Dad’s discharge from the Navy in 1946, his parents lived in Reynolds Village, the former Civilian Housing Project for civilian workers at the Camp. While living at Reynolds Village Art’s Dad & grandfather worked for the Trimble Company, the main contractor to dismantle and transform the barracks into living quarters from June 3, 1946 to December 27, 1946.
On September 18, 1947, his parents purchased 10 acres from W. H. and Georia Dunkerley who had repurchased their property the government had taken for Camp Reynolds. Then on December 17, 1947 they bought building T-1151, an officers’ administration building at the camp, from the Harris Wrecking Company from Cleveland, OH for $495. Art's Dad & Grandfather converted the building into a house, garage and shed. His parents and sister moved to their property in early 1948.
His personal connections started in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s when he would play Army with his friends in the camp’s remains.
In 1992 he was asked to be a member of the 50th Anniversary of Camp Reynolds. He produced a video of the Camp's three day celebration which took place on June 23rd, 24th & 25th in 1992. Later that year in August he produced a video of the burying of the Time Capsule which took place on August 22nd, 1992.
On August 6th 1994 the Camp Reynolds PA State Historical Marker was dedicated. Shortly after that the 50th Anniversary Committee disbanded. From that time on Art continued to develop the history of Camp Reynolds on his own. On December 9th 1998 he created a Camp Reynolds website, www.campreynolds.com.
He has given 90 plus presentations and displays, given tours and private viewings. The Camp has been highlighted on local TV News segments, Talk Radio and area newspapers. He taught three classes on the History of Camp Reynolds at Slippery Rock University‘s Institute for Learning in Retirement.
He has produced several videos of the camp, an information card, maps and posters. In 2021 he wrote a book entitled “The History of Camp Reynolds”. The book is available on the Camp website.

Art’s collection of Camp Reynolds memorabilia include the following; original 8 ft maps (details the buildings and streets of the camp), a map which shows the former land owners and the acreage used for the camp, over 200 Signal Corps photos of the camp, 80 plus editions of the Victory News (the camp's weekly newspaper), several camp telephone directories, other camp photos, and other maps along with other memorabilia. The collection has been digitally captured for safe keeping and also used for sharing with people and for displays and research.