Carol Adcock’s first impression of Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly was one of awe.
“It’s just a special island of love, spirit and beauty and people,” she said. “It never gets old. There’s never a routine of what we do.”
Whether it’s traveling to Mo-Ranch with her book club or spending Labor Day weekend at the ranch with her church, Adcock is on property several times a year.
Most recently, she was back at Mo with the Guadalupe Gathering, a volunteer group that does everything from helping with landscaping work to hand addressing envelopes and wrapping silverware for the Thanksgiving buffet.
“We do whatever staff needs help with,” Adcock said.
Adcock, who lives in Fort Worth, visited Mo for the first time in the 1970s. She was living in Denton, working as a student dean at the University of North Texas.
“One of my students worked at Mo during the summer as a camp counselor. She had invited a friend to go to Mo for spring break and asked me if I wanted to go with them,” Adcock said.
Adcock said she never had heard of Mo, but was curious.
“At that time, the Mabee building was the cafeteria and downstairs had a patio area with ping-pong tables,” she said.
Adcock didn’t know it then, but that initial visit sparked a tradition that has been going strong for decades.
In her years of coming to Mo-Ranch, she’s worked as a counselor for a high school group and attended conferences, including a Theology and Tennis retreat.
When she married, her late husband, Bob Adcock, shared her passion for Mo-Ranch. He served on the board for several years.
“So, we would come for board meetings. Then at one point, a group got together to do work on Nicklos Place when it became a part of Mo-Ranch,” she said. “We did a lot of trimming and planting.”
Bob Adcock is now interned at the Columbarium.
“That makes it even more special for us,” she said.
A member of First Presbyterian Church Fort Worth, Adcock said two things keep bringing her back.
“It’s the people and the location,” she said. “I can’t imagine anybody not having a positive experience here — even if they do nothing but walk around. Once you come to Mo, you’re hooked.”
Coming from Fort Worth, she enjoys the peace and serenity.
“It’s quiet, and for people who come from big cities, quiet is something we don’t experience very often,” she said.
When she’s not a Mo-Ranch, Adcock enjoys attending book clubs and volunteering at her church. She lives in a retirement community and is famous there for her homemade brownies.
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