How a three-decade tradition of Canyon visits has become the heartbeat of a rural Texas community.
Every year, Irion County Elementary’s fourth through sixth grade students arrive at Foundation Camp whispering about him: Goat Man. Half man, half goat, he sneaks across the Frio River into Singing Hills by night. The older students have seen him and lived to tell the tale.
“The tales have changed over the years. Each new group of kids puts their spin on the stories for the next group, and so Goat Man lives on,” said Irion ISD parent Hunter Elkins.
Irion County ISD is located in the small town of Mertzon, Texas, where everybody knows your parents and grandparents, even your cousins. It’s a place where campfire myths become heritage. Goat Man isn’t an isolated camp legend; he’s part of the thread of Canyon traditions woven through generations.
According to the 2020 census, Mertzon has a population of 747 people. In 2025, the school pulled into camp with 123 staff, teachers, students, and parents—nearly 17% of the tiny town. While Foundation Camp is officially a school trip, for the people of Irion County, it’s really a communal ritual.
“Every fall semester,” said Elkins, “the whole town looks forward to two things: Our Fall Festival and camp.”
It all started in 1989, when the Irion County Elementary principal and another staff member attended a conference for the Outdoor Education Association at the Y.O. Ranch, where they learned about the H. E. Butt Foundation and the opportunity for their school to have retreats through the Foundation Camp program. The following year, they brought the first group of Irion County ISD students to the Canyon. The school has been coming ever since.
“For the families of Irion County, camp is a
highlight of childhood and community life.”
Today, one, two, sometimes three generations of any given Mertzon family share memories of camp. The current principal of Irion County Elementary and High School, Dr. Jessica Parker, attended camp as an elementary school student, returned as both principal and parent when her two daughters came of age, and even her dad has joined the fun as camp’s resident ice cream man, bringing his “old-school John Deere ice cream machine.”
Second-grade teacher Amber Sproul, after attending Texas Tech University and teaching in San Angelo, returned to Mertzon and to camp.
“They usually only take the upper elementary teachers to camp, but I begged,” laughed Sproul. “When they finally asked if I could come help in the kitchen, I said, ‘Yes, absolutely!’”
Now, Sproul can’t wait until her eight-year-old son can also join her in the Canyon. She and all three of her sisters share memories of being at camp with their parents.
“My mom came as a cook one year, and my dad taught fishing,” said Sproul. “We did so many different activities, but my favorite camp memories are of fishing with my dad.”
The anticipation of camp grows each year for Sproul’s son as he gets closer to entering the fourth grade. And who wouldn’t be excited hearing about outdoor science classes, launching homemade rockets, and getting paint smeared on your face like a badge of honor by the famous social studies teacher, Mr. White, when you pop a ballon with your arrow during archery?
One day, Sproul’s son could even be one of the older students bringing Goat Man to life with goat noises and clomping sounds outside the fourth grade cabins at night.
Built at Camp, Carried by Community
For the families of Irion County, camp is a highlight of childhood and community life. Time away from home and work for four weekdays in the middle of the year is a big ask, yet year after year the school is never short on volunteers.
Traditions like camp have built and kept a trust and connection with the community that’s invaluable to rural districts like Irion ISD. So what exactly does high trust look like between a community and their school district?
When the district has deep needs, the community entrusts them with the resources to meet those needs.
Put another way, community trust formed in part by the experience of camp, helped the community passed the largest bond in the school’s history in May of 2024: $55 million to build a new primary school building and remodel of other parts of campus, including the cafeteria.
Today, the entire town can share a meal together in the new cafeteria—something not possible at the three small restaurants in Mertzon. On days like the annual Thanksgiving luncheon, the kitchen staff preps to serve 700+ just to be on the safe side. “Students bring their entire families … aunts, uncles, grandparents,” said Superintendent Dr. Nikki Moore. “If you look around, you’ll see three to five adults per child.”
“Traditions like camp have built and kept a
trust and connection with the community.”
Elkins, an Irion County ISD alum, remembers when there wasn’t a seat to be found at the Thanksgiving luncheon. “Sometimes you’d come out to lunch and have to find somewhere else to eat, like the gym,” he said. “But this new cafeteria finally fits everyone. I can look around this big room and see at least 25 people who I went to camp with here having lunch with their kid. People I know.”
Elkins’ wife also attended the Thanksgiving luncheon, and while she is originally from Galveston, Texas, she’s been able to attend Foundation Camp twice as a parent volunteer with their daughter, Lyla.
“She never had the opportunity to do something like that growing up, and bringing people to camp is really part of the culture here,” said Elkins.
For the people of Irion County, whether you’ve been there for decades or just moved to town, everyone deserves to experience the Canyon. Everyone deserves to tell their own tale of Goat-Man.
