Done

[Eamonn 61]

I didn't get up to visit our Council Summer camp this year.

OJ was working as the Camp Nurse for part of the time.

He had a great time, many of the guys who had been officers in the OA when he was an officer seemed to have found a way of making their way back.

This little gang were a super group when they were Scouts and I kinda think that most of them are going to be around for a very long time to come and will in time become the guys who are the movers and groover's in the Council.

I owe the Reservation Director a dinner, so in the next few weeks, I'll have him and his wife over for dinner and I'm sure that he will fill me in on how things went.

Before camp we had dinner and he said that they were expecting about 1,100 Scouts this year, about the same number as last year.

Over the years summer camp has gone from lasting eight weeks down to now only being open for six. I have heard it said that if it wasn't for the Troops coming from out of Council that it might have to be cut back even more.

A lot of time and a lot of money goes into the camp. Every year it seems that I hear about a new camp truck or a new tractor. Equipment like tents and canoes are always being replaced. Keeping the food service areas safe and up to code seems to entail a lot of maintenance and costly repairs.

Camp was over this past Saturday, some of the Staff went off to NOAC. Leaving those that were left to tear down, in the next few weeks there will be an OA weekend and the Lodge will finalize stowing everything where it is supposed to be.

I'm not sure what else is going to go on at camp. I think before camp opened there was a NYLT course, if enough people sign up there could be a religious retreat. In October there will be the last OA weekend of the year.

Then it really is done until next spring.

The camp is open for Troops to use for Troop camping. But being as it's up in the mountains once the snow comes it can be at times impossible to get in or out of.

There is a couple of really nice building that could be used for winter activities but the cost of renting the buildings has got so high that many of the smaller Troops just don't have the numbers to make renting the building within their reach.

I have always thought that having all of this equipment and only using it for summer camp is not a very good return on our investment.

While of course having a fully staffed summer camp up and running when no one is around would be silly. I think leaving a few sites up and maybe leaving the Cub Scout camp up, so that units or Patrols could make use of it would seem like a good idea.

I feel sure we could find a few willing volunteers that have the qualifications that would be willing to open the pool and the ranges..

Even the kitchen and dinning hall could go into more of a snack bar type operation, serving hot-dogs and burgers for people who just want to come up for the day.

Over the past few weeks in the forum there has been a lot of talk about Training. From now until the snow comes I feel sure we could gather a few willing trainers who could offer what could be called Clinics on outdoor skills, inviting people up to come and learn or brush up on skills.

As far as I'm concerned having a wonderful resource that is only used for a few weeks a year? Just seems silly.

I know that having summer camp done and safely packed away until next year is what we have always done and I can hear some people saying that having parts of it open will mean that some Scouts are not going to want to come up for the week. Still next time I'm thinking about my FOS donation....

 

Eamonn.

[prairie 10]

Thankyou Eamonn for these words, they give me much to think of.