Connecticut Rivers Council
Encyclopedia
The camp is located in the scenic New England Town of Ashford, Connecticut
. Originally opened as Camp Ashford on June 28, 1964, today the reservation occupies 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of land and a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) man-made lake named Goss Pond. The camp is located on the farm once owned by Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton
, hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill
and a commander in the Continental Army
. The reservation has two camps; Camp Akela and the Resident Camp. In 1963, Eastern Connecticut Council sold Camp Quinebaug to purchase 1200 acres (4.9 km²) property with a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) lake in Ashford, Connecticut. The camp was named Camp Ashford and was officially opened on June 28, 1964. After two years of operations, the name was changed to June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation after a donation on behalf of June Norcross Webster, of the Norcross Greeting Card Company. A land donation was also made by the Brand Trust. Camp Ashford is the semi-official name of the Resident Camp. The reservation has been operated by three different councils: Eastern Connecticut Council (Norwich CT) 1964-1971, Indian Trails Council (Norwich CT) 1971-1995 and Connecticut Rivers Council (East Hartford CT) since 1995. Camp Akela is located on the June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation in Ashford. This camp is home to the Akela Cub Day Camp and the Connecticut Rivers Council National Youth Leader Training. The camp consists of the Perreguax Activity Center, Mordavsky Pavilion, Knowlton Field, Goss Brook, the Harvard H. Ellis Reservation Director's House and several patrol campsites.
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This 340 acres (1.4 km²) camp is located in Bozrah, Connecticut
and was established in 1947 by the Middlesex County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It was the chief summer camp for Boy Scouts from this small council from 1947 until a merger of five councils in 1972. The Long Rivers Council, which resulted from this merger, used this camp as a Boy Scout summer camp up until 1976, when a declining Boy Scout-aged population forced the council to end the summer camp program. By the mid-1960s, the Camp Tadma property also became known as Mark Greer Scout Reservation in honor of a local scouting patron.
There were five campsites available: Pioneer, Mohegan, Kiehtan, Tantaquidgeon and Uncas. The dining hall was also a small operation and could not have fit much more than 120 scouts. During its last year of camp operations in 1976, the Tadma kitchen was run by Joe Grillo, who would go onto become the famous PGA caddy Joe "Gypsy" Grillo.
The council attempted to make the camp a high adventure base in 1977 and 1978, but demand was not there. It ran a pilot cub scout day camp during the summer of 1977. In the 1990s, Tadma's Venture Post number 78 was chosen to represent the year, 1978, that the council decided to make Camp Tadma strictly a Cub Scout resident camp during the summer camp season. In 1979, Long Rivers Council reopened summer camping at Camp Tadma for Webelos. Its program was one of five camps in the nation that was used to create the Cub Scout Camping Program in 1984. With the Long Rivers-Indian Trails Council merger in the 1990s, Camp Tadma retained this summer camp program.
Camp Tadma currently operates over the summer as a Cub Scout (including Webelos) resident camp, while offering weekend camping to Boy Scout troops over the fall, winter and spring. Immediately west is the Wakenah Cub Scout Day Camp that opened in 2006 after the sale of the Camp Wakenah property on Gartner Lake in Salem.
The Camp Tadma portion of the property radiates from the central parade field, which is ringed by the camp office, nurses cabin and trading post. The newly-renovated dining hall sits immediately north up a small hill. Most summer sites are located north of the dining hall along the dirt road from the parade field. The dirt road splits west to the back entrance and rangers station and east to the BB and Archery ranges at the northern tip of the pond. East of the parade field is the Council Ring, where evening campfires are held with an impressive view of Tadma Pond. The newly-expanded waterfront is located south of the parade field, along a dirt road somewhat inland of the pond. The road bends along the dam at the pond's southern end, where it passes the A-frame chapel and heads into the undeveloped eastern shore of Tadma pond, which is popular for backpacking
campouts.
In 2004, Camp Wakenah's day camp program was moved into the Mark Greer Reservation and shares Tadma Pond with the resident camp. Tadma's Camp Director holds the task of the Mark Greer Reservation Director.
Tadma made it to the national spotlight in April 2010 when a staff member wrote a grant proposal through the Pepsi Refresh Project campaign (sponsored by Pepsi Co.) and won $50,000 to renovate the camp's waterfront. The lifeguard who applied for it reached to all corners of America to collect votes in support of his efforts. The project has brought new light to the camp and has spurred new interest in camping to local packs. Construction is due to be completed in May, 2011.
. It is suitable for wilderness camping.
The camp was devastated after an ice storm. However, in November 2010, a campwide project was held to restore the camp. Around 70 scouts from the Connecticut Rivers Council helped to refurbish the camp, which is now usable again.
The program includes Swimming and Boating on the West Hill Pond (sail boats, snorkeling, Sail Boarding, Underwater Nature Hike, team Canoeing, Campwide Aquatic Meet, kayaking and Polar Bear Swim). Older Scouts can use the Shawtown Wilderness Trek. For younger Scouts, the Scout Skills Program is offered. Scouts new to camp can complete requirements toward completion of the beginning ranks in Scouting. Each week a number of campwide activities are scheduled, including Aquatic Meet, Scoutmaster Shoot-Off, Friday Night Campfire, Saturday Court of Honor and Family Bar-B-Que.
The camp hosts its own Cub Scout Day Camp in addition to its resident Boy Scout camp, which serve about 500 Cub Scouts and 1,000 Boy Scouts each summer. Six cabins on the camp grounds allow for winter camping.
lodge for the Connecticut Rivers Council. The name translates to "stronger one" in Lenape. Their totem is of two Americans Indians shooting arrows. The lodge was created with the merger of Sassacus and Eluwak in 1995.
Before the merge, a joint meeting between the two lodges was held at Camp Tadma in the spring of 1995. In fall, a joint lodge conclave was held, hosted by Sassacus Lodge, at June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation in Ashford. On September 17, 1995 the membership voted on their by-laws, chose the name Tschitani for the new lodge and a slate of officers were elected. An Official Charter was given to the Tschitani Lodge on January 1, 1996.
In the spring of 1996 and again in 2001, Tschitani Lodge hosted the Section NE-1B Conclave at Camp June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation. The theme for the weekend was "The Journey Starts from Within." 2003 saw a slight change in the by-laws to allow the election of two lodge vice chiefs and changed election procedures.
At the 2005 National Order of the Arrow Conference, Tschitani Lodge received the 2004 and 2006 NOAC Spirit Award and the ceremonial team received Honor Medals. The lodge received the National Quality Lodge award in 1997 and 2002. As the first lodge in the state, it was recipient of the National OA Service Grant in 2005.
Ashford, Connecticut
President George Washington, returning from his tour of the country in the fall of 1789, was chagrined to be involuntarily abandoned in the village on a Sunday...
. Originally opened as Camp Ashford on June 28, 1964, today the reservation occupies 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of land and a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) man-made lake named Goss Pond. The camp is located on the farm once owned by Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton
Thomas Knowlton
Thomas Knowlton was an American patriot who served in the French and Indian War and was a Colonel during the American Revolution. Knowlton is considered America's first Intelligence professional, and his unit, Knowlton's Rangers, made a significant contribution to intelligence gathering during...
, hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
and a commander in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
. The reservation has two camps; Camp Akela and the Resident Camp. In 1963, Eastern Connecticut Council sold Camp Quinebaug to purchase 1200 acres (4.9 km²) property with a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) lake in Ashford, Connecticut. The camp was named Camp Ashford and was officially opened on June 28, 1964. After two years of operations, the name was changed to June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation after a donation on behalf of June Norcross Webster, of the Norcross Greeting Card Company. A land donation was also made by the Brand Trust. Camp Ashford is the semi-official name of the Resident Camp. The reservation has been operated by three different councils: Eastern Connecticut Council (Norwich CT) 1964-1971, Indian Trails Council (Norwich CT) 1971-1995 and Connecticut Rivers Council (East Hartford CT) since 1995. Camp Akela is located on the June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation in Ashford. This camp is home to the Akela Cub Day Camp and the Connecticut Rivers Council National Youth Leader Training. The camp consists of the Perreguax Activity Center, Mordavsky Pavilion, Knowlton Field, Goss Brook, the Harvard H. Ellis Reservation Director's House and several patrol campsites.
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Mark Greer Scout Reservation
The Mark Greer Scout Reservation is located in Bozrah and is currently operated by Connecticut Rivers Council. It is home to Camp Tadma, a Cub Scout summer resident camp and is also the newest home to Camp Wakenah, a Cub Scout day camp previously located on Gardner Lake in Salem. The reservation was known almost exclusively as Camp Tadma until the sale of the Camp Wakenah property in Salem, Connecticut in 2004 and its operations moved the western edge of the Bozrah property.This 340 acres (1.4 km²) camp is located in Bozrah, Connecticut
Bozrah, Connecticut
Bozrah is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,357 at the 2000 census. Bozrah contains three villages: Fitchville, the town center; Leffingwell, a crossroads on Route 82; and Gilman, a mill village along Fitchville Road....
and was established in 1947 by the Middlesex County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It was the chief summer camp for Boy Scouts from this small council from 1947 until a merger of five councils in 1972. The Long Rivers Council, which resulted from this merger, used this camp as a Boy Scout summer camp up until 1976, when a declining Boy Scout-aged population forced the council to end the summer camp program. By the mid-1960s, the Camp Tadma property also became known as Mark Greer Scout Reservation in honor of a local scouting patron.
There were five campsites available: Pioneer, Mohegan, Kiehtan, Tantaquidgeon and Uncas. The dining hall was also a small operation and could not have fit much more than 120 scouts. During its last year of camp operations in 1976, the Tadma kitchen was run by Joe Grillo, who would go onto become the famous PGA caddy Joe "Gypsy" Grillo.
The council attempted to make the camp a high adventure base in 1977 and 1978, but demand was not there. It ran a pilot cub scout day camp during the summer of 1977. In the 1990s, Tadma's Venture Post number 78 was chosen to represent the year, 1978, that the council decided to make Camp Tadma strictly a Cub Scout resident camp during the summer camp season. In 1979, Long Rivers Council reopened summer camping at Camp Tadma for Webelos. Its program was one of five camps in the nation that was used to create the Cub Scout Camping Program in 1984. With the Long Rivers-Indian Trails Council merger in the 1990s, Camp Tadma retained this summer camp program.
Camp Tadma currently operates over the summer as a Cub Scout (including Webelos) resident camp, while offering weekend camping to Boy Scout troops over the fall, winter and spring. Immediately west is the Wakenah Cub Scout Day Camp that opened in 2006 after the sale of the Camp Wakenah property on Gartner Lake in Salem.
The Camp Tadma portion of the property radiates from the central parade field, which is ringed by the camp office, nurses cabin and trading post. The newly-renovated dining hall sits immediately north up a small hill. Most summer sites are located north of the dining hall along the dirt road from the parade field. The dirt road splits west to the back entrance and rangers station and east to the BB and Archery ranges at the northern tip of the pond. East of the parade field is the Council Ring, where evening campfires are held with an impressive view of Tadma Pond. The newly-expanded waterfront is located south of the parade field, along a dirt road somewhat inland of the pond. The road bends along the dam at the pond's southern end, where it passes the A-frame chapel and heads into the undeveloped eastern shore of Tadma pond, which is popular for backpacking
Backpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
campouts.
In 2004, Camp Wakenah's day camp program was moved into the Mark Greer Reservation and shares Tadma Pond with the resident camp. Tadma's Camp Director holds the task of the Mark Greer Reservation Director.
Tadma made it to the national spotlight in April 2010 when a staff member wrote a grant proposal through the Pepsi Refresh Project campaign (sponsored by Pepsi Co.) and won $50,000 to renovate the camp's waterfront. The lifeguard who applied for it reached to all corners of America to collect votes in support of his efforts. The project has brought new light to the camp and has spurred new interest in camping to local packs. Construction is due to be completed in May, 2011.
Frederick Sprague Barbour Scout Reservation
The 106 acre (0.42896716 km²) camp is located in Norfolk, ConnecticutNorfolk, Connecticut
Norfolk is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,660 at the 2000 census.Norfolk is perhaps best known as the site of the Yale Summer School of Music – Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, which hosts an annual chamber music concert series in "the Music Shed," a...
. It is suitable for wilderness camping.
The camp was devastated after an ice storm. However, in November 2010, a campwide project was held to restore the camp. Around 70 scouts from the Connecticut Rivers Council helped to refurbish the camp, which is now usable again.
Camp Workcoeman
Camp Workcoeman is located on the shore of West Hill Lake in New Hartford, Connecticut. Established in 1924, it is one of the oldest, continuously-operated scout camps in the country. For over 80 years, thousands of scouts and leaders have experienced Scouting at its best at Camp Workcoeman. It is also home to Laurel Music Camp. In 1994, Camp Workcoeman was part of a study conducted by the National Boy Scout Council for exemplary Scout camps in the country.The program includes Swimming and Boating on the West Hill Pond (sail boats, snorkeling, Sail Boarding, Underwater Nature Hike, team Canoeing, Campwide Aquatic Meet, kayaking and Polar Bear Swim). Older Scouts can use the Shawtown Wilderness Trek. For younger Scouts, the Scout Skills Program is offered. Scouts new to camp can complete requirements toward completion of the beginning ranks in Scouting. Each week a number of campwide activities are scheduled, including Aquatic Meet, Scoutmaster Shoot-Off, Friday Night Campfire, Saturday Court of Honor and Family Bar-B-Que.
Camp Mattatuck
Camp Mattatuck is located in Plymouth, Connecticut. Mattatuck Council purchased 170 acres (0.7 km²) in 1938 and the camp opened the following year. The original 170 acres (0.7 km²) included wooded areas, open fields and Lake Kenosha. The first campsites were built overlooking the lake on the west. Additional properties were purchased to comprise the 500 acre (2 km²) camp today.The camp hosts its own Cub Scout Day Camp in addition to its resident Boy Scout camp, which serve about 500 Cub Scouts and 1,000 Boy Scouts each summer. Six cabins on the camp grounds allow for winter camping.
Tschitani Lodge
Tschitani Lodge is the Order of the ArrowOrder of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
lodge for the Connecticut Rivers Council. The name translates to "stronger one" in Lenape. Their totem is of two Americans Indians shooting arrows. The lodge was created with the merger of Sassacus and Eluwak in 1995.
Before the merge, a joint meeting between the two lodges was held at Camp Tadma in the spring of 1995. In fall, a joint lodge conclave was held, hosted by Sassacus Lodge, at June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation in Ashford. On September 17, 1995 the membership voted on their by-laws, chose the name Tschitani for the new lodge and a slate of officers were elected. An Official Charter was given to the Tschitani Lodge on January 1, 1996.
In the spring of 1996 and again in 2001, Tschitani Lodge hosted the Section NE-1B Conclave at Camp June Norcross Webster Scout Reservation. The theme for the weekend was "The Journey Starts from Within." 2003 saw a slight change in the by-laws to allow the election of two lodge vice chiefs and changed election procedures.
At the 2005 National Order of the Arrow Conference, Tschitani Lodge received the 2004 and 2006 NOAC Spirit Award and the ceremonial team received Honor Medals. The lodge received the National Quality Lodge award in 1997 and 2002. As the first lodge in the state, it was recipient of the National OA Service Grant in 2005.