Archive for the ‘summer camp’ Category


I have recently been going through my archives of video footage taken while at Scout camps and recently came across my film of the Buckskin Camp’s opening campfire program on July 12, 2009. I have edited it into a few videos and placed them on the Melrose Scouting Productions channel on YouTube. Watch them and relive a bit of Scouting from a decade ago.

The Bottomless Lake song may have been new to the Boy Scouts at this Many Point Scout Camp summer camp campfire, but they sang good and loud by the end of it.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have been attending a week of summer camp at Many Point Scout Camp every year since the early 1990s. They enjoy the program and the staff at the Buckskin Camp. This year, 2019, will be the first year they will change camps as they attend the Ten Chiefs Camp which is located south of the Buckskin Camp. That means the Scouts will not be eating in the Buckskin dining hall this summer. They will be eating their meals in their campsite.

Part of the fun of the Buckskin dining hall is the songs lead by the camp staff before heading into the building to eat. The staff does a great job getting the Scouts fired up and singing.

As I start posting Scouting videos online again I thought I would begin with a video featuring the MPSC staff leading the troops in songs before a few meals. This video was recorded during Troop 68’s stay in June 2017. The video is approximately 20 minutes long. Maybe it will give your troop a couple of ideas for their next campfire program.

The video can be seen at: https://youtu.be/c6IEdWK_t90

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Six Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 are now attending summer camp at Many Point Scout Camp in northwestern Minnesota. They left Sunday morning with Scoutmaster Dave and Jason, a father of one of the Scouts. They were all pretty excited about going to camp again. The older Scouts are hoping to get to spend a night in one of the two tree houses found at Many Point. (I found out earlier today that they would get their wish Thursday night.)

I am planning to go up to camp Thursday morning and spend the rest of the week with the troop. During every year that I was the scoutmaster I spent at least one week on a long term camp with the Scouts, either a week at summer camp or two weeks at a high adventure camp like Philmont Scout Ranch. I may not be the scoutmaster anymore but it just does not feel like summer if I do not go to summer camp for at least one day. I have to have fun for at least one day, if not two.

Unfortunately, I see the weather forecast says I may get a little wet once I arrive at camp but, oh well, that is a part of what camping is about. I will pack my Gore-Tex rain gear and umbrella, and make the best of it. It is not like it will be the first time it has ever rained while I was camping. And it probably will not be the last.

MPSC 2016 patchThe Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 have completed their weeklong summer camp for the year. Once again, the troop went to Many Point Scout Camp which is located northwest of Park Rapids in Minnesota. Only four Scouts of the troop attended camp because the older boys will be going on a high adventure trip this week.

Three adults spent a week at the camp, two fathers and Eymard, our 89 year old assistant scoutmaster. I believe this was Eymard’s 27th year attending summer camp, and his 24th or 25th year at Many Point. I did not spend the week at camp but did take one day off work to visit the troop, and it was a full scheduled Thursday that I picked to spend with the boys.

I arrived at camp an hour later then I had planned. I forgot it took 2.5 hours to get there. For some reason I was thinking it was only going to take two hours. I walked into the Seton Campsite at the Buckskin Camp at 10:00 that morning. I was not to worried about missing anything though. I knew the Scouts had merit badge sessions in the morning and would be scattered around the camp. I took a few minutes to chat with Eymard and Dave, the dad who was there for his second year of camp, to see how things were going before I grabbed my camera and started the hunt to find the Scouts. Jason, the other dad and first time camp attendee, was checking out the older boy program camp.

I discovered I was not the hunter, or at least not a very good one. The Scouts found me. As I walked past the old handicrafts lodge, which I now call the gaming lodge since it is the location of the Chess and Game Design merit badges, I heard someone yell my name. As I turned around I saw three of the four Scouts standing in the doorway inviting me into the lodge to see what they had been doing. I quickly discovered all four Scouts were in the building working on the Game Design merit badge.

As the next merit badge session began, the boys separated as they headed to three different classes. I visited each class and took a few pictures of each of the Scouts. After all, that was my unofficial job, troop cameraman. It was funny when one of the Scouts made a comment that now someone will be taking pictures during camp. I guess he thought the dads had been a little lax in this area. But than, in their defense, I am well known for taking lots of pictures. I do mean lots of pictures. I went home after that one day of camp with nearly 180 pictures. Yeah, maybe I take too many, but you know, everyone likes to look at them later.

We did not eat lunch in the dining hall. Instead, we grabbed bagged lunches because we were going on a field trip. We were going to spend the afternoon at Itasca State Park, which is located only 45 minutes from camp. It was time for the Scouts to see the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River. There would be a lot of photo taking opportunities for me.

We arrived back in camp the the 4:00 merit badge session. There was a little free time after that session to goof around and chat. Then it was time to retire the colors and head to supper at the dining hall. After being well fed the Scouts did some merit badge homework and attended some of the  open programs. When the boys started coming back to the campsite about 8:30 we prepared to start a fire for making s’mores. I had stopped on the way to camp that morning to pick up the ingredients.

Unfortunately, I was not able to stay around to enjoy the campfire. I had to go to work the next morning. I left camp at 9:30 that evening to start the long journey home. I walked into my house at midnight, tired, but glad I had spent a day at camp. I had a good time, and it looked like the boys and adults were having a great time.

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This week nine Boy Scouts from Melrose Troop 68 are attending summer camp at Many Point Scout Camp in northern Minnesota. I was there with them from Sunday through Wednesday and I can tell you, they are having a blast, even though the weather could be a little less humid and a little dryer. It rained almost every day I was there.

The adult leaders gather every Wednesday at the Buckskin dining hall for a leader’s recognition dinner. The camp leaders tell us about the new programs and additions to the campsites, and they also play a video made from pictures taken earlier in the week. The pictures is this year’s video highlighted the adults who attended MPSC with their troops. Dave, a father of one of our Scouts, and I both made it into the video. We were both surprised by that. Neither of us knew that our photo was taken. I was playing lacrosse with the Scouts while Dave was watching the boys play gaga ball.

The team at Many Point have posted the video on their Youtube page. Here it is for you to enjoy. It is a little over three and a half minutes long.

Bear Skin SignWhat do you think of when you hear the words “bear skin”? Is your first thought a bear skin rug? Maybe a sporting game between the Bears and the Redskins? Maybe a sunburn after sitting with bare skin in the sun too long? One of the things I think of is summer camp. It was the name of the campsite my troop used for two years when I attended camp as a youth.

I attended Parker Scout Reservation of the Central Minnesota Council for three years during the mid-1970’s. It is a small camp by some summer camp standards, but it was the home of Troop 68 and other troops for a week of fun and excitement. In its earlier days it was called Camp Clyde. These days it is sometimes called Camp Parker. It closed as a summer camp in the late 1970’s but is still used as a weekend camp for council Boy Scout and Cub Scout activities. Troop 68 has used the camp on several occasions over the years for their own weekend activities.

The council has done several major renovations and additions to Camp Parker during the last few decades. The old dining hall was completely renovated and an addition was built onto it. A storage building was added next to it at the same time. A new shower house was constructed back in the nineties. Several older buildings have been remodeled with new heating systems installed. The biggest addition to Camp Parker took place when the castle was built. Yes, you read that correctly. A castle. (Pictures of the castle can be seen at http://www.bsacmc.org/photo_gallery_miller_castle.html .)

A few months ago I received a phone call at work asking if the lumber yard would like to donate some cedar lumber so new signs could be built for the campsites. The signs were getting pretty run down and looked rather shoddy. I did not even give my boss a chance to reply to the request. I used this as a chance for myself to give back a little to the place I have been going to for four decades. I donated the materials.

But I had one request. I wanted the old campsite sign of the camp I stayed in as a young Boy Scout. I wanted the old Bear Skin sign. I was told that should not be a problem and that they would set it aside for me.

That was a couple months ago. Yesterday, when I arrived back home from working at my parents renovation project, I found something placed between my front door and combination door. Later in the morning my district executive had stopped by my house on his way through town and dropped off the sign. Other than patches and pictures, this is the first item from Camp Parker I have been able to add to my Scouting collection.

The sign was actually in decent shape considering it has weathered several Minnesota winters and summers. I really have no idea how long this sign has marked the campsite. I would doubt it is the same sign that welcomed Boy Scouts in the 1970’s, but it is a piece of camp history and I am happy to have it in my collection.

Below you can see a map of Parker Scout Reservation from a camporee probably held in the early 1990’s. As you can see, Parker is not a big camp but it really does not matter. I have made a lot of great Scouting memories there.

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MPSC2014P1The opening campfire of a week of Boy Scout summer camp. It is time to meet the staff that will play an important role during the success of your troop’s time at camp. Is the staff enthusiastic? Are they energetic? Are they ready to provide you with the totally awesome program you have come to expect from camp? Are they a little bit crazy? In the case of the 2014 Many Point Scout Camp Buckskin staff, the answer is yes to all the above, and their opening campfire was a great demonstration of how enthusiastic and crazy they could be.

This video was recorded during the July 6, 2014, opening campfire. This will be the first of a few videos filmed during the campfire that will be posted to the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast. As you can see when you watch this, this year’s staff was pumped to start working with a new week of Boy Scout campers. This video features the staff introductions and the singing of the Many Point Rouser. As all “repeat after me” songs, it gets pretty loud and rowdy by the end.

Video Information: 960 x 540, time 05:22, 145.4 MB. m4v format.

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