2004 – Contributed by G. Ernest Heegard

Thirty years after Camp Horseshoe Scout Reservation opened in 1928, there finally was a telephone in camp connecting them to the outside world. Part of the thinking of that time was “to keep the camping experience isolated and more primitive.”  

Throughout the 1940’s, field-phones were first introduced to camp. They were the old Army surplus crank-to-ring fieldphones. These phones in canvass bags were strapped to the walls and connected headquarters, White House, dining hall, and health lodge to each other. This proved to be a huge improvement over the ‘walk’ or ‘shout’ method employed throughout the 1930’s.

All incoming calls prior to 1958 were relayed by the Cole’s (the camp rangers), who took emergency calls on their own multi-party-line phone in Maryland. Orders for supplies and food, along with communications to the Council office had to be done at the Rising Sun Phone Company, which was next to the Catholic Church in Rising Sun, usually in conjunction with the town run.

During the summer of 1958, Troop 6 of West Chester donated our first real camp telephone to the outside world and dedicated it to the memory of Robert Mackey, an Eagle Scout from their troop. Shortly after that, the “OCTORARO PHONE COMPANY” was formed. This was the creation of Joe Knipe and Fred Conner, along with Tom and Leonard McCabe, and many others of Octoraro Lodge 22, Order of the Arrow. Stock shares were printed and sold to acquire wire and equipment for a better in-camp phone system. The first switchboard was a huge olive-drab box with five or six rows of switches and drop-down signals. Wires were strung throughout camp and phones were installed in most buildings. This launched Camp Horseshoe into the 20th Century. A slightly illegal jumper connected the outside line to the switchboard enabling our Scout operator to patch incoming calls to any phone in camp. He also was able to route calls between in-camp phones.

As time went by, newer equipment was added with the help of additional leadership – Bob Thomas, John Dinsmore, Ray Gentile, and Al Forssmark. Most of these new workers were also employees of Ma Bell.

Within the last few years, the old AT&T switchboard was replaced by a modern electronic switching system that included both Camp Horseshoe and Camp Ware. This new system allowed each extension to directly dial any other phone on the Reservation. This new equipment was the direct result of the efforts of John Ruble, Sam Cole, Bill Walsh, and Mike Slictur.  

Thanks to all those men who over the years have paved the way for all of our 15 phone lines and 50 extensions, making it a sophisticated phone system… The Scouts and Scouters of Camp Horseshoe and Camp Ware owe a real debt of gratitude to all these men and their untold army of helpers who install and update the property of the “OCTORARO PHONE COMPANY”. If you still hold some of the early fund-raising stock certificates of this flourishing company, keep them in a safe place for dividends might be just around the corner.