Reservation Signs

“Once you get the dust of Horseshoe in your moccasins, you can never get it out.”

HSRAA
A Proud Benefactor to HSR Since 2000.

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Reservation Signs

———— EXHIBIT ————

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“Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.”
–Robert H. Schuller

Exhibit Details

“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign …“. This exhibit is dedicated to the signs that helped us find our way to Camp and once there, find our way around Camp.

Displays in this Exhibit:

Tour Stop

Camp Horseshoe Signs

Camp Ware Signs

Temporary Signs

The Welcome Signs

Documents

Camp Horseshoe Signs

Display Details

Camp Horseshoe has a plethora of signs directing you where to go and letting you know where you are once you get there, with a few reminding of you why you’re here along the way.

Pictures

Videos

Pictures

The Camp Horseshoe sign, located at the intersection of Route 1 and Red Pump Road, is constructed of steel and has directed thousands into the camp.

This metal sign has greeted Horseshoe Campers for many years. It marked the old camp entrace off Route 1 before being moved to the new entrance farther north.

The same as the current sign, but back some years when the signpost was a bit taller and the forests a bit thinner.

After surviving the bumpy drive along the Octoraro on the old camp road, campers were greeted by the Horseshoe sign near Kindness Center.

Another look at the Horseshoe sign that welcomes all those who traveled down the Old Camp Road.

The Horseshoe’s Gate admonition is the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared”. These are the last words seen as you exit Camp Horseshoe.

The Camp Horseshoe Entrance Sign near the Lane House.

Old sign directing visitors to HSR.

Where was this sign located?

Through contributions from its members, the HSRAA was able to construct matching gates at both Camp Horseshoe and Camp John H. Ware 3rd.

“Smokey the Bear” sign reminding campers to be vigilant about preventing fires as well as listing the daily fire warning about the chance of a fire happening due to drought levels.

Each week during the summer camp season, these signs display who’s in camp for that particular week.

The Horseshoe Road sign, dedicated to G. Ernest Heegard for his many years as Camp Director of Horseshoe, got a facelift several years after the 1999 unveiling.

This signpost at the top of the Stockade Trail directs campers to some of the original campsites as well as some the newest.

This sign sat at the top of the Stockade Trail until about 2011, and this one included Dan Beard unlike older versions of the sign.

This sign sat at the split of the Stockade Trail until about 2011.

Furnished by the HSRAA, this signpost shows folks where to go for the Stockade trail sites.

Used to demarcate the boundaries of Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 1760s because of a land dispute, this marker is one of the original laid down by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. This one resides near the present-day Archery Range.

2008 – Contributed by Andrew Coe

The One Way sign directs drivers counter-clockwise around the loop. In the background, Karl “Moose” Winsch is also walking that direction.

The Boat Docks sign directs you to the… boat docks.

Lots of logs and other materials must find their way down to Achgeketum Circle in preparation for Saturday Night campfires or OA ceremonies and this sign directs the architects there.

The sign speaks for itself. This is located at the Old Quonset Hut.

HSRAA sign for the Dan Beard Campsite.

Here is the Dan Beard sign in 2022, looking festive for the 4th of July.

HSRAA sign for the Sherwood Forest Campsite.

HSRAA sign for the Conestoga Campsite.

HSRAA sign to direct campers to the Horseshoe Swimming Pool.

HSRAA sign for the Goodman Pavilion.

HSRAA sign for Davy Crockett Campsite.

HSRAA sign for the Kit Carson Campsite.

HSRAA sign for the Camp Horseshoe Health Lodge.

HSRAA sign for the Boonesboro Campsite.

HSRAA sign for the Camp Horseshoe Headquarters.

HSRAA sign for the Lenni-Lenape Campsite.

HSRAA sign for the Col. Clifton Lisle Campsite.

Old iron Rothrock Campsite sign.

HSRAA sign for the Octoraro Campsite.

Horseshoe Road was named for G.E. Heegard at Chester County Council gala in 1999.

HSRAA sign for the Bayard Taylor Campsite.

The original Trailblazers sign in 1996.

HSRAA sign for the Timberline Campsite.

This C.O.P.E. sign directs travellers from the new camp road up the Flag Pole Hill trail to the Allen Forssmark C.O.P.E. Course.

The Mason-Dixon Marker sign installed by HSRAA.

Here is the Archery Range sign that is part of the uniform signage done by the HSRAA back in 2010.

This C.O.P.E. sign goes back to the early 2000s, as well as the Flag Pole Hill sign (partially obscured).

This sign reminds guests and visitors that the Scout Law is the law of the camp.

The Trustworthy sign is the first Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Loyal sign is the second Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Helpful sign is the third Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Friendly sign is the fourth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Courteous sign is the fifth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Kind sign is the sixth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Obedient sign is the seventh Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Cheeful sign is the eighth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Thrifty sign is the ninth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Brave sign is the tenth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Clean sign is the eleventh Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

The Reverent sign is the twelfth Scout Law sign visitors will see upon entering Camp Horseshoe.

This was the Timberline campsite sign in 1996.

Some volunteers came across the original Grand Poobah sign at the 2018 Spook-o-ree.

The new Horseshoe Chapel Reverent sign went up in 2019.

The Weather Rock sign, declaring all manner of weather conditions based on a single rock. Fascinating!

This sign was hung on the Chateau which was used for the Aquatics Staff housing.

This sign went up before the 2021 summer camping season to welcome back campers after a year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Browning Lodge sign, part of the HSRAA signage project.

The White House sign, part of the HSRAA signage project.

The Handicraft sign, part of the HSRAA signage project.

Here is the sign at the top of the Disc Golf course that begins at the old Basketball court near the Kindness Center.

Here is the Scout Law sign that adorned the old camp road.

Due to damage, the gateway signs were replaced in 2022 – here is the one for Camp Horseshoe (front).

Due to damage, the gateway signs were replaced in 2022 – here is the one for Camp Horseshoe (rear).

The first camp ranger C. C. Cole was selected at the 2022 Fire & Ice Gala as the name for the newest camp shower house.

This sign tells visitors that goats are “managing” the area near the Pole Barn for overgrowth.

This sign on the Pole Barn warns visitors to avoid the goats that are “managing” the area for overgrowth.

The “Tubing Launch” sign found down on the Horseshoe – Ware trail (Old Boatdocks Trail).

Videos

Camp Horseshoe Sign
The Camp Horseshoe sign as seen in 1943.
1943 – Contributed by Tom McCabe

Camp Ware Signs

Display Details

Camp Ware has a plethora of signs directing you where to go and letting you know where you are once you get there, with a few reminding of you why you’re here along the way.

This sign is located at the intersection of Jubilee and Quarry Roads about a mile outside of Camp Ware.

One of the early projects of the HSRAA was the construction of the Camp Ware Gateway.

Campers leaving Camp Ware are reminded of the Scout motto, “Be Prepared”.

The Camp Ware Handicraft sign.

Which way to go? Archery or Chapel? Now you know.

The Hawkeye Campsite sign for Camp Ware.

The Jubilee Campsite sign for Camp Ware.

The Lawrence Lodge sign for Camp Ware.

The Gramm Lodge sign.

Macaleer Lodge with new sign installed.

The sign outside the Innovation Center at Camp Ware.

The Oswego sign at the front of the campsite.

Leatherstocking campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Hawkeye campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Trapper campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Mohican campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Pathfinder campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Jubilee campsite sign at Camp Ware.

Deerslayer campsite sign at Camp Ware.

The sign for the Oswego Campsite at Camp Ware.

The Camp Ware Staff enthusiastically shows off the sign for the new Innovation Center in 2016.

The Camp John H Ware 3rd sign was installed on the HSRAA Flag Pole wall which was built in the first half of 2024.

Temporary Signs

Display Details

Some of these signs go up for special events, but other signs are auctioned off at the CCC Gala each year for naming rights to the Camp Horseshoe Loop Road, the Ware Dining Hall, and the Camp Horseshoe Rifle Range.

The Loop Road / “Big Al” D’Antonio Sign

The Loop Road sign that was hung in 2019 in Camp Horseshoe.

The 2021 year’s Camp Horseshoe signs are dedicated to Cindi & Alison Coe.

The Octoraro Lodge Chiefs were chosen as the name for the Horseshoe Road in 2022.

A few store-bought signs accompanied the “homemade” (Photoshop) signs that were created for the 2019 Section NE-6B Conclave.

Here are some perhaps-not-very-accurate carnival signs at the 2019 Section NE-6B Conclave.

As part of the CCC Gala in 2021, the Rifle Range name was auctioned off, and Jacob Latch was chosen as he was the 4th great grandfather of the auction winner, Andrew Coe, and because he was Gen. George Washington’s messenger at Valley Forge in the Winter of 1777.

The Cusick Rifle Range was the name chosen for the Horseshoe Rifle Range in 2023.

From the 2025 Diamonds and Denim Gala bidding, Lynn and Stuart Watson won the naming rights to the Camp Horseshoe Rifle Range for 2026.

This unusual sounding name sounds like something out of Ancient Egypt, but it is actually a conglomeration of a few letters of each of the Council Presidents’ last names during Scout Executive Charlie Rogers’ tenure (2011-2018).

These include NEU-(Russ Neubauer)-FA-(Patricia Farrell)-BU-(Mike Burg) and AL-(Harry Alberts)-MA (David Maxwell).

The Camp Ware dining hall is dedicated to the Guthermans for 2021.

The Barr Family Dining Hall was the name of the Camp Ware Dining Hall in 2017.

The Muddy River Gang was the chosen name for the Camp Ware Dining Hall in 2023.

Warewolf Hall was the name chosen for the Ware Dining Hall in 2022 as part of the CCC Gala auction.

From the 2025 Diamonds and Denim Gala bidding, the Corbo family won the naming rights to the Camp Ware Dining Hall for 2026.

Andrew Gentry Memorial Kitchen was the auctioned-off title for the Camp Ware Kitchen sign in 2022.

This Horseshoe Road Sign dedicated to J.B. Rettew III in 2017.

A temporary sign for Ray Coe and Andrew Coe, who won the gala prize to name the Horseshoe Road in 2020.

A temporary sign for Cindi Coe and Alison Coe, family members of Andrew Coe who won the gala prize to name the Horseshoe Road in 2021.

The Octoraro Lodge Chiefs were chosen as the name for the Horseshoe Road in 2022.

The Loop Road sign in 2024 was dedicated to Dolores Hagerstrom.

This Horseshoe Road Sign dedicated to Dolores Hagerstrom in 2024 was initially spelled incorrectly before being corrected as seen here.

This Horseshoe Road Sign dedicated to Dolores Hagerstrom in 2024 was initially spelled incorrectly before being corrected.

From the 2025 Diamonds and Denim Gala bidding, the Muddy River Gang won the naming rights to the Horseshoe Road / Loop Road for 2026.

The Welcome Signs

Display Details

These signs were created in 2017 and are used every weekend – summer and winter camp – to denote which troop, pack, or special group is visiting the camp, or which special event is being held.

This spectacular-looking welcome sign was created by former Camp Director Mike Berkeihiser to replace the older signs that lined the camp road out by the pole barn.

This welcome sign, erected in 2017, proudly displays the inhabitants of the week.

The Camp Horseshoe Welcome sign is decorated for the first annual Spook-o-ree.

Camp Horseshoe welcomes the members of Octoraro Lodge 22 for the June 2018 Service Weekend.

The Welcome sign includes the HSRAA and Vigil Honor attendees for this hot weekend in July 2018.

The welcome sign for the units who attended the 2018 Spook-o-ree, adorned with all manner of Halloween decorations.

The Welcome Camp Horseshoe sign welcomes those participating in the 2019 Klondike Derby.

Welcome to the 5 participating lodges of the 2019 Section NE-6B Conclave.

Here is a picture of the 2020 Precamp staff, hanging out at the camp sign with their pandemic masks on.

The Camp Welcome Sign displays the units in camp as well as the special event, the 2020 Spook-o-ree!

The sign greeting visitors to the 2022 June Service Weekend.

The Welcome sign for Camp Ware is adorned with SPOOK-O-REE for the 2022 Spook-O-Ree.

Welcome sign for Week 1 of the 2023 Camp Horseshoe summer camp season.

A Cub from Pack 219 stands in front of the Spook-O-Ree sign at the 2025 Cub Spook-O-Ree.

The Welcome Sign rolling out the red carpet for the NYLT staff and participants at Camp John H Ware in 2022.

MRG hung the troop numbers for the 2025 Klondike Derby held at Camp Horseshoe in January 2025.

Conclave staffers stand at the welcome sign before the 2025 Section E11 Conclave begins.

Octoraro 22 is featured on the Camp Horseshoe Welcome sign for the 2026 April Service Weekend.

Documents

Display Details

Anything documented about the reservation signs will be listed in this display.

1933 – The Daily Republican: Improvement at Horseshoe

From the August 4, 1933 edition of The Daily Republican, this article discusses the new Camp Horseshoe sign directing visitors to camp.
1933 – Contributed by Andrew Coe

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Last updated February 6, 2026