Exhibit Details
Older Youth Programs have occasionally appeared at Camp Horseshoe over the years, and this exhibit will house their artifacts!
Outrider Memorabilia
Display Details
This program was only offered in 1988 and was designed to give youth a taste of the Philmont experience. From Kevin Grewell, the program coordinator:
Along with other Council executives, I was expected to serve on camp staff at Horseshoe for the summer of 1988. I was assigned to run the “Outrider” program. Outrider was designed to give campers a little taste of Philmont. It was an outpost camp that included horseback riding with western-style cast-iron cooking.
The expense and difficulty of maintaining the horses was greater than expected and the program was never repeated. If you have an Outrider patch, you have a very rare patch!
Camp Thomas
Display Details
Camp Thomas, originally known as the Wilderness Camp, was used as an older Scout (15+) outpost program from the 1930s – 1950s and renamed in 1933 to honor camp staffer and Scoutmaster Ben Thomas of Malvern 7.
Pictures
Documents
The August 7, 1934 Camp Echo, focused on Camp Thomas.
1934 – Contributed by G. Ernest Heegard
Narratives
Display Details
Here are some narratives about older youth programs.
1988 – Contributed by John B. Rettew III
The following is an excerpt from John B. Rettew’s The Spirit of the Horseshoe regarding the Outrider program:
Camp this summer offered a unique opportunity. An “Outrider” Camp had been added to the other specialty camps. We had secured the use of a number of horses and had erected a corral near the Lane Farmhouse. For the first time we hired a young lady to handle the equestrian program.
2012 – Contributed by Mike Berkiehiser
The following is an excerpt from The Octoraro Loop, Volume 13 Issue No. 2 (Summer 2012) which has Camp Director Mike Berkiehiser talking about some of the highlights at camp, including the new Mason-Dixon Adventure:
We are offering a new program this summer called the Mason Dixon Adventure, which was run as a pilot program by Bill Hohl at Camp Ware for one week last summer with tremendous success. Scouts who are 13 years of age and older, Venturers, and Scouters can take part in their Philmont style back country experience. They can come with their troops or as provisionals and spend from Monday morning to Friday evening enjoying the lesser known back country areas around camp. They hike to a new location each morning and set up their leave no trace campsite. They then have an exciting experience each afternoon. Activities include things like spar pole climbing, rock climbing, black powder shooting, and tomahawk throwing, and building a raft out of natural materials to float the entire team down the Octoraro.
Newspaper Articles
Display Details
As we come across old newspaper articles related to older youth programs, we will list them here.
From the July 13, 1933 edition of The Daily Republican, this article talks predominantly about the Wilderness Camp for older youth.
1933 – Contributed by Andrew Coe
From the July 25, 1933 edition of The Daily Republican, this article talks about the renaming of the Wilderness Camp in honor of Ben Thomas.
1933 – Contributed by Andrew Coe
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