Scout camp to begin
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on June 18, 2004 1:57 PM
FOUR OAKS -- Summer Camp begins this weekend at the Camp Tuscarora Scout Reservation.
The Tuscarora Council's 1,100-acre camp in Johnston County will be filled Sunday with the first of three waves of Boy Scouts.
The boys come for a week, from Sunday to Saturday. Camp officials expect to see 440 boys over the next three weeks.
Camp Director Hogan Moore has been involved with the camp for 14 years. Each summer, camp is different, he said Thursday while preparing for about 200 Webelos to arrive this morning for a three-day resident camp.
The fifth- and sixth-graders will participate in waterfront activities, ecology, forestry, archery and marksmanship to earn pins. "They'll rotate around and eventually hit all of the activities," he said.
He said 50 adult and youth staff members will be on hand to instruct in all program areas. The camp will offer 32 merit badges.
One of the more popular program areas this year is waterfront. Moore said it's always popular because of the heat, and the Boy Scouts are excited about going swimming.
The boys will also like the shooting range, which is up to Olympic specifications; a new archery range that meets national standards; and the 30-foot-tall rappelling tower.
"We have also gone to a lot of work to refurbish our ecology area," said Moore. "We have a lot of adult instructors helping out in the program areas when the boys are working on their merit badges."
Activities start at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The areas that draw a lot of interest are the handicrafts, like basketry, leather working, metal working and fishing, and "Scoutcraft," which is wilderness survival and compass reading.
"One of the most exciting programs we have is the first-year camper's program, which is called 'Tkahsaha.' That's Tuscarora language for 'starting something new.' It's an all-day program for the first year campers."
These boys fill their morning with work on their Tenderfoot requirements and archery, knife-throwing, tomahawk-throwing and shooting pellet guns. The rest of the day is spent swimming and learning first aid. Moore said it's "as much fun as can be packed into one day."
Reveille is at 7 a.m., and Taps is at 10 p.m. Every night a special activity is planned.
Monday night is church night and a "staff hunt." All of the staff members hide in the woods, and the campers go out to find them. The staff members have flags, and the Scouts try to see who can retrieve the most flags.
Tuesday is time for the Scout master vs. staff softball game and a climb on the rappelling tower.
On Wednesday night, the Order of the Arrow, an elite group of Scouts elected by their troop members, will hold a ceremony.
Wednesday night is Family Night, for relatives to visit the camp.
Thursday night is the Hullabaloo Race at the waterfront, which is a series of competitions, with an over-all winner named at the end of the night. Friday night is the closing camp fire.