Northern New Jersey Council

Northern New Jersey Council
Owner Boy Scouts of America
Headquarters Oakland, New Jersey
Country United States
Founded 1999
Website
http://nnjbsa.org

The Northern New Jersey Council was formed in January 1999 as a joint venture between the independent councils of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties as an effort to better serve the Scouting communities encompassed in these areas. By drawing on the strengths of each of these individual councils and merging them together, the Northern New Jersey Council has committed itself to offering the finest Scouting programs, increasing membership and providing strong, supportive leadership.

Organization

The council is divided into three districts:[1]

Camps

Northern New Jersey Council currently operates six camps:

Camp Alpine

Camp Alpine (New Jersey), located in Alpine, New Jersey, is a great place for weekend camping and hiking the Palisades Historic Trail. Primarily a low-impact camping experience, the camp has minimal facilities to allow units to use their camping skills to the fullest.

Activities:

Dow Druckker Scout Reservation

Dow Druckker Scout Reservation located in Cuddebackville, New York is home to two different camps, Camp Turrell and Camp Kluge.

Camp Turrell is used for fall and spring weekend camping as well as a Boy Scout Resident camp during the summer. Special programs are also run for each season (fall, winter, spring and summer).

Camp Kluge is used for weekend camping year-round and in 2009 had two new cabins built to serve an increasing usage of the camp.

History

Druckker Scout Reservation is located in a historically rich area that dealt prominently not only in the local area, but also such places as Montreal Canada and New York City. The history of the property figured importantly in the Delaware and Hudson Canal and the Ontario and Western Railroad Company. Reservation's history can be traced back all the way to when the Irat Indians inhabited it hundreds of years ago.

After the American Revolution and early 1800s the Canal proved to be a boom for the Oakland Valley-Forestburg area in that it provided the quarries, tanneries, coal mines, and lumber with easy access to the great metropolitan areas much more cheaply in the pre-train era. The Canal Company bought literally all the water rights of brooks ponds, and streams along its route to supply it with water. It is here that Reservation figured prominently. Beaver Dam Pond at the time was only a 5-acre beaver pond. D&H bought the flow rights and dammed up the pond until it reached its present size. Then as water was needed for locks, boards were taken out of the dam and within 4 hours the canal was receiving water from Beaver Dam Pond.

From 1900-1912 the Iroquois Bottle Works took spring water from the Baker Shanty Spring House, (which is the spring house several hundred feet from Camp Kluge), the spring water was bottled and then sold in New York City.

In 1920, Galligan bought what was called the Beaver Dam Tract. The Galligans who had been quarrying continued to do so on the property. The quarry at Reservation employed 400 people; the tanneries and the gristmills employed many of the local residents. There was also a tourist boom that saw as many as 300 guests come to Oakland Valley during the summer. The quarrying industry was totally located on the Reservation property. The slate was cut in huge squares several inches thick and several feet wide. It was then hand cut and pulled out on carts by ox teams. The quarrying went on though the Reservation with the site of the Peterson lodge being a central station for bringing in the slate to have it weighed. Reservations stone was used for windowsills, sidewalks and curbstones. The slate went as far away as Montreal Canada and New York City. In fact, New York City hall has a sidewalk that was taken from Reservation. By 1930 large scale quarrying at Reservation had ended. An entire industry was extinguished as fast as it had started. In 1940 Michael Lee Galligan sold his final load of slate from Reservation. In 1941 Avery Skinner sold the final load of slate. The last functioning derrick can still is seen about 100 yards from the maintenance yard. Though it has been deteriorated, the gears, posts, guy wires and hardware are still there. If one looks though the vegetation, one can see the mounds of waste slate along with the wall of slate that were not economically feasible to cut

After Michael Lee Galligans death in the early 1940s, a Boy Scout Council from Jersey City looked at the property for a possible use as a camp. In 1964, The O&W had just freight train a week going though the Oakland Station and so the Monticello to Port Jervis spur was taken up. All that remains now is the bed with spikes and ties strewn over it. There is a tremendous display of architecture in a stone bridge over the steam that was built in the 1860s. At the other end of our piece of railroad bed is a watering tower used by the steam engines of 1800s.

In 1968, Alhtaha Council negotiated with Margaret Galligan, for the Beaver Dam Tract. By 1969, the purchase was negotiated and finalized. Druckker Scout Reservation was born and in 1972 after two years of planning, and a merging of the Alhtaha Council and Aheka Council and forming the Passaic Valley Council and the first summer season opened. During the 1990s several new buildings were added to the Reservation they are the Health Lodge, Handicraft Pavilion, Dining Hall, and Archery Pavilion. Other work was done to add a basketball court and a major overhaul of the dam was done. In 1999 the Northern New Jersey Council owned the Camp after the merging of the Bergen, Essex, Hudson Liberty, and Passaic Valley Councils.

Floodwood Mountain Reservation

Floodwood Mountain Reservation
Location Saranac Lake, NY
Coordinates 44°20′51″N 74°26′32″W / 44.3476°N 74.4423°W / 44.3476; -74.4423
Founded 1965
Website
http://www.floodwood.org/

Floodwood Mountain Reservation has been the ultimate site for High Adventure for over forty years. The Rollins Pond Canoe Base and the West Pine Pond Backpacking Center form the Reservation, both located in Altamont, NY between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, in the heart of the Adirondacks. With its many lakes and the High Peaks of the Adirondacks, Floodwood is perfectly located to offer a high adventure challenge second to none. With rock climbing, waterskiing, archery, and many day hikes and paddles available, Floodwood offers a great program in camp as well as on trek.

History

Floodwood Mountain Reservation was acquired by Bergen Council, BSA on November 22, 1963. Over the next year plans were drawn up for a rather ambitious camping reservation with multiple camps on different parts of the property. As a first step, an outpost camp was established at Rollins Pond for the summer of 1965. Since the concept of wilderness camping offered by a local council camp was a new idea, attendance was by invitation and only units with the required depth of adult leadership were considered.

The initial experience was successful and for the next four summers the program was continued and expanded. Problems with water supply led the Council to explore other areas of the reservation for a permanent camp site.

The initial expansive plan for multiple camps was already being reconsidered, and in the end West Pine Pond was chosen for development. It is at this site that units have camped since the summer of 1970, while they have continued to use Rollins Pond as the launching point for canoe treks and for the water skiing program.

What makes Floodwood unique is its location on Rollins pond which, in turn, connects directly into the vast Saranac, St. Regis, Tupper, Raquette, Fulton Chain canoe waters. As a result, out-of-camp canoe trips flow directly from its own waterfront. No other camp in the Adirondacks has this advantage and, as a result, out-of-camp canoe trips are the exception rather than the rule even at Sabattis Adventure camp, whose program comes closest to matching Floodwood's. This location advantage transforms the Floodwood experience from "just another summer camp" into a seamless two-week adventure that continuously engages and tests each Scout's capacity to prevail over constantly varying and ever increasing challenges both in camp and on out-of-camp treks.

The council continues to promote the Floodwood Mountain Reservation internally, and has begun to develop out of council attendance. Given the uniqueness of the Floodwood experience, it is not difficult to convince strong troops from other areas that Floodwood is for them.

Local Activities

The Adirondack Region offers a number of attractions worth exploring either as part of your stay at Floodwood or to be visited on your way to or from your High Adventure trek. Here are just a few of what’s available.

Adirondack Museum - 28-N & 30, Blue Mountain Lake, NY (518) 352-7311. Explore the history, environment and culture of the Adirondack region from the early 19th century. Indoor and outdoor exhibits include logging, mining, boating and recreation as well as film presentations about the history of the region and the ongoing environmental debate between the residents and preservationists.

The Wild Center - 45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake, NY (518) 359-7800. The museum is on the left a short distance down the road about 40 minutes from Floodwood. Billed as the natural history museum of the Adirondacks, the Wild Center concentrates on the natural world with many hands-on exhibits illustrating and explaining the unique nature of the Adirondack region. Exhibits include, aquatic life, birds, and the many animals that inhabit the region.

Lake Placid, NY - The major tourist and commercial center of the Adirondack region, Lake Placid has many restaurants appealing to every taste as well as stores, theatres and a band shell. Lake Placid boasts of its history as host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic games. There is a museum as well as the Olympic center and the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, which comprises a 90- and 120-meter ski jumps towers. The sky deck on the 120-meter jump offers views of nearby John Brown’s Farm and the surrounding High Peaks of the Adirondacks. The Freestyle Aerial Training Center is located near the base of the jump towers, as is the Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track.

Camp Lewis

Camp Lewis is located in the Hibernia Section of Rockaway Township, Morris County. It is open for weekend camping throughout the year and is also a Cub Scout Resident Camp during the summer.

The Cub Scout resident camp is a great experience for all boys entering first through fifth grades in the fall. The program is action-packed from the time you get there until the time you pack up and say good-bye to all your new Scouting friends. Scouts arrive on Thursday morning and stay until Saturday or Tuesday night.

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco
Location Blairstown, New Jersey
Coordinates 41°03′41″N 74°56′34″W / 41.06149°N 74.94267°W / 41.06149; -74.94267
Founded 1927
Camp Director Bob Johnson
Ranger Tom Rich
Website
http://nobebosco.org/

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, also known as NoBe, is a Boy Scouts of America camp located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey, owned by the Northern New Jersey Council. It opened in 1927.

No-Be-Bo-Sco is in session from July–August each year to Scouts and includes dozens of merit badge classes and activities throughout its 6 weeks. The camp is currently run by Bob Johnson, Camp Director since 1988. Each year at camp has always included a new theme for each summer.

NoBe also operates a year-round program. Heated cabins are available for troops of all sizes to be rented for weekend use. The camp serves as a launching point for a hike along the Appalachian Trail, or exploring the Delaware Watergap Recreation Area.

History

Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco lies on the shores of Sand Pond at the base of the Kittatinny Ridge, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of the Walpack Bend in Hardwick and Stillwater Townships. Originally, the surrounding Paulins Kill watershed region was inhabited by the Tohockonetcong Band of the Minisink Tribe. It is unlikely they had a permanent settlement in this valley at the headwaters of Jacksonburg Creek due to its inhospitable terrain and shortage of potable water.

Over 500 Boy Scouts attended the first Summer Season in 1927. The first Camp Ranger, Elmer Baker of Maine, was hired in 1928. Lance M. Parsons of Englewood supervised Baker and a crew of men. They built the Camp's log cabins between 1928 and 1931, beginning with a building to house themselves where Price Lodge stands today.

In 1930, the Cable Line was built through the camp and over Sand Pond. In 1964, they were connected to a Cable Line in Yards Creek.

Unlike some camps, No-Be-Bo-Sco stayed open during World War II. The war effort made supplies scarce, so Scouts brought their rations to summer camp. The war arrived at camp in a much more tragic way on February 22, 1944, when a B-17F Flying Fortress crashed into the west face of the Kittatiny Ridge.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service collaborated during the 1960s on a project to build a proposed national recreation area along the Delaware River that would have been built in conjunction with the controversial Tocks Island Dam project. The Tocks Island dam was proposed to provide water to the region and improve recreation. Many camps along the river were purchased or condemned by the federal government, and in 1970 they bought the mountain from Bergen Council, reducing Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco to approximately 369 acres (1.49 km2). The sale agreement provided Camp access to the proposed lake, but the government abandoned the project due to a large change in public opinion. The resulting Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area provides Camp direct access to over 69,000 acres (280 km2) of federal parkland.

In 1979, the first Friday the 13th movie was filmed here, and has become a major part of NoBe's history.[2]

In 1988, Bergen Council hired Bob Johnson to direct Summer Camp. Though Bob had never been to No-Be-Bo-Sco, he had sixteen years of camp staff experience, and quickly revitalized the program. Among other things, Bob has since united the staff in the Camp’s first centralized staff area, supervised outfitting the Dining Hall with a world class kitchen, and crafted a signature summer camp program unique to No-Be-Bo-Sco. His non-stop, high energy program is renowned for its enthusiastic staff, excellent food, and original campfires. Bob Johnson still serves as Camp Director and 2007 is his twentieth summer at the post. He is the longest tenured Camp Director in No-Be-Bo-Sco history.

While Bob Johnson attracted new units, in 1990 a group of Overpeck District volunteers led by Jim Africano started the Weboree. The increased summer and winter attendance bolstered Camp’s finances, and the Weboree helped restore Scouter enthusiasm. Soon No-Be-Bo-Sco was bursting at the seams year-round, yet again.

Current ranger Tom Rich was permanently assigned to No-Be-Bo-Sco in 1995. The same year, volunteers led by a Scout, Steve Kallesser, undertook a major dining hall renovation. Two years later the same group converted the Protestant Chapel to an all-faiths facility and built an outdoor chapel; the first new camp structure in almost 30 years.

Shortly after, the Northern New Jersey Council began a camp improvement campaign between 2008-2010 that involved the renovation of a majority of camp cabins and facilities.

Themes

Each year, the camp has a theme for their summer camp program, involving a cast of theme-related characters and a story-arc that progresses week-to-week throughout the summer. Typically, NoBe also has the Scouts try to find an item that is hidden somewhere around camp, based on the theme using clues given at the meals. Recent themes have been:

Sand Pond

Sand Pond is a watershed that flows directly out of a Cedar Swamp. The No-Be-Bo-Sco waterfront offers small-boat sailing, rowboats, canoes, kayaking, and 3 swimming areas as according to ability:

The waterfront has had some updates, most recently a new dock and a new lifeguard tower. Also, a renovation to the Waterfront Cabin was completed by June 2011.

Sand Pond offers an excellent teaching base for the Aquatics program and is useful in other areas of camp as well, such as studying pondlife for Nature and for camp-wide water games. It is staffed with a team of BSA-Lifeguard certified guards and other staff members summer-round who also teach waterfront merit badges.

Program Areas

  • "Trail to Eagle" Merit Badges
  • Backpacking
  • Bird Study
  • Insect Study
  • Astronomy
  • Hiking

Special Programs

First Class Adventure

All first year Scouts, up to the rank of First Class, can join in the "FCA" program based on Scouting skills. The program reflect the current Tenderfoot through First Class requirements, and allows different programs for each rank. Additionally, the FCA program encourages Scouts to take at least one merit badge to start their trail to Eagle Scout.

Trail to Eagle

The Trail-To-Eagle Program is designed for Star and higher-rank Scouts to move closer to the Eagle Rank while at camp. Trail to Eagle holds half-hour sessions each day focusing on the non-merit badge requirements of Eagle Scouts. The program also offers four badges required for the rank.

The OcSoBeBon

The Ocsobebon program was started to give older, veteran Scouts an opportunity for high adventure. It is a week-long challenge that requires participants to complete a variety of tasks and challenges. Successful completion awards participants with a neckerchief given only to those who complete the challenge.

Campwide Activities

A wide variety of campwide activities are available for a troop at camp. While the specifics of many of the activities are designed through the creative energies of the Camp Staff and the Senior Patrol Leaders Council, each summer there is a “theme” that influences the daily activities.

Campfires

Campfires are an exciting part of the summer camp experience, and often the most memorable. Scouts can look forward to very high quality campfires from both the staff and themselves. The camp is known for its large, teepee-log-cabin-hybrid bonfires.

Camp-wide Events
Individual Activities

Camp provides many activities beyond merit badges that a Scout or a Scout and his buddy can work on. Here are a few of them:

Camp Yaw-Paw

Camp Yaw Paw Camp Yaw-Paw is a 400-acre (1.6 km2) tract of land in the Ramapo Mountain Range. The camp offers a winter camping program from September till May. Camp Yaw-Paw is NNJ Council's Cub Day Camp during the summer months.

Activities:

Lenapehoking Lodge

Order of the Arrow Lodge: Lenapehoking Lodge IX

References

  1. ↑ "Districts". Northern New Jersey Council.
  2. ↑ Clark, Sean. "Horror's Hallowed Grounds: Friday the 13th". Bloody-Disgusting.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
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