User:Joemertens/Camp Lewis

'Camp Lewis"

Camp Lewis
Camp Lewis, is a Boy Scouts of America camp located in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, owned by the Northern New Jersey Council. It first opened in XXXXX

Camp Lewis is in session from July–August each year to Scouters 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.

The camp has the highest attendance of Northern New Jersey Council camps.

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. In addition NoBe claims the largest open-air dining hall east of the Mississippi River.

History
Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco lies on the shores of Sand Pond at the base of the Kittatinny Ridge, approximately 2.5 mi 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 Parks Service collaborated during the 1960s on a project extending from Tocks Island into New York State along the Delaware River. 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 acre. 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 69000 acre of federal parkland.

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

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:


 * 1994- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Tom Sawyer), the year themes were introduced
 * 1995- Mystery at Sand Pond (Sherlock Holmes)
 * 1996- Wild Frontier (Frontier) [Program Director: Jason Sullivan]
 * 1997- Back to the NoBe Future (Back to the Future) [Program Director: Jason Sullivan]
 * 1998- Spy vs. Spy (Spies) [Program Director: Joe Berlinghieri]
 * 1999- NoBe:Episode 73, The Force Within (Star Wars Episode I)
 * 2000- No-Be Treasure Island (Treasure Island) [Program Director: Tim Johnston]
 * 2001- The NoBe Outback (Australia/The Outback)[Program Director: Andrew Kane]
 * 2002- Indiana Jones and the Rattler's Eye (Indiana Jones) NoBe's 75th Anniversary
 * 2003- Loki's Revenge (Vikings) [Program Director: Rich Bachmann]
 * 2004- Castaway at Sand Cove (Polynesian Islands/Gilligan's Island)
 * 2005- Campelot (Knights of the Round Table/Camelot)
 * 2006- A No-Be-Bo-Sco Mystery (The Pink Panther/Clue)
 * 2007- Secrets of the Sphinx (Egypt) NoBe's 80th Anniversary
 * 2008- Clash of the Ancients (Greece/The Olympics)
 * 2009- Summer of Independence (Sons of Liberty)
 * 2010- Tall Tales of the Turn of the Century (Tall Tales/BSA 100th Anniversary)
 * 2011- No-Be-Bo-Sco Special Edition (Comic books/superheroes)
 * 2012- Nomanji (Jumanji at NoBe) NoBe's 85th Anniversary [Program Director: Ed Wrynn]

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:


 * Non-Swimmer (0–4 ft.)
 * Beginner (0–7 ft.)
 * Swimmer (7–9 ft.) [Scouts must proficiently pass the BSA Swimmer Test in order to swim in this area]

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

 *  Nature
 *  Handicraft


 *  Scoutcraft
 * Aquatics (Waterfront)
 *  Field Sports
 *  Health Lodge
 * Climbing Wall
 * Office
 * "Trail to Eagle" Merit Badges


 *  Scheduled Individually with Staff
 * 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 the themselves. The camp is known for its large, teepee-log-cabin-hybrid bonfires.
 * Opening Campfire—Sunday Night comedy campfire by the staff
 * First Year Campfire—Monday Night entertaining new Scouts campfire
 * Closing Campfire—Friday Night comedy campfire by the Scouts
 * Order of the Arrow Callout—Each week the Order of the Arrow holds an Indian Pageant to honor all Scouts elected since the previous summer.

Camp-wide Events

 * Water Events—Fun filled boating and swimming competitions.
 * Camp-Wide Games—Including both competitive activities and teamwork builders, themed to the theme of the year.
 * Patrol games—in a carnival, boardwalk, or fair-type setting, themed to the theme of the year.
 * Chapel Services—Each week camp will provide an "All-Faiths" service.
 * Adventure Hikes—Troop run trips

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 Field Sports Awards
 * No-Be Achievement Awards
 * Fishing
 * Mile Swim
 * BSA Lifeguard
 * Paul Bunyan
 * Totin’ Chip
 * NoBe Adventurer Award
 * Ocsobebon Veteran Scout Award