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The Camp Director's Cabin was located past the Ranger's house and was the private summer residence of the Camp Director and his family. The building had a living room and kitchen area with two bedrooms and a bathroom. At the entrance was a screened porch that looked out onto the secluded and peaceful forest. This building was situated by the road that ended at the warehouse in the area of the camp that was used all year long. Quite often, the building became a temporary residence or office space for winter Scouting events.
Before the central Camp Office was made, the Camp Director used this building as the Camp Director's and Business Offices besides his living quarters.
The Cook's Cabin, located next to the Dining Hall was originally built to be the Camp's Trading Post in the early days of the camp when the Dining Hall was much smaller. It was decided that the camp cooks needed a more private and quieter residence than the tent they used behind the Kitchen. Since they started working hours before everyone else, the quiet building gave them the opportunity to try to catch up on their sleep. In order to do this, two bedrooms and a bathroom were built, leaving an area just inside the door for them to sit and relax.
The building was higher off the ground than any other camp building because one of the original wells was built under it. That well supplied water to the Dining Hall only. Later when new wells were dug, that well was abandoned, but the storage tank remained and was connected into the new camp-wide water system. New water lines went thru the crawl space and valves were installed to isolate areas of the camp in what became a complex water distribution system.
While this transformation was taking place, the Horn Lodge was built so that the Trading Post could move into it. The front of the Cook's Cabin was made so that part of it would open upward and provide a cover over the wooden platform where the Trading Post customers would stand in order to get served. The platform was removed, the wall was permanently closed, and the concrete steps were built and the building remained the Cook's Cabin until the camp closed.
This building, like the Health Lodge and Festus Lodge, over the years, became flexible as to it's occupants. Various Camp Staff requirements over the years warranted that other Camp Staff members reside in those buildings. In later years, during the winter season, the Cook's Cabin, which was heated and winterized became the council's Campmaster Program Headquarters.
After the Trading Post moved, a camp patron was annoyed that there was no place in the Main Area to get a drink of water. This gentleman, Mr. Walter Bleuthe, decided that a water fountain should be erected in the Main Area. With this in mind, he donated the funds to build a stone water fountain next to the Cook's Cabin at the entrance to the Main Area. On a hot day, nothing was better than to stop at the fountain, which had four bubblers, and refresh yourself with a nice cold sip of crystal clear well water. While the Cook's Cabin never had a namesake, the side of it that faced the Main Area, proudly displayed a brass plate naming the nearby fountain, the Walter Bleuthe Fountain.
Dr. Russell Jamison, a longtime Scout and leader in Burlington County, spent every Sunday afternoon for many years volunteering his services performing physicals during check-in. He also was on call on a continuous basis during each summer camp season during the 1950s. Dr. Jamison realized that the medical tent that Lenape once had needed to be replaced. Thru his generosity, he donated the funds to build the Health Lodge that we all remembered.
The building, noted for it's red cross on a white background proudly displayed on the front, had a small open porch leading to the front door. Inside, we had a treatment/examination room which was equipped with all necessary first aid supplied and medical equipment. There was a room with cots large enough to accomodate two campers that might have needed to stay for a period of time. The location of this room provided privacy and had windows facing the Main Bridge and a camp waterway. The building also had a room for two Camp Staff medical personnel to live for the summer and a complete bathroom.
All routine medical services were available with easy access for an ambulance to reach the building in case of emergency. Over the years, the building was staffed by nurses, paramedics, medical technicians, and quite often, by medics supplied by Fort Dix. Classes were given frequently at a picnic table under a tarp in front of the Health Lodge. You might have wanted to learn Scout first aid or maybe attend a class for First Aid Merit Badge, or maybe even be a little homesick. Whatever it was, the highly trained and professional medical staff was available around the clock for you.
The Dining Hall, formally known as Edward A. Mechling Lodge, has always been the center of the camp. It was the first permanent building to be erected and by all accounts, the most important and diverse building on the reservation. It's primary function, as the name implies, was for family-style dining for Camp Lenape's summer camp seasons. It had a seating capacity for 260 people.
The center of the inside of the very rustic and attractive building was built with Knotty Pine panels. This part was the original building and was built in 1943. The wings were built within a few years and the kitchen was added. The top half of the two wings were large screen covered windows overlooking the camp's main assembly area. This openness not only served as ventilation, but gave the feeling that you were still outdoors.
The open beam and truss ceiling gave a very "homey" atmosphere. The original lights were cross-shaped rustic lumber fixtures with a light bulb on each of the arms. The lights were changed to flourescent in the late 1960s. A few years later, rustic lamps were made from logs and mounted on the fireplace and the area surrounding it.
Beside being the primary center for meals, just about every meeting held at Lenape, summer or year round, was held in the Dining Hall. On rainy Friday nights, the weekly summer camp Recognition Campfire was held there. The building also hosted Camp Leaders' Meetings, OA event registrations and activities, shows, singing, adult leader coffee clubs, non-Scout related functions and even three weddings. You name it...it was held there.
The Dining Hall also had a personal touch to it. For many years, each troop that attended summer camp made a troop plaque. After the troops left for home each week, the Camp Staff would mount them to the ceiling beams as a living history of the troop's participation in one of Scouting's finest camps and summer camp programs.
The Camp Staff also participated in the long standing tradition that began in the early 1950s of making a plaque for permanent mounting in the Dining Hall.
It was true, that every Scout and Leader that ever participated in the spirit of Camp Lenape spent a portion of his life becoming part of the legend that made up the large family that called the Dining Hall home to friendship and brotherhood. But, the most important part of the Dining Hall, and by far, the focal point of the building was the fireplace.
The fireplace was the cornerstone of the Dining Hall. It was built from rocks taken from the Delaware River. It was built with an inside hearth and an outside hearth. Both of them were similar in design, but different enough to tell their own story.
Since we are already inside the building, we will look at the inside hearth. The mantle was a mammoth block of granite that spanned the entire width. For many years, it held a picture of Baden-Powell and one or two camp artifacts. In later years, rustic electric lamps were mounted on each side of the fireplace, above the mantle. These lamps remained lit from the time the Dining Hall was opened in the Spring of each year until the Fall closing, late in October. But, perhaps the most important part of the inside hearth was the collection of three granite blocks that were embedded into the river rocks. These stones were carved with a phrase on each one - "Duty to God," "Duty to Country," and "Duty to Self." Yes, folks, above all the good times we experienced in the Dining Hall, those three phrases were what it was all about.
The outside fireplace always had a picnic table or two somewhere in front of it on the stage. Around 1970, the welcome campfires on Sunday evenings moved from here to a campfire ring built on a nearby waterway. Many times this area was used for smaller meetings or a place to gather people before an activity would start. Other times it was a place for a camper to sit quietly and work on a merit badge or a handicraft project. Quite often, it was a place to sit and relax and admire the natural beauty of the trees and ferns that were Lenape signatures.
The outside fireplace did not have a mantle. It did not have rustic lamps. Nor did it have parts of the Scout Oath engraved in granite. It had something unique to Lenape and something that was the formation of a proud heritage. It contained the names of the original Camp Association members and the other Founding Fathers of Lenape - those completely devoted men who worked tirelessly and continuously for years until the camp of their dreams became a reality.
The property was sold in 1988. Yes, we now refer to it as "the property" and not "the camp" because, no matter what it appeared to be at that time, it was not a camp any longer. The Scouts were gone, the activities were gone. The equipment was packed and moved to a storage location. The once alive and vibrant buildings were emptied and boarded. The program areas, campsites, and parking lots became nothing more than sand and Pine trees. All of a sudden, the place felt cold and desolate. However, part of the agreement of sale was that the Dining Hall and it's fireplace be left intact, no matter what the fate of the land would eventually be.
The Dining Hall and fireplace were to remain as symbols of a bygone era, when, just like the Lenape Indians called the Pine and Oak forest their home, forty-five years worth of Scouting memories will be permanently etched into the Dining Hall's hallowed walls.
The Founding Fathers are all gone now and while their original Dining Hall changed several times to meet the needs of the Scouts; and while it has also undergone many changes since 1988, the tall, straight stone fireplace, with it's permanent engravings will always withstand the test of time and will always be there to tell our story.
This is a picture of the new Dining Hall which is now a community center for the residents of the housing development that was once Lenape Scout Reservation.
Festus Lodge was located on Love Trail near the entrance to the Main Area. It started out as pretty much a tent. The sides were frame with screening completely around it. The roof was canvas and the building did not have any plumbing. It was used for overflow Camp Staff Members to be housed during the summer season.
After a few years, plumbing was installed including a bathroom area. Canvas partitions made for semi-private facilities. It was primitive by the standards of most camp buildings. One year, it was necessary that the Festus Lodge be used as the Health Lodge, since it was required that the real Health Lodge be used for summer housing for the Program Director and his family. That year, in the late 1960s, we had the pleasure of having a gentleman by the name of Festus Ogunbanjo stay for the summer. Festus was a seminarian from Nigeria who was studying in Philadelphia. His studies stopped for the summer and he contacted the council about living at the camp for the summer. He was also a medic. Festus proved to be a very valuable Staff Member and contributed immensly to the camp and it's program. In honor of his visit, the shaky structure was named after him. The building itself proved to be a very valuable asset to the camp. The following year, the Council Camping Committee decided to upgrade the structure by adding a permanent roof, more outside wall supports and lower walls, permanent wooden internal walls, a real bathroom, plumbing and electrical upgrades, permanent doors, and landscaping. From that point on, the building became the Program Director's Cabin and was set up to accomodate a family. The Health Lodge then returned to it's original purpose.
The Fred Alden Nature Lodge was the only permanent camp building that was not in the heart of Camp Lenape. The building was located on Nature Island, a non-manmade island of about 7500 square feet. To get to it required using three bridges, the Main Bridge, the Cat Island Bridge, and the Nature Island Bridge. The building was about 480 square feet and was a couple steps above ground. The sides were half walls with display and work counters on each side of the building. Above that, columns with open side walls led to the roof. There was a separate room able to accomodate two Nature Staff Members for the summer. The main part of the building had benches for nature classes and presentations.
The building was named after Mr. Fred Alden, a Scout and leader in Burlington County Council who was a Biology teacher in a county high school. Mr. Alden volunteered his services for many summers in the earlier part of the 1960s teaching campers about the wonders of nature. He also ran a very successful nature program and was a merit badge counselor for all related badges. He made the first and most prominent nature trail along one of the camp's waterways and it remained in place until the camp closed.
Gibson Lodge was commonly known as the Ranger's Cabin or Bill's house. It became called Gibson Lodge in honor of Bill and Jeanette Gibson, who made a camp building into a warm and friendly home for themselves and anyone visiting the camp throughout the years.
Bill was a member of the original Camp Association and a Founding Father of Lenape. Shortly before he retired from years of Federal Government service, Bill took the job as the camp's second full-time Camp Ranger. He and Jeanette moved from their home in Riverton, NJ to the cozy cabin that was the first building anyone would see when arriving at the camp.
As the Camp Ranger, an unpaid job, except during the summer camp season, Bill administered the non-summer season weekend camping. He was the year round Camp Maintenance Director and had oversight of all buildings and facilities and their use at the reservation. There wasn't a person alive who knew more about Lenape, it's history, and it's tradition than Bill. His warm smile and cheerful greeting was synonymous with Lenape and he could not do enough to accomodate anyone wanting to enjoy the reservation. Bill was probably the one person that eveyone, young and old would look up to.
Bill and Jeanette were totally dedicated to Scouting and Scout camping in Burlington County. They spent most of their adult lives living and practicing the principles of Scouting. Bill was the longest serving Ranger at Lenape. When Bill died in September 1976, it was as if time stood still and the reservation had lost it's largest and strongest tree.
Bill's Legacy still lives on in the hearts of all of us who knew him. No one will ever be able to replace him because he was truly that unique person who comes along only once in your lifetime. Shortly after he died, many people wanted to change the name of the camp to reflect Bill's name. After much discussion, it was decided that Bill would have wanted it to remain Camp Lenape, just as it was when he and the others put a shovel into the ground for the first time many years ago. However, as a tribute to Bill, the name of the Cub Scout Camp was changed to the William B. Gibson Cub Scout Camp.
The James Lodge House was the last building erected at Camp Lenape. It was located just off Love Trail at the edge of the Main Area. The building was the home of Hunnikick Lodge 76, Order of the Arrow (www.hunnikick76.org). The building was entirely built by OA Lodge brothers with their own funds.
The building was started in the early 1970s and continued to be built, added to, and improved for another ten years. This product of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, which was so typical of the ethics of all OA members, proudly consisted of a large meeting room with storage and benches around the perimeter. It had a banquet-worthy kitchen and a large bathroom facility with showers. The outside of the building had a screened porch that ran the entire length of the front side. This was one of the few heated and year-round usable buildings at Lenape. The center of the building focused on the fireplace made of brick with a beautiful hardwood mantle.
Over the years, the building was used for many meetings. The lodge used it for ceremonies and rehearsals. It was also the site for many banquets, dinners, and enjoyable events held by Hunnikick Lodge.
While the James Lodge House was one of the recent buildings in Lenape, the most important part of the building was it's dedication and name. The building's dedication and name was in honor of Mr. James L. Moore, Jr. and Mr. James Entwistle.
Primarily, we spoke about the Founding Fathers and their contributions to Lenape, which will always be cherished. Jim Moore and Jim Entwistle were younger than the Founding Fathers, nevertheless, they were both legends in their own times.
Both men grew up in Scouting in Burlington County Council as Scouts. Both went thru the ranks and eventually became adult leaders. They had a love for Lenape that may have been stronger than almost anyone's, because they were there when it opened. Both men gave the rest of their lives back to Scouting, Lenape, and the OA. Their wisdom and experiences were learning tools for all of us that knew them. They held positions in troops, districts, the council, and the OA. Both men were benefactors to Lenape and Hunnikick Lodge and neither of them would say "No" to anything that was asked of them.
Their love for the OA could probably not be compared to anyone. They were both Vigil Honor members and they held various offices beside being charter members of Hunnikick Lodge. Perhaps the proudest moment for both Jims was when the lodge dedicated the building in their honor. While this was a significant honor for them, they never stopped achieving honor from all those who knew them. More can be read about Jim and Jim on the lodge's website.
The C. Russell Horn Lodge was probably most noted for being the camp Trading Post. Actually, for most of it's lifetime, the Trading Post occupied only one-third of the building. This building was the predominent building "across the Main Area." One of the most distinguishable highlights of the building was the red and white "BURLINGTON COUNTY COUNCIL" sign that was proudly displayed above the steps of the porch.
Oh, yes! We did mention the porch. As long as there was a Scout or leader in camp, there was someone on the porch, which had four built-in benches along the railing that were normally occupied by Scouts coming out of the Trading Post, someone using the pay phone, or someone just sitting there relaxing. Of course, we cannot forget the infamous Yoke that hung from the ceiling of the porch. It provided hours and hours of entertainment as people got lost in time trying to move the wooden block from one side of the Yoke to the other. Many a friendly wager was had, resulting in the winner receiving an ice cream cone from the loser.
For many years, the remaining two-thirds of the Horn Lodge was the Handicraft Shop. Most of the finer carved camp symbols were made by skilled Staff Members and campers alike. All of the highly coveted camp awards were produced by craftsmen wanting to make camp mementos that are still in existence today. Around the end of the 1960s, the Handicraft Shop was moved to another building.
Increasing camper population, tighter National Council and State camping regulations, and stricter accounting procedures made it necessary to rearrange the furniture. The former Handicraft Shop became a Central Camp Office for the first time in the camp's history. Prior to this, three informal locations housed the Director's Office, the Program Office, and the Business Office. The center section of the building became the Program Director's Office with space for Program Department heads to do any necessary work. The end section of the building was divided into two sections with the Camp Business Manager's Office in the front and the Camp Director's Office in the rear.
The Trading Post was by far, the most popular part of the Horn Lodge. Besides the standard candy, soda, ice cream, and snacks, you could find almost anything related to camp life. There were stool and basket kits, craftstrip, leather kits, Camp Lenape T-shirts, neckerchiefs and slides to carve or paint, patches, and Lenape souveniers. You could even buy uniform parts if you needed any.
The Camp Office was the official Sunday Check-In station for all troops attending summer camp. Once each leader was welcomed by the Camp Director, Program Director, and Business Manager, it was time for the campers to begin their fun-filled week at Lenape.
Many people never even knew that the building had a namesake. It was always called "The Trading Post" or "The Camp Office." However, Mr. C. Russell Horn was a camp benefactor and a long time leader in the council and the camp. The building named after him played a very important part in the history of Lenape and significantly contributed to the personal pride each camper and leader, Camp Staff Member and visitor took away from camp in the form of an item made by hand, a mug to display on a shelf, a neckerchief to proudly wear, or just the memory of an exciting time that we all came to know as part of the spirit of Lenape.
Perhaps the Shower House was an imposing cinder block behemoth that looked like it did not belong amidst the sand and Pine Trees, but it, without a doubt, played a very important role in the summer camp operation. Remember?...A Scout is Clean. Well the Shower House was built to enforce this part of the Scout Law.
Can you remember when the water was too hot or too cold? It seemed as if no one was ever satisfied, but taking a shower was a daily necessity, so we made the best of it. The building was divided into several sections. The part under the roof had a large dressing area with benches and clothes hooks. The next part was a washing area (not necessarily a pre-wash) with a water trough and faucets for that wake-up splash in the face. There were a couple "throne rooms." And then, after all that, finally the room with the actual showers large enough for ten people at a time to burn or freeze themselves depending on their timing.
The part not under the roof contained a dressing room, similar to the inside one and a shower room that could accomodate five people. The building was powered by two high velocity water heaters and two water tanks. The water was regulated (right!!!) by mixing valves whose sole purpose was not to work properly.
Actually, the Shower House had a daily population as large as the Dining Hall. Campers, leaders, and Staff Members used the Shower House. The game was to try to time your visit. If you were too early, the water was too hot. If you were too late, the water was too cold. So proper timing made the eleventh point of the Scout Law quite a challenge. The Shower House was not named after anyone because no one wanted to admit knowing anything about it!
The two Staff Huts were built in the early 1960s by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide a summer residence for Camp Staff Members. Each hut housed eight people in semi-private quarters. The buildings had electricity and their screened side walls made them very airy. Sometimes, too airy! However, the atmosphere in each building made for comraderie and lasting friendships.
Each year after summer camp was over, the huts had their battens and wooden doors installed over the screens and screen doors and were used to store the camp's boats and canoes. The Staff Huts were one of four locations that housed the general staff during the summer season.
The Walter Kunkle Memorial Chapel, commonly referred to as "The Chapel," was named after a former Council Scout Executive who died while performing volunteer work at the camp. In Mr. Kunkle's honor, the A-frame roof Chapel building was built on the banks of a small lake in the 1960s. The lake became known as Chapel Lake. The chapel building and it's altar and accompanying seats were on a large concrete slab down in a hollowed out area that tiered down from the entrance of the Chapel area. The design of the Chapel was award winning. National Council used the design as a model in their Design Sheets for camp buildings.
The Chapel area was located down a wooded trail off the main road into camp. It was landscaped with evergreens and walking paths made of crushed stone. At the entrance just behind the Chapel Gateway was a monument dedicated to Mr. Kunkle. Rows of benches arranged in a semi-circle led down to the evergreen surrounded A-frame, which shot up into the sky.
Beside the obvious weekly non-denominational religious service during summer camp, the Chapel was used for Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish services for Camporees and other events. It was also used for two weddings. During the summer season, it was a place to go to be alone and when leaving it, come away with a refreshing feeling that cannot be described. The only sounds you were able to hear were those of the birds and the soothing rush of water that could be heard coming from the nearby Chapel Lake Dam.
The Warehouse was the center of the Camp Maintenance Department and the central winter storage location for the campsites and program areas. It was also the location of the Camp Ranger's Maintenance Shop and tool crib. Located at the end of the road past Gibson Lodge, the Director's Cabin, and Staff Huts, the building was completely made of steel and aluminum.
The original internal construction was a separate workshop with walls made from half logs. There were also three separate storage rooms for the summer camp storage and surplus kitchen material. The large main part of the building had doors on each end, that when opened, made for vehicles to be able to drive thru the building. It also had room for a plywood and lumber storage area, space for larger power tools, and a large work area for projects in the making.
There was an outside covered storage area that housed reels and reels of spare water lines, and items that could not be stored outside. Nearby, but at a safe distance, there was a gas pump and storage lockers for flammable material. No matter what you needed for any project in the camp, it without a doubt could be found "At the Warehouse."
The Wren's Nest was one of the first buildings you would see when entering the camp. It was at the Mahalala Memorial Circle and being one room, it was the smallest of the camp's permanent buildings. The building, which unfortunately, was very close to the Shower House, and was originally built to be a ladies restroom. That never happened and as the years progressed, someone thought that it would be better to have a ladies room in the Main Area.
The Wren's Nest was used for storage until the late 1960s when the Handicraft Shop had to move and was relocated to the Wren's Nest. The building also served as the Quartermaster building, which, simultaneously was moved from the Warehouse. Besides getting lanterns and kerosene, mops and buckets, you were able to work on a woodcarving project in the quiet area away from the busy center of camp. Toward the end of the camp's life, the Handicraft Shop was moved back to the Main Area where it operated on tables under two tarps. The Wren's Nest then was just the Quartermaster and was only open a couple hours each day.