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 Way back in 1963, I
joined the rest of Troop 182 from Baldwin, New York, and headed off on my
first trip to summer camp. Our destination? Onteora Scout
Reservation, located in the Catskill Mountains near the town of Livingston
Manor. Click here for maps of the area,
showing the general locations of both Livingston Manor and Onteora.
Onteora is one of two camps owned by the
Theodore Roosevelt Council, formerly Nassau County Council, of Long
Island, New York (see below for details on the name change). The
other camp is Camp Wauwepex, located in Wading
River, New York (They renamed that property to Schiff Scout Reservation a
few years ago, but evidently the old name is also still in use.)
I was a summer camper
at Onteora in 1963 and 1965, and a counselor in 1968 and 1969. There
were also trips up there for Order of the Arrow events, the winter
campouts called Operation Igloo, and some weekends of fun with other
alumni over the years. I met a lot of good friends there and have some
great memories of the place, and thus this trip down memory lane.
Unfortunately, I learned in 1997 that the
Council had closed Onteora a few years earlier, the victim of declining
Scout enrollment and a tendency for more upscale camping. This was a
real loss, for it was a great experience for me and I'm sure thousands of
others. Happily, the Council re-opened the camp in 1998 and has been
rejuvenating the property, with summer camp once again providing a great
outdoors experience to Scouts from Long Island. In 2003 Onteora was open
for a five week camping season, and the future again looks bright.
I've had fun putting these pages together,
and would appreciate hearing from any other OSR campers or counselors that
would like to contribute. If you have any pictures, maps or knowledge to
share, please let me know. Likewise, if you would like to be part of a
mailing list of other Onteora fans, please let me hear from you.
Bill Cotter
Click here to e-mail me.
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Here's some information on Onteora that you
might enjoy:
This website was last
updated on
10/31/2009.
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While the guestbook below is a handy way to let
people know you've stopped by, it's not the best way to share your
thoughts with other visitors. It's pretty much a one-way forum. To
help current and former campers and staff stay in touch, please
use the mailing list feature. Sign up and you'll get periodic
updates on what's new at Onteora, and will also be able to contact
other OSR fans directly. Just enter your e-mail address in the box
and click the "Join Now!" button. |
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Some dates of interest:
Planning
Ahead Beyond 2009
(Because of council scheduling,
these are
anticipated dates)
2010: Fall Weekend, Sept. 10-12, 2010
2011: 55th Anniversary Reunion Weekend
Sept. 16-18, 2011
2012: Fall Weekend, Sept. 14-16, 2012
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Sign My
Guestbook  View My
Guestbook
Please let me know what you think of this
little effort! Also, if you have any patches, neckerchiefs or photos
available, either for sale, trade or just to loan, I'm always looking
for more. |
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Still reading? Ok, here's
the information on the council name change. Teddy Roosevelt, well
known for his charge up San Juan Hill and later as President of the
United States, was the first Commissioner of Nassau County Council.
When a different Theodore Roosevelt Council in Arizona closed and gave up
the name, Nassau County Council decided to rename itself to honor his contributions to local scouting.
Click on the patch to go to the Council's official web site (but
please come back!) |
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The page was last updated:
October 31, 2009. This website copyrighted 2003-2009 by
Bill Cotter.
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