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.

Here's some information on Onteora that you might enjoy:

Visit each section of the camp A satellite view of the property
Onteora's "other" camp
The Order of the Arrow at Onteora & Wauwepex A virtual tour and history of the camp
More Onteora/Wauwepex information available on the web Various information that didn't fit anywhere else
From Onteora, Wauwepex and Buckskin Lodge A brief look at Onteora and the surrounding area over the years
Fun in the ice and snow! Dozens of patches from Onteora, Wauwepex and the Council
Miscellaneous patches you might just want More pictures of Onteora and Wauwepex
More pictures of Onteora and Wauwepex
Listings of the camp staffs over the years Try to match the names and faces after all these years
Merchandise of past years from the Trading Post Several different guides to all of Onteora's trails
 

This website was last updated on 04/14/2008.

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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.

Some dates of interest:

2008 Events
Beaver Day #1 — May 16-18, 2008
Beaver Day #2 — June 13-15, 2008
Family Camping — August 15-17, 2008
Fall Reunion — September 12-14, 2008

2008 Summer Camp Schedule

Week 1:

  July 6-12
Week 2:   July 13-19
Week 3:   July 20-26
Week 4:   July 26-August 2
Week 5:   August 3-9
Week 6:   August 10-16

Planning Ahead Beyond 2008
(Because of council scheduling, these are
anticipated dates)
2009: Fall Weekend, Sept. 11-13, 2009
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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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.
Click for Livingston Manor, New York Forecast
roosevelt.jpg (13098 bytes) 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: April 14, 2008. This website copyrighted 2003 by Bill Cotter.