×

Group purchases Camp Anderson from Boy Scouts

TYRONE — When a court ordered the Tyrone-based Camp Anderson Corp. to turn over its 96-acre Scouts camp to the Boy Scouts of America in 1992, then-president Bradley Aults said he vowed he wouldn’t be the last president of the nonprofit corporation that had run the camp since it was given to the Tyrone Scouts in 1926.

While the corporation sat dormant for years after the camp was turned over, Aults said the board was unanimous that it wanted to continue on, and now, 24 years later, the Camp Anderson Corp. is poised to once again own the woods and fields where thousands of Scouts from central Pennsylvania have camped over the past 90 years.

The all-volunteer corporation has signed a sales agreement with the Laurel Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America to buy the camp for $215,000, it was announced Saturday at the camp that sits on VanScoyoc Hollow in Snyder Township.

The group is also looking to raise another $285,000 for capital improvements for the long-term upkeep of the camp, Cummins McNitt, the capital campaign chairman, said on Saturday as volunteers and friends of the camp came together with representatives of the Laurel Highlands Council to announce the sale. McNitt said it will take a lot of giving to raise the money to keep the long tradition of the camp alive for future Scouts.

“This camp is ours,” McNitt said “It’s returned home.”

McNitt pointed to the plaques on the boulder at the camp’s entrance, one inscribed with the names of the volunteers whose hard work built and sustained Camp Anderson over the decades. He said the volunteers have a responsibility to keep the camp going. The fundraising campaign, which officially started Saturday, will include sending out 42,000 fliers and newspaper inserts and offering an array of activities and perks for various stages of donations. A GoFundMe account is also in the works, and the corporation plans on using social media to spread the word.

Already, $50,000 has been pledged with another $1,000 donated by the Laurel Highlands Council on Saturday.

Sharon Moulds, Scouts executive with the Pittsburgh-based Laurel Highlands Council, said the current council is the result of a 2011 merger of other councils that left the Laurel Highlands Council with 10 camps and three office buildings. A study of the council’s property last year concluded the council should sell six camps, with Anderson being one of them. She said it is a difficult decision to sell camps, but “in order to fulfill the promises we made to our boys, we had to divest some of these properties.”

Moulds said the sale is exciting, both for the council and the Tyrone community.

“We’re excited new memories will be made with this property, and we’re going to be able to share in the joy,” Moulds said.

Current Board President Brian Bressler said the camp isn’t just important to Tyrone but has been a place for Scouts to call home from Bedford, Centre, Huntingdon and Cambria counties.

“I think the future looks bright,” Bressler said. “We’ve got so many people coming to us saying, ‘What can we do to help?'”

Bressler pointed out the camp now sees 4,000 camper nights each year with myriad other activities, including the annual haunted house that runs through next weekend.

Bud Boom, secretary for the Camp Anderson Corp., said the council has made the sales process run as smoothly as possible.

“We’re part of a staff of volunteers over the past 90 years,” Boom said. “Now, we’ve got our work cut out for us to keep it moving forward.”

Sam Hayes Jr., board member and former state representative and secretary of agriculture, said he is confident the camp will get the support it needs and  pointed out it has roots in the Tyrone community and beyond in central Pennsylvania. It’s the kind of place where young people can go for wholesome character development that embodies the values of Pennsylvania and America, he said.

“The community will be supportive,” said Hayes, who had three sons use Camp Anderson as Boy Scouts. “There’s hardly a family that hasn’t been touched by Camp Anderson.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today