A day later and a Pipestone
short - a Tuscazoar memory

By John Dorosky

   I was lucky enough to have spent a week at Camp Tuscazoar each year from 1950 through 1956. They were thoroughly enjoyable, except for one miserable experience on Friday, August 3, 1951. 
   My last requirement to earn the second-year Pipestone was to complete the swimming merit badge. Since that skill had always come natural, it didn't occur to me to read the book on the subject. No one else was in or around the pool at the time, except for the lifeguard. He was perched in his chair on a short tower. My final task was to jump in the pool with my jeans on, remove them while treading water, tie the legs in a knot and inflate them to provide a flotation device. This I attempted to accomplish with the biggest puff of air my lungs could muster. 
   It didn't work. The lifeguard, a Tuscazoar staff employee, silently stared ahead. It was devastating not to be able to join my fellow scouts that night as they went to the Pipestone Ceremony. I vowed never to return to Tuscazoar. 
   But fortune intervened. Someone other than the lifeguard had overheard that I had failed to inflate the jeans and explained how it's done. The next morning, I went back to the pool with jeans on over my swimsuit, jumped in, took the jeans off, tied the legs together and, while holding each side of the open end in each hand, flung the pants in the air. 
   It worked. I earned the swimming merit badge - a day late and a Pipestone short. I continued to come back each year up through 1956, earning the fifth-year Pipestone from Chief Deaver and then earning the John Burrough's Award - my own toothbrush handle. Today I use an electric model. How would that look on the uniform? 
   I have that lifeguard's signature on the blue Application for Merit Badge card. If I ever meet up with him, he will learn how his indifference almost ruined my future in scouting. 
   One of those years, probably in '52 or '53, there was a forest fire on camp property. Some of us were driven to the site to help put it out. Actually, most of it was out by the time we got to it, but we walked through the debris with shovels looking for live embers. 
   There were a number of dedicated leaders who made sure we could enjoy scouting as members of Troop 1 in North Canton, Ohio. The most outstanding were our scoutmaster, Kenny Oberlin and two assistant scoutmasters, DeVere Kaufman and Phil Stahler. I don't recall how long Phil Stahler was there (as long as I can remember anyway), but Kenny was a scoutmaster for 37 years and DeVere was in scouting literally from Day 1, 1910. We all believed that they were the true Wise Men. Of course, there is no way that they or any of the other scout leaders could have accomplished what they did without the constant understanding and support of their wives. For this, we are forever grateful.

Have a memory you would like to share? Email us at info@tuscazoar.org or send a note to us at: Camp Tuscazoar Memories; PO Box 308; Zoarville OH 44656-0308

Camp was built strong 
with its own timber

   Dover Dam Weekend is fast approaching, and the 2004 event theme is FORESTRY. So, we'd be remiss if we didn't share more fascinating Camp Tuscazoar pictures on this very topic. Did you know that Camp Tuscazoar's forest provided much more than a place to hike and camp? During the 1930's and '40's Camp Tuscazoar had its own working sawmill. Camp trees were felled regularly and sawed into planking for the construction of camp buildings. Back then many smaller buildings were built for craft houses and shelter camping. They often only got tar paper for roofing; doors and windows were minor concerns. In the woods these crudely built structures might have only lasted several years. Then, they were stripped and the good lumber was reused to build again. A forest that is cared for grows strong and yields plenty, just as young Scouts become fine adults and citizens. Learn it well and it will serve you forever: "Use your resources."