Markets to begin again

   The Camp Tuscazoar Foundation is currently involved in two different Farmers markets on a weekly basis. We staff a booth at the Massillon Farmers Market every Saturday morning in downtown Massillon. We also set up a display at the Canal Fulton Farmers Market in downtown Canal Fulton on Thursday afternoons. We have found the markets to be a terrific place not only to sell our syrup but to meet former campers and make some great contacts for future events at the camp. This summer we would like to also have a presence at the Canton Farmers Market which is held on Saturday mornings. We need volunteers to help cover this location. If you have a few hours on Saturdays mornings, please let us know. This is a large market and it would really bring us more contacts for the camp. Think you might be interested? Then please call Nancy Schoenbaum at 330/493-1386 to discuss the possibilities.

Duryee Lodge plaque returns after 22 years

   In 1957, family and friends of Gerald F. Duryee funded the construction of the Duryee Memorial Trading Post Building at Camp Tuscazoar. The building served as the trading post during the weeks of summer camp until the early 1980’s, when the trading post was shifted to Jamboree Lodge and Duryee Lodge became the camp office. When the lodge was constructed, a plaque was mounted on the exterior to commemorate the gift of the trading post to the McKinley Area Scout Council in memory of Gerald Duryee.
   The plaque remained on Duryee Lodge until 1986, the last year of scout summer camp at Camp Tuscazoar. At some point, the plaque was removed and disappeared for more than 20 years. However, a couple of months ago, a box containing scouting paraphernalia was passed on to Jack Smith, scoutmaster of Troop 935 in Jackson Township, near Massillon. Included was the missing Duryee Lodge plaque. Jack immediately recognized the plaque’s significance and made arrangements to return it to Tuscazoar as soon as possible. We are extremely grateful for Jack’s efforts in returning the plaque.
   Harold Duryee, Gerald’s son, recently wrote,” We are all gratified to know that the plaque will be in the Tuscazoar museum. We would like to express our appreciation to Scoutmaster Jack Smith for his thoughtfulness in saving it and now restoring it to the camp. All of us were far away from Camp Tuscazoar in 1986 and not in a position to have preserved the memorial to our father. In fact, it was long after the sale that we heard about the disposition of the property. We are grateful for the preservation of the building and the camping facility itself. My brother, Gerald, and I enjoyed a lot of good times there, and my sister, Suzanne, was part of the activities there as well. Both of my nephews from California have been to see Duryee Lodge when they visited the area and read the marker in front of the building. It was a physical memento of the grandfather they never knew, and each had their picture taken in front of the Lodge.”
   The plaque is now on display in the W.C. Moorhead Museum at camp. Be sure to stop by during your next visit.

   The W.C. Moorhead contains a wide variety of plaques and memorials that were installed throughout camp during its long history. We are hopeful that additional plaques and mementos will find their way back to Tuscazoar in the near future. If you have any Camp Tuscazoar memorabilia that you wish to donate to the museum, please let us know. As always, additional funds are needed to improve the interior design, displays and for ongoing maintenance. Assistance is also needed for organizing and cataloging donations, and to staff the museum during open hours. If you are able to assist, please let us know.

Bricks to be installed outside of Kimble Hall

   A new location of commemorative bricks will be installed outside Kimble Hall this spring and we are looking for a few volunteers with strong back and a burning desire to help the camp by volunteering to shovel gravel, sand and lay some bricks. We are also in need of a tamper to help level the location and give us a firm base for the bricks. If you are willing to give us a hand, please give Nancy Schoenbaum a call and let her know you are interested in helping. The date will be determined based on weather conditions. We would like to improve the look of the front of Kimble Hall. Thanks in advance for lending a hand.

SOCCC makes final donation

   Last August, Foundation attorney Dave Tschantz received a call from a member of the Save Our Council Camps Committee (SOCCC). The SOCCC was formed in the 1970s by local scouters who did not wish to see camps Tuscazoar and Buckeye sold. They formed a committee, solicited funds and purchased a sizeable advertisement in the November 10, 1980 Canton Repository.
   Apparently, $1,379.68 in committee funds still existed in a local bank account. The bank intended to send the committee's funds to the Division of Unclaimed Funds in a few days. The caller was shocked, believing that the committee’s funds had been spent in the early 1980s. The caller said he had contacted Buckeye Council and they weren’t interested in the funds and referred him to Tuscazoar.
   Dave called the bank and obtained an extension of the deadline. Then, acting on Dave's advice, the caller located several former committee members, notified them of the funds, and called a meeting of the dormant organization. On August 25th, the SOCCC attendees elected new officers, including a new treasurer. They also voted to donate the remaining funds to Camp Tuscazoar.
   The Camp Tuscazoar Foundation is grateful to the surviving members of the SOCCC who voted unanimously to honor the wishes of those long-ago supporters and help preserve Camp Tuscazoar.

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