Camp La-No-Che

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Camp La-No-Che is a Boy Scout Camp located on the North shore of Lake Norris in Paisley, FL. It is a part of Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is home to Tipisa Lodge of the Order of the Arrow (OA). Camp La-No-Che is part of the Winn-Dixie Scout Reservation.

La-No-Che is 1,480 acres and located near the southern border of the Ocala National Forest. It is also on the North side of the Wekiva River Protection Area.

The Camp is open year round with its most active time being the 8 weeks during summer camp in June and July. La-No-Che also hosts weekends for local JROTC units, Venturing units, Learning for Life units, Cub Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)Webelos and Cub Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)Cub Scout weekends. Tipisa Lodge also hosts OA events including sectional weekends.

There are multiple sub-camp locations on the Winn-Dixie Scout Reservation including Camp Rybolt - a large group camping area, Camp Pooh Bear - a secluded and primitive camp, and Camp C.O.P.E. a ropes course.

The camp has two waterfront areas with docks, an aquatics program, a climbing wall, two swimming pools, laundry facilities, a trading post (camp store), shotgun, rifle, and archery ranges, a health lodge, outdoor chapel, dining hall, and multiple modern latrines. Also contained on the property is a water treatment plant, 5 residential houses, sulphur springs, Pooh Bear Lake, 17 Troop campsites, a baseball field, amphitheater, basketball court, bouldering wall, a dance arbor, and the Florida Trail.

The W.T. Bland Dining Hall is a full service food facility able to produce 3 meals a day for 1000+ campers.

Adventure treks and hiking trails are numerous including Big Stump, a 12' cypress stump and the Orlando area attraction trek. Eagle Week, SCUBA diving, climbing, caving, kayaking, sailing, and trail biking. American Red Cross Health & Safety Certifications are also offered.

[edit] History

Camp La-No-Che was originally located at Camp WeWa off of Orange Blossom Trail (US Hwy 441)in Apopka, FL. Due to limited available land for expansion, close proximity to a highway, and a polluted lake on property, the Central Florida Council decided to seek new property around 1949. The Committee to find new land suitable for a summer camp was headed by Don Cheney. Through various means they investigated the Gould Hunting Lodge on the north shore of Lake Norris in Lake County, FL. The hunting lodge was owned by the wealthy Gould family from Massachusetts, owners of the Gould Pump Company.

The first summer camp held on the new property was in 1950. During 1950 and 1951 there was no public electrical hook up onto the camp. There was an electrical generator but used for lights and a well-water pump only. Ice blocks were brought in with butane and propane for cooking and hot water purposes. In 1952 a 5000 Watt generator was purchased due to plans for an on-site refrigerator.

A few years later on the west end of the property land was purchased from the Dyke family (who was given unlimited access) and the land also included Sulphur Springs, Big Stump, and a creek that feeds into Lake Norris.

The camp name was given by Don Cheney and is comprised of "La" for Lake, "No" for Norris and "Chee" to give it an Indian sounding ending. According to Tom Burgess a professional Scouter of that era, "Cheney absolutely insisted that the name be La No Che... one "e", and even in the face of the fact that La Noche translates "the night" in Spanish...behind his back everyone understood that it was his way of putting the name of Cheney on the camp in perpetuity!"

In the mid-1990's Florida based supermarket Winn-Dixie donated a large sum of money to the Central Florida Council, and the camp was given the overall title of "Winn-Dixie Scout Reservation".

Currently the camp director is Matt Ragan and assistant director is Kathy LaBar.

[edit] See also

• Central Florida Council

[edit] External links

• Official website

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 28.950983° -81.534916°
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  • Topographic map from TopoZone
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