Connecticut Yankee Council

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Connecticut Yankee Council
Connecticut Yankee Council

The Connecticut Yankee Council, #072 of the Boy Scouts of America, is located in Milford, Connecticut. The present Council was formed in 1998 when the Quinnipiac Council and Fairfield County Council merged.

Connecticut Yankee Council presently operates four camps: Camp Sequassen in New Hartford, Deer Lake Scout Reservation in Killingworth, Hoyt Scout Reservation in Redding, and Wah Wah Taysee in Hamden. See Boy Scout Camps in Connecticut, past and present below for more information on the individual camps.

Owaneco Lodge 313 is the Order of the Arrow lodge that serves this council. See Order of the Arrow Lodges in Connecticut, past and present below for more information.

Contents

[edit] History

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[edit] Districts

Connecticut Yankee Council is divided into the following districts:

[edit] Owaneco Lodge

Owaneco Lodge #313 is the Order of the Arrow (OA) lodge for the Connecticut Yankee Council. The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's National Honor Society. The lodge's name comes from a chief’s name of the Mohegan Tribe. The lodge totem is Owaneco. The lodge was formed with the merger of Arcoon #369 and Tankiteke #313 in 1999.

Members from the two former Council Lodges (Tankiteke 313 and Arcoon 369) formed a lodge steering committee to discuss the merger between the two Lodges. After 5 meetings, spanning from February through September 1998, all details regarding basic structure, committee responsibilities, name of the lodge, bylaws and first lodge event were discussed and finalized.

On Sunday October 4, 1998, the first meeting of the memberships of Owaneco Lodge 313 occurred. The lodge membership approved the Lodge Name, Number, Bylaws and the first group of Lodge Officers were elected. During the lodge’s first year the Executive Committee worked to mold the new Lodge program. Several changes were made to combine the traditions of Tankiteke and Arcoon and adapt a new Lodge program. 1998 also saw Ockenuck Chapter re-named itself to the Arcoon Chapter.

During 1999 Owaneco Lodge achieved Honor Lodge status for the first time in its short history. Owaneco #313 again earned Honor Lodge recognition in 2007.

The 2003 Section NE-2C Conclave was held at Camp Sequassen and hosted by Owaneco Lodge.

The Quinnipiac Dancers, which started out as the Wulihan Chapter Dance Team in the Arcoon Lodge, celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2004. Over the 30 years, the dance team has garnered dozens of awards.

Owaneco Lodge actively practices the OA principles of Cheerful Service. The lodge is currently engaged in collecting soda can tabs for donation to the Masonic Tabs for Tots program, which uses the tabs to raise funds for the Shriner Hospitals for Crippled Children and Burn Victims. Since starting this service project the lodge has collected almost 100 pounds of tabs to be converted into scrap aluminum for the Hospitals.

[edit] Camps

[edit] Camp Sequassen

Camp Sequassen is located at 791 West Hill Road in New Hartford, Connecticut. It is a Boy Scout camp operated by the Connecticut Yankee Council, and is mainly used for summer camp. It is the "sister camp" to Camp Workeoman opertated by the Connecticut Rivers Council across the road. Troops from around Connecticut and neighboring states stay at Camp Sequassen for a week. While staying at Sequassen, scouts are able to work on rank requirements and take Merit Badge classes while being instructed by well trained staff members.

All three meals are served each day at the English Dining Hall near Clark Field. Here, the scouts are served breakfast at 8:00, lunch at 12:30, and dinner at 6:00. At open program from 3-5 and 7-8 or in between classes, scouts can stop at various fun and enjoyable places.

One of these places is the Trading Post. The Trading Post is a small scouting store operated by Sequassen staff. It is well known for the candy sold there but also offers other merchandise such as Sequassen frisbees, shirts, hats, and patches. At the waterfront, scouts can go swimming or take boats such as canoes, kayaks, and row boats out into West Hill Pond. Also, Platt Field, located in North Sequassen is where scouts can participate in rifle shooting and archery. Very close to Platt Field, shotgun shooting is available for older scouts near Scout Craft. There is also a handicrafts center near the waterfront where scouts can do woodcarving, paintings, and metalwork. One, of course, cannot forget the enthusiam for environmental education taught at the Nature Center, "Eco" located in Cohen Lodge. Scouts taking at Eco enjoy creative, fun and educational programs such as catching insects at the "Bug Wall" and learning about glaciation in "Tasty Geology".

While staying at Sequassen absolutely no one is allowed to cross over West Hill Road to get from one half of camp to the other, instead all scouts, staff, and adult leaders use the Godfrey-Morris tunnel that goes under West Hill Road. None of the staff members tolerate horse play and it is encouraged that everybody takes a shower at one point during the week at the shower house located near Clark Field.

The Camp Sequassen staff is enthusiastic, friendly, and well trained to help keep scouts safe and help with advancement. Camp Sequassen would not be what it is with out them.

[edit] John Sherman Hoyt Scout Reservation and Training Center

John Sherman Hoyt Scout Reservation and Training Center is located in Redding, Connecticut. The reservation was donated to the Alfred W. Dater Council by Alice B. Sanford in 1966. The 174 acres (0.70 km²) of wooded property is located in a rural area of Connecticut on the western end of the Connecticut Yankee Council.

The reservation is named after John Sherman Hoyt of Darien, Connecticut. Hoyt was a wealthy industrialist and dedicated Scouter. Hoyt was involved with the scouting movement since 1910 has one of its founders, National Council Vice President for Finance, a member of the National Council Executive Board and Advisory Board. Hoyt had donated 18 acres of land in 1947 to the Alfred W. Dater Council, which became the Five Mile River Camp.

The first building built at the new camp was a training cabin, which was dedicated to General Arthur Carter.

The reservation has been operated by three different councils. Alfred W., Dater Council merged to form Fairfield County Council in 1972 and merged again in 1998 to form the present Connecticut Yankee Council.

[edit] Camp Pomperaug

A Scout camp located in Union, Connecticut. Currently (2006) owned by the Connecticut Yankee Council leased to the Ct Burn Foundation as a summer camp for children with severe burns.

This camp had a long history, first, as boy scout camp located on Lake Zoar part of the Housatonic River system. [1]

[edit] Deer Lake Scout Reservation

Deer Lake Scout Reservation is located around Deer Lake in Killingworth, Connecticut.

[edit] See also

Scouting Portal

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boy Scout Troop 64