Minsi Trails Council
Minsi Trails Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves Scouts of eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and Pocono regions as well as parts of western New Jersey. The council serves five counties in Pennsylvania: Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Carbon, Luzerne, and Warren county in New Jersey.
| Minsi Trails Council #502 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Headquarters | Allentown, Pennsylvania | ||
| Founded | 1969 | ||
| President | Lew Dryfoos | ||
| Commissioner | Tamie Swain | ||
| | |||
| Website www | |||
| Scouting portal | |||
Minsi Trails Council serves nearly 10,000 youth through the leadership of 5,000 adult volunteers.[1]
The council was formed in 1969, after the merger of the Bethlehem Area Council, Delaware Valley Area Council, and Lehigh Council. The council consists of six districts and maintains two camping properties: Camp Minsi in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania, and Trexler Scout Reservation in Jonas, Pennsylvania. Combined, these camps serve more than 4,000 campers annually.
Organization edit
The Minsi Trails Council maintains a central headquarters and service center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The service center includes offices, conference rooms, and a council Scout shop. A copy of the R. Tait McKenzie sculpture The Ideal Scout stands outside the center.
The council is divided into five districts divided by county and school district boundaries based on geographic location and size.
- Carbon/Luzurne District — Serving Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and Carbon County, Pennsylvania(including Jim Thorpe Area School District, Lehighton Area School District, Palmerton Area School District, White Haven, Weatherly, Freeland, Beaver Meadows, Hazleton, McAdoo, West Hazleton, Conyngham, Drums, and Sugarloaf.)
- Northampton District — Serving Northampton County, Pennsylvania (Bangor Area School District, Easton Area School District, Nazareth Area School District, Northampton Area School District, Pen Argyl Area School District, Bethlehem Area School District, Saucon Valley School District and Wilson School District)
- Lehigh District — Serving portions of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (including Allentown School District, Salisbury Township School District, East Penn School District), Parkland School District, Whitehall-Coplay School District, Northwestern Lehigh School District, Catasauqua Area School District, and Northern Lehigh School District)
- Monroe District — Serving Monroe County, Pennsylvania (including Stroudsburg Area School District, East Stroudsburg Area School District, Pleasant Valley School District, and Pocono Mountain School District)
- Warren District — Serving Warren County, New Jersey (including Phillipsburg School District, Belvidere School District, and Hackettstown School District)
Camps edit
Minsi Trails Council owns and operates Camp Minsi, a Scouts BSA camp, over 1,200 acres (5 km2) in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania.
Camp Minsi edit
| Camp Minsi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Coordinates | 41°07′19″N 75°25′26″W / 41.1219°N 75.4239°W | ||
| Founded | 1949 | ||
| Camp Director | James "Foot" Feuerstein | ||
| Program Director | Ryan Hinton | ||
| Ranger | John Buz | ||
| | |||
| Website www | |||
Camp Minsi is on the shores of the 314-acre (1 km2) Stillwater Lake in Pocono Summit, Pennsylvania. The camp was donated to the Boy Scouts in 1949 by Samuel Rubel of the Pocono Mountain Ice Company.[2] The camp was formerly owned by Bethlehem Area Council prior to the establishment of Minsi Trails Council in 1969.
Camp Minsi encompasses 1,200 acres (5 km2) of relatively flat Pocono woodlands, and holds over 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails and varied wildlife.[3]
A central feature of the camp is Stillwater Lake.[4] The lake provides opportunities for swimming, small-boat sailing, canoeing, rowing, kayaking, fishing, standup paddleboarding, boardsailing, blobbing and other aquatic activities. Camp Minsi's first-year camper program is known as the Trail to Adventure (TTA). The camp's ScoutCraft area teaches outdoor skills - while the unique Minsi Village and Voyageur Outpost areas provide hands-on living history with focuses on primitive outdoor skills, blacksmithing, woodsmithing, lumberjacking, Native American culture, archaeology, pioneering, branding, games, crafts, and cooking. The camp's Handicraft area allows Scouts to experience the crafts of woodcarving, leather crafting, basketry, pottery, art, textiles and model building. The camp's Ecology-Conservation area offers environmental programs and nature studies. The Shooting Sports area allows Scouts to shoot rifles, shotguns, and bows and arrows. Other program areas include programs focused on citizenship and communications, health and safety, trade skills, sports and athletics, and adult leadership training.[4][third-party source needed]
In addition to its traditional Scouts BSA program areas, Camp Minsi offers high adventure programs for Venturers and older Scouts. High adventure offerings include whitewater rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, treetop adventures and zip-lining, and other activities both on, and off, site.[5]
Camp Minsi has over 20 buildings, 11 established troop sites, 10 primitive outpost sites, four freshwater springs, miles of trails and several historical and natural points of interest.[4]
The camp has been named "Best Campground", "Best Non-Profit", "Best Fishing Trip", "Best River Rafting / River Trip", and "Best Kayaks" in the Poconos by the readers of the Pocono Record in the newspaper's 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 "Reader's Choice" contests.[6][7][8] The camp was featured in Scouting and Men's Health magazines in 2015.[9][10]
Summer camp program areas edit
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| Campsites edit
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Specialty camps edit
- Pocono Summit Adventure Camp — Established in 2018, the Pocono Summit Adventure Camp is a high adventures specialty camp geared towards Venturing crews and older Scouts. Based out of Camp Minsi, the program includes whitewater rafting on the Lehigh River, mountain biking the Lehigh Gorge, treetop adventure climbing and zip-lines, horseback riding, and other special activities highlighting the unique features of the Pocono mountains.[11]
- Minsi Trails STEM Camp — Established in 2017 under the name SkillsFest, this program is a specialty week focused on STEM education. During the week participants work with field experts and professionals to earn skill-specific merit badges and other Scouts BSA awards.[12]
- The National Muslim Scout Jamboree — Established in 2016, Camp Minsi hosts this biennial event in collaboration with the National Islamic Committee on Scouting (NICS) and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Focusing on the Messengers of Peace initiative, the jamboree welcomes members of the Islamic Scouting community from across the country and around the globe.[13][14] The 2016 Jamboree was attended by Charles W. Dahlquist II, the National Commissioner .[15]
- Pocono Summit Day Camp — The camp hosts an annual week-long Cub Scout day camp each August. The camp has been named "Best Day Camp" in the Poconos by the readers of the Pocono Record in the newspaper's 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017 "Reader's Choice" contests.[6][7][8]
- Winter IceFest — Established in 2017, the Winter IceFest on Stillwater Lake is an annual winter festival for Scouts hosted at Camp Minsi. Activities include ice fishing and ice cutting demonstrations, plus snow and ice games and Scouting demonstrations and displays.[16]
Gallery edit
- Waterfront on Stillwater Lake
- Waterfront on Stillwater Lake
- The Dining Hall
- Inside the Dining Hall
- Archery range
- Rifle range
- Staff performing a skit at a campfire
Order of the Arrow edit
| Witauchsoman Lodge | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 | ||
| Lodge Chief | Trey Wachob | ||
| Lodge Adviser | Scott Best | ||
| Staff Adviser | Paul Oswald | ||
| | |||
Minsi Trails Council is home to the Witauchsoman Lodge of the Order of the Arrow. Witauchsoman means "to be in fellowship with somebody".[citation needed]
In 1928, thirteen years after the introduction of the Order of the Arrow into Scouting, Minsi Lodge #5 emerged. The Minsi Lodge served the Lehigh Council that operated Trexler Scout Reservation at the time. In 1936, the Pohopoco Lodge #44 replaced the Minsi Lodge. For thirty-three years the Pohopoco Lodge acted as a pilot lodge, helping to start new lodges in the area. The other lodges were the Tunkhannock Lodge #476 of the Bethlehem Area Council operating Camp Minsi, and the Ah'Pace Lodge #58 of the Delaware Valley Area Council operating Camp Weygadt. The tri-merger of the councils and their lodges resulted in Witauchsoman Lodge #44. The totem of the lodge is three peace pipes (symbolizing the three predecessor lodges) strong on a bow. In 1980, a new chapter that formerly served the Anthracite Scouting Organization joined the lodge. This was a result of the organization becoming a new district in the Minsi Trails Council. In 1994, Witauchsoman re-established chapters. Each of the council's six Scouting districts operates a chapter.
Chapters edit
- Ah'Pace Chapter (Forks of the Delaware District)
- Quekolis Chapter (Anthracite District)
- Pohopoco Chapter (Trexler District)
- Tunkhannock Chapter (South Mountain District)
- Pokawachne Chapter (Pocono District)
- Wapagokhos Chapter (North Valley District)
See also edit
Further reading edit
- Safford, Sean (2009). Why the Garden Club Couldn't Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674031760.
- Tierney, John (October 7, 2014). How Are the Boy Scouts Doing in American Cities?.
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References edit
- ^ "Minsi Trails Council". www.minsitrails.org.
- ^ "Unit Anniversaries". Scouting. September 1999.
- ^ Koomar, Susan (August 2, 2007). "Boy Scouts celebrate 100th anniversary". Pocono Record.
- ^ a b c "About Camp Minsi". campminsi.org.
- ^ "Camp Minsi High Adventure Programs". Minsi Trails Council. September 2015.
- ^ a b "Pocono Record Reader's Choice Awards - 2014". October 29, 2014.
- ^ a b "Pocono Record Reader's Choice Awards - 2015". Pocono Record. October 30, 2015.
- ^ a b "2017 Pocono Record Readers' Choice - 2017 - The #1 Camp in the Poconos". YouTube. October 25, 2017. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.
- ^ Wendell, Bryan (March 30, 2015). "Men's Health writer becomes 'Bald Eagle Scout'". Scouting Magazine.
- ^ "Men's Health Writer Earns Bald Eagle". March 30, 2015.
- ^ "Camp Minsi Pocono Summit Adventure Camp". February 2018.
- ^ "Minsi Trails SkillsFest". April 2017.
- ^ "The 1st National Muslim Boy Scout Jamboree". Minsi Trails Council. August 2016.
- ^ "The 2nd National Muslim Boy Scout Jamboree". Minsi Trails Council. January 2018.
- ^ "Camp Minsi Staff Sings with the BSA National Commissioner". YouTube. August 2016. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021.
- ^ "Minsi Trails Winter IceFest". February 25, 2018.
External links edit
- Official website