Tag:Culver
Cabin 2A Opens This Weekend
Last weekend I took some final pictures of the cabin before its inaugural year. We received our Certificate of Occupancy from the Town on the 16th. The Counselors moved into the camp last weekend on the 17th and the first batch of girls will be moving into cabin this weekend. While taking pictures, I was introduced to the Counselor for 2a, who had already moved in. When she was told that I was responsible for building it, she responded, “Cool! You Rock!” I took that as a pretty resounding endorsement.
It’s a little hard to pick out since it has been stained to match the others, but you can see it east of Hwy 117, just across the creek and just south of the basketball courts. You can see some pictures of it under construction in previous posts here and here.
40/40 Notice
It’s always nice to be mentioned. Thanks to Jeff Kenney for the shout-out and quote in the June 16th issue of the Culver Citizen. This was an article concerning Jennifer Laurent and Andrea Cook regarding their Forty under 40 recognition, previously discussed here. Congratulations again to Andrea and Jennifer for receiving the honor.
CEF Girls Cabin Progress 6-6-11
The cabin is nearly complete. We are in the process of installing screens and window hardware. Shelving and electrical will follow shortly. It’s almost sad, but tomorrow all the beautiful cedar you see in the picture above will be stained to match the existing cabins. This will only be done on the exterior. The interior will be allowed to age naturally.
Both interior and exterior structural members are held together using custom plates bolted at the joints. This is similar to the materials used originally. Siding and other wood members were assembled using non-staining galvanized nails. The roof deck is visible from the bott0m here. The deck is made from tongue and groove 2 x 6 cedar.
The cabin should be complete next week. None too soon as Woodcraft Camp will be starting shortly. We want to be out of there before 200+ elementary school girls take over this part of the camp!
Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp Cabin
We are currently working on a new cabin for the girls’ section of the Woodcraft Camp. We are duplicating the existing cabins as much as possible, using cedar for nearly everything that is exposed.
We had a false start where we got off square due to tree roots, but we regrouped and are back under construction with walls standing and our first rafters in the air.
Culver Academies have 70 cabins in the Woodcraft Camp as well as about a dozen or so other accessory buildings. The camp has been in its current location for almost 50 years. Prior to that it was part of the main campus. The Woodcraft Camp program is celebrating its centennial this year. I’m not sure what all will be included in the celebration, but I’m guessing they will do it up right.
From A Salute to the Woodcraft Camps by Robert B.D. Hartman
The cabins have changed very little over the years. The first one was built as a display and transported to the site for placement on concrete piers. The roofing material has changed over the years, going from cedar shakes to composite faux cedar shakes, to the current use of architectural shingles; and some of the hidden structure has been changed to treated lumber. Beyond those changes, great pains have been taken to match the authentic original designs.
As I’m writing this, more changes may be in the works though. We currently have a variance application at the State requesting a waiver on the new rules that would require this cabin to have a fire sprinkler system. Aside from the fact that this would be the only sprinkled cabin on the site, it would be extremely difficult and costly to extend adequate water lines to supply a sprinkler system.
The plan is to have this new cabin completed in time for the 2011 Woodcraft Camp starting in June. We’re pressed for time due to the wet weather we’ve been having, but we’re making good progress. Watch for more enteries here as we progress.
For those of you interested in additional information on the Culver Academies Woodcraft Camp, I would suggest you take a look at A Salute to the Woodcraft Camps by Robert B.D. Hartman. I have attached a copy here.
Boy Scout Trip
We received a solicitation from Boy Scout Troop 229 which is serving Culver now. They have 6 scouts from the Culver area in the troop of 24. They are planning a trip to Philadelphia (Independence Hall), New York (Statue of Liberty) and Boston to visit and learn about historic sites. The trip will include an overnight stay aboard the USS New Jersey which should be a treat.
I went through the scouting program, from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, and it is generally a good program. This trip sounds like it should be a great learning experience for the scouts. Since I was unfamiliar with this activity before receiving this letter about it, I thought I would share it here.
Last year was the 100 year anniversary of Scouting in the United States. Something I learned when we completed the Boy Scout Cabin at Culver Woodcraft Camp last year. It’s a good program and hopefully these scouts will learn a lot and volunteer to pass it on to the next generation.
