"The 1980's"

At the February 1980 meeting, the proposed new building would cost $22,000 to $25,000. Concerns about the long term future of the Island were raised and to be addressed first. Chet P. was tasked to gather pertinent data. Lowell Lucore attended as a prospective member at large. Troop 299, Amherst took a site. Troop 607 helped rough in new bunk frames in the Leader’s Lodge.

At the March meeting, Lowell was elected a member at large. Jim Mann, SM, Troop 617 attended this meeting as a new site holder observer. Troop 279, Amherst also took a site. Docks and erosion control will be addressed in April.

In April, Secretary Stuckey expressed his concerns about Scouting displeasure with the camp and when the issues were not resolved to his satisfaction, he resigned by letter dated June1. It was tabled and subsequently accepted in the fall. Al Frappier and Fred Allgeier served the remainder of the year. More stone were needed for the new road.

Trees were envisioned as a windbreak at the area where the current snow fence and planting are.

May 16-18, 1980 the Tonawanda’s District held a five year anniversary Serendipity Camporee (p) from Niawanda Park in Tonawanda to the Island ( by Bike, Hike or Canoe). District key thanks went to Tom Zarbo, Vince Harmon and Dan Wells for a great Camporee.

In July, apiary/aviary were clarified with John Puchaski. A new fangled gadget called a weed whacker was obtained at a discount price. Stone still needed for the road. Mike Frappier had/crafted a branding iron - 9 Mi CAMPER - for burning into thin wood slice neckerchief slides.

At the Election meeting in November, Lowell Lucore was chosen as Secretary. Other officers remained in place. Also listed as members at large by this meeting were Vince Harmon, Charles Fleischman, Charles Kuhn, Del Krause and Dave Stein.

An annual and report meeting was held at Grace Lutheran church in December 1980 following the previous year’s format. Roger Lemke was added to the members at large elected in November. The new by-laws crafted by Jim Rooney and Doug Eadie and reviewed by Don Graf were presented and adopted. With minor updates, they still remain in effect. Fund raising letters were to go basically to former “Friends of 9-Mile” to maximize return on postage.

Two water line breaks were repaired in December by Mike and Al Frappier and Roger Lemke. Straw is providing extra insulation.

At the January 1981 meeting it was decided to invite site representatives to the next meeting in March. The 11 site holding troops at this time were 816, 55, 574, 510, 617, 575, 607, 565, 299, 440 and 184. Future plans were discussed with them in March.

Several important items were discussed at the May 6th meeting. The horse stall and fence have been taken care of. The water line has been out of service for ten days, a plumber was to be contacted. The tractor is down, needing repair or replacement. Phil Grefrath was to check with Pendleton about mowing the meadow. Cinders are needed for the road. Troop 574 has installed an approved stove on their lean-to. Any new requests for a building will require a set of plans submitted to the Board for approval. Maximum size is to be 20’ x 20’. Only one lean-to per site. One side must basically open.

With every stove, there is to be a fire extinguisher.

A discussion of camp rules ensued. Letters are to be sent to violators.

President Don Graf then informed the committee that he was resigning as of that date. He stated that he would finish the thing that he has started.

Vice-president Dan Wells assumed the responsibility of the chair until the next election. The next regular meeting was to be June 3, 1981 at the Island. Letters requesting each site holder to send two representatives were sent later.

That evening, Troop 184 submitted a request for a lean-to, 20’ x 20’ with a 16’ front flap door. The plans were approved and it was built.

Preceding the June 3rd meeting, approval was given to reimburse Chet Pawelczyk for resale camp neckerchief slides (plastic bulls). The meeting was a sales pitch from Dan for help and support, and a review of camp rules. At the end support was sought and given for a board planned work weekend in the future. That evening, Ranger Frappier submitted a letter stating his intention to leave the Island in September.

Mike’s pending resignation was accepted at a meeting on June 17th. Ted Rose was designated the next Ranger effective in September. He intended to develop the Leaders Lodge into his residence leaving the main lodge again available for weekend camping. Hence a picture window is concealed in the front wall to this day. Ranger rules were discussed. Mike donated his wood burning stove in the Leader’s Lodge to the camp.

Tom Wolfe was elected a member at large.

Dan continued his reorganization attempts through the summer. At a meeting on July 1st, Dick Manton was elected as a Director. On August 19, a new Vice-president was elected. After Fred Allgeier and Bud Lindhurst declined nomination, Chet Pawelczyk accepted and was unanimously elected. Al Glassman was authorized to contact the Buffalo Ornithological Society about possibly establishing a bird sanctuary on the Island.

On August 22nd the Tonawanda’s Chapter Order of the Arrow held an evening campfire at Nine Mile Island while hosting over 60 International Scouts from Europe and Africa. These scouts are touring through the region on their way home from serving on various scout camp staffs throughout the United States for the summer.

At the September 3rd meeting, Treasurer Doug Eadie was instructed to bring the Niagara Mohawk electric bill current, arrange for reinstallation of telephone service and to continue pursuit of a federal IRS section501©(3) determination letter. Attorney Jim Rooney could not verify that this had been previously accomplished (Bill Fraser thought Joe Ambrusko had done this, and Vince Harmon in 3/82 minutes recalled a meeting with Atty. Rooney where this was mentioned as accomplished).

Many Saturdays that fall were spent sorting, repairing and selling misc. removed from Tops stores under renovation. Tom Zarbo had procured these donations from his employer. Also trees were purchased for planting under supervision of the conservation committee (Fred Allgeier).

Phil Grefrath and Lowell Lucore worked on rewiring the Lodge. Tom Zarbo engineered main roof ridge supports. “Doug was on the roof and it gave way”.

At the annual meeting on December 19th, the incumbent officers were reelected. Members at large added were “Peanut butter” Sam Gralnick, Fred Durkee, Ron LaRose, John Rutherford, James Doody and Gary Kowalski. John Rose was proposed as a possible ranger candidate since his brother would not be available. John was to look for a trailer. 1982 would not produce a ranger.

February 5-7, Troop 184 Invitational Klondike (Frontiersman, sic), TN of Amherst plowed for Operation Jack Frost (p). - need additional data

In the spring of 1982 letters were sent to secure for recording all documents pertaining to the island permit and any tax exempt data. The purpose was to insure the camp’s perpetuation and to validate the tax exempt status of donations.

From May 21-23, 1982 the Tonawanda’s District held its last spring Camporee, Brownsea Experience (75th Anniversary, Footsteps of the Founder) at the camp. (May ‘82 Frontiersman - seeking additional data)

At a special meeting at Dan Wells’s house on June 17th, the Grand Island Jaycees discussed assisting the Island with a special project. Subject to cleanup of the Island, they will commit to a building approximately 30’ x 50’ in size. Although Fred Allgeier was opposed to the location across from the Leader’s Lodge (voting booth), this would be the place where our main shelter 24’ x 40’ was erected.

On July 16, 1982 our permit was updated to include changing the permittee to Nine Mile Island Youth Camp, Inc., eliminating the provision of Amendment No.1 which required a five foot minimum diameter pipe under the causeway, removing two sections of dike wall and construction of a pole barn type shelter.

August saw two major events at camp. One was positive and the other not. On a positive note, the officers of the camp “were hosts to a group of international Scouts from Austria, Finland, England, Nigeria, Belgium and Scotland” on Friday, August 20th. This was the second year that they were hosted with Harry Stuckey again coordinating the campfire. Refreshments followed at the Catland Lodge.

On August 24, Dan Wells had to inform Karl Heilmann, Scoutmaster, Troop 184 that their lean-to had been burned to the ground. The perpetrators were never caught.

At a meeting on November 9th it was decided to turn down an offer of 50’ trusses for the shelter due to a requirement by the donor that a $1,000,000 insurance policy be carried to cover him as long as the building stands. Recommendations were made to amend the by-laws to cover the dissolution requirement for non profit status and to change the corporate name to include the word Youth.

The annual meeting in December 1982 saw Tom Zarbo elected Treasurer. Sam Gralnick agreed to fill in for Lowell Lucore, Secretary when necessary. Lowell’s time is frequently limited by business travel. Dan Wells and Chet Pawelczyk also were reelected. Dan noted in his report that of the 14 campsites now established, only one was currently available. Twelve Boy Scout troops and one Girl Scout troop were current site holders. Much work has been done on the lodge. A new roof is needed. Vandalism shows the wisdom of having a ranger as soon as possible. The TN of Amherst sprayed for mosquitoes, Pendleton mowed the camp in the spring and recently provided a front end loader with operator to place thirteen loads of stock piled concrete along the sides of the new road to make it safer. The city of North Tonawanda had delivered eleven loads of the concrete for us. Bill Bush gave us two loads of cinders for the price of one (one donated). He made the dike cuts and gave us cinders for the soil he got from those cuts. These cinders were used to build up the new road approach to Orbit Drive. 150 trees were planted. Troop 617, 833, 607, 574, 575 and a few others did work at camp this year.

The author finds his records for 1983 to be sparse. He had stepped down as an officer at the end of ‘82 due to greatly increased family demands on his time.

Continuing the tax exempt status saga, Dan got forms from Attorney Niemel on May 17 and delivered them to Chet for further work. The next day he picked up 250 Norway pines from the Niagara County Environmental Management Council.

On May 22 Don Jaenecke (future MAL and Director) conducted an Archery program covering the Boy Scout Archery Merit Badge and the NYS Bow Hunter Safety Program. Nine adults and twenty five boys received NYS Bow Hunter training certificates. There is another water line leak.

By Saturday, May 28th the 1930’s bridge over Ransom Creek was shut down until it could be rebuilt (previously scheduled for fall). The east side approach sank 18 inches and buckling was observed on the left side. (Best route from the Twin cities was Campbell Blvd. to Schoelles Road to north on Hopkins Road). That day roofing material for the new shelter was delivered and stored in the Lodge.

Apparently the name change to include the word “Youth” was approved and forwarded to the Secretary of NYS in October 1983. The transaction was never completed there.

October 30, 1983, a Servicemen’s Memorial Ceremony was held and the Allgeier (Fred d- 2/19/83) Park was dedicated with about 35 including representatives of several veterans’ organizations in attendance.

November 9th, Troop 440 selected Site #10.

On November 19th, a cupboard from Chas Fleischmann was picked up and installed in the Leader’s Lodge.

The annual meeting and election originally scheduled for December 17, 1983 was moved/not held until January 18, 1984. The officers were reelected. Also in attendance were Al Frappier and Paul Glassman, SM Troop 575, current MAL. Regrets - Graf, Eadie and Kowalewski.

In Dan Wells log on February 6, 1984 he writes in part of a telephone conversation with Mark Clement, Amherst DPW. Mr. Daigler did not want Amherst to spray his property if they sprayed 9 Mile Island for mosquitoes. Clement suggested Bill Kindel as an ally for funding support. He also suggested a possible Amherst/ Pendleton joint support venture.

At the end of March some finishing work was done on the Catland Lodge and scrap material was moved to the barn.

On April 2nd Vince Harmon told Dan about 20 poles available, turned into 2 and a wait for more.

April 4, 1984 Bob Moll told Dan that American Legion Post #264 was donating a flag and would dedicate a pole to their departed member, Art Johnson (d-Jan) Troop 283/574 who had been a dedicated volunteer at camp in the past couple of years.

Around April 6-7, the Pendleton Lions decided to assist with the replacement water line, five power poles appeared at camp and Bill Wilson sought money for the materials necessary for the shelter. Jim Rumbold considered being 9 Mile Ranger.

After a brief hospitalization, Dan Wells and Bill Wilson staked the ten pole spots for our main shelter. Fred O’Neill, NMP Corp. promised to arrange for the holes to be dug.

May 2nd, 200 Norway Spruce and 100 Austrian Pine were picked up at Lockport Co-operative Extension.

May 5th, Troop 575 planted the trees and Doug looked over a copy machine donated by Dick Batt Realty World.

On May 24th shelter post holes were dug and the poles dropped in place. Pendleton bush-hogged the meadow in June.

July 2nd Niagara County youth started a program of manpower assistance to the camp. By July 7, 1984, Bill Wilson, four Grand Island Jaycees, Dave Gill, his friend , Bill Price and Dan worked on the shelter. All that remained was to enclose the ends and install the hold down supports.

At the Sept 20th meeting, a new latrine was approved for an upcoming Weblos weekend. Fred Williams was to build this the next month. Secretary Lucore expressed concern over the tax exempt status, the name change and Brennon’s topsoil hill.

The November 1st meeting brought a Gas Co. recommendation to get new pipe for the waterline first and they will assist with installation

At the annual meeting on December 13th at Grove Street Christian Church’s Scout Hut, Lowell Lucore’s resignation as Secretary due primarily to continued business travel was noted. Acting Secretary Doug Eadie’s notes indicate that Directors and MAL were elected with the remaining officers. Doug Eadie was elected to the first of three years in his second stint as Secretary. He would have considerable assistance. Donald Miller (Park) was elected to the advisory board. Dave Gill was to mark campsites. Tom Zarbo was to work on a cabin rules/ facilities letter. Tom O’Donnell and Paul Glassman were among the site holder leaders at years end.

At the January 17, 1985 meeting Al Glassman reported pursuing the improved water line with Wayne Overholdt, NFG. Inserting a ¾” line inside the 11/2” line would be a step up in pressure to 80 lbs. Army aerial photos were also discussed.

At the March 30 meeting, Troop 184 secured permission to construct a 12’ x 24’ Adirondack style Lean-to with 5 - 6’ walls and an open front. Troop 51 was granted permission for a similar style Lean-to in their site.

The April 18 meeting noted pending use by the Pendleton Royal Rangers on May 10 and 11. The Rainbow District ( formed by a reorganization of districts about January 1983 included all of the old Niagara Frontier Council [Portage and Ongara Districts] and North Tonawanda and Grand Island from the old Tonawanda’s District) plans to do a fall canoe, bike and hike trek to the Island.

The main agenda item in May was to put together a plan to wrap things up with Brennon (his storage and multiple would be bosses) as amicably as possible with the 9 Mile officers. On the upcoming calendar for August 4th is a NYS Archery Hunting License program.

At an August 23rd meeting problems regarding insurance and the Health Dept. were noted, prompting among other items the resignation letter of our Treasurer from concerns over liability without insurance. Dave Gill was proposed as a possible Ranger, (has been Troop 51 Scoutmaster, one of our site holders). At the next meeting, falconer and naturalist Paul Schnell was also noted as having an interest in the Ranger position. The possibility of dual rangers was considered. Al Glassman noted that our water situation was now in good condition.

October 18-20, 1985 the Rainbow District held a very wet Serendipity Camporee (p) from Niawanda Park (to home for most as I recall) rather than to the Island. Don Miller was Campmaster with an assists from Dan Wells and Ed Wokersien for this 75th Anniversary event.

After November 2 interviews and Paul Schnell’s anticipation of compensation, it was clear that Dave Gill would be our next ranger. At the annual meeting on November 9 it was noted that another as yet unauthorized site had been cleared and was in use.

By the December 12 meeting, Dave Gill’s trailer was in place and the phone and electricity had been installed. A tractor is being stored on the island in return for plowing and other use. Al Glassman suggested enclosing the area around the water tap for security. Dave Gill was clearing part of the towpath Trail behind his trailer.

At the January 16, 1986 meeting in response to a query from Tom Zarbo, Dave Gill reported that many camp visitors now get to the top of the hill, turn around and leave.

The Rainbow District held a spring Camporee, “Advancing Can Be Fun” (p) from May 16th - 18th.

In August Al Glassman updated the campsite agreement forms. The insurance bill is up to $572. Spring and fall spruce ups were proposed for ‘87. At the November 15th meeting, Bob Glidden was added as a member at large and Fred Williams, MAL was elected as a Director. On December 9, 1986 our permit was amended by petition of Amherst neighbor David E. Sable to permit to him a tract of canal frontage that includes a very small, seldom used tip of the island north of the council ring and OA ring.

1987 highlights - At June 13 meeting, Tom Zarbo resigned as treasurer for business reasons, will continue to help when able. Vince Harmon will be Acting Treasurer. Rainbow webelos and Dads use the camp for a Cub Scout picnic.

By July Dave Gill was remarried and by September he stepped down as Ranger. His son-in-law and daughter, Len and Becky Serusa took over Dave’s trailer and became our next Ranger family at the island. By September, Troop 888 had a site and troops 212, Kenmore and 6, Lockport were interested.

By October 9th - Troop 652, 600, 575 and campsite #8 paid, site # 9 to be divided. Troop 212 will take new #14. Troop 6 will take site #9. Troop 652 has cleared their site and is using it regularly. Permission was given for a 12’ x 20’ lean-to to Don Jaenecke for Troop 652’s site. Troop 830 also wants a site - not selected yet. Troop 440 will not renewing their site. On Sept 25th, Troop 462 SM Jeff DeFrank was confronted on their fourth time using the camp without registering or paying.

At the November 4th meeting it was noted that Karl Heilmann, Troop 184 has arranged for an Air National Guard helicopter to be on site on Saturday, November 21st. Scouts in uniform were welcome to observe. After 54 scouts and scouters from Troop 184 had hiked to camp from Miller Park in North Tonawanda. The helicopter never arrived. Thirteen degree weather chilled their plans to remain overnight. Dave Gill said Troop 51 was not renewing their site agreement. Troop 575 was moving from Site 7 to Site 9, leaving Sites 6 and 7 open for Troop 888 and Troop 777- Fred Williams?

By the December 12, 1987 annual meeting held in the Catland Lodge, Dan Wells had completed six and a half years as President and was in declining health. He was unanimously elected Chairman of the Board and a lifetime member. Doug Eadie was elected President, Chet Pawelczyk was reelected Vice-president, Al Glassman was elected Secretary and Vince Harmon was elected Treasurer.

Among the new MAL elected in January 1988 were the Ranger, Len Serusa; Del Krause, Troop 575 and Bob Reynolds, Troop 501/573. Upcoming were to be campsite marking and mapping, Lean-to repairs (Troop 574’s) and a spring cleanup work weekend. Bob Glidden’s donation of a walking cycle bar would be helpful for cutting and trimming in the spring. Preliminary plans were made for transplanting trees from the “nursery”.

February 28 about 12:30PM, Doug Eadie received a call from Dan Wells that was to change/dominate his spare time priorities for over a year. Dan had received a call from Becky Serusa that the main Lodge was on fire and had burned to the ground. Doug picked up Dan and they went out to investigate. The total loss sans insurance estimated at $15,000 would be a challenge to replace. The cause was apparently electrical from a hot spot near where Troop 57 from Cheektowaga had a coffeepot going all weekend. Amherst Fire Inspector Wm. Grady noted “possible” overload, 30 amp fuses in 15 amp circuit discovered. Troop 57 departed about an hour before the fire started. Becky Serusa discovered the fire when electricity in the trailer went off. Firemen from North Amherst and Wendleville extinguished the blaze.

Nine Mile staff assisted by Troop 47, Pendleton and some of the leaders from Troop 57 started clearing debris the following Saturday, March 5th. The decision was made to rebuild ASAP. Interim measures would include putting two side swinging doors on the Troop 574 lean-to and upgrading the voting booth/ Leaders Lodge. Dan Wells and Lowell Lucore modified the doors on the lean-to. Another possibility would be to enclose the main shelter. A tax exempt certificate would be useful now. Dissolution of the Corp and forming a new Corp due to loss of records in the fire was discussed as a possible direction to take. Al Duca, LUS&J visited, took pictures and ran the story on March 10th.

On Saturday March 12th, several members and some scouts from Troop 184 continued the cleanup of cabin debris.

Dan Wells and Doug installed two beveled 4’ x 4’ sheets of plywood over rotting areas of Troop 574’s lean-to floor (building built too close to the ground/ no air space). This was accomplished on frozen ground before vehicles would have sunk in the spring thaw. This made the building safe to use for a while. The closeness to the ground severely shortened the buildings lifespan.

In April, Rosati Construction from Lockport had some materials on hand and offered to rebuild the Lodge for about $2,000 worth of additional material for which we did not then yet have sufficient funds.

Early in 1988, Eagle Scout candidate Todd Hayes proposed for his service project the painting of the Island base camp buildings (they needed it). By the date of his project from May 20 to 22 the scope was unfortunately much less painting.

In June we addressed Health Dept. concerns about insects, rats and a Fire Emergency plan. A used rider mower was not repairable. We still had a Red Jacket Club bus on site and some scrap metal. We agreed to tackle our exempt IRS status and to offer site holders a chance to help fund and then utilize the new cabin.

In July we had another excessive water bill due to an unmonitored leak. Treasurer Harmon suggested that an attorney assist in correctly filing the IRS exemption request. Doug started the process on August 17th. Don Jaenecke said Rosati would be delayed and would talk to the Ranger about the cabin layout. He was also working on a mower. Bob Glidden is working on the campsite layouts. We have a Health Dept permit.

In August Don resigned from the Board of Directors in a note dated 8/9/88. An executive committee meeting was set with Bruce and Lenore Sherman to explore their possible summer use of the site on August 13th. They operated Happyland Day Camp (HDC) and were currently utilizing Camp Thunderbird off Sheridan Drive which their landlord, (the Girl Scouts) was in the process of selling to a developer as excess to their present needs. They felt our site was acceptable and a special meeting with the Nine Mile Board was set for August 22nd to further review the possible arrangement. It was decided that a 24’ x 50’ cabin would be an acceptable size for all concerned.

At the September 12, 1988 meeting, Jeff Westcott, Eric Presley and Bruce Sherman were elected as members at large. Camp cleanup continued.

In October it was determined that a backup plan to Rosati was needed for the new cabin. The Building permit was procured. Fund raising continued. The initial Happyland agreement was reviewed. Bud Lindhurst, Chet Pawelcyzk and Jeff Westcott were named to the nominating committee.

November 12 started a string of Saturday workdays to be ready to stake out the new building on December 5th. Among the new helpers was Bruce Shugarts who would be a key member of the new cabin building crew. A large willow stump near the center of the present wall closest to the barn proved to be a time consuming challenge to remove. The area is still settling some at this time. By December Dan Wells’s declining health prompted him to request stepping back his status to MAL.

The annual meeting was moved to January due to weather conditions on the December date. Vince was completing five years of financial records necessary for the IRS non profit application. Len’s junk yard still needed disposal. Homer Mye will price the materials for the new cabin, including three doors (one double). Electrical work is to be licensed for inspection. The concrete piers will be poured. The voting booth will be covered with T-111. Bud Lindhurst will get Jim Doody to back up our electrical work.

Troop 184 and 574 Lean-tos will be made available to Happyland. Bruce Sherman proposed the barn as a Craft Lodge and noted that road work was necessary to accommodate busses. The HDC pools will need a Pendleton permit. The old chicken coop is to be removed. Along with the reelection of Doug, Al and Vince; Jeff Westcott was elected Vice-President.

A February 11th meeting at Doug Eadie’s house would be the last formal meeting until the end of July. All interim decisions would be made in and amongst cabin construction and other camp preparations for HDC’s first summer season. This activity would consume almost every weekend form the start of March thru the end of June. Doug noted that he had another 10 to 12 hours of prep work before filing the 501c(3) application with the IRS through his attorney, Ben Weich. The basic cabin materials list was finalized. Pack and Troop 573 would provide most of the manpower for the construction of the cabin in return for a gratis annual weekend. Concrete will be poured on March 11th or 18th depending on the weather.

Rick Pressley brought his tractor with post hole digger to excavate for the cabin piers. The regular Pack and Troop 573 families involved in the project were Bruce Shugarts usually with Paula and Travis, Jeff, Jonathan, Kathy and Carolyn Westcott, Bob Reynolds occasionally with “Bert” and Doug Eadie usually with Dave and “Dougie”. Mike Metcalf was our Concrete contact and helped when greater manpower was necessary. Other builders included Dan McCabe, Doug Mc Combs, John Long with young John, and Tom Stevenson with Paul. John and Tom, especially Tom were key collaborators with Bruce Shuggarts in laying out the work and putting together material lists for upcoming phases which Doug then ensured were on hand in a timely manner. Doug relied frequently on Homer Mye for support and timely deliveries. Additional support came from Al Glassman who also donated the kitchen window.

By April 21st, Amendment #5, the last to our original permit, was granted. It granted permission for the main cabin to replace the building lost by fire and to erect two above ground swimming pools (HDC’s). On April 26, 1989 we reduced to writing our original agreement with HDC.

By Saturday, May 6th, the deck was in place. That day the back wall was constructed and raised with an additional assist from five members of the US Army in camp on a training exercise that weekend. Through the weekend the remaining walls were raised. An army helicopter approached and landed in the meadow. This was very entertaining to the Scouts in the crew.

The following weekend on Sunday, the roof trusses were to be raised. During the night Saturday, the weather turned unusually cold. Four inches of wet slushy snow had to be shoveled from the deck before we could start to install the trusses. Cold and wet, we carefully attempted to maintain balance and install the spacers between the trusses. A hammer slipped out of my hand and brought Mike Metcalf to his knees. It struck him in the forehead as he stood steadying the step ladder I was standing on.

I believe this was the last day Dan Wells visited the camp. His son Lawrence drove him out. He sat and watched for a while as we worked.

By June 3rd we were ready to install the roof shingles. The regular four families were also assisted by Bruce Sherman and Louis from Happyland. Don Jaenecke and Len Serusa pitched in too. Len had no prior experience and was ready to take a bundle of shingles to the peak and start. Troop 501 was in camp that weekend and Mark Swartz Sr., a professional contractor assisted. About this time, Al Frappier and Lowell Lucore came to help locate the kitchen drain line from the old cabin. An additional helper in the forthcoming drywall phase will be Gary Grimaldi. With time stress and family commitments, we still had the cabin shell and a basic camp in place for Happyland by the end of June.

Grass maintenance at lawn rather than meadow levels was now imperative in the base camp area. To this end the tandem of Bob Reynolds and Jeff Westcott routinely brought their rider mowers to camp to assist in this chore for some time to come. Also to assist in this effort, Don Jaenecke at some point made contact Ron Sheisley (Niagara County Parks) and obtained use of an older surplus Case rider mower which was a help for some time.

At the July 29th Board of Directors meeting it was noted that $4, 385.50 has been spent for cabin building materials so far. We will insulate it for winter use.

Doug finally has the IRS exempt application ready to file. Government response time is approximately 100 days. The filing fee is $300.00.

We also need to fill the fifth seat on the executive committee with the passing of Dan Wells.

At a special meeting on September 19, 1989, the changes necessary to bring our articles of incorporation into compliance with the Federal tax laws pertaining to section 501c(3) corporations were adopted.

The building will have a plastic ceiling to save heat for this winter. A furnace donated by the Shugarts family will need to be converted to propane.

Troop 184 discussed their messy lean-to. Animal residue on the floor is unacceptable. Bruce Sherman agreed to clean it up.

Don Jaenecke discussed concerns about the Ranger’s duties / responsibilities.

Bob Glidden showed the map he will use for the camp map. It will show campsites, permanent buildings, roads and hiking trails. It will be three feet by four feet in size. It will be mounted in the pump house for protection from the elements.

In the fall, additional costs included filing fees for the amended articles of incorporation and a fee to the NYS Fire Underwriters for inspecting the electric service in the cabin.

On December 6th, Al Glassman opened the cabin for the Wendt’s serviceman to convert our present furnace from gas to propane.