Del Mar Va Council

Organization

Del-Mar-Va Council is divided into the following districts:

Henson Scout Reservation

Henson Scout Reservation, also known as Camp Nanticoke, is an 1,800-acre (7.3 km²) Scout camp located on the Delmarva Peninsula near Galestown, Maryland. One of two Scout camps on the peninsula, it serves thousands of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts throughout the summer months, and is open year-round for special Scout programs and for rental by outside groups. Boy Scout and Cub Scout summer programs are run separately.

History

Named for the famous aviator and philanthropist from Salisbury, Maryland (Richard A. Henson), Henson Scout Reservation has been in continuous operation by the Del-Mar-Va Council since the summer of 1965. The camp was originally known as Camp Nanticoke, which is now the name of the primary camping area. (The original plan was to develop two camps on a single reservation — Camp Nanticoke and Camp Choptank — but that never materialized.) Today, the entire reservation is still known by many as simply "Camp Nanticoke."

In November 2006, G. Lee Murdoch was named to succeed J. Ray Teat as director of the camp. Murdoch, a ten-year summer camp staff veteran and Eagle Scout, holds a master's degree in recreation management from Indiana University and a bachelor's in recreation and parks management from Frostburg State University. Teat was named the Del-Mar-Va Council's director of support services. In September 2011, Eric Salser become director after serving in various positions on camp staff including Program Director in the 1990s.

The camp's largely undeveloped 1,500 acres (6.1 km²) are widely recognized as an environmental gem, with habitat for countless birds, mammals and fish, including the bald eagle. The entire camp was protected in a conservation easement in partnership with the Nature Conservancy.

Boy Scouting programs

Camp Nanticoke offers a wide range of traditional Boy Scout summer camp programs, including swimming, nature/ecology, handicrafts, Scoutcraft (camping and outdoors skills), archery, rifle and shotgun shooting and fishing. Its first-year camper program, known as Brownsea, is extremely popular. Located on the Marshyhope Creek, a tributary of the Nanticoke River, the camp has a thriving waterfront program, offering canoeing, rowing, sailing and motorboating. It also has a fitness program, including physical fitness, biking and golf merit badges.

For older Boy Scouts, the camp offers a high adventure trekking program, involving a week-long canoe/bicycling trek around the Nanticoke River watershed. Its Eagle Base program is designed to give older Scouts the opportunity to earn specialized merit badges required for the Eagle rank. And Project COPE is an extremely popular low- and high-ropes challenge course. Finally, new to Camp Nanticoke in the 2008 summer will be a Visual Arts area consisting of computers, graphic arts and photography merit badges.

The Admin lounge has a lounge for adults only and seven on-site computers are available for anyone to use.

Cub Scouting programs

While traditionally Cub Scouts have participated in day camps, Henson Scout Reservation offers an overnight/resident camp, designed to introduce Cub Scouts to the basics of camping in a supportive, structured environment. It offers 3-day, 2-night sessions for both Cub Scouts and Webelos and weeklong sessions just for Webelos. Each year's programs are thematic. The summer 2008 theme is Wild West.

The 2007 theme was "Exploring the New World," marking the 400th anniversary of Capt. John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay.

Rodney Scout Reservation

Rodney Scout Reservation, operated by the Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America, is located on 900 acres (3.6 km²) of rolling upland woodlands at the head of the Chesapeake Bay and boasts over a mile of prime bay frontage. It has been in continuous operation since 1923. Currently, the Camp Director is Richard Suhrbier of the Del-Mar-Va Council. The Camp Ranger is Charles Shirley.

History

Rodney is located in Cecil County, Maryland, about 6 miles (9.7 km) Southeast of Interstate 95 or Maryland Route 40 off Maryland Route 272 near North East. The camp location provides easy access from Baltimore, Washington, Wilmington, and Philadelphia.

It is on the site of an old abandoned iron mining site formerly titled Whitaker Iron. In 1922, DuPont gave much funding for the fledgling Scout camp that has multiple facilities, camp grounds for roughly two dozen troops and many merit badges. Such activities include traditional Scouting programs as well as robotics, shooting sports, sailboating and power boating, rock climbing, cycling, and geocaching.

Campsites

At Rodney, there are three sides of camp: Lenape, Pathfinder, and Wilderness

Lenape

The Lenape side of camp centers around the pool and Bridge House, which is the winter camping headquarters.

Pathfinder

Wilderness

Summer Camp

For eight weeks during the summer, Rodney is open for long-term summer camping, staffed by paid employees of Del-Mar-Va Council. Merit badges and other programs are offered in the areas of:

Camp Safety

Camp Rodney's Safety Officer, Jack Green, monitors and assists in the safety of all staff, scouts, and visitors who are attending camp. His duties range from cleaning up spills, dealing with wildlife such as snapping turtles, snakes, and birds of prey, assisting lost visitors, enforcing bicycle and road rules, and securing sinkholes. He can always be identified by his bright orange safety vest, badge, and radio. Often, he makes routine stops to other program areas and the dining hall, but his main station is at the Nature Lodge, located across from the Ranger Campsite.

Notable acts by SSO Green include:

"No matter what the situation is, I will always be willing to protect and serve the staff and campers of Rodney Scout Reservation," said by SSO Jack Green at a recent interview after he received the camp's prestigious S.F.B. award.

Winter Camping

From September to May, Rodney is open for weekend camping, staffed by the volunteer Rodney Campmaster Crews. Some weekends offer programs put forth by districts in Del-Mar-Va Council. Most weekends include a program such as orienteering, cooking, rifle shooting, or many others put on by the campmaster crews.

Akridge Scout Reservation

Akridge Scout Reservation, operated by the Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America, is located on 85 acres (0.3 km²) of farmland in Dover, Delaware, and is the first Boy Scout camp in Delaware. Groundbreaking took place on September 17, 2011. The first event held there was a Council Jamboree on May 4–6, 2012.

Order of the Arrow

Nentego Lodge 20 History On July 29, 1925, a charter was granted to Unalachtico Lodge of the Del-Mar-Va Council. The lodge totem was the turkey. By the late 1930s, the lodge had become inactive and was disbanded.

Through the efforts of the Delmont Lodge #43 of the Valley Forge Council, Lodge #20 was reorganized on June 22, 1957. The new name chosen by the membership was Nentego, a derivation of the name of one of the major Delaware Tribes, which means, "People from across the water." Delmont Lodge inducted two youth from each district and the council professional staff to provide the initial core of Nentego Lodge. The Lodge totem is the Rockfish, which can be found in the Chesapeake Bay. The lodge colors are blue, for the water of the Chesapeake, and grey, for the Rockfish. The first lodge flap appeared in 1957, and its basic design remains in use today.

Section NE-4C History Section NE-4C was established in June 1994, following a realignment of the councils and areas of the Northeast Region. The Section had been formerly known as NE-6 until the 1994 realignment, which resulted in the elimination of Area 6 and the transfer of NE-6 charte lodge Ahthuhquog #540 to Section NE-5. Section NE-4C is now one of the three Order of the Arrow Sections in Area 4 of the Northeast Region. Section NE-6 was formed on May 22, 1982 when its five charter lodges were transferred with their respective councils from SE-9 in the Southeast Region to the Northeast Region. A sixth lodge, Black Eagle, transferred from NE-3A to NE-6 in June 1982. Section NE-6 continued as a group of six lodges until a 1988 realignment of the Northeast Region. In November of that year, Susquehannock and Tuckahoe Lodges from NE-5B and Wunita Gokhos from NE-5A joined Section NE-6. Since the formation of NE-4C, three lodges have been transferred to other sections, Ahthuhquog, Black Eagle, and Wunita Gokhos. Information for this page came from the 2002 Section NE-4C Conclave Handbook.