From WikiBPSC

The following is an excerpt from a letter written to modern Camp Ranger Andy Anderson in response to his request for more information about the early days of Bear Paw. Retired Scouter Bill Eagan of South Bend, Indiana, writes about his experiences at Bear Paw in the late '30s and early '40s when the land was used by Scouts from Illinois

[edit] Bill writes...

Dear Andy,

I greatly appreciated receiving your recent letter. The DuPage Council, Illinois, operated a summer camp in the 30’s and early 40’s, but after the war (WWII) went else where. Then a couple of mergers took place so that now no one in that area has any interest in the history of the place. Now I have found you.

I was a camper at Bear Paw in 1935 and 1937. Then I was on the staff from 1938 through 1941. I was scheduled to be camp director in 1942 at age 22, but Uncle Sam had other ideas.

This was depression time so everything was quite sparse. We didn’t realize it. The old log cabin was the only permanent building and we had to re-tarpaper the roof every year. All else were tents with a lean-to or so. Some years we had straw ticks, other years we were not so lucky.

No electricity, no phone, no running water, no indoor plumbing, no sleeping bags.

About 15 years ago, I visited the camp and was amazed at how similar the land use was.

The big new dining hall (now the program center) was almost exactly where the old log cabin had stood. Tales were told that the log cabin had been built by a World War I veteran who had been gassed in the war and was herding sheep to keep in the opening an attempt to re-build his lungs.

A lumber company owned the area and allowed the DuPage Council to use it for a camp.

You had the same problem we did in getting through swamp to the other side of the lake where we had “pioneer point” and you seen to how service scouts. The area you used for Order of the Arrow rituals was close to where we did the same thing. It should be no surprise that the water front was at the same place or were the new boats and canoes. Yours was much more fancy.

Some of the most memorable times of my life occurred at Bear Paw. When these “old scouts” get together, one in Washington D.C., one from San Matos, California and one from South Bend, we always loved a glass of wine as we try to re-live the “good old days”.

I hope that you can use the pictures. I doubt if they can be replaced. The cards of Mountain and Chute Pond are from the middle 1930’s.

Camp Mountain was a CCC camp, one of the New Deal programs used to get unemployed young men off the streets, give them a chance to earn some money ($30 a month) learn a trade and improve the county side. Some of the forests still show the impact of the work.

I have more pictures somewhere. I recently moved from my home for 34 years and some stuff is still unaccounted for. These I send you, more when I find it.

If all goes well, now that I am four score years plus four, I hope to get up your way when the snow has gone and the scouts have come and we will be able to update each other.

Good Luck,

Bill Eagan