Katahdin Scouts making progress on lodge

ORONO – Several Cub Scouts sat at the base of the podium last week while the Katahdin Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America campaign committee announced that more than half of the money needed to construct a new lodge and make improvements to Camp Roosevelt in Eddington has been raised.

The cute little boys from Pack 47 in Orono and Pack 10 in Bangor, dressed in their blue and tan uniforms, whispered and giggled and shushed each other during the campaign announcement.

“We’re more than halfway there,” Peter Vigue, campaign chairman, said during a press conference at the Katahdin Council’s headquarters in Orono.

The campaign is called “Strong Values, Strong Leaders – The Campaign for Camp Roosevelt.”

More than $1.1 million of the $2 million needed to construct a new 11,284-square-foot multilevel and multipurpose lodge, a sports field and a ranger’s house already has been raised by residents, businesses and organizations. Funds also will be used for upkeep of the existing 75-year-old log dining hall.

The Katahdin council broke ground on the new lodge two months ago, and construction on the structure’s walls should begin Oct. 3, with a late-spring opening.

Camp Roosevelt has been the Katahdin council’s outdoor classroom since 1921 and is located at the base of Black Cap Mountain. The 1,800-acre camp includes Little Fitts Pond and is located 15 miles from Bangor.

Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield, of which Vigue is president, is donating its services as general contractor for the project.

For years, the Katahdin council made do with the current dining hall, which has grown too small, the Rev. Wayne Buchanan, council president, said.

“We would have up to 350 kids [at camp] in a 250-limited [seating] dining facility,” he said. “Kids would be outside on the porch, they were everywhere.”

The new log-cabin-style lodge will be one and a half times the size of the current dining hall. The additional space will accommodate up to 412 people and will include a professional kitchen, administrative space and a room for programs and recreation.

The modern lodge will be the new center point for Camp Roosevelt and is situated to the north of the current dining hall and overlooks the pond.

Camp Roosevelt may be a Scout camp, but it’s used by a variety of different groups.

“It’s been a fully operational Scout camp … that we make available to the community,” Ernie Kilbride, campaign committee member, said before the announcement. “It’s the jewel of the program. We have someone up there every weekend.”

Buchanan concurred. “The other thing we’d like to accomplish is to provide year-round activities,” he added. “The community has asked for something that’s large enough to host a wedding. They see it as a facility that goes beyond us.”

School groups, the University of Maine, Maine Maritime Academy, the Maine National Guard and local civic groups use the camp.

With more than 6,000 youths involved with the Katahdin council, which covers six counties in northern and eastern Maine, identified as the poorest regions in Maine, it’s easy to see how important the camp is, Vigue said.

The fact that 3,000 dedicated volunteers assist the Katahdin-area Scouts spurred Vigue to accept the campaign chair post, he said.

“This is a one-of-a-kind program that, in my opinion, will have a lasting effect on the region and people of the state,” he said. “I believe it’s probably one of the most worthwhile events in my life.”