Published: October 25, 2009 11:30 pm      

Persons of the Week: Trio perform Scout camp improvements

Shaping leaders is similar to building a cabin, three area Boy Scout volunteers believe.

You start from the ground up.

The three men have taken the lead in helping the Penn’s Wood Council of the Boy Scouts make improvements to its camp, located within the boundaries of Yellow Creek State Park in Indiana County.

The $2.1 million project at Camp Seph Mack includes the construction of five cabins, a pavilion equipped with a hydrant to serve as a water supply, a group cooking and dining area and a modern restroom.

The project is being spearheaded by the Council’s Order of the Arrow Nachamawat Lodge 275.

Outside of professionals who excavated the area and installed the utilities and H.F. Lenz Co., Johnstown, which donated engineering services, the project is being conducted by volunteers from Nachamawat and their supporters.

The Order’s mission includes building leaders and promoting camping. The Order, an honor society for Scouts, is governed by the Scouts themselves with the guidance of adults.

The first phase of the project, which began in late July and includes the construction of three cabins and a pavilion, will be dedicated Friday.

Mark Sanford Sr., Cresson, council property chairman who will become adviser for Nachamawat in January, said the council had asked him to consider the possibility of volunteers conducting the project.

He asked members of Nachamawat what they thought, with the Scouts embracing the idea.

Sanford, a self-employed contractor, was asked by the Scouts to be project manager and Neil Morton and Kevin Knarr, also adults members of Nachamawat, to be assistant managers.

“It’s huge,” Sanford said of the project. “It will house our senior staff during summer camp, and we will be able to rent the cabins out to earn income for Scout programs.”

Many volunteers are working hard on the project, said Sanford, a former assistant scoutmaster for a Gallitzin troop.

“They’re doing a bang-up job,” he said.

Sanford, who became involved with the Scouts when his son, Mark Jr., joined, said it is rewarding to see a young boy go through the program and become an Eagle Scout.

“You watch him mature into a responsible young adult with very high standards and morals,” said Sanford, a cubmaster in Gallitzin.

Sanford’s son is an Eagle Scout and had served as Nachamawat chief before taking his current position as chief of a section that oversees five lodges.

Morton, of Rockwood and a retired electrical engineer, has been involved in the Scouts for five decades.

“What I enjoy most is seeing the new Cub Scouts,” the Eagle Scout said. “It’s like they are in continuous motion and full of energy.

“To see those boys go from that stage and develop into a young man is something to see.”

The current adviser for Nachamawat, Morton said the cabins will be made available for the senior staff so they can bring their families along while they volunteer.

The assistant scoutmaster for a troop in Rockwood said supporters, such as his wife, Marilyn, also are helping with the project.

Morton, whose two sons are Eagle Scouts, said that in addition to H.F. Lenz Co., they also appreciate the help of state Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, who secured a $250,000 state grant for the project.

Knarr, in addition to helping with the construction project, also is leading the effort to construct a new ceremonial gathering place for the Scouts to replace the one being lost to the new development.

The Ebensburg area resident is the council’s sign maker and has crafted signs commemorating the contributions of donors.

For their efforts, Sanford, Morton and Knarr are the Persons of the Week.