In the fall of 2010 the renovation of the south shower house began. The old open stall with shower curtain toilets and showers were replaced with individual stalls with lockable doors. A maintenance access was also installed to allow easy access to all of the plumbing. To cap it off Troop 40 lead by Don Declerk replaced the roof with a metal roof at the Spring 2011 Beaver Days.
2010 started the building of 10 x 20 Picnic Shelters in most of the program areas and Troop Camp sites. The first three shelters were built at Tuscarora, Trading Post and PF in 2010. In 2011 three more were added to Cayuga, Algonquin and Delaware. No shelters were added in 2012. Two shelters were added to Mohawk Campsite in 2014. Each Shelter costs around $2,000. The hope is to add 2 to each campsite and a minimum of one to each program area with out a current pavilion or building for a total of 20 or more spread out around camp. 2011 also saw the expansion of the Scoutcraft Shelter paid for by the Camp Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association.
Some pups in camp around 2000.
Historically, Ganeodiyo Lodge had served as somewhat of a “Alumni Association” for Camp Babcock-Hovey. Many staff members not elected to the Order of the Arrow by their troop often applied once they became adults. Ganeodiyo Lodge also undertook some major projects at camp over the years. With the merger of the councils and of the Order of the Arrow Lodges this defacto “Alumni Association” could no longer be fully dedicated to Camp Babcock-Hovey as we would have to share the Order of the Arrow with our sister camps; Camp Massawepie and Camp Cutler.
Matthew Crance, as part of his ticket for Wood Badge NE-III-186, which took place in the fall of 2009, decided to “present the idea of an Alumni Association to the Camp Babcock-Hovey properties committee and if approved lay the foundation for and Alumni Association at Camp Babcock-Hovey”. Hard work during the summer of 2010 in recruiting members and writing the by-laws lead to the formation of The Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association in the fall of 2010. The mission of the Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association is to serve the youth and adults who use Camp Babcock-Hovey currently and to connect with others who share our passion for the camp, no matter how long we have been away.
The purpose of the organization is to serve the camp through camp improvements and regular work in coordination with the Seneca Waterways Properties Committee. The organization also serves the social function to gather together alumni in regular events to connect past staff, past campers, and their families.
At the first meeting, Matthew Crance was elected as the first President and Jason Dunham was elected as Vice-President, Chandra Theetge was elected as Secretary and Hank Roenke was elected as Treasurer. Edwin Theetge served as the Staff Advisor to the Association. It was decided to switch the annual meetings to the spring/summer time, possibly to the weekend after staff week, so all could come and see camp at it most pristine level. The first project the Association funded was an improved shelter in the Scoutcraft area that was mostly completed in the spring of 2010, with minor upgrades continuing into 2012.
A Logo was also designed during this time period. The Crossed Paddle and Axe were long used as symbols of camp but in recent years the Raccoon had become the camp mascot. It was decided to infuse both ideas into one patch and that resulted in the current logo for the Association.
At the second annual alumni meeting, Matthew Crance stepped down as president so he could focus on his new volunteer position as Properties Chairman for the Camp Babcock-Hovey Properties Committee, which was recently vacated by Hank Roenke after many years at the post. Jason Mellen stepped up to the plate and was elected in as the second President of the Association along with Alexander Peck as the Vice-President. Chandra Theetge, Ed Theetge and Hank Roenke remained at their respective post. The second project the Association tackled was adding a shelter to the Winter Cabins for off-season usage. It was built with the help of Troop 40 in the spring of 2012 at the first annual Raccoon Work Weekend.
In late 2011 and early 2012 the Association would begin planning for the 75th anniversary of Camp Babcock-Hovey. A big celebration was planned and bringing back a Museum into camp was one of the top priorities, along with reconnecting with as many past alumni as possible and getting them to come back for the 2012 Alumni Day. Jay Laitenberger was the chairman of 75th anniversary committee. The Association is looking forward with much gusto to June 30th at seeing you all come back down to camp.
At their May 2009 meetings the Executive Boards of both the Finger Lakes Council and the Otetiana Council voted unanimously to send a Merger Resolution to their respective councils for consideration at their Annual Meeting.
On June 15 both Councils asked their eligible voters to cast a ballot on the question of whether or not the two councils should merge into one. Both councils passed the resolution. By the fall of 2009 the new council was known as Seneca Waterways Council.
However it would take until January of 2010 to fully merge the two lodges.
In 2010, the two lodges merged to form the Tschipey Achtu Lodge #397. Tschipey Achtu means Ghost Deer, and is the totem of the Lodge. The first patch was a tribute to both prior lodges with a wolf and a deer looking upward into the smoke of a campfire to see a Ghost Deer.
A Little history on both old lodges-
In 1948, the OA was discussed by member of the Finger Lakes Council. The following year they formed the Ganeodiyo Lodge #417, and the turtle was chosen as its totem.
In 1936, the OA was introduced to the Rochester Area Council at a council campout held in Mendon Ponds. Thirty-five members were inducted, and the following year the established Ty-Ohni Lodge #95. Ty-Ohni is the Seneca Native American word for wolf, and was the totem of the Lodge.
With the Merger, Camp Babcock-Hovey gained two sister camps. Camp Cutler in Naples, NY is run as a Cub Scout Camp and Camp Massawepie in the Adirondacks which is run as a Boy Scout Camp with a high adventure element.
Who was it and does anyone have a larger and better picture????
In July of 2006 it was announced that –
“New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio today announced that he has secured $400,000 in state funding for the construction of a new science and technology center at Camp Babcock-Hovey. The announcement was made on the grounds of Camp Babcock-Hovey, located on the east shore of Seneca Lake in Ovid.
“This is a great day for all of our area Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts,” Senator Nozzolio said. “I couldn’t be more pleased to be able to secure this funding for Camp Babcock-Hovey, which is so valuable in teaching character, values and leadership skills to tomorrow’s leaders. This new science and technology center will help our youth learn the essential high-tech areas of math, science and technology in an exciting way.”
Camp Babcock-Hovey serves youths throughout Seneca, Ontario, Wayne and Yates counties by providing week-long camping opportunities. The science and technology center will be used year-round by schools and co-ed groups and during the summers by youth groups such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and 4-H. The new center will feature state-of-the-art science and technology programs focused around environmental sciences, engineering, aerospace, and other disciplines. Facilitators and faculty at the center will be a combination of scientists and technologists from many corporations, colleges, BOCES, and public and private K-12 schools.
Bob Dorn, Scout Executive for the Finger Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said, “On the behalf of the Finger Lakes Council, I would like to sincerely thank Senator Nozzolio for his on-going support of Camp Babcock-Hovey and the Boy Scouts. It is so important to get our kids excited about science and technology and teach them the skills that will allow them to succeed in the future job market. We are absolutely thrilled that the Senator was able to secure $400,000 for this project.”
The center will consist of three classrooms, one large lecture hall, a lab, kitchen, sleeping lodge, bathroom and shower facilities, telescope viewing deck, and a pavilion. Participants at the center will also be able to utilize the entire 350-acre Camp, which includes woods, fields, streams, wetland areas, a fishing pond, an Olympic-size pool, archery range, craft lodge, and three nature trails.
“Our local high-tech companies can only flourish if they have people trained in math, sciences and technology. By introducing young people to science in a camp setting, we will give our children a head-start on learning skills for the high-tech economy and ensure the future success of our region,” concluded Nozzolio.
The goundbreaking ceremony took place the following year in the fall of 2007. With construction completed by Massa construction by the spring of 2008.
Over the years Hovey Lodge had served camp in many different functions. By 2007 it was housing the Hovey Museum, OA Lodge and the large area served as material storage for the camp ranger. Hovey Lodge was not insulated and as thus was usually too hot to use during the summer and to cold to use during the winter. In addition to the above and due to structural integrality issues of Hovey Lodge, Hovey Lodge either needed over $750,000 in order to stabilize the foundation and make it completely winterized for off season use or it needed to be replaced with a more useable lodge. It was decided to replace Hovey Lodge. The Old Hovey Museum was packed up and placed into storage in the basement of a local bank for many years. Ganeodiyo Lodge also had to move all of its items to storage in various places around camp. All the other stored material in the main part of Hovey Lodge was either salvaged and put into storage on and off camp property or removed with the building when the building was demolished. Sessler Construction donated the time for the demo work and Hovey Lodge was completely demolished by the end of October 2007.
Matthew Crance is getting married Friday and will be away from Facebook and the Alumni Association for the week because he is honeymooning in the Bahamas. Lets take this opportunity to honor all of his efforts on this website by posting your favorite piece of history you have learned about Hovey (thanks to Matt’s efforts.)
Matthew and Stephanie Crance
Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association 