Legendary Camp Miakonda opens to all youth

TOLEDO — Erie Shores Council Boy Scouts of America is opening Camp Miakonda for all youth, boys and girls, first through fifth grade — and not just Scouts — for a third time this summer for day camps. Erie Shores Council serves children in Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Wood and eastern Fulton counties. Miakonda is a Native American word that means "land of the crescent moon," but in Scouting circles the camp's name is synonymous with legend. Camp Miakonda at the DeVilbiss Scout Reservation, located at 5600 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo, is a 160-acre resident-type facility. The DeVilbiss Scout Reservation is the sixth-oldest Boy Scout camp in the United States, established in 1917, and the oldest Boy Scout camp in Ohio. The camp's giant flagpole had been the main mast of a 1900s Great Lakes freighter that included a crow's nest lookout where a bugler played signals five times a day. The oldest standing Boy Scout camp building in the nation is in the camp and serves as one of the two Scouting museum buildings. It was built in 1917. The museums display more than 6,000 Scout memorabilia items dating back to 1910. In 1945, a motion picture was filmed at the camp. It was a 30-minute promotional movie about Scouting in northwest Ohio. In it are the giant swimming pool, treehouses, a giant ship and everything else that existed at Miakonda in the 1940s. The movie can be seen on YouTube, titled: "Your Boy Today, Your Citizen Tomorrow." During the day camps, the children will have the opportunity to swim and fish, try archery, learn Scout skills, make crafts, play games and learn new STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and math). There are five weeklong sessions this year, running consecutive weeks from June 14-18 to July 12-16. Registration for each week is $205 per camper, which includes a T-shirt, camp patch and lunch. Discounts are available for those registering for multiple weeks or with siblings. For more information about the program, email cmcampdirector@erieshores.org. To register, email samantha.andreas@scouting.org, call 419-843-0107 or go online at ErieShoresCouncil.org/CDC Grant: 419-427-8412