Taken From:

"History of General Sullivan council 1927 to 1992 and History of Camp Brulé"

By Edward B. Woodruff

April 9, 1993

Camp Brulé was purchased from the Central Lumber Company of Pennsylvania.  It was comprised of approximately 325 acres at its original purchase in 1928.

In February, 1960 a parcel of property known as the Arthur E. Dickens Estate was purchased by the General Sullivan Council at the cost of one Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty Dollars.

In June 1967, another parcel of land was purchased by the General Sullivan Council with two lots from Darius D. Drumheller and Nancy Florence Drumheller at a cost of one thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven dollars. 

Camp Brulé was named after Etienne Brulé, a French explorer (born 1592- died 1632).  He lived with the Huron Indians from 1629 to 1632.  The first white man to visit the valley area was Etienne Brulé in South Waverly.  He visited what is now called Spanish Hill.

The first construction at Camp Brulé was the building  of Crandall Hall, named after Harry Crandall who financed the fuilding.  He was one of the first scouters who started the General Sullivan Council in 1927.

The second piece of construction was an ice house for refrigeration at the dining hall.  The ice was cut from Elk Lake and stored in the ice house covered with saw dust.  Another building was built to store straw.  The straw was used to full matteresses that each camper brought with them.

Old Army six-man tents were set up in front of Panocast Hall and platforms were built.  Six old Army folding steel cots were used in each tent.

The first electric se4rvice the camp has was a thirty-two volt generator located down by the edge of the lake with large batteries.  This gave some light to Crandall Hall, the dining hall.  The reason it was located down by the waterfront was due to the noise it made when it was generating.

The waterfront had a few boats and canoes, a large raft built on oil drums located out in the middle of the lake.  The first waterfront director was Larry Parsons from Towanda who did an outstanding job for the camp.

To maintain the camp and prepare it for summer camping all the adult scouters were invited to a spring work bee.  At times, over one hundred scouters turned out for this event.  All kinds of jobs were accomplished by the scouters (such as painting, repairing cots, plumbing and electrical repair, repair of boats and canoes and work on the water front and camp sites).  When the day's work was over a real feast was held at Crandall Hall.  After clean-up the scouters headed for home knowing they had done a good turn for the youth of our area, General Sullivan Council and Camp Brulé.

In 1960, the first camp ranger, Donald Harding was hired.  This proved to be a great asset to the Council and the camp.

The first project was to lay a new oak floor in Pancoast Hall.  The next major repair Donald Harding completed, with the help of many scouters, was a new metal roof for Panocast Hall, which leaked badly in many places  This project required about three weekends. The shower house came next.  Again Don Harding and Albert Bassage led the way in the planning and construction.  This facility was used by the doctors for medical re-check of campers as well as accommodating a dozen or so campers for showers. 

Next came the building of the Scouts' Own Building for storage of camp equipment.  When Sampson Naval Training Base was closed the General Sullivan Council was given several truck loads of equipment from the base.  This included tables, benche3s, kitchen equipment, desks, cots and mattresses.  Although this was a great gift, storage was a problem. A scouter by the name of David V. Bechtold had a plan.  The plan was to contact all the units of the Council and have each unit put on a fund raising project, designating the proceeds to be used for the construction of the Scouts' Own Building.  The plan worked.  A varmint proof building was erected by Don Harding and Albert Bassage and other scouters of the Council.  It has been a great asset to the camp.  The project was started in 1961 and was completed in 1962.

In 1962 the boat house was constructed to store boats, canoes and other equipment.  A workshop was erected in the south end of the building.  

The next project was the planning and erecting of the Chapel by the Order of the Arrow.  The location of the Chapel was picked by John Lucy, Carl Morris, Don Harding, Harry Mangel, Sam Harrison, and Ed Woodruff.  The design of the Chapel was furnished by John Lucy.  the location and design was approved by the members of the Order of the Arrow and the Council.  The work was done by scouters and members of the Order of the Arrow.  The alter was laid by the late Henry Bill, a stone mason from Waverly, NY and Ed Woodruff.  It took three weekends to complete.  The dedication stone was given by the McDonald Memorial Company in Waverly, NY.  It was dedicated June 24, 1962.

Upon completion of the Chapel and dedication stone, the building and furnishing of the Health Lodge follwoed.  Funds were provided by the Horace B. Packer Foundation in Wellsboro, PA.  It was didicated July 19, 1964.

 It also should be noted that extensive repair and remodeling has been done to the Ranger's home over the years.

There have been three totem poles made by Troop 8 of Wyalusing and presented to Camp Brulé.  At a crcent visit with Vincent Bendinsky, the former Scoutmaster of Troop 8, he proudly described the last totem pole the troop made as being thirty foot high and made of Canadian cedar.  "It should last for fifty years."  Vincent related that the troop used an old chicken coop to work in and the totem pole almost filled the length of the coop leaving little room in which to work.  the troop started working on the totem pole in October and finished it in March - six months to complete another great asset to Camp Brulé.  The totem pole was put in place and dedicated in 1961.

Another beautiful piece of construction down at the waterfront was the sun dial - a memorial to two Eagle Scouts of the General Sullivan Council.  In World War II the two Eagles were Lt. John Winter and his twin brother, William Winter.  They were Eagle Scouts from Troop 2, Towanda.  They lost their lives August 11, 1945.

The next project was the building of the Allen F. Pierce Memorial Activity Center.  This building can be used in all seasons.  It has been used for group meetings, and the Order of the Arrow holds meetings there.  The funds to build the building came from Allen F. Pierce Memorial Fund.  The building was dedicated in 1982.

Another building project was the new maintenance center in the rear of the Scouts Own Building and the ranger's home. A much needed building for keeping the equipment of the camp in first-class condition.  Much credit goes to Camp Ranger Joseph Roupp for planning and construction of this project.

A project that was started and completed under Scout Executive Richard M. Larimer, and Camp Ranger Vincent Winicitis, was the building of the fireplace, paneling and new lighting in Pancoast Hall.  This pproject and the dedication was held in 1964.  The architect was Joseph Kesnow of Towanda.

 The building of the rifle range was under the leadership of Scout Executive Harry Mangel.  The material was given by Earnest Lear of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.  The John H. Murry Coal Company from south Waverly furnished the truck for transportation of the railroad ties for the back stop.  The U.S. Army Reserve from Wellsboro, PA did the excavation and construction for the new rifle range.  The Waverly Sportsmen's Club donated eight new 22 cal. rifles to the camp and 500 rounds of ammunition.  The Sayre Sportsmen's Club donated eight mats for the range.  The range was readyand used for the first time insummer camp of 1957.

The trout pond at the end of the lake was built by a plan of Robert L. Bennett, a lawyer from Towanda.  A dam was constructed at the end of the lake to make the pond for trout and other wildlife.  Some ducks stayed there all summer.  The forms were built by Albert Bassage and concrete was delivered.  A large valve was built in the dam to help control the amount of water in the pone.  The project was financed by Scouter Robert Bennett of Towanda and was completed in 1962.

One of the outstanding things that happened at Camp Brulé was the updating of the campsites plus the building of toilets and wash stands.  The laying of water lines for fresh water to all the campsites was a huge job.  Dr. Robert A. Long spent many hours overseeing this project.

In June 1970, Boy's Life Magazine, a magazine published in the U.S. with the largest circulation exclusively for boys, featured Camp Brulé.  A tribute to Camp Brulé adn General Sullivan Council extended from the front cover to the centerfold picture of Patterson (or Elk) Lake.  The magazine extolled the advantages of Camp Brulé, praising the leadership and dedication to serving the youth.  It identified Camp Brulé as a Class A Scout Camp.

 (This ends Mr. Woodruff's history)

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