Rekindle the Flame TEN MILE RIVER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 2020 PROJECT
Revised 9.2.20
To celebrate 100 years of the Order of the Arrow in New York City, the Ten Mile River Alumni Association is restoring the Tower of Friendship, a fitting symbol of the fellowships that bind us. In this time of a pandemic, let's rekindle the flame of friendship and return the eternal fire to the Tower. Our project seeks to: - Clean the tower - Return the upper deck and columns with new bluestone - Return the eternal flame as it was originally - Replicate the original Norman Rockwell inspired bust - Replace missing dedication stones - Install signs explaining the site's significance and the OA in GNYC - Repair the stone landscaping In the next phase we hope to bring camp site improvements to Stag Hill and lastly to install a new stag sculpture to approximate the original. LEVELS OF GIVING All donations at any level are deeply appreciated and will be used solely towards this project Donations of $1000 or more will have their name engraved at the first tier - approximately 10 slots at 1/2" Donations of $500 or more will have their name engraved at the second tier approximately 20 slots at 5/16" Donations of $250 or more will have their name engraved at the third tier - approximately 40 slots at 3/16"
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TOWER OF FRIENDSHIP For many reasons, Stag Hill has long been considered hallowed grounds, not just by Suanhacky Lodge who once held all their Vigil ceremonies here at the Tower of Friendship, but Stag Hill has long held a critical position in the history of Ten Mile River and the Order of Arrow at-large.
Stag Hill got its name well before FDR and the Boy Scout Foundation of Greater New York acquired Crystal Lake tract in 1929. Prior to 1916 the property had been part of the former 4000-acre Van Allen Grange, the estate of George Van Allen a wealthy manufacturer of printing presses. It was he who most likely named it Stag Hill and it was on this site he built Stag Hall, a 19-room lodge for his Sullivan County Turtle Club. The design of it was based on his “Big House,” Van Allen’s summer residence, which later became the Crystal Lake Resort, located in present-day Camp Keowa. Stag Hall served as a clubhouse for this group of wealthy men who gathered for extravagant dining, drinking and hunting for just one week each summer and occasionally again in the fall.
L to R: A postcard of S.C.T.C./Stag Hall modeled after his “Crystal House,” William H. Van Allen and C. Frank Boughton in a parody pouring the contents of a large silver drinking cup into the mouth of the seated man, and a view of S.C.T.C/Stag Hall
So when Queens Council finally moved from the Kanohwahke Scout Camps in Tuxedo in 1930, it was one of the last two borough camps to do so. Along with Camp Manhattan (now Keowa) they were to both share Crystal Lake. Back then the Camp Man property consisted of a waterfront, five wooden buildings on the hill, a dining hall and two wooden buildings on the lakeshore. Stag Hall became the administration center.
L to R: Stag Hall; again Stag Hall; and a Camp Man retreat on their Parade Grounds
Back then it was not an uncommon practice in Scouting to have a fire that was lit the first day of summer camp and was kept burning until the last day of the summer season. We know that at Kanohwahke at Camp Breuckelen, Shu-Shu-Gah Lodge 24 maintained what they called an “Everlasting Fire.” Then here at Ten Mile River at the Brooklyn Camps, Shu-Shu-Gah maintained a “Fire of Cheer” and eventually built a pavilion for it. The pavilion was an open wood, hexagon-shaped structure with a flue at the top for the smoke.
Caption: “THE EVERLASTING FIRE – Brooklyn Scouts in Indian costume and wearing the badge of the arrow, guard the Eternal fire at Camp Breuckelen. The costume is worn by members of a secret fraternity within the Scout group.” L to R: News clipping from the Brooklyn Eagle: two Keepers of the Fire of Cheer at TMR; and the pavilion for the Fire of Cheer
Several years later, while back in Queens at a Suanhacky Lodge meeting on April 15th 1936 it was decided that the Lodge would build an "Everlasting Light” to symbolize the true camp spirit, like some of the other camps. It was written in “The Bugle,” Camp Man’s newsletter, that on July 1, 1936 the “Pyre of Friendship” was lit with an Indian Ceremony by a member of the Lenape Indian tribe. Three Indians came across the lake from their reservation with a torch lit by flint and steel as token of “Friendship” with the white man. I think we can assume it was three OA brothers canoeing across Crystal Lake with a torch to light this fire of friendship. Later that same summer, Scout Executive Charles M. Heistand, Camp Director Joseph H. Brinton and Assistant Camp Director Russell A. Turner conceived of a “Tower of Friendship” to host an “Everlasting Light.” The tower was to be constructed of stone and
a campaign was initiated to solicit donations from dignitaries associated with Scouting and TMR, along with stones from each of the 48 states and several countries.
L to R: Charles Heistand; Joseph Brinton; and Russell Turner(?) All three men went on to lifelong careers with the BSA. Heistand went on to be the Assistant National Chief Scout Executive and had been responsible for Scouting’s 50th anniversary including the 1960 Jamboree, the D.C. Boy Scout Memorial in President’s Park, and the Johnston Scout Museum. Brinton went on to be a Council Executive, National Chief of the Order of the Arrow (New York City’s only National Chief other than William Stump who served as Chieftain of the Grand Lodge), chaired the creation of the OA’s DSA (Distinguished Service Award) and with Heistand was responsible for National to recognize the OA as an official BSA program. And Russell A. Turner went on to become National’s Director of Camping. All three men served as Queens Council’s Chief Executive, also served as Council Executives outside of GNYC, and all three were honored with the DSA. At one point Turner also served as GNYC’s Director of Field Services.
In constructing the "Tower or Friendship," it was the earnest desire of the Officials of Camp Man that the Tower will be a symbol and reminder of the Friendships that exist among our Scouts at Ten Mile River and among Scouts everywhere... friendships to treasure for years to come. Neighborhood Scout Commissioner A. G. Jeffrey agreed to design and build the tower. Jeffrey was the Scoutmaster of "Pachsegink," 1 of the 14 Camp Man units. Jeffrey was an Engineer at Bell and was to later design the Kernochan Memorial that still stands outside the Kernochan Memorial Dining Hall just down the road. Back home he and his son were members of Troop 17 Elmhurst, Queens. So that summer every Scout in Camp Man added one stone to the Tower's foundations while the many other donated stones were arriving daily. The tower was sited to stand in front of Stag Hall just beyond it’s porch approximately where a bronze stag was.
L to R: The Tower under construction with framing to guide the stonework; A. G. Jeffrey “The Builder”; and A. G. Jeffrey’s sketches identifying each stone
Going back to George Van Allen, he placed this bronze stag just outside Stag Hall, which served as the clubhouse for his Sullivan County Turtle Club. The statue faced Stag Hall's front door. It was a bronze stag matching those used by Elks Lodges. It was just like the one that stands outside the Elks Lodge on Queens Boulevard. In 1936 the bronze stag was moved and positioned lower down Stag Hill and turned to face Crystal Lake.
L to R: Two views of the bronze stag prior to 1936 facing Stag Hall just beyond the porch; and in 1936 facing Crystal Lake
It’s interesting to mention here, that Suanhacky Lodge was formed here at Camp Man in the summer of 1930. Their first meetings were conducted in Stag Hall and when it came to determining its totem it’s no surprise they choose the stag, Camp Man’s totem and a namesake of so many things at camp.
On August 26, 1936, the last day of the camp season, Charles M. Heistand laid the cornerstone of the Tower of Friendship. Before doing so he inserted a tin box to serve as a time capsule. In it was placed: 1. Camp Letterhead 2. Council Letterhead 3. Set of Camp Photos 4. Camp Emblem and Numeral 7 5. Order of the Arrow Sash 6. Letter from Judge Chas. W. Froessel - President of the Council 7. Letter from H. P. Palmer - Council Scout Commissioner 8. Letter from Mr. C. M. Heistand - Scout Executive 9. Letter from J. H. Brinton - Camp Director - Explanation of Tower and Fire 10. Staff Roster 11. List of 1936 Campers 12. Camp Booklet 13. Issue of "Camp Man Bugle" 14. Silver Jubilee Camper Button.
L to R: C. M. Heisted inserting the year stone; and the Camp Man Emblem
Shortly after, a bust was made of a Boy Scout to sit atop the Tower of Friendship. Jack Kohler, a long time Lodge Advisor and Camp Director, often said it was a bust of his brother who also attended Camp Man. Jack went on to say that Norman Rockwell carved it when he visited TMR. There is no known sculpture by Norman Rockwell. There is no evidence of Rockwell visiting TMR. Jack told great stories. But every good tale has a corneal of truth… the bust does bear a striking resemblance to a certain profile, the profile depicted on the cover of the BSA Handbook at that time. AND that cover was indeed created by Norman Rockwell.
Boy Scout Handbook 3rd Edition, 1927-1940. This edition was titled “Revised Handbook for Boys”. Norman Rockwell produced the artwork for the cover. This was the first real rewrite of the handbook. It introduced the proper wear of the neckerchief. This is the only edition to encourage the Scouts to perform military drills. https://historyofscouting.com/handbooks/boyscout_handbooks.htm
So when it was completed in 1937 the Tower stood centered on Stag Hall, with paths and steps that led down Stag Hill to the relocated bronze stag and then down to an impressively wide stone stair cascading into Crystal Lake. But sadly this scenario lasted only months… if that. Because later that summer Stag Hall burnt down to the ground. In an interview with Ed Winters, Ken Crandall who had been TMR's Property Superintendent, credited the fire to an electrical incident, and suggested that Camp Man’s caretaker would use pennies in the fuse boxes.
L to R: The stag: the Tower and Stag Hall; the Tower with Stag Hall; the fire; and its aftermath
Despite the loss, the Order of the Arrow completed the landscape around the Tower in 1938 with some fairly substantial stone. Again A. G. Jeffery played a critical role in designing its landscaping.
Views of the Tower and Stag Hill after 1936
My 1979 Vigil ceremony around this Tower may have been the last Vigil ceremony where the tower remained intact, because in 1980 the Tower had been vandalized. The bust was broken at its neck and the head supposedly thrown into Crystal Lake.
Several years later, in 1985, the bust was replaced with a new portrait. The Scout chosen was Patrick McGovern from Troop 28 Richmond Hill, Queens, because it was said that
Patrick resembled Vincent Kohler at the time the original bust was made and a grave memorial sculptor carved the new bust in granite. In this 1985 renovation it was determined to mount the bust directly to the Tower’s base for security.
But if we go back to it’s origins, the Tower’s purpose was to host an Eternal Flame to represent the many friendships that are formed here at Ten Mile River Scout Reservation. We invite you to join the campaign to return the Eternal Flame as it had been. Please consider adding your name to the Tower of Friendship.
THE TOWER OF FRIENDSHIP RESTORATION STEERING COMMITTEE: Steven Benini David Malatzky Michael Drillinger Frank Rickenbaugh Johannes Knoops
Missing stones and damaged landscaping:
Add your name to the Tower of Friendship:
GREATER NEW YORK COUNCILS Ten Mile River Alumni Association 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 600 New York, New York 10115 (212) 242-1100 facebook.com/TMRalumni/