It started with a collapsed building, continued with a once-in-a-lifetime windstorm and ended with an international health pandemic.
All in all, it was not a good 1½-year stretch for a popular Oconto County youth camp.
Nearly six years after that windstorm caused considerable damage in the county, Bear Paw Scout Camp is stronger than ever and recently kicked off its 80th season of hosting Scouts for a week-long camp.
The windstorm on July 19, 2019, cut a one-week session short by one day, but a week later, the camp reopened with a new group of Scouts.
“Even with trees and buildings down, the staff had the flexibility that we wanted to get it done,” said Patrick Williquette, the camp’s current director. “We wanted to provide a service for these kids coming in.”
The storm turned out to be the second major event in five months. In February, heavy snow on the roof of a storage building caused the building to partially collapse.
Less than a year after the windstorm, officials with the Bay-Lakes Council, which owns and operates the camp, had a decision to make regarding COVID-19.
It would have been difficult to cancel or reschedule summer camp sessions, according to Williquette.
“With COVID, there were a number of troops that canceled that year,” he said. “Our numbers were not the greatest for that summer (2020), but we were probably one of 30-some camps open nationwide. We had to revamp a lot of things, but it was a great time. A lot of staff that are here still talk fondly about that summer. Great leaders and great Scouts came into camp and we had a fantastic time.”
Current camp ranger Andy Anderson was on board as the camp’s director in 2019 and was at the camp as the storm hit.
“We knew there was bad weather coming,” he said. “We had already had conversations with the National Weather Service. We had a full camp. I’m guessing we had 350 to 400 (Scouts and staff members).
“We knew early on that morning that we could expect some rough weather during the day. It was a hot, humid day with not a lot of wind blowing. After lunch time, the weather service was more informative as to what was going to actually happen. We were going to have some severe weather. I talked with the adult leaders and said, ‘Hey, it’s Friday, the program gets done at 4 o’clock, do you guys want to cut the week early?’ About 50% of the adult troop leaders decided that they were going to pack up and head out after dinner. The other half decided to stay.”
Anderson was told to expect the storm to arrive in the area between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
“We continued with our normal program and the campfire started at 8,” he said. “The ones that were here were down by the lake at the campfire. At about 8:20 or 8:30, the wind started doing funny things and changed direction. We looked at the radar on our phones and made a decision to move everybody down to the dining facility. The rain came at about quarter to nine and the wind hit at about 9. The power went out and that was the end.”
Campers and staff didn’t hear trees falling outside, Anderson said.
“The wind was blowing so hard and the rain was falling so hard,” he said.
Anderson checked out the damage after the storm passed.
“We kept everybody in the dining facility and I came out the side door,” he said. “I didn’t even get to the bottom of the road and there were trees down. They were across the power lines and the power lines were down. I started to take a look around the property and it was literally impossible to move because of the trees down.”
Scouts and staff were able to leave the property the following afternoon.
“The storm happened on Friday night and we got the road open at 2:30 (p.m.) on Saturday so people could leave,” Anderson said.
The rebuilding process from the windstorm took about four years, but Bear Paw never canceled a camp.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Anderson said. “We didn’t have any injuries at all. I’m sure there was minor stuff, but there were no serious incidents or anything like that.”
The camp has been hosting Scouts since it opened in 1946, Williquette said.
“Some of the structures and trees have changed, but the spirit of this camp has not changed,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing that I’ve noticed.”
Bear Paw survives triple whammy
