Camp Pellissippi Reunion

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the reunion event at Camp Pellissippi. For those who do not know, Camp Pellissippi was the summer camp for the Great Smoky Mountain Council until the mid-1970s. Both Camp Buck Toms and Camp Pellissippi operated as summer camps until the dining hall burned at Camp Pellissippi. After that, the camp continued to operate but Camp Buck Toms took over as the main summer camp.

Now getting back to the reunion, over 100 former campers and staff members attended the reunion from as far away as Alaska. Someone put a pencil to it and found that the youngest former Camp Pellissippi camper would have to be over 50 years old. Taylor Clark and Hank Peck put together a wonderful display of memorabilia from the Camp Pellissippi era. One entire display was devoted to Jim Montgomery, the first national Order of the Arrow chief from our council and the state of Tennessee. Jim was able to attend the reunion with his son and talked about some of his most memorable times at Camp Pellissippi. The weather was perfect, the food was great and the fellowship was outstanding.

After many years of disrepair, Camp Pellissippi is making a comeback. A dedicated group of volunteers, with the help of Camp Ranger Rick King, have for several years spent their own money and time to bring back Camp Pellissippi to its former glory. In addition to those volunteer funds, the Council has included Camp Pellissippi into its capital campaign. So far, the Winter Lodge, including the kitchen and rest room facilities, has been renovated, electric power has been provided to all the existing buildings and water and plumbing is being added to some of the buildings. The volunteer staff has also built a model Adirondack in one of campsites. One of the biggest changes will come from capital campaign funds. A new central shower facility with rest room facilities will be built soon. In addition, a dock will be built for canoes and boats and a new shoot sports area is in the works.  Since Camp Buck Toms will be closed during the renovations there, Camp Pellissippi will most likely get many Scouting visitors over the nest year.  And why not, since it is such a beautiful place with such a great history.

The capital campaign will be the subject of another blog posting but if you would like more information about the campaign or would like to make a pledge to the campaign, contact the GSMC office at 865-588-6514 or visit the GSMC website at http://www.bsa-gsmc.org/.