Just a Little Flooding

Some summers start off very smoothly, while others have some… extra challenges. The summer of 1997 was one of those rough start summers.

After a successful Staff Week, the staff went home for a brief break. Over the weekend, a deluge came in, washing out gravel and trails all over camp. And of course, once the rain stopped, the lake rose. And rose. Swim checks were impossible to conduct the first Sunday of camp that summer.

Seen here is Boat Harbor Director Rick Ehler standing on the Boat Harbor peninsula. The t-dock at the tip of the peninsula floating nearby–and the complete invisibility of the peninsula–gives a good idea of the challenges Mother Nature brought that first of camp in 1997!

The Narrows Waterfront

Camp Boxwell at the Narrows of the Harpeth (Boxwell No. 2) was a summer at a great location. An enormous ridge, the Narrows themselves, local caves and cemeteries, the Montgomery Bell mansion and Tunnel, and even Native American Mounds made the location a great adventure land for Scouting.

Without question, the most popular part of the Narrows Boxwell for the boys was the waterfront. With wooden steps coming out of the water to a platform that served as a dock, the Waterfront was the site for swimming and boating. There were free swims before breakfast, before lunch, and before dinner. Scouts rushed to the waterfront as soon as they arrived at camp. The last day of camp also involved an all afternoon long Water Carnival, filled with swimming and boating competitions.

Oh, and there were no showers at the Narrows until at least 1941, so Scouts bathed in the river too.

Seen here is the Narrows Waterfront in 1930, its first summer. To the left, up the river, were the Narrows and the Tunnel. Up the dock and straight back up the hill was the dining hall, the assembly area, and the camp itself. The caption with the photo stated, “SWIMMING HOLE AT SCOUT CAMP ON THE HARPETH RIVER. The swimming hole is conducted under strict rules passed by the Scout’s own council [of boys].”

Nashville Tennessean, February 8, 1931, Rotogravure section

Parnell Dining Hall Under Construction

Boxwell at Old Hickory Lake opened for summer in 1960 on June 26, but it wasn’t finished. There was not administrative building (the Crab) in 1960 and some buildings were still in transition. Even building as important as a dining hall.

Shown here is the earliest known photo of Parnell Dining Hall. Taken either that first week or camp or soon after, the dining hall is clearly still under construction in this photo. While the details are difficult to see given the size, there are a few really interesting details here.

First, all the landscaping is clearly a recent construction site. Second, the door by the chimney appears to be a screen door, not the heavy solid door that came to be the side entrance. The third detail is the most interesting. Look closely at the side walls. A vertical steel beam is clearly visible near the front corner. If this looks odd, it should. Today it is covered with rock. Those rock facades have not yet been added.

Oh, and it looks like there is a sawhorse in the background, center left.