30 Years of CubWorld (part 4)

Thirty years ago today, at 5pm, Camp Dedication Ceremonies were held at the new Gaylord CubWorld Dining hall. DeWitt Ezell presided over the event and after a flag ceremony by the OA, dinner was served. Aubrey Harwell–then the Council President–made some remarks and was then followed by Campaign Chairman E. W. “Bud” Wendell. From there everything from program shelters to waterfronts to paved handicap trails to CubWorld were dedicated.

CubWorld was the major attraction. Not only was this the centerpiece of the campaign, it was the highlight of the dedication night. _The Tennessean_ came out and photos were taken of Scouts enjoying the new camp and its facilities.

Seen here is a photo to appeared in the November 1st edition of _The Tennessean_. Cub Scout Leighton Hilbert climbs on the new pirate ship floating in the old Murrey Swimming area. As Aubrey Harwell explained, “The objective of Gaylord Cubworld is to combine physical activity with historical learning experiences.” Scouts had a great time and the 1994 Campaign had come to a close.

Dedication of CubWorld. Photo by Helen Comer of _The Tennessean_.

30 Years of CubWorld (extra 3)

After the official dedication ceremonies in October 1995, CubWorld sat dormant for months. Summer camp at the site would not open until June 1996.

In December 1995, several staff members came out to “inspect” the site. The unofficial tradition at the time was that over the winter break, older Parnell-Craig staff got together at camp. Usually this involved some minor work to prep camp for the next summer, such as moving platforms. The group was typically college students and the gathering was more an excuse to get together than to do work.

In December 1995, a group of Parnell-Craig staff gathered at Boxwell and toured the CubWorld. Seen here are photos of these staff members at the Lancaster Pirate Ship in the harbor. From left to right are John Neal, Justin Duke, Ben Houser, Jason Bradford, John Reese, Eric Cole, and John Walker.

Parnell-Craig staff checking out the new pirate ship over Christmas break, 1995. Photo by Russ Parham.

30 Years of CubWorld (part 3)

The summer of 1995 was a summer of change! Larry Green was the new reservation director and he was ecstatic. This was the dream, to run camp. However, at the same time, Ken Connelly, the Scout Executive who had kicked off the Capital Campaign, had moved on. Joe Long, the new Scout Executive was in place by summer camp and his style was very different than his immediate predecessors.

While these changes at the Council unfolded, construction at Boxwell continued. Program shelters were being built, waterfronts were renovated. Camp Craig got a whole new waterfront. CubWorld Construction continued.

We’ve shown the construction of the Pirate Ship at Parnell harbor before. Here, we show “new” photos from the Program Update mailing. Here you see see renovations of the dining hall, construction of a CubWorld latrine, and construction of the very first male and female combined showerhouses on the reservation. A summer of change indeed!

Camp Murrey Dining Hall renovation, 1995

CubWorld Latrine Construction, 1995. Middle Tennessee Council

CubWorld Showerhouse Construction, 1995. Middle Tennessee Council.