Memories

Let’s use this space to share memories, pictures, and thoughts. All posts are moderated and must be approved before they appear.

18 thoughts on “Memories

  1. Dear Old T.I. has been part of my family for at least 80 years. Both my Dad and his brother helped plant the original pine trees on Pine Road. Both became Vigil members of the Order of the Arrow. My uncle was on the staff with Russ Gerhabt during the winters to keep an eye on the island. My brother and I eagerly looked forward to the summers of the late 50’s and 60’s knowing we would have our 2 weeks at TI.

  2. Mr Maser, I heard your Dad planted those pine trees from Howard Rubin ! After being on staff at TI , admiring those towering trees and taking forestry merit badge I went into forestry as a career. I love those trees. Come visit us and see how tall they are now !!! A few have come down in the various storms.

  3. From 1998 to 2005 my father Dan Cicchino was the ranger of Treasure Island. I am just coming across this group and website now! I feel genuinely blessed to have the memories I do of TI. It was an incredible place to grow up in, and I am so looking forward until I can see the camp again.

    • Kaitlyn, please give Dan my best. We might could benefit from his knowledge if he’ll put up with some old staff guys !

      • I told my dad about it and he would love to see you guys again. He gives his best to you and Constance.

        • I’ll be on the island next weekend 11-13 Seot , tell him feel free to stop by and see the island . It’s looking great but another Ranger is always welcome !

  4. Hi!
    Thank you!!! They are thrilled as am I! The girls had a blast this past weekend (11-13 September 2020)! The Loved helping with their conservation project, canoeing and the campfire! We are so happy to be able to come to the island!!

    I have a crazy idea!! I wanted to run it by you.
    My girls want to go backpacking and I want to keep their first trips enjoyable and short.
    For the weekend of April 23, 2021… I was thinking about Camping around Tinicum county park with them on Friday night, and backpacking part of the canal on Saturday… could we spend the night at a remote site on TI on Saturday night?
    Just a crazy thought…
    thanks!
    Felicia
    T 147

    FTI can do that. It’s a great idea! See you in 2021.

  5. Hank,
    I hope you had an awesome time with your family on vacation. I was hoping to get to shake your hand this past weekend, but alas; we will be back! I wanted to thank you for providing us with an amazing experience. From the beginning, logistics and communication were top notch and when planning a trip like that, especially for a fairly “green” group of scouts; that alone makes it so much easier!
    It was a pleasure to meet and speak with Frank and the rest of the TI staff. It truly was an amazing experience!! You guys are doing an awesome job of bringing TI back to life and I look forward to helping with that when I can and also supporting it along the way with our scouts. To be a part of the first campfire in the ceremonial circle since 2008 was something very special and I know my scouts will treasure that memory for a lifetime.
    God bless your team
    Yours in Scouting,
    Scott
    T 452G

  6. As a staff member at Treasure Island the year it reopened I believe 1982 or 83 the memories flow along with tears of pain. I can remember playing my harmonica at city hall as a group of scouts from all different troops sat happily and sang along. As the Rifle instructor, teaching eager young men how to shoot clean and maintain a rifle, only to see boys I taught and trained as rifle instructors. Having a dancing conga line of happy scouts follow me around camp while I played my bugle, and being invited by so many troops to come to an evening campfire with harmonicas in tow and scouts so happy to see me they would fuss and fidget just to sit close to me.
    Those awesome feelings of being appreciated and liked are wonderful lasting memories.
    And when teary eyed boys come running up to you for a goodbye hug and thanks for a great week,, those are super special..
    Thanks for the memories!!!

  7. As a young scout who began his scouting career in 1952, in East Germantown, Philadelphia, Dear ole’ Treasure Isle has never been out of my fondest memories. In those days, we were responsible for rowing out to the island in a long boat that held 14 scouts and a helmsman who would, as in a Roman Galley movie, yell: “Pull, Pull.” It was magic earning Tracking and trailing reqs by coming to the end of the course, near Marshall and looking around wondering how we would prove we (my buddy, Danny Shaw and I) had made the successful run, when, suddenly, our SM, Duke Doughty, began to chuckle. We couldn’t find him until we looked up and saw him in a tree immediately above us. Maybe some of you old timers will remember Jim Nicholson, Our previous SM who, already had a lifetime of dedication to the movement. I continued to Woodbadge staff, OA, and a wonderful career of unforgettable dimension in most of the adult leadership roles of the program including writing program for the national council.

    May God Bless the continuation of such excellence in youth and adult activity.

  8. I Loved Treasure Island When I attended
    it was the best camping trip i was ever on
    in my whole scouting career

    Have a Great Day
    Brian C

  9. But me and my father entered the order of the arrow while on this dear isle. It’s held close to my heart since I earned my brotherhood in the order when I was 16. I was put in charge of a project in a service weekend which included files of papers to be sent to council for the closing of the camp. I cried while doing the paper work

  10. I friend of mine and I camped at TI from the late 1950s to mid 1960s. While we were there, his father painted a canoe paddle that showed the canoe trip taken from above Port Jervis down to TI. The paddle was hung in the Mess Hall. When our kids were Scouts (1985 to 1991) we went with their troop to TI for summer camp. We saw the paddle hanging in the mess hall. Do you know what happened to the artifacts hanging in the Mess Hall? Are they displayed anywhere? If not, is there an opportunity to look through them to see if the paddle still exists? Thanks! Keep up the good work.

  11. I camped on Treasure Island as a scout and leader from 1960 to 1994. If you have not camped there, you cannot appreciate the quiet magic that small piece of sand with its pines and hardwoods contained in its years as a scout camp. Boys became men and men could touch their boyhood on TI. Its scout song is both an anthem and touchstone to those who still sing it. I will remember always the sounds in the mess hall, the pool, the parade ground, as well as the quiet of the north point and the pine grove. To this day, when I smell pines, I am transported back to the wonderful island and the river that surrounds it, rolling mile on mile.

  12. I enjoyed my stay in the summer of 1993 as a member of the international campstaf. An experience I Will never forget! Are there any pictures of the 1993 season available?
    Kind regards
    Marcel
    The Netherlands

  13. I camped there from approximately 1969 to 1975. In 1975 I served on camp staff in the aquatic dept as as Jr Aquatics Director under Ray Braun. What an amazingly summer that was and a true family team under the Leeks. An experience I will never forget. If you camped on TI you also made it to Marshall Island, which was rustic and beautiful. Thank you to this team that is keeping the history alive.

  14. Weekend May 19-21, 2023. Invited by Staff JT and local Troop 65 after almost 25 years of missed camping on island with Troop 1969. In 1983, I spent the weekend during a vigil ceremony, and this weekend brought back all of those memories. Big thank you to the Staff for an exciting fun filled weekend. Program was excellent. Please keep up the good work. Scoutmaster Troop 1969, Stanton NJ

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