We are never happy to rest on our laurels at Kingswood. As soon as camp ended on August 15, we were already at work, constructing our list of proposed projects, purchases, upgrades to the facility. There are a lot of exciting projects happening at camp this offseason.

First off, we employed the help of former Kingswood counselor and maintenance director, George Jackson, to help us construct brand new benches for the council fire. The benches are made from locally harvested spruce trees, which are naturally quite rot- resistant. George cut the logs to his specifications and removed the bark by hand. He built the benches on site, with the help of Dan.

As the rows of benches proceed out from the fire pit, the benches themselves become longer. This, combined with the natural slope of the hillside, really gives the council fire area an amphitheater feel.

Here is another picture which will give you an even better perspective:

Kingswood even served as the location of a beautiful late summer wedding.

The benches have since been stained (by your two directors) a beautiful deep orange, which will also help preserve them.

Dan, especially, has been hard a work on carpentry projects- which are his specialty. Here is a picture of the “Theatre in the Pines”. Although it officially opened this past summer with both a hilarious skit and a beautiful nighttime concert, it will have benching installed along the back. In the spring, it too will be stained to weather-proof it.

Dan’s main push so far this fall has been to remodel both the Bubbler and Hilly 1 cabins. Both bunks will sport new floors, new walls, new screened in windows, and improved ventilation.

The biggest improvement, however, is the new floorpan: one set of bunk beds has been removed from each cabin to allow for more space. Each set of bunk beds will also have it’s own set of built in drawers for storage of clothing and other gear. This will allow for the trunks to be stored elsewhere- thus freeing up even more space in cabin.

Indeed, the lucky campers and counselors who land in either Bubbler or Hilly 1 next summer will feel like they are living in the lap of luxury!

There are similar improvements in the works for a number of cabins, which will be detailed in a future report, so stay tuned!