Three Harbors Council facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Three Harbors Council (#636) |
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The Walter And Olive Stiemke Scout Service Center is the main office for the council.
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| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Headquarters | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||
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| Country | United States | ||
| Founded | 2011 | ||
| Membership |  3,260 (Youth June 2021) (24,806 Youth 2011) |
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| Scout Executive | Andrew Hardin | ||
| President | Pat Stiff | ||
| Council Commissioner | Lucia Cronin | ||
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The Three Harbors Council is a local group of the Boy Scouts of America that helps run Scouting in three counties in southeastern Wisconsin: Milwaukee County, Racine County, and Kenosha County.
The council's name comes from the three big port cities on Lake Michigan in those counties: Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha. A council is like a main hub that supports all the local Scout packs and troops in its area.
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How the Council Was Formed
The Three Harbors Council was created in 2011 when two other councils, the Southeast Wisconsin Council and the Milwaukee County Council, decided to join together.
Those councils were also formed by smaller groups joining up over many years. The first Scout councils in the area started way back in the 1910s in Milwaukee, Racine, and Kenosha. Over time, they merged to better serve the growing number of Scouts. This chart shows how the different councils came together to form the Three Harbors Council we know today.
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Council Districts
To manage all its Scout groups, the council is split into smaller areas called districts. Each district serves a different part of the region.
- Aurora District: Serves the northern part of Milwaukee County.
- Southern Shores District: Serves the southern part of Milwaukee County.
- Red Arrow District: Serves all of Kenosha County and Racine County.
- Scoutreach District: This special district provides Scouting programs to communities all across the other three districts.
Service Center and Museum
The council's main office is the Walter and Olive Stiemke Scout Service Center in Milwaukee. This is where the council staff work to support local Scouting. Outside the building, there is a life-size bronze statue called The Ideal Scout. It shows a Scout in uniform and is a copy of a famous statue from 1915.
The building also houses the Scout Heritage Museum. This museum shows the history of Scouting in the area with cool exhibits like:
- Old photos and rare Scouting books
- Badges, awards, and old uniforms
- Neckerchief slides and other artifacts made by artist W. Ben Hunt
Scout Camps
The council runs camps where Scouts can have adventures, learn new skills, and enjoy the outdoors.
Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta
Located in Burlington, Wisconsin, Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta is open all year for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, and Venturing Crews. The camp covers 185 acres (0.7 km2) of rolling hills and woods and has a waterfront on Dyer Lake for swimming and boating. It was donated to the Scouts in 1929 by Charles Nash, the founder of Nash Motor Company.
Famous Former Camps
Over the years, the council and its earlier versions have run many camps. While most are now closed, they hold great memories for generations of Scouts. Here are a few of the most well-known ones.
Indian Mound Scout Reservation
Indian Mound Scout Reservation (IMR), which operated for over 100 years from 1917 to 2022, was a favorite camp for Cub Scouts. Located in Oconomowoc, it was famous for its fun attractions like a castle, a wooden pirate ship, a mini-golf course, and a mine-themed area. The camp was named for a Native American mound shaped like a turtle.
In 2022, the council decided to close the camp. This decision was made to help with financial challenges faced by the national Boy Scouts of America organization. The property was sold to the Forest County Potawatomi Community in 2023.
LeFeber Northwoods Camps
LeFeber was a large wilderness camp near Laona, Wisconsin, that closed in 2015. It was located on Hardwood Lake and was once a logging camp. Scouts who went to LeFeber could learn skills like blacksmithing, rock climbing, fly fishing, and whitewater rafting. The camp was known for using the "patrol cooking" method, where Scouts cook their own meals as a team.
Robert S. Lyle Scout Reservation
Camp Lyle was another wilderness camp that closed in 2015. It was located near Antigo and had two lakes and the Wolf River running through it. Like LeFeber, it used patrol cooking and had an "open program." This meant Scouts could choose their own activities and manage their own time, which was a great way to learn responsibility.
The camp was named after Robert S. Lyle, a World War II pilot from Racine who died during a mission in 1944. His family donated the land for the camp in his honor.
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is Scouting's National Honor Society. It recognizes Scouts who best live up to the Scout Oath and Law. Each council has its own OA group, called a lodge.
When the Three Harbors Council was formed, it combined two older lodges: Mascoutens Lodge and Mikano Lodge. In 2013, these two groups officially merged to create a new lodge. The members chose the name Kanwa tho Lodge. The name comes from a group of Potawatomi people from the Milwaukee area, and it translates to "Panther Band." The lodge's symbol, or totem, is the panther.
The lodge is divided into three chapters, one for each of the council's districts.
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See also
- Scouting in Wisconsin
