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Photos


Eagle Island, accessible only by boat (the Girl Scout boat launches from a dock off Gilpin Road in Santa Clara), is near the Narrows at Upper Saranac Lake.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


The Mariners- sleeping quarters at the camp reunion stretched out on the boathouse porch, overlooked by the mountains beyond Upper Saranac Lake.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


The historic raised walkway connects the lodge at Eagle Island with the dining cabin.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


"Dart" Emerson, the first waterfront director at Eagle Island Camp, turned 86 at the camp reunion this year.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


Kathi Quigley, Emily Novick and Ginny Hildebrand (from left) recount Eagle Island Camp adventures they had between 1958 and 1965.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


Striking rustic architecture of the Main Lodge includes extensive stick work and wide porches. All the Great Camp buildings at Eagle Island were designed by William Lincoln Coulter.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


Kayakers paddle toward the boathouse docks.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /


A sleeping cottage just off the dining room was originally used for guests, later as the camp director-s office.
Staff Photo/Kim Smith Dedam /

Published July 27, 2008 05:45 am - The landmark 70th summer season of Eagle Island Camp brought more than 80 former campers ages 19 to 86 to the Upper Saranac Lake island to sing, swim, sail and reawaken treasured memories.

Sentimental return to Adirondack scout camp
Eagle Island celebrates 70 summers of adventure

By KIM SMITH DEDAM
Staff Writer

The tawny waters of Upper Saranac Lake rolled lazily against beaches shaded by tall pines.

From a distance, the slow, rhythmic slapping and the hum of motorboats drifted on an occasional breeze.

But on Eagle Island, when the burbling motor of an arriving boat cut under the boathouse roof, spontaneous singing erupted from the dock.

Bright melodies softened in the sultry summer air.

"We'll sing you in, we'll sing you out, to you we'll raise a mighty shout; Hail, hail, the gang's all here, and welcome to Eagle Isle!"

TRAGEDY TURNED AROUND

Levi P. Morton, former U.S. vice president and governor of New York, built his Great Camp here as a private summer retreat for his family -- his second wife, Anna, and five daughters -- in 1903; since then it has been called just Eagle Island Camp.

Old news stories say it was named for the eagles nesting here.

Architect William Lincoln Coulter designed the buildings' rustic porches and stick cornice work, trimmed in wooden diamonds.

Morton used the camp less after his daughter Lena died in Paris after an appendix operation in 1904. He sold it to Henry Graves Jr., heir to the Atlas Portland Cement Company, in 1910. The Graves's visits ended after an automobile crash in March of 1922 took the life of Henry Graves III and seriously injured his brother Duncan.

The family gave the island to the Girl Scout Council of Greater Essex and Hudson Counties of New Jersey in 1937, a gift dedicated to the merriment of children and a legacy preserved in stories still told at the end of every camp session.

Carefully preserved, the 32-acre property includes 11 original Great Camp buildings, including a dining hall, "Mrs. Morton's" lodge, a boathouse and guest cottage.

The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2004.

Since 1938, the Girl Scout Council has continuously operated summer camp here for upwards of 140 girls age 9 to 17 in three sessions, July through August.

AWAKENED MEMORIES

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