Fort Optimists support Hoard and Curtis Scout Camp through donation

By Kim McDarison 

Members of the Optimist Club of Fort Atkinson arrived Tuesday at the Hoard and Curtis Scout Camp, Oakland, to present Joel Winn, caretaker and board member of the nonprofit organization that runs the camp, with a check for $1,000. 

The 4-acre camp is nestled along the shore of Lake Ripley. 

Among those making the presentation were Optimists Rochelle Mitchell, Diane Rue, Sherry McKee and Kassy Smith. 

Mitchell said the club was making the donation in Winn’s name, in recognition of “all the amazing things he’s done — not just for the camp, but for our club and the Fort Atkinson area as a whole.” 

After a short presentation, Winn took the Optimists on an impromptu tour of the camp’s lodge, pointing out various amenities, updates and improvements. 

Winn’s attachment to and appreciation of the camp was evident as he presented each room within the lodge with enthusiasm. The camp’s lodge boasts such amenities as a fully-operational kitchen, showers, mudroom, bathrooms, and recreational and meeting areas. 

Winn has a long affiliation with the camp. He recalled participating as a camper when he was 7. 

Winn provided a brochure, which noted that the Hoard and Curtis Scout Camp was established in 1946. It was built to give “all area scouting and youth groups an opportunity to experience camping as well as various year-round outdoor activities,” according to the brochure.  

Among areas within the lodge that have received recent updates is the kitchen, which features hot and cold running water, two refrigerators, two electric stoves and a microwave, along with cooking and eating utensils to accommodate about 60 people, and a stainless steel food preparation worktop.  

Outside, nine shelters are located throughout the grounds. A campfire ring is situated between the lodge and a shelter, where, according to the camp’s brochure, outdoor cooking provides outdoor enjoyment for campers of all ages. 

Additional amenities at the camp include opportunities for boating and swimming. 

During the tour, Winn noted that the camp is available to all youth groups, of all ages and not just Scouts. 

As the Optimists received their tour, several children, participants in a weekly enrichment program called “Evergreen Forest School,” could be heard playing outside. 

Ranging in age from 5-7, the children — including Wilder, Hugo, Grey and Henry — explored, with unbounded energy and excitement, the outdoor spaces near the lodge, while their instructor, Amy Johnson, prepared a fire in the fire ring for outdoor cooking. Johnson is the director and principal of Evergeen Forest School, an outdoor enrichment program, which, she said, is popular with families that homeschool their children. 

The program has recently begun operating from the camp.

Johnson described herself as a licensed Pre-K through sixth-grade teacher who most recently taught, for 20 years, within the Watertown school system. 

While taking a sabbatical from public school teaching, she said, she worked as a teacher at a “forest school” near Hartland. Last June, she opened her own forest school. 

The children at the camp Tuesday were participating in programming designed to give them an appreciation for the outdoors. Children arrived at the camp at 9 a.m. and, having dressed appropriately for the occasion, one of the lessons of learning to enjoy the outdoors, planned to remain outside until noon. During the five hours, Johnson said, they would explore outdoor settings, learn about and play in nature. Each time the class meets, the children learn fire-building skills, including fire safety, and they cook a meal, Johnson said.  

For Winn, the children of the forest school exemplify what the camp, and the experiences it can provide, is all about. 

After the tour, Winn talked about some of his day’s plans, which included repairing the entryway to the Fort Koshkonong replica in Fort Atkinson’s Rock River Park. The fort will be the site of the Buckskinners Rendezvous, a community tradition, which takes place each Memorial Day weekend. The event is making its debut this year after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The camp, and the rendezvous, are among a long list of projects and affiliations in which one finds Winn making a contribution. 

He has been recognized by such groups as the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce with its “Tourism Counts” award, the Fort Atkinson Rotary Club, with its “Service Above Self” award, and has been named the recipient of the “Making Fort Special” award presented by the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation. 

Winn’s community and civic involvements and leadership roles, past and present, along with the camp, include: Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation, Fort Atkinson City Council, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Citizen’s Committee for Koshkonong Wildlife, the Fort Atkinson chapter of the American Red Cross, the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Fort Atkinson Optimists Club, among others. 

For more information about the Hoard and Curtis Scout Camp, including making a reservation, call 920-563-6083. 

About the Optimist Club

The Optimist Club of Fort Atkinson, as described on the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce website, “voluntarily joins together in thought and actions as a ‘Friend of Youth’ to protect the interest of the community’s young people, to promote their welfare and to recognize their achievements. Yearly community projects include Youth Appreciation, Tri-Star Basketball, Sandbox Fill and Fort Atkinson Aquatic Center opening.”