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Camp Decorah, a nationally certified Boy Scout Camp on the Black River north of Holmen, has been drawing praise this summer from Scouts and Scout leaders alike.

“We’ve gotten plenty of rave reviews this year,” said Johnny Day, executive director of the Gateway Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

“The whole camp’s attitude is better. Everyone is excited to be here, including the staff,” Day said.

The whole camp has been revamped with new platform shelters, permanent shelters, a new gun range, a new archery range and other improvements. The improvements, begun in the summer of 2005, are fast giving the 350-acre camp a reputation as a great place to spend a week in the summer months.

“We get kids from Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas and Nebraska,” said camp commissioner Dave Bashaw.

“On Thursday mornings we have critique sessions with the Scout leaders. So far, everything has been positive,” Day said. “Our reputation seems to be spreading — especially in the Chicago area. Last week, we had a group from Naperville (Ill.) and they really liked it here. They said they’d be back. Word of mouth is really how camps like this get advertised,” Day said.

The summer season runs from June 16 to July 26, with Scouts arriving on Sunday for one-week sessions that end Friday evenings. With nature trails, hiking trails, a river, three canoeing float trips a week, a fishing pond and a swimming pool, plus plenty of space, there’s an awful lot for boys between the ages of 12 and 17 to do.

Asked whether he has to deal often with the bane of summer camps — homesickness — Bashaw says it hasn’t been a problem this year. “I think it’s because the kids have so much to do,” he said.

On an average week, Camp Decorah will have about 140 or so Scouts in attendance.

Perhaps the biggest improvement of all is the new hall. The Dahl Family Scouting Center is a dining hall that can seat 300 people. It also contains a health center and administrative offices. And the dining hall doubles as a movie theater.

“It’s been great during hot days. Kids can come in, cool off and get rehydrated,” Day said. He said the ability to serve meals to so many people so quickly has increased the number of Scouts able to attend the camp.

Another huge improvement is an amphitheater in a picturesque setting overlooking the Black River. The 600-seat Fire Bowl is where ceremonies at the beginning and ending of the week are held. “It’s got state of the art light and sound,” Bashaw noted.

For Day, the contrast between the old amphitheater and the new one is almost impossible to describe. “It was a sand floor with railroad ties as benches and no sound or lights. A lot of times you couldn’t understand what we was being said —we went from a Ford Pinto to a gold Cadillac.

“From the standpoint of Sunday and Friday nights, now everyone can hear. Now you can hear the funny one-liner — it’s brought a whole new level of excitement to the programs we do there,” Day said

Day said a great deal of the credit for the camp’s success has to go to Jeb Griffith and Marc Fortney, local business leaders who happen to be former Eagle Scouts. They helped spearhead a campaign that raised $4.5 million for the camp. About $2.8 million has been or will be used for upgrades. The rest will be put into an endowment so that what is there can be maintained properly.

“We want to keep this place nice,” Day said.

There are a few more improvements on the drawing board. They include a new trading post, a new maintenance facility and a couple of cabins for winter use. Nearby will be sledding hills and cross country ski trails.

“We’re hoping to introduce Scouts to winter hobbies they can enjoy all their lives,” Day said.

Contact Michael Martin at mike.martin@lee.net or 786-6813.