A local campground is back in the hands of the people who love it after learning of its potential sale nearly ago.
The deed to Camp Anderson is in the hands of the Camp Anderson Corporation. When those who love the camp caught word that the Laurel Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America were going to sell the property, they weren’t happy.
Zachary Littlehale, a Patrol Leader for Troop 31, said he was “pretty mad” when he found out that Camp Anderson was going to be up for sale. He continued, ” I practically grew up at this camp. It was a pretty big part of my life and I didn’t want to give it up.”
The group that makes up the Camp Anderson Corporation couldn’t bare seeing the camp leave Tyrone. It was too important.
Capital Campaign Chair Cummins McKnitt said, “This camp, even though I’m not from Blair County originally, means a lot to me. We moved here in 1991 and my son went to camp here, I’ve camped here and I’ve been helping as a volunteer at that point.”
Though this camp has a lot of history, it means a lot to the children here today. McKnitt explained, “Once a year it got swarmed with a hundred or so kids and today, we get three times that amount at any one of our camp outs. We fill the forest, we fill the fields, with kids and adults. All ages come out.”
With the deed in hand, they still need to raise money to fund the purchase and they’re asking for the community’s help.
McKnitt explained, “We’re touching the lives of so many people and we want to continue to touch those lives. If people step forward and help us with this capital campaign, we can do just that. We can continue for another 90 years. How more excited can you get than that?”
The total they are trying to reach is $500,000. That would cover the purchase price and improvements they’d like to make. For more information on how to help, you can go to the Camp Anderson website.