The Boy Scouts of America now welcomes girls as full members in its programming.

In October, Chief Scout Executive Michael Surbaugh said, “We strive to bring what our organization does best – developing character and leadership for young people – to as many families and youth as possible as we help shape the next generation of leaders.”

Boys or girls.

Keeping out half of the population was not helping the organization reach that goal.

Photo by Brian Ferry The entrance sign to Camp Olmsted

At the local level, that change has led to some new construction at Chief Cornplanter Council’s Camp Olmsted.

As a way to become more family-friendly, there are new cabins available for use by anyone using the camp. They were used during Scout Camp, but they were not built for Scout Camp. Most campers still stay in tents.

The cabins provide a “family-friendly” experience, according to Camp Director Gregg Trisket.

The new cabins are close to the shower house, Trisket said. That facility is next on the list of upgrades to further create a family-friendly camp.

Tenting is fine for some, but it doesn’t always work for families. Especially in the variable weather of northwestern Pennsylvania.

“The purpose of the buildings is to extend the season,” Trisket said.

They provide more defense against the elements. In addition to having wooden walls and shingled roofs, the cabins are much larger than the traditional tent and are built with floors well above ground level.

This story was among a series written this week by Brian Ferry week on Scout camp.