Statement of Purpose

The Friends of Camp Louis Ernst is an organization specifically formed to revitalize the camp for use as a primitive camping facility for Hoosier Trails Council. The organization is supported by a large number of scouts, former scouts, and interested benefactors that have deep ties with the camp from the time it was used as the primary camping facility of the old Hoosier Hills Council. When Hoosier Hills Council and River Trails Council merged into Hoosier Trails council in 1974, a new primary summer camp facility, Maumee, was procured deep in the heart of the Hoosier National Forest.

The new camp was centrally located in the new council territory but the council struggled to finance and support it, and found very little reserve left to maintain the facilities at Camp Louis Ernst. In addition, once Louis Ernst was no longer used as a summer camp, many of the installed facilities were no longer used or needed.

From a historical perspective it is important to recognize why the new council struggled to garner the physical and financial support it needed. At the time of the merger, Hoosier Hills Council was growing and had a very active and strong support group within the communities that surrounded the camp. Many Scouters had invested large amounts of work and money into Camp Louis Ernst. The history is long and rich with tradition. Reference article written by Stan Meenach

After the merger many of the supporters moved away from the new council one by one as they watched the facilities they, themselves, had built at Louis Ernst, fall into disrepair due to lack of use, and eventually many of their improvements were demolished. First the Olympic sized swimming pool, next the brick council center, and then the ever-popular gathering place, Miller Lodge. Several other less prominent structures such as the IKE bldg., Health Lodge, and shower houses have also been removed. There have been several attempts over the years to revitalize the facilities but they have all lacked the resources, both financial and manpower, to sustain the often-unrealistic expectations of people remembering how it used to be.

We are constantly faced with a changing world, and as scouts, we must “Be Prepared” to face the future. The Friends Of Camp Louis Ernst is an organization that is committed to improving opportunities for today’s scouts much like our fathers and fore fathers did for us. We have a firm belief that Camp Louis Ernst is a very valuable asset that can continue to be used as a popular winter camping facility, can be developed into an excellent primitive camping facility, and can be brought up to standards as a viable cub scout facility for cubs in the surrounding area. We believe that a facility of this kind can be developed and that, when finished, it will provide a unique environment that will require much less maintenance than the primary camp facility at Maumee which we also want to support. We recognize that it is imperative to the success of this effort that it has full support from the Hoosier Trails Council at large if the improvements are to be sustained.

Our initial fundraising effort targets rebuilding the existing Winter Cabin facility, which is still heavily used from November through March. This effort is just the beginning of many more projects, many of which will require more manpower and less money to complete.