Scouts remember summer camp from 50 years ago
A trio of former Humboldt boy scouts held a brief homecoming recently when they picked up a t-shirt order at Personali-Tees in downtown Humboldt. They had t-shirts made from a neckerchief from a camp in northwest Iowa that no longer exists. Pictured, from left: Gerd “Butch” Johnson of Des Moines, Tim Bastian of Dakota City and Kenneth Wind of Algona. Independent photo.
Kathy Davis of Personali-Tees store in Humboldt, displays a t-shirt she designed and made for former area boy scouts. Using the neckerchief from former area scout Kenneth Wind, now of Algona, Davis created a shirt which features the map of a northwest Iowa scout camp which no longer exists. Independent photo.
By PHIL MONSON
It was a homecoming for a trio of former Humboldt boy scouts recently when they picked up a t-shirt order at Personali-Tees store in downtown Humboldt.
Tim Bastian of Dakota City, Kenneth Wind of Algona and Gerd “Butch” Johnson of Des Moines, all members of former Humboldt Troop 72 many years ago, had a special-made, customized t-shirts which featured on the back a map of Camp Claimer, the Prairie Golf Scout Camp near Okoboji, which is no longer in existence.
Troop 72 no longer exists, either, but the memories these three Eagle Scouts have from their days in scouting dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, continue to live on.
“I became an Eagle Scout in 1974. Ken Wind in 1970. Tim Bastian in 64. Other Eagle Scouts from back in those days include guys like Russ Seiler, Scott Slaikeu, Kevin Slaikeu, Keith Zinnel and Kenneth Zinnel. Bill Linn was the very first Eagle,” Johnson said.
“That camp is long gone but this is something I’ve thought about doing for a long time. I’m glad I finally went ahead and had the t-shirts made. They turned out great,” said Johnson, a 1976 Humboldt High School graduate. Read more about their experiences and memories in this week's Humboldt Independent, your trusted source for local news and sports.
