Camp Osgood was a Boy Scout camp on Osgood Pond near Paul Smiths that operated from 1928 to 1942. The 1917 Mountain Home Telephone directory lists a "Camp Osgood, Boy's School," apparently a different organization.
Malone Farmer, April 9, 1930
BOY SCOUT CAMP MAY BE LOCATED ON OSGOOD LAKE
The matter of selection of a site for the Adirondack Council Boy Scout summer camp was given considerable attention at the meeting of the Executive Board of the organization which was held last week. A. committee composed of Dr. E. R. Baldwin and Dr. F. B. Trudeau, of Saranac Lake, was appointed to confer with Phelps Smith, of the Paul Smiths resort, on the matter of securing a site on Osgood Lake for this summer's scout camp.
Osgood Lake is one of the prettiest lakes of the Adirondacks and offers ideal facilities for such a camp. The site under discussion is only a short distance from White Pines camp, the camp which was famous a few years ago when President Coolidge summered there.
The permanent location of the council headquarters office was discussed and it was the decision of the meeting to leave the matter in the hands of the scout executive, Frederick L. Wellington, who was instructed to establish the office at such a location as would enable him to give the best service to the council territory. For the present the office will remain at Saranac Lake.
It was derided to deposit fifty percent of the year's budget with the treasurer, Mr. Potvin, of Tupper Lake, the remaining fifty per cent to be deposited with him at the beginning of the second six-months period.
Samuel Edelberg, of Saranac Lake, who has served efficiently as scout commissioner since the organization of the council, was elected as a delegate to the national council which will convene in New York City on May 12 and 13.
Pres. Lamberton presided at the meeting and reports of several troops and troop activities were made. George Shields, of Tupper Lake, local chairman, reported that there are from three to five active troops in his district which includes Piercefield and Conifer as well as Tupper Lake. He said that there were prospects of from twenty to thirty men at the leadership course this summer. Dr. E. R. Baldwin reported troop conditions in Saranac Lake and it was also reported that Malone had six active troops meeting regularly and the troop at Chateaugay is making good progress.
Mr. Wellington, the executive, gave a brief review of the activities of the various troops through the council during the past month.
Among: those who were present from out of town were Dr. John Hayes, Dr. E. R. Baldwin, Executive Frederick Wellington, Dr. Francis B. Trudeau and R. N. Obenchain, of Saranac Lake; Dr. L. P. Sprague and T. A. Oliver, of Chateaugay; Mr. Noelk, of Conifer; George Shields, Robert Minnich and L. P. Quinn. There was a good representation of Malone men.
Malone Farmer, September 4, 1935
FINE RESULTS ACHIEVED AT SCOUT CAMP
Many worthwhile achievements marked the season recently closed at Camp Osgood, summer camp of Adirondack Council, Boy Scouts of America. Sixteen towns in the council area sent 170 Scouts to the camp for a total of 307 camper weeks.
Reviewing the record of the six weeks the camp was conducted, Scout leaders are well satisfied with the results. They point to the camp achievements of this year, which have both healthful and education phases, as further examples of the benefits which the scouting movement is giving to the youth of Northern New York.
This week Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake are conducting their campaigns for the raising of their shares of the funds necessary to finance the Adirondack Council. Quotas will be practically identical with those raised last year. The Malone campaign will be conducted September 11 to 13. Scout Executive A. Kenneth McCartney served as director of Camp Osgood and a capable staff assisted him in the operation of the camp. Staff members included Stephen V. Worthen, of Saranac Lake, in charge of waterfront activities; Claude Clark, of Malone; Harry Hitchcock, of Plattsburgh, and David Parsons, of Plattsburgh, village leaders; Ray Downs of Saranac Lake, handicraft man; Warner Ballard, of Malone, nature man; Frederick Turner, of Malone, canoe man; Robert Callander, of Malone, campfire man; Calvin L. Brown, of Malone, pioneer man.
Twelve canoe trips were made and a total of 102 nights were spent in the open. Eleven Scouts qualified as Senior Red Cross life savers, 16 as junior Red Cross savers and 21 Scouts learned to swim at least 50 yards.
Among the towns represented were Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Plattsburgh, Malone, Piercefield, Faust, Peru, Dannmora, Conifer, West Chazy, Keene, Keene Valley, Ausable Forks, Fort Covington and Westville. Six Malone troops were at camp including Troops 3, 4, 13, 15, 30 and 18.
A number of Scouts did their own cooking during their stay. These included 12 Scouts of Lone Tribe 1 of Westville; 14 Scouts of Troop 25 of Fort Covington, and 15 Scouts of Troop 30 of Malone. These 41 Scouts spent 55 camp weeks at Osgood.
Each Saturday night at the camp was featured by a court of honor. These were conducted by the following men on the following dates Charles Armstrong, of Malone, on July 13; John Currier, of Piercefield, on July 20; Millard G. Larkin, of Plattsburgh on August 3; Dr. E. M. Jameson, of Saranac Lake, on August 10; David Allen, of Lake Placid on July 27; Howard V. Littell, of Saranac Lake, on August 17. Mr. Littell is chairman of the court of honor committee of the council.
Craft work at the camp included the making of pack baskets, leathercraft (tooling and weaving), metalcraft, wood carving, carpentry, rope-making.
Plenty of wholesome, well-cooked food was served to the Scouts and this feature was one of the most satisfying phases of the camp to the Scouts attending. Evening prograrns were varied and interesting. They included courts of honor, singing, story telling, night games, marshmallow roasts and speakers who visited the camp.
The roof of the camp lodge, measuring 270 square yards, was shingled during the camp period by the staff members. Another improvement accomplished was the pruning of trees on the campsite. Scouts engaged in pioneering built a log Adirondack leanto on a site being developed as a special camp for senior scouts. There was a decided increase this year in the number of senior Scouts attending camp.
The first Adirondack Council camp dates back to 1928 when the camp was located at Tupper Lake. It is interesting to note that Claude Clark, now on the staff, was a camper at that time. The first season at Camp Osgood, situated near Paul Smith's, was in 1930.
The camp this year, following the usual custom, was divided into three two-week periods. During the second period the number in camp mounted to 95 while the last week's registration was comparatively low. It is the opinion of several of the council officials that in 1936 a maximum registration for each camp period should be fixed and no registration above that number accepted. This would encourage earlier registration and distribute the number of Scouts at camp more evenly over the three periods.
