The 400 acres of pine forest that make up Camp Napowan were at the center of a luncheon meeting hosted by the Northwest Suburban Boy Scout Council.

While everyone agreed the rural beauty of the camp set outside Wild Rose, Wis., was picturesque, a closer look revealed some dated facilities that do not begin to accommodate the council's growing numbers.

The camp drew approximately 4,000 campers last summer from throughout the 32 Northwest suburban communities the council serves, and tens of thousands over the years since it was built in 1945.

To address the needs of that camp and others, council officials met with area business leaders and supporters Wednesday at the Millrose Restaurant in South Barrington. They held the event to launch a $4.3 million capital campaign to update the major facilities, including Camp Napowan.

Specifically, the yearlong campaign will raise funds to improve Camp Lakota, its Cub Scout residence camp located near Woodstock; the volunteer service center in Mount Prospect; and Napowan, its Boy Scout camp in Wild Rose.

Steve Taylor, executive director of the Mount Prospect-based council, described his first visit to Napowan before officials undertook the capital campaign drive.

He expected to be impressed with its tall trees and natural beauty, along with its history. The Boy Scouts built the camp after World War II ended, and movie star Harrison Ford served on its nature staff in 1957. An oar with his name on it still can be found in one of the main cabins.

Instead, Taylor was struck by its deteriorating conditions.

"We are accommodating four times the number of campers this camp was intended for," Taylor said. "These structures are old, worn-out and undersized to meet the current population, let alone any growing possibilities."

Consequently, Scouting officials plan to build a new dining hall and cabins at both Napowan and Lakota, as well as an expanded dock, new boats, sporting equipment and bath facilities at Napowan, and add more infrastructure at Lakota. They hope to enlarge the Mount Prospect center to include more meeting rooms and parking, enlarge the Scout shop, and improve its existing facilities.

A portion of the campaign also will help extend the council's Scoutreach programs for at-risk youth, including its soccer program.

Scouting officials said the Northwest Suburban Council is riding an all-time high. Last year alone the council experienced the largest total membership growth of all Illinois councils, and the second largest growth among the 83 councils in the central region. It currently serves 15,000 youth and 5,000 adult volunteers, and that number is expected to increase to 19,000 in 2008.

Yet while other Boy Scout councils are selling off their camps to remain financially solvent, Northwest suburban leaders agreed their camps represent the core of their programming, which is leadership opportunities.

"We work with them on a lot of other things, once we get them up there," said John Frieburg of Barrington, council president, "including earning merit badges and just putting into practice all the things they learned at their meetings."

Jim Tierney, a senior vice president with Harris Bank in Barrington and a resident of Glenview, is heading up the campaign with David Pepper of Barrington, Pepper Construction chairman and chief operating officer.

They see the benefits of enhancing the camps as having a lasting impact on local Scouts and their families. Consequently, they have called the campaign "Building a Legacy."

Copyright 2005 Daily Herald