The "Gophers" at Camp Boyhaven were "invented" by GE Vice President Earl O. Shreve in 1944. As the story goes, Boyhaven’s swimming area had a problem with an overgrowth of weeds and bushes. The issue was discussed at an Executive Board meeting and it was decided to secure the use of a fire hose and to find some volunteers to spend the day flushing the silt out of the pool and removing the encroaching greenery. A pump was borrowed from the City of Schenectady through the efforts of Morris Cohn who was then in charge of the City Health Department.

    A number of men volunteered to help and Mr. Shreve said, " If you’ll do this then I’ll buy steaks and cook them for you." As the story continues, one of the volunteers responded, "I’ll go for that!" And so it was that the name GOPHER was coined. This 1944 activity was the first project for the Gophers and they’ve been busy at Camp ever since. To encourage new volunteers to join the Gophers, Camping Committee members Brad Wilson and Joe Overstreet designed a Gopher patch (the one you see here that is still in use today) and distributed hand-painted certificates which could be earned by contributing $25 or 15 hours of work toward the development of the Camp.

    The "Gophers" at Camp Boyhaven are still alive and well but their numbers have diminished in recent years for a variety of reasons. On October 30, 1999 former Ranger Gus Boucher brought together a small group of Scouters at the White House to re-organize and reinvigorate the group. A recruiting campaign is currently underway to attract new members. We have never needed their services more than we do today as many of our buildings and lean-tos were constructed during the 50’s and 60’s.  Maintenance is the number one issue at Camp.  Click here to see some recent photos of Gophers at work.

    Anyone can become a "Gopher". A survey is currently being conducted Council-wide to identify willing volunteers and to catalog the skills and abilities that they might contribute to a particular project or to a "Gopher Weekend". During the next few months we will be formalizing membership requirements for those who wish to sign on as official Boyhaven Gophers.

    Call the Camp Ranger at (518) 885-7800 or e-mail your name and phone number to uncas@campboyhaven.org