Concerned INWC Scouters
November 14, 2006
INWC Executive Board Member
Dear Sir:
We implore you to consider how Finch Lodge can continue to serve Camp Cowles. We
believe the success of Cub Country and the health of the Inland Northwest
Council depends on leaving Finch Lodge in place. An originally designed new
lodge (dining hall) is better sited up the hill and closer to North Shore Road.
The Council can have both a new dining hall and a beautifully refurbished
National Register-eligible lodge for fewer total donor dollars. How can we
justify spending extra money on restaging salvaged architectural elements in a
look-alike building? Why waste valuable donations on a doomed attempt to
recreate a Finch Lodge feel? The real Finch Lodge can be enjoyed most of the
year and closed during the coldest months to keep heat and maintenance costs
low.
A new dining hall designed for the hill near Finch Lodge would provide a
panoramic view of Diamond Lake framed by tree-covered mountains. The facility
would be safe, easily accessible from North Shore Road and near the center of
proposed Cub Country activities and camping areas.
Finch Lodge is structurally sound and can serve the camp during the fund raising
and construction phases of Cub Country. Once the new facility is built and paid
for, $75,000 - $100,000 of grants and donations would beautifully refurbish the
historic lodge. In preserving Finch Lodge, we would be teaching responsible
citizenship, good stewardship and conservation of valuable resources – important
lessons for tomorrow’s leaders.
Noted architect Julius A. Zittel designed Finch Lodge specifically for Camp
Cowles. The beautifully proportioned 1923 lodge is especially significant
architecturally because its Craftsman style is rare for this important
architect. As the oldest architect-designed Boy Scout lodge in the west, Finch
is an irreplaceable part of our national, as well as our local, Boy Scout
heritage. This treasure has enriched the lives and touched the hearts of
thousands of Boy Scouts. It is wrong to deprive future generations of the
sounds, smells, beauty and magic of standing in this lodge that their
predecessors have used for over 80 years. The sense of belonging and connection
Finch Lodge engenders is especially important to today’s mobile youth.
We know that, like each of us, you are a volunteer dedicated to serving the
area’s youth. Getting the most value from the Council’s limited resources is
vital. Please take a little of your valuable time to re-evaluate this situation.
Both economic and moral considerations demand that we preserve Finch Lodge for
current and future generations. Please don’t let us be the generation that chose
to irrevocably destroy this irreplaceable treasure.
Respectfully,
The names of 42 Registered Boy Scout Adult Volunteers (Scouters) appeared at
the end of each letter that was sent to an executive board member.