The Chapel in the Pines at Camp Lyle has to be one of my favorite spots in camp. Besides the fact I was part of building it, it was a tranquil place in camp. You sat out on what felt like a peninsula on the lake at camp. In the morning while at camp, after waking the scouts up, I would go sit out there most mornings and just reflect on the past and the day ahead. It was a way to gather my thoughts and wake up. When being a Scoutmaster at camp, especially with 50 scouts, you become the parent to many of the scouts and are asked questions all the time. To be out there and just be IN CAMP without interruptions was a nice break. You could hear the camp waking up in the morning as you could hear most sites from that location as they echoed across the lake. I miss the pines at camp, and every time I go to visit, a trip to the pines is required. I have not been there since the big storm and clean up, but when I was there right after the storm, it was almost impossible to get to because of the fallen trees. Thank you Bro Patrick for showing me the beauty of this spot in camp.
As Scoutmaster of another Racine troop, I was always in awe of the many service projects Troop 161 did at Lyle. Our troop attended camp the same week that 161 did, and I would often see 161 in action doing some large service project during the week. The firebowl seating comes to mind as a huge project they did on several hot summer days. Grumpy's fishing pier and the Trail Hawk nature pavilion are other projects they did. 161 had a lot of adults at Lyle and I always thought that one of the reasons they did extensive service projects was to give their adults something meaningful to do while at camp.
One summer, Tim told me that their service…