“Today at Day Camp I went fishing. After a while, when I didn’t catch one, I was sad and thought everyone else was catching fish. Then, when we were almost out of time, the fishing bobber went under water. I yanked my fishing rod as hard as I could. I was excited because I caught my first and biggest fish!!”
Congratulations to Kanayo for continuing to try and not give up. You truly exhibited the traits of a good Scout!
What does being staff at Goshen mean?
As we wrap up the season, we decided to ask a few staff members about their experience with Goshen Scout Reservation, why they came to work here, and what it means to them!
Two of the people we interviewed joined staff by chance! Dan Leichtling and John Ferguson, Lenhok’sin High Adventure Camp Director and Trek Director, respectively, both joined because of a choice they made to take the plunge into camp staff. Dan got his start here at GSR at Camp PMI after his Scoutmaster asked if anyone would be interested in working at Goshen for the summer, and John got his start with us after he was asked by a staff member at Lenhok’sin if he would be interested in helping them finish up their season when he was here as a Den Chief at Camp Ross.
For everyone else, family was their reason for coming. For those of you who attended Camp Bowman this year, you may have met Cassidy, our Bowman Brigade Director. This is her first year at Camp Bowman, and she joined for a simple reason: her brother! She said that “[h]e’s the Range and Target Activities Director, he’s worked here for many years, and he’s always loved it so much.” Thomas, Camp Bowman’s Program Director, told us that he joined camp staff because his brother, Henry (Camp Bowman’s Camp Director) and him had come here since they were kids, and they wanted to spend more time together in a place that means a lot to them.
Everyone at Goshen has a different thing they love most about the place and working here; for Dan, it’s getting to see Scouts grow over the course of their trek and staff members grow and develop over the years. As Dan says, “You can see little saplings rise up into trees, and you can see the same thing in the staff.” A common theme among the staff we interviewed was the community you create while working at Goshen. Cassidy and John all talked about how much they loved creating new friendships and bonds with their fellow staff members both in their camps and across the Reservation over the summer, and how that community can last even outside of camp.
The staff enjoyed creating those memorable experiences for Scouts during their week of summer camp. Thomas discussed how much he loved helping plan and create new experiences for Scouts like those that he and his brother had when they were campers at GSR. John also mentioned that the relationships you build with Scouts and their leaders are ones that he appreciates forming, especially as they work to trek across the reservation.
While Goshen is an incredible place to meet new people and try new things, it is also a great place to learn new skills that you can use outside of the Reservation, and not just the things you might expect! All of our staff have learned something at Goshen and have learned or honed some skills they use at their jobs the rest of the year. As a teacher, Thomas values the opportunity he gets to focus on logistics and planning, and he’s also learned how to use a support network and when to ask for help. Dan has learned plenty in his years at Goshen, including first aid, lifeguarding, food safety, and more, but he notes that perhaps most importantly, he’s learned how to listen. Dan uses a variety of things he’s learned here in his regular job: how to talk to people, how to help people in a crisis, and how to read the room, and pick up on subtle cues that others may not say out loud.
John talked about how he’s learned at camp to recognize his limits and when to take a break, as he can overwork himself without realizing. He’s also worked on being able to work with people with differing abilities, and adapting to their needs. Cassidy, much like Thomas, has learned a lot about planning and logistical skills, and uses them constantly the rest of the year.
Finally, we wrapped up by asking the staff what advice they would give to someone interested in joining us here at Goshen. Everyone gave pretty much the same answer: take the chance and do it! Most highlighted that, while working at camp can be difficult and present new challenges you may not find at other summer jobs, it is extremely rewarding, and John noted how working at Goshen is an incredible opportunity to meet new people. Thomas offered some additional advice, and that’s to brush up on those skills you may end up using here, like cooking or knots.
Whether you’re working at Lenhok’sin, Marriott, Bowman, Ross, Olmsted, or even Camp Post, everyone on staff knows that working together and helping one another out is the way to have a fun, safe, and memorable summer. If you’re interested in joining staff here at Goshen and seeing what it’s all about, check out www.gotogoshen.org/staff for more information
Goshen Scout Reservation staff members, fellow NCAC co-workers, Scout friends, and family are celebrating a very special summer to honor Francis “Drac” Peyton for his 50 years of service on the Reservation!
Known as the most beloved staff member of Goshen, Drac first came to the shores of Lake Merriweather as a young Scout in 1968 with Troop 2508, chartered by Mt. Airy Baptist Church in NW Washington D.C. Scouts led him to his very first visit to Camp Ross where he enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow Scouts and the energy and enthusiasm of his camp counselors. He was a camper each summer until 1975 when at the age of 17 he became a Camp Ross Counselor. Over his long history of employment, he worked in every camp at multiple positions to include Shooting Sports Director (now known as Range and Target Activities), Program Director, Camp Director, and current Assistant Reservation Director.
He works from sunup to sundown every day circling the camp. Week in and week out he maintains his jovial demeanor and infectious smile. He is rich in knowledge and history of the Reservation, knows what keeps the campers happy, where improvement is needed, and how to get things done. He has the pulse of the reservation at any time. He is a joy to speak with if you can just get him to sit down. By mid-morning on a typical camp day, he will have already circled the Goshen Beltway three times delivering, fixing, managing, and boosting staff morale for the day.
During the 2025 Goshen Staff Banquet, Drac received a special award for his 50 years at camp. As he addressed the staff, Drac stood with intention and said, “When you leave here today and wake up tomorrow morning, have that energy, have that focus, have that drive. People are waiting on us to perform. Everybody got that?” He was met with a resounding “Yeah!” with claps and cheers from all corners of the Camp Olmsted Dining Hall.
Drac added, “Thank you for bringing me on your team” when actually the entire National Capital Area Council needed to be thanking him for his 50 years of service at Goshen Scout Reservation!
When thinking back to when he first stepped foot on the Reservation, Drac recalled, “My first experience at Goshen was at Camp Ross in 1968. I started in Cub Scouts and went all the way through. I am one of seven kids, four brothers and two sisters. All of my brothers participated in Scouts. One of my brothers achieved the rank of Eagle. The rest of us finished as Life. I finished Life with 80 earned Merit Badges. All of us went to Goshen in the early days. I absolutely loved being a Scout. It was my thing and I enjoyed doing it with my brothers.”
When asked about what camp was like in the early days, he replied, “So things were a lot different, especially for African American troops that came to Goshen back in those days. I remember as a young Scout, we came to camp and were hanging out in the parking lot at Camp Ross, trying to figure out where we’re gonna go, because the white Troops didn’t want to share a campsite with a black Troop. So, we finally get a placement with another troop from Bethesda, close to D.C. They welcomed us with open arms and shared their camp. We were a small unit of 10 boys. And of course, that all worked out. It was so fabulous. And then the following summer, we’d run into the same troop the same week. We developed a lasting friendship through Scouting. Because at that time, with many, the mind was kind of closed. These guys being up from the D.C. area had a lot of open mindedness, a lot of love, a lot of caring for us as a unit.”
“Camp definitely got into my blood because all I wanted to do when I was a young kid was go camping. That’s all I wanted. Everybody that I knew growing up, every other five people that you met back in those days, in the ’70s, 80s, were Scouts. Even in inner city growing up we had so many Black troops. So many came to camp. So many. Because Scouting was the game. And we had a lot of support from our churches.”
As a camper, he had no idea that staff could be hired but then the first opportunity came. The camp directors said, “Hey, we do staff interviews up in DC. So, I threw my name out there, got a phone call, and the rest is history. I started working on staff in 1975.”
Even though things were different back then, Drac found a tight-knit community on staff, “The experience here at Goshen, especially with the brotherhood that I had with the staff really paid off. As a result, this is what you see now! And you see that all over the Reservation. It’s not just me but others. You saw that at the camp staff banquet this year when you saw these people walk in. You saw people tearing up because, again, that passion. We all want to be here because we want to be here. The banquet was special because I’ve never seen it so emotional, if you know what I mean, because it really meant something to everybody in that room.”
“Of course, along the lines, you meet people. One of the guys that was sitting at my table at the banquet actually was one of my mentors from the old days. He’s one of the guys that I credit for showing me, helping me, nurturing me to push me to get me where I am now.”
“It’s the brotherhood. It is. When you meet somebody at camp, you know, and we see this all the way around, you know those people for a lifetime.”
“You have lifelong friends in Scouting. If any organization can say it does that, we do that. It all pans out to be what it is and we all appreciate that especially the young people at the banquet. It meant so much to them and that’s a proud moment. It’s like a million-dollar view that you never see. You feel that right here, right here in your heart.”
When asked for his personal motto at camp that he takes with him, Drac replied, “I would say, keep it moving. Stay positive. Reach out to the people around you because you are no better than the people around you. If you don’t have a good team of people to push you forward, you gonna have a hard time reaching that goal because your team is the one that makes the difference. So as a leader, you train your people properly. What happens after that? All the sudden, you trust the people behind you. With that comes personal growth, energy, positive thinking. Because we as leaders know, you can’t do it by yourself. It takes all of us, especially on the leadership side, to do what we need to do.”
He instills these beliefs not only at the Reservation, but also with his family, “My young grandkids, I try to instill in them the purpose of service and how important that is.”
“I’m very thankful that Elisabeth Warren (Goshen Scout Reservation Director) allows me to do what I do to support. That’s pretty much the bottom line. And, I’m still having a good time! I’m still having fun! You know, because we forget in this hard business that we do that you got to find that joy. You got to. If not, this place ain’t for you. Because here at camp, we have to share. We have to care about each other. That’s what Scouting does more than anything else because outside of our organization people are not used to sharing anymore. You know what I mean and you get that and all of a sudden you see these young people behind us. That’s a game changer for them because they figure, ‘I like being a part of this team. I like being part of this game.’ What does this game do? It makes us better. It makes us better human beings. Collectively, individually, anyway that you want to put that. It works.”
When asked what we need to do to keep this going for another 115 years, he replied, “We need to simplify what we do. Keep the basics. Keep the values.”
After considering how much longer we could get him to work at the Reservation, Drac answered, “That’s a good question. I don’t know. I would say that I am honored and blessed that I had the opportunity to do pretty much what I wanted to do all my life. And a lot of people don’t get that opportunity to do what they want. And camp has done that. You know, for some reason, I find that niche that brings me back every year. You know what I mean? It’s a niche. I tell people, it’s a niche.”
This article is written from two interviews with Drac. One by Dan Glass and the other by Cynthia Griffiths/Matthew Keck during the summer of 2025 at Goshen Scout Reservation.
On Day 2 of Troop 601 B’s trek with Lenhok’sin High Adventure, Scouts and their leaders got to explore Crossroads Cave!
The cave, which has over 4 miles of surveyed passage, is regarded as one that is great for beginning spelunkers while still being engaging.
After a short drive out to Bath County from Baird Base Camp, the crew geared up with durable clothes, helmets, gloves, and headlamps, and began their descent. They prepared beforehand and learned the importance of maintaining three points of contact at all times and to call out loose rocks or other possible hazards, and most importantly, they reviewed both inside and outside the cave the importance of leaving no trace in the cave.
As Dan Leichtling, the Lenhok’sin Camp Director and the guide for the adventure, noted to the crew, the cave itself is a very static environment, and not much can change down there without human involvement. Once the crew had gotten their fill of the spacious first room, the crew moved to “The Crossroads,” a smaller room that branches off into other rooms in the cave, but the route they followed was one that looped back into the first room!
After a small break in the main room where the Scouts got to explore a small passage, the crew made their way deeper into the cave, getting to a slightly smaller but still spacious room where the crew took a seat and got to experience total cave darkness. After a fun demonstration showing how breaking mints in your mouth can lead to some visible sparks in the darkness, once the lights came back on the Scouts and some leaders successfully crawled through the “Mole Hole,” a rather narrow passage that they had to lay flat on the ground and maneuver through. The crew also took some time to see the Fossil Room, a small room with a wall covered in old fossils from when the cave was underwater. Below the room is a visible drop into “The Maze,” a large system of passages in the cave that wasn’t explored by the crew this time around.
Once that was explored, the crew decided to head back to the main area to wrap up, but not before stopping by the Five Foot Ledge, the only way in and out of The Maze.
After another crawl through of a small passageway, the crew found itself back in the main room, where they began our ascent back to the surface! The Scouts and leaders had a choice of entering the way they came in or going up a similar but slightly more challenging way back up. Once they got back to the surface and were hit by the strong temperature difference (it was about 50 degrees in the cave and almost 90 outside it!), the crew headed back to Baird Base Camp to clean up and prepare for dinner.
While still challenging for everyone, the cave proved to be an amazing time, and added another level of adventure and challenge for the Scouts as they work on their trek this week!
The Importance of Summer Resident Camp in the Scouting Experience, as told by an Assistant Scoutmaster.
Summer resident camp is more than just a fun escape into the outdoors—it’s a vital part of the Scouting experience that tests the skills, values, and character traits developed over a year of meetings and weekend adventures. It pushes Scouts beyond their comfort zones and gives them opportunities to lead, serve, and grow in ways that aren’t always possible in shorter or more structured settings.
This summer, I had the privilege of attending three different camps: Camp Snyder with my Wolf Cub, Pipsico with my Scouts BSA son, and Camp Ross at Goshen with my Webelos. Each offered its own unique challenges and rewards, and together they reminded me why resident camp is such a powerful part of the Scouting journey.
At Camp Snyder, my youngest learned the importance of being part of a den outside the familiar structure of our regular Thursday meetings. He got his first taste of independence—making choices, following schedules, and participating in his favorite activities like BB shooting, archery, and building. Most importantly, he learned to encourage his fellow Cub Scouts and show Scout spirit, even when he was tired or frustrated.
Camp Ross was a major step up for my Webelos. There, the Scouts were encouraged to take more ownership of their experience—navigating to activities on their own, helping lead flag ceremonies, and completing service projects. Severe weather rolled through camp one night, and I watched as Scouts calmly executed the emergency protocols they had learned. They stayed calm under pressure, made smart decisions, and looked out for one another. It was a clear example of how camp puts Scouting values into action. Even more personally, I saw growth when my picky eater decided to try unfamiliar camp meals. Outside of his comfort zone, he learned that adventure sometimes starts at the dinner table.
At Pipsico, my older Scout dove into the high adventure atmosphere. He earned merit badges, worked with Scouts from other troops, and took on leadership roles within his patrol. The week challenged him physically and mentally, and he came home with a renewed sense of purpose—and a whole lot of stories.
Across all three camps, the same core values shone through: service, resilience, leadership, and Scout spirit. Resident camp gives Scouts a full immersion into the Scout Oath and Law—not just reciting them, but living them every day. Whether cleaning a campsite, helping a nervous camper, or adapting to sudden weather changes, Scouts grow through experience.
In the end, summer camp is not just a tradition or a reward—it’s an essential, transformative experience that helps shape our Scouts into capable, confident, and compassionate leaders. It’s where the lessons of Scouting come to life.
Loudoun District Day Camp was recognized by LoudounNow news.
The Cub Scouts from Loudoun District in our National Capital Area Council (NCAC) enjoyed a week of both day camp and twilight (evening) camp the last week in June at Murray Hill.
Some of the activities throughout the week included fishing, hiking, slingshot, BB guns, archery, first aid demonstrations, arts & crafts, and STEM activities.
Read the full article here: LoudounNow
