Kennabi Lodge

When Scouting purchased the 4,150 acres of property in 1946 from North Shore Realty, the north shore of Kennabi Lake, south of the Kennaway Road was still owned by Mr. Ernie Fee, owner of Fee Motors of Lindsay. In the same year, he agreed to donate the land in return for $3,000, which was the cost of the road and hunting/fishing cabin which he had built. This cabin, the only building on any of the new camp property, would become known as Kennabi Lodge.

The original Fee Cabin - later Kennabi Lodge Muriel Moore recalls her earliest memories of the cabin:

"So [Ernie Fee and Leslie Frost] had a shack there that they used every November, and that was the dining room and the kitchen of the lodge. There was nothing in it really. There was an old, old wood stove in the kitchen, and there was a long table, well I guess the table, it's still there. It was a home made table, and the long bench on each side, and a bunk. That was the extent of what was in the cabin."

The minutes of the April 8, 1947 Camp Committee meeting included the following reference to the original cabin:

"Supervision will be required during July and August and living quarters will be provided for Mr. and Mrs. Moore in the cabin bought from Mr. Fee if Mr. Moore feels that it would be suitable. Mr. Moore stated that he had looked over the building and although some essential equipment will be required, it will serve the purpose this year as we will all be pioneering at the camp this year."

In his article "First Boy Scout At Camp Kennabi" Al Moore (47-54) also recalls the cabin:

"The fish cabin was a well built, one room cabin with sawdust and lime between the walls for insulation, a wood stove for heat, with the stove pipe running the length of the vaulted ceiling. On the back was a small addition with a wood cook stove. In front of the cabin was a dock and under the cabin a boat on rollers. We had no running water, no electricity, no propane, no refrigeration and no phone. For light we had a Coleman lantern and for refrigeration, JC installed a large crock-pot in a spring beside the road. It was about a mile back toward the mill. Every meal meant a trip out to get the perishables and a trip back after the meal."

During this first summer, the JC and Muriel used the cabin as their bedroom as well as the only kitchen in camp, while their sons Al and Don, slept in a tent on a wooden platform just behind it.

In 1948, what would become the central wing added to Kennabi Lodge as a bedroom for J.C. and Mrs. Moore. The following year, north wing and large stone fireplace added to Kennabi Lodge, again as a bedroom for the Moores.

About 1951, the JC and Muriel moved into the Ranger's Cabin (now know as the Moore Cabin) which had been built two summers earlier by Al and Don with lumber from the mill. The north wing of Kennabi Lodge then became the camp headquarters with a reception and office area for Camp Kennabi (troop camping). Three rooms were lined with insulating board. Also in 1951 staff feeding was centralized in Kennabi Lodge and a cook - Mrs. T. "Ma" Wells was hired for the first time.

In 1950, 40th Toronto Troop under Scoutmaster Syd Young, started to build the totem pole which was know as "Sydney Joe". It was finished in 1951 and stood by the north wall of Kennabi Lodge. It was relocated by the gate from the parking area to the main dock area until it finally disintegrated in 1995.

Trading Post in Kennabi Lodge after 1961 Starting in 1955, the reception area also doubled as the Tuck Shop. Prior to this a "Tuck Boat" went around to each site until too many Scouters complained about the easy access to junk food! For a more detailed description of this and the rest of Kennabi Lodge at this time, see F. Bruce Ryans' (53-55, 56) article Kennabi Lodge: Some History.

1961 saw underwater cable first used to connect telephones at the Camp HQ (Kennabi Lodge) to the programme centre. Further improvements to the telephone system came in 1968 when the first camp telephone switchboard (a restored Type 551) was installed in the Admin office in Kennabi Lodge by Murray Crimless (68-73,81-95). It connected twenty new acquired and restored mini-crank telephones that were also installed throughout the camp and would serve for the next twenty years.

Also in 1961, the Tuck Shop was renamed the Trading Post.

Kennabi Lodge shortly before it was torn down and rebuilt By 1982 much of the camp focus had shifted from Kennabi Lodge to the Hub area including the the Admin office which was relocated to the lower level of the Hub.

The north wing of Kennabi was still used for group check in on Saturdays for several years but little maintenance was done and eventually the bats forced check in to be done under a tarp and picnic table outside.

In the early 1990's the Camp Committee actively discussed tearing down the now for all intents and purposes, condemned Lodge, however the Haliburton Scout Reserve Staff Alumni which had formed in 1989, offered to undertake a fundraising and rebuilding campaign.

The demolition and rebuilding was under the supervision of Ab Morrow (75-87,92-99) and although the building was taken down to the ground and restarted on new foundation piers, most of the original siding was reused on the new building. Because the south wing had been right at the waters edge and to save costs and make the most of the wood that was available to reuse, it was decided to essentially replace only the central and north wings. The north wing would have a room for a reception area at the west end and the remainder would be open to the central wing and used for a camp archives.

A major challenge was the large stone fireplace and chimney which had titled backwards at a dangerous angle and had been propped up to prevent it from toppling completely. With an incredible effort from Murray Crimless (68-73,81-95) and other maintenance staff, the fireplace was made level and a new concrete base constructed to keep it in place and construction was able to continue. A new deck was also built on the front of the centre wing.

Many, former and current staff volunteered many long hours to complete this project and donated funding. Ross MacDowell (60-63) provided a significant final monetary contribution which was critical to the project.

The new Kennabi Lodge was dedicated on August 7, 1994 to the memory of Frank Standing (66-67,69-72,74-88). By the summer of 1996 an archival display of camp crests, staff shirts, photos and other memorabilia was in place.

Kennabi Lodge, restored in memory of Frank E. Standing
who between the years of 1966 and 1987 provided leadership, inspiration,
friendship and training to the staff and campers at Haliburton Scout Reserve.
Restored with the generous support of the Standing family and Friends
and the Haliburton Scout Reserve Alumni Association.

Dedication Plaque, Kennabi Lodge, August 7, 1994

Kennabi Lodge continues to serve on Saturdays as a check in area and a place to share the camp's history with those arriving.

See also F. Bruce Ryans' (53-55, 56) Kennabi Lodge: Some History.