Troop adds sign to Rhode Island Scout camp’s collection

For four decades, painted wooden signs have hung in Camp Medicine Bow’s dining hall, highlighting campsite names. There’s Minnikesu, Weemat and Wuttah, just to name a few … and this summer, Troop 399 of North Babylon, N.Y., added a new one.

The troop created all the campsite signs, each with the campsite name and its translated meaning from the Narragansett Native American language. For example, Wuttah means “heart.” The newest sign, decorated with books and birds, is emblazoned with the words “Red Wing,” and its meaning is “Storyteller,” the name for the Narragansett princess who published the Narragansett Dawn tribal newspaper.

The signs have lined the dining hall’s interior (and exterior for a brief period) for years, save for the offseason between 2005 and 2006 when the troop took them home to repaint them.

Camp Medicine Bow is one of three camps within Camp Yawgoog, which has more than 100 years of tradition welcoming Scouts to the beautiful wilderness on the southwestern side of Rhode Island.

Share your summer camp highlights

Scouts from across the country have been having amazing times at Scouting America’s council camps this summer. Troop 399’s addition to their camp’s collection was just one of many memories Scouts are creating.

If you’d like to share some of your Scouts’ memories, let us know and your unit might be featured in a future story. You can also email us at onscouting@scouting.org.

You can also contact Scout Life magazine to share your unit’s future outings, service projects or how your Scouts are making a difference in their communities.


About Michael Freeman 470 Articles
Michael Freeman, an Eagle Scout, is an associate editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines.