Never doubt that the seeds you plant today could dramatically impact the world of tomorrow.
In this case it was not seeds that were sewn exactly, but seedlings.
In April 1954 there were 6,000 pine tree seedlings planted in the fields of Oreweiler Road through the labors of 136 Boy Scouts.
The land had been farming crops for 100 years at that time, and was being repurposed by the Scouts into Camp Avery Hand.
The lands of Camp Avery Hand have been repurposed once again in our time. Part of the hills and campsites are today encompassed within the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, and the other part is called Camp Covert. The name ‘Camp Avery Hand’ has been appropriated away from here to the Firelands Scout Reservation in Wakeman.
So the Scout Camp isn’t here anymore, but the pine forest left by the Scouts has never missed a heartbeat. Those little seedlings tower above the fields today, with majesty and life and astonishing beauty.
The 1954 photograph is from the archives of the Richland Soil & Water Conservation District.
