Months of planning, structural repairs, and skilled craftsmanship culminated in a beautifully restored pool—ready to create memories for the next generation of Scouts.
Most people see a beautiful swimming pool. I see 23 years of memories—and one renovation I’ll never forget.
If you’ve attended summer camp at Camp Tuckahoe at any time over the past 23 years, chances are you have memories of this pool. Maybe you learned to swim here. Maybe you earned a merit badge, cooled off after a hot afternoon, or simply spent time laughing with friends.
For thousands of Scouts, this pool has simply been part of camp. It’s where confidence grew one swimming lesson at a time, where friendships were strengthened between merit badge sessions, and where a hot July afternoon suddenly became a little more bearable. Few campers ever stop to think about what it takes to keep a facility like this ready for the next generation.
When I walk past the pool, I see those memories too.
But I also remember something else.
23 years ago, I helped clear the trees that stood where the pool sits today. Soon afterward, crews excavated the site, installed reinforcing steel, and sprayed shotcrete to form the walls and floor of what would become one of the most popular places in camp.
I never imagined I’d still be here 23 years later, watching that same pool undergo the extensive repairs it needed.
Like everything else, pools grow old. Pennsylvania winters aren’t especially kind to concrete. After more than two decades, our pool had reached the point where patching cracks, replacing loose tile, and repainting the surface were no longer enough.
We knew it was time to replaster the pool.
What we didn’t know was what we’d discover once the work began.
It Started Like Any Other Renovation
As we explored our options, the Board considered installing a vinyl liner or completely replastering the existing pool. After discussing the long-term advantages and disadvantages with our contractor, David March, we decided that replastering was the better long-term investment.
Picking new tile and plaster colors was actually the fun part.
Looking back, we had no idea what was waiting beneath the surface.
As with any renovation, demolition came first. Crews removed the coping around the top of the pool and the border tile along the waterline.
Almost immediately, we realized this wasn’t going to be a routine replastering project.
Years ago, the pool’s fill line broke beneath the concrete deck. Rather than remove the surrounding concrete to repair it, we abandoned the fill line and began using a fire hose to fill the pool each spring and keep it topped off throughout the summer.
That solved the immediate problem.
Unfortunately, the original leak had already weakened the soil beneath the adjacent concrete pads before the fill line was abandoned. Over time, the unsupported pads settled, widening the gaps between the deck and the pool shell. Eventually, the gaps became too wide to seal reliably with caulk. Each winter, water seeped into those openings, froze, expanded, and gradually damaged the pool’s side wall.
When Kinsley Construction removed that section of concrete so the fill line could finally be repaired, we began to understand what had been happening beneath the surface.
One Discovery Led to Another
We had already planned to replace the pool’s main drain valve because it had become difficult to operate, and we suspected it wasn’t closing completely.
Then we discovered both corners of the deep end were cracked from top to bottom.
Replastering over those cracks wasn’t going to solve anything.
Crews would have to install reinforcing rods to bridge the damaged areas before rebuilding the corners with Gunite. The damaged side wall also had to be reconstructed.
The most sobering discovery came when we discovered just how much of the original pool shell had deteriorated in that one section of the deep end; an eight-inch-thick wall had weathered down to only about two inches of sound concrete.
At that point, I finally asked David March, “On a scale of one to ten—with ten being about as bad as it gets—how bad is this pool?”
He studied the exposed pool shell for a moment before answering.
“Seven…maybe even an eight.”
That wasn’t exactly the answer I was hoping to hear.
Those aren’t the kinds of problems anyone hopes to find, but they are exactly the kinds of problems good maintenance projects are meant to uncover.
We thought the structural repairs were behind us.
They weren’t.
After damaged concrete was removed, crews rebuilt the deteriorated pool beam and walls using gunite, restoring the pool’s structural integrity before the new finish could be applied.
Another Surprise
Before new plaster could be applied, the pool first needed a bond coat to ensure the new finish would permanently adhere to the existing shell.
When the bond coat crew inspected the pool, they found another problem.
The existing plaster had deteriorated so badly that it wouldn’t provide a sound surface for the bond coat.
Everything stopped.
The old plaster had to be removed by PWS Water Blasting Services until only sound material remained. Only then could the bond coat be applied.
Once it cured, another crew arrived to install the new plaster finish.
The entire pool was plastered in a single morning.
Now we had a different challenge.
Fresh plaster must be covered with water within 24 hours.
Months earlier, we had arranged for York Water Company and Edris Oil to deliver enough water from the nearest hydrant in New Oxford to meet that deadline.
Our water system normally takes about four days to fill the pool.
Twenty-Three Truckloads
One truck became several, and several eventually became 23.
By the next morning, 23 truckloads of water had been delivered to Camp Tuckahoe while our own water system supplied the balance.
Throughout the afternoon, evening, and overnight hours, truck after truck rolled into camp delivering water. It was an impressive logistical effort that ensured the new plaster was protected exactly as planned.
At that point, I thought we were finally home free.
As it turned out, the pool still had a few more lessons to teach us.
Because freshly plastered pools must never be allowed to dry, water delivery had been scheduled months in advance. Tanker trucks immediately began filling the pool upon completion of the plastering.
Green Water
The water filled the pool, crystal clear.
Then it turned green.
To troubleshoot the problem, David March and his team removed chlorine and minerals from the water. Over time, the water became crystal clear again as additional water treatments were performed and plaster dust from the new finish was continually brushed and vacuumed away.
As chlorine was reintroduced to make the pool safe for swimming, the water turned cloudy once more.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Our first Cub Scout campers were almost here.
At the same time, the new plaster had to be brushed several times each day and vacuumed underwater as it cured.
David brought in diver Alan Chalfin from Florida to handle the specialized work. Alan spent long days underwater and on the pool deck, brushing and vacuuming the new plaster, while David focused on getting the water chemistry under control.
When our first Cub Scout campers arrived, the pool was safe to open, even though the water still wasn’t quite where we wanted it.
I’ll admit there was a huge sense of relief watching those first Scouts jump into the water.
Once that session ended, we had a four-day break before the next campers arrived. That gave everyone time to continue adjusting the chemistry. We also installed a new 200-gallon liquid chlorine tank to stop relying on countless five-gallon containers.
By the beginning of our first Pack Camp session, the water clarity and chemistry had improved dramatically.
As the freshly plastered pool filled, the water temporarily turned green. Diver Alan Chalfin continuously brushed the new plaster to remove plaster dust and help produce a smooth, uniform finish.
More Than a Pool
Looking back, it’s amazing how a project that began as a routine replastering uncovered so many hidden problems.
But that’s often how stewardship works.
Facilities don’t last forever. They require maintenance, investment, and sometimes a willingness to solve problems you never expected to find.
The pool wasn’t our only offseason project. We also completed major improvements to the shower building, dining hall, and trading post because we believe every Scout deserves facilities that support the quality of the program we strive to deliver.
Most campers will never know everything that happened before they arrived.
And honestly, they shouldn’t have to.
Their memories should center on swimming with friends, cooling off on a hot afternoon, and enjoying another great week at Camp Tuckahoe.
That’s exactly why we do this.
The finished pool quickly returned to its real purpose — giving Scouts a place to learn, play, and create summer camp memories.
Thank You
Projects like this depend on many skilled people working together. I’m especially grateful to David March and his team at D.G. March & Associates; Alan Chalfin; Kinsley Construction; Gunite Specialist; GSI Pool Finishes; PWS Water Blasting Services; If It’s Water; Edris Oil; Shane Water Transport; York Water Company; and Keystone Gun-Krete for helping restore Camp Tuckahoe’s pool in time for another summer of Scouting.
Every time I walk past the pool now, I remember everything it took to give it a second life.
I hope the Scouts who enjoy it over the next 20 years never have to think about any of it.
Instead, I hope they simply make memories of their own.
Yours in Scouting,
Ron Gardner
Scout Executive & CEO
