We were looking up some information and came across Kevin Rudesill’s web-site on great Washington state Scout camp patches. Kevin’s a long time customer and fellow enthusiast with a real passion for items from the Pacific northwest, especially Washington state. His site, Best of the Best Washington Camp Patches and Histories, is really worth a look.

A few years back I picked up the following Washington state patches, at the time I believe were unknown:

The patches, although great, were not as interesting the notes that came from the seller:

Camp Cleland was a Scout camp for the Tumwater Council, headquartered in Olympia, Washington from 1927 to 1941. My father was a professional Scout Exectuive, and his first assignment was to this council in 1934. The badges were his.

Camp Cleland was a hike-in camp, accissible only via a very steep two mile trail. It was on land that had been loged and then acquired by the Scouts, but trees grow fast there and it soon became a pleasant spot that included Lake Lena. This area is now a popular hiking area in Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest. I can’t determine the exact site of the camp (it is complicated by the existence of a Lake Lena and an Upper Lake Lena) but I do know that there is a marker at the site commemorating an outstanding Scout who died in World War II. Reunions of people who had gone to Camp Cleland were held for years, and one of those groups placed the marker.

She also enclosed copies of some black and white photo’s from the camp. I’ll see if I can’t get them scanned in too.