Patriots' Path Council


The Patriots' Path Council includes Morris, Sussex, Somerset, Union, and Middlesex counties in New Jersey. It was born in 2000 with the merger of the Morris-Sussex Area Council and the Watchung Area Council. On February 6, 2014, Patriots Path Council absorbed several Scouting units from the dissolved Central New Jersey Council.
The grave of Green Bar Bill lies within the geographic scope of the Patriots Path Council. He is buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Mendham Borough, New Jersey, at the coordinates

Organization

The council is divided into the following districts:
District NameCommunities ServedDistrict Executive
Black RiverBasking Ridge, Bedminster, Bernardsville, Brookside, Budd Lake, Chester, Denville, Dover, Far Hills, Flanders, Gladstone, Jefferson Township, Liberty Corner, Long Valley/Schooley's Mountain, Mendham, Mine Hill, Mt. Arlington, Mt. Olive, Peapack, Randolph, Rockaway Township, Rockaway, Roxbury, and WhartonMarc Maratea
FishawackBoonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Cedar Knolls, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding Township, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown, Mountain Lakes, New Vernon, Parsippany, Pequannock, Riverdale, Towaco, WhippanyAl Thomas
MunseeAvenel, Carteret, Clark, Colonia, Cranford, Elizabeth, Fords, Hillside, Iselin, Kenilworth, Linden, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Port Reading, Rahway, Roselle, Roselle Park, Springfield, Union, Winfield Park, and WoodbridgeWill Adams
Raritan ValleyBound Brook, Bradley Gardens, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Dunellen, Edison, Finderne, Flagtown, Green Brook, Highland Park, Hillsborough, Lamington, Manville, Martinsville, Metuchen, Middlesex, New Brunswick, Neshanic, Neshanic Station, North Branch, Piscataway, Plainfield, Pluckemin, Princeton, Raritan, Somerset, Somerville, South Bound Brook, South Branch, and South PlainfieldMatthew Hachey
SussexAndover Borough, Andover Township, Branchville Borough, Byram Township, Frankford Township, Franklin Borough, Fredon Township, Green Township, Hamburg Borough, Hampton Township, Hardyston Township, Hopatcong Borough, Lafayette Township, Montague Township, Netcong Borough, Ogdensburg Borough, Sandyston Township, Sparta Township, Stanhope Borough, Stillwater Township, Sussex Borough, Town of Newton, Vernon Township, Walpack Township, Wantage TownshipBill Zinky
Watchung MountainBerkeley Heights, Fanwood, Garwood, Gillette, Long Hill Township, Meyersville, Millington, Mountainside, Murray Hill, New Providence, North Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Stirling, Summit, Warren, Watchung and WestfieldCharlean Mahon
Jockey HollowAll communities within the Patriots' Path Council. The Jockey Hollow District works with special needs Scouts

Camps

The council operates five camps:
Sabattis Adventure Camp is a Boy Scout adventure camp located in the Adirondack Park in New York State. The camp is owned and operated by the Patriots' Path Council.
The camp, usually in operation from early July to early August, offers Boy Scouts the chance to spend a week at camp, where they participate in various camp activities and work on completing merit badges, or go on a trek, where they hike or canoe for most of the week.
Sabattis Adventure Camp offers week-long canoeing or backpacking treks. A minimum of seven participants can travel through 20 to 100 miles of wilderness, depending on the ability level of the participants. Sabattis treks obey the Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace philosophy allowing for an educational and fun experience for all the participates.
All the treks are approved by the New York State Health Department, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Boy Scouts of America. Sabattis Adventure Camp holds certificates from both the New York State Health Department and the Boy Scouts of America ensuring safe treks.

History

The land where the camp now stands was originally the estate of swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Charles Daniels. Most of the grounds occupied by the camp are the remains of a nine-hole golf course Daniels built for his wife, the most visible portion of which is the parade grounds, next to the camp's trading post, which still looks like the green that it once was. He built the golf course to convince his wife to come up with him. The spot where the flag pole stands now is one of the original putting greens. The actual mansion that the Daniels lived in was located near what is now Family Camp, next to the lake. The house, called Tarnedge, was dismantled in the early 1970s and few visible reminders of it remain. The Doll House, which he had built for his daughter to play in, still stands, and is used to house staff. The path leading to the Mohawk camp site was the original main entrance to the estate, and the stone wall lining it is still there in fairly good condition, along with the main gates near the main road.

Facilities

The residential camp program at Sabattis Adventure Camp offers Scouts a chance to have fun while working on merit badges, personal advancement and patrol or troop advancement.
The following Merit Badges are offered:
Other in-camp programs include: high ropes COPE course, climbing tour, mountain biking, mountain boarding, two 29 ft war canoes, Charley's Mountain hike and overnight, field archery, muzzle loader shooting and many others!
All cooking at Sabattis is in the traditional patrol style over open fires or on camping stoves. Every patrol in camp sends two scouts to pick up their meal ingredients for each meal from the Commissary. At every meal patrol leaders and senior patrol leaders are put to the test... preparation and training goes into a successful days. Scouts are put to the test in meal setup, preparation, cooking and clean-up.

Winnebago Scout Reservation

History

Although the camp was founded in 1941, the history of the property dates back farther. The Lenni Lenape Indians were early inhabitants of the area. During the Revolutionary War iron mines were established. Norwegian immigrants came and built dairy farms in the 1800s. In the early 1900s, Durham Pond was created by intentional flooding to provide water for New Jersey's growing population. In 1916, a troop from Montclair camped by the pond. However, they had to leave after a week due to complications.
The land was purchased in 1940. By 1941, an actual camp was established. The admission fee was $7.50 per scout. Each campsite had an icebox, stove, and a latrine with water pumped from a well. Food was included in the price, but it had to be cooked by the campers. There were 5 campsites, each with room for 30 campers. Scouts slept on mattresses stuffed with straw inside tents.

Facilities

North End
South End
North End
South End
Frontier Sites

History

Camp Somers

Facilities

Facilities

Flush toilets in season.
The Order of the Arrow is served by Woapalanne Lodge.
In 1999, the Boy Scouts of America oversaw a number of council mergers. In 2000, the Morris-Sussex Area Council and the Watchung Area Council underwent such a merger, forming the Patriots’ Path Council – now based out of Cedar Knolls, N.J.
As there can only be one lodge for every council, there were merger meetings between the two lodges. Since it was a NOAC year, and Allemakewink was both celebrating its 70th anniversary and hosting a Section Conclave, it did not want to merge immediately. The merger committee decided it was best to merge the lodges in the following year.
The merger committee wanted the number to be low because both prior lodges had lower numbers, and wanted to incorporate elements of the two previous lodges into the new one. The name decided on was Woapalanne #43, roughly translating to “eagle”. The merger committee decided that the lodge color would be green, and that the totem would be an eagle with outlined feathers. In 2005, however, the totem was modified by the LEC to incorporate the eagle exclusively.
The Winter Banquet was held that January at the Morristown Armory, the first time both lodges met as one.
In the spring of 2001, the lodge held its first Fellowship Day, and two Ordeal Weekends. The lodge decided to have two Ordeal Weekends in the spring and one Ordeal Weekend in the fall. The lodge’s first National Jamboree was also in this year. Also starting in 2001, the lodge decided to hold an annual OA Day at each summer camp at which service would be accompanied by a brotherhood conversion ceremony for eligible Ordeal members and a cracker barrel for all brothers attending camp. Peter Keays, the Lodge’s first chief, was elected to be NE-2B Section Chief in that same year – the first in the Lodge’s young history to hold a section position.
In 2002, Woapalanne participated in its first NOAC at Indiana University. The theme was “Test Yourself and So Discover”. Woapalanne was one of only two lodges in the Northeast Region and one of only eight in the country to earn the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award.
In 2003, Woapalanne held its first section conclave for Section NE-2B at Mt. Allamuchy Scout Reservation. The theme was “How Uncas Got His Groove Back.”
In the summer of 2004, NOAC was held at Iowa State University, and a contingent of Woaplanne brothers attended. That same summer, the lodge LEC voted to give a donation to the council for the purchase of a new sail boat for Camp Somers. The boat was named the S.S. Woapalanne, in honor of the donation. In the fall of 2004, the lodge created a new campsite near the chapel at Camp Somers. Site 14 received the name “Woapalanne” to commemorate the lodge’s service in its construction.
In 2005, the lodge participated in its second National Jamboree.
On Jan. 1, 2006, the lodge celebrated its 5th Anniversary. At the NE-2B Section Conclave, our immediate Past Lodge Chief, Joe Maugeri, was voted in as the Section Vice Chief, the second lodge member to hold a section position. In the summer of 2006, a Woapalanne contingent of 8 traveled to NOAC at Michigan State University.
In 2008, the sections were reshuffled, and Woapalanne found itself in Section NE-7A, along with Central NJ, Northern NJ, and Greater NY council lodges. Our lodge sent a small contingent to ArrowCorps5 to build trails in George Washington National Forest.
In 2009, 22 Arrowmen from Woapalanne traveled to Indiana U. for NOAC 2009. Frank Caccavale began a two-year stint as Lodge Chief. Our lodge was designated as a Quality Lodge for the year.
2010 saw us host our first Section NE-7A conclave at Camp Winnebago, with the theme “A Band of Brotherhood.” It would be the last, as we were, once again, re-sectioned into NE-5A, encompassing most of New Jersey.
In 2011, 16 of us traveled by van out to West Virginia, where we joined Week 2 of SummitCorps, a national service project to build a mountain biking trail in New River Gorge National Park. We were, once again, named as a Quality Lodge. Lodge member Bill SanFilippo started the first of 2 terms as NE-5A Section Chief.
NOAC returned to Michigan State in 2012, and Woapalanne was there with a contingent of 15. We traveled out in 3 minivans and visited the R&R Hall of Fame on the way out.
Woapalanne hosted the NE-5Asection Conclave in 2013, which saw the election of Nick Kaufman as Section Chief. The theme was “Year of the Arrowman.” We finished the year having earned JTE Gold Status.
At the start of 2014, we had the largest banquet in our history, with 114 attendees. Again, we finished the year as a JTE Gold lodge. Much of the year was devoted to the upcoming centennial celebration of the OA. With the demise of Central NJ Council and Sakuwit Lodge #2, Woapalanne added those Arrowmen and troops from the area assigned to PPC. The “new” Brothers have been a decided plus for our lodge.
2015! 100 years old! For the first time, we offered a package plan for dues and events. Again, our banquet broke records with 148 in attendance. In 2015, we secured a National Service Grant, repurposing one of the Wheeler Cub cabins to a STEM/computer facility. We were also chosen to host ArrowTour, and national road show for our Centennial. 230 people attended. We named 9 people as “Centurion Award” winners, and 3 were given a Lifetime Service Award. In August, 53 traveled to NOAC, once again at MSU.