Daniel J. Reilly III
(Click on an image below for a full-size image)
(Photos Courtesy of Steve Sarver)
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Daniel J. Reilly III (affectionately known as “Uncle Dan”) has had a tremendous impact on both
Camp Lowden and its campers. An expert in nature, he was the nature/ecology director at Lowden
for 16 years, serving as the counselor for fifteen merit badges. From nature to Indian lore to
song-leading to story telling, Dan knew it all. In 1979 Dan attended the Northwoods Scout Reservation, which was then owned by Blackhawk Area Council. There he met Dale Smith, the council program director and also camp director at Camp Lowden. Dale was searching for a “cadre” of Scouting talent in order to turn Camp Lowden around, and he hired Dan for the 1980 summer camp season. |
| Dan’s impact at Camp Lowden was immediate. The staff began singing marching songs, many of which were either written or adapted by Dan. Songs were sung in the dining hall after meals, usually led by Dan. After a couple of years other staff members began leading songs as well...songs which, more often than not, had been initially taught by Dan. |
 (Photo Courtesy of Brian Aichele) |
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In the nature area, most of the materials and displays belonged to Dan. Several staff members recall
fondly how, at the beginning of each summer camp season, the Reilly station wagon backed up to the
nature lodge and was unloaded, much of the load being part of Dan’s vast Indian and nature libraries.
Then the old metal desk, which Dan always used, was brought up from the main lodge. Dan’s Monday
night star hikes were a great favorite. Dan served as the counselor for fifteen merit badges. The most common one was Environmental Science, which is required to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. That put just about every Scout that attended summer camp in contact with Dan at one time or another. |
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Many Scouts would work on more than one merit badge in the nature area. A Scout could be talking with
Dan about Environmental Science or Weather and if he was also working on Bird Study, Dan would
periodically interrupt him, sometimes in mid sentence, to ask him the name of a particular bird that
flew overhead. Dan could always tell, either by color or by song, and often by both. The thing that
most people did not know is that Dan is colorblind. Occasionally there would be special circumstances, such when Dan was able to counsel a Scout for the Oceanography merit badge! But the Scout had come prepared and had completed saltwater observation and other “ocean” requirements in advance, and Dan was able to counsel the Scout on the remaining requirements. Dan likes to recall the boy who stopped him on the trail to tell him that he never understood ecology in school, but now it all made sense to him. |
| Order of the Arrow ceremonies benefited from the addition of American Indian songs and stories that Dan brought. For many summers, beginning in 1984, Dan told American Indian stories on Thursday nights to the younger Scouts (while older Scouts were at the OA induction ceremonies). During Dan’s last four or five years at Lowden, at Sunday night campfires, Daniel Jacques, the “mebbe two hunnert or t’ree hunnert year old” French/Canadian/ Odawa voyageur came out of the woods singing in French, and telling stories about his shrunken friend Jean-Luc, whose sole vocabulary was “Oui.” |
 (Photo Courtesy of Brian Aichele) |
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One year, two of Dan’s nephews at camp called him “Uncle Dan.” It caught on and ever after he was
known by most everyone as “Uncle Dan.” That same year Dan was thrilled when a black Scout called him
Uncle Dan. One time a boy even asked him if he was the “Uncle Dan” [Daniel Beard] in the Boy Scout
Handbook! In the early 1980s there was a contest for the patch design for the following year. The 1983 camp patch was designed with Dan in mind (he would always stand on a cliff overlooking the council ring). The design was later incorporated into camp stationery and still shows up from time to time. |
 1983 camp patch |
 Camp Stationery |
| After serving on camp staff for 16 years, Dan retired at the end of the 1995 summer camp season at the age of 75, on orders from his doctor. In 1996 he was presented with a lifetime staff emeritus plaque for his many years of service to Camp Lowden. Thank you, Uncle Dan, for the wisdom, guidance, and influence that you have provided to the thousands of Scouts and leaders that have known you throughout your years in Scouting. |
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More Information About Dan: Page 1 - Dan Reilly Main Page Page 2 - Personal Background Page 3 - Scouting Background Page 4 - Arrival at Lowden Page 5 - Favorite Camp Lowden Memories Page 6 - What Others Say About Dan Page 7 - Contact Dan |