A. Floor Plan for Mess Hall for Camp of 150 to 200 Girls
The kitchen should be equipped with a good stove having ovens and hot water tank and be large enough to admit of holding big boilers and kettles. If there is no hot water tank a large boiler can be kept on top of the stove in which to heat water. Better still, when possible, use a Standard Oil oil heater and boiler, and have hot water pipe connections. This of course is only possible when there is a tank and power of some kind to pump up the water. There should be in the kitchen ample table space, convenient places for keeping all pots and kettles, hanging spoons and other small articles, a generous wood box that there may always be dry wood at hand, and if there is running water a sink conveniently placed.
The store closet should open out of the kitchen and be on the north side of the house. It should have a raised platform 18 or 20 inches wide, against the wall on one side of the room, on which should be placed all barrels, large boxes, etc. holding food. There should be ample shelf space, a broad table, plenty of ventilation, and all windows should be covered with netting.
If possible to have an ice box it can stand in this room. Better than a portable ice box is an ice room which is built into one corner of the store room, the walls, floor and ceiling of which are double, lined with tar paper and the space of four inches between them filled with sawdust or cork. The door into the store room should be very heavy, made double and fitted closely. The small ice door can be on the outside of the building, made like the large door, fitted closely and opening into the ice compartment. The ice compartment should be lined with zinc and a slatted door should open into it from the ice room. The bottom of the ice compartment should tip slightly to one corner from which an overflow pipe should be run to the outside of the building. A slat bottom made in sections and placed in the compartment protects the zinc and helps to preserve the ice. The ice compartment can be high enough from the floor to admit of large milk cans, tubs of butter, etc., being stored under it. Shelves can be placed along the sides of the walls. The ice room should be ventilated by means of a vent pipe up through the roof to the open.
Such a building as described makes housekeeping for a family of one hundred and fifty or two hundred possible, with only one cook and a squad of Scouts.
In place of tents for sleeping quarters small cabins made of wood and screening, or wood, canvas and screening, can be used. They add greatly to the expense of building the camp, but being permanent do away with the expense and labor of taking down and storing.
It is sometimes possible to find an old house or a barn which can be utilized for camp quarters, and with a little ingenuity made most attractive and practical.
There is a great deal to be learned by living in a well-planned, well-ordered house or camp, much of which is of lasting value. For this reason no opportunity should be lost to give these advantages to the Scouts.
Wash House