THE MAP & THE MAP MAKER(s) |
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| ALEXANDER A. VERVAERT | Alexander A. Vervaert is a Wah-Tut-Ca legend. As a Scout he attended Wah-Tut-Ca's opening season in 1937. After serving in World War II he held a variety of positions in the Greater Lowell Council. He was the founder of Wannalancit Lodge #451 and served as its first Lodge Adviser. His greatest love in Scouting was Wah-Tut-Ca. From the early 1950s until his death in 1991 Alex was a leader, builder and promoter of Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation. |
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1960 Vervaert Map |
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Alexander A. Vervaert produced multiple versions of this map that he first prepared in the early 1950s. Vervaert recognized the value of the map as a camp promotion tool. He built on the themes of that captured the imaginations of young and old. At least four versions exist. These maps where used into the 1970s. The map design was even made into a Scout Neckerchief. |
| Map Restoration | |
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While working on the book, Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation (2007 Arcadia Press), the idea to update the Alexander A. Vervaert Map took root. Alex died in 1991, and the map had not been updated since 1980. In the last 25 years the reservation has changed significantly. New program areas and buildings had been added-some moved and some disappeared. The goal of the project was not to create a new map, but to have Alex update it. The Key Foundation Inc. Archives has four versions of the Vervaert Wah-Tut-Ca map. A high quality scan was done of the 1960 version. This was selected because it was printed on white paper and had the least age graying. This map provided the best clarity and contrast. Once the base digital map was created, it was separated into 10 layers. Over the next three months updating began. Buildings that no longer existed were removed. Trails were added and by cloning older text titles new ones were created. To add “new” Alex artwork took some research. Alex was very involved in the promotion of Wah-Tut-Ca in the 1950s and 1960s. He created many camp promotion brochures as well as other Wah-Tut-Ca literature. In 1987 he wrote the Wah-Tut-Ca Scrap Book. All of Alex’s work reflected a style. The “rolled birch bark” titles as well as little drawings of Scouts in action were used in multiple publications. These works became the source for the “new” artwork. Alex would always make good use of BSA Clip Art. He would have certainly used clipart to update the merit badges, as he had done with the original map. Cloning was applied on the old campsites to create the new ones. Over the years Alex would add and remove some features. One example: A 1950s map noted the “deserted village” and the later versions omitted it. It was restored in this version. The map became a “best of” the four versions. Over 2,000 printed full color maps have been distributed by the Key Foundation Inc. since the restoration. |
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