Legionville School Safety Patrol Camp Back For 2021

After being forced to shut down in two of the last three years, the Legionville School Safety Patrol Camp in Brainerd is set to return in 2021. The camp was shut down in 2018 by a large, floating blog and the 2020 camp was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Legionville School Safety Patrol Camp is run by the American Legion Department of Minnesota and teaches school intersection and bus safety. The program dates back to 1921, while the camp in Brainerd was founded in 1948.

Over time, the camp has evolved to also include internet and phone safety.

“We have school bus safety, street safety, internet safety, phone safety,” Minnesota American Legion Adjutant Mike Maxa said. “They learn a lot.”

Children aged 10-13 are welcome to attend the camp.

The camp used the time off to upgrade its facilities. The dorms and Education Center were repainted, the dining hall ceiling has been replaced, the landscaping was updated and the beach was groomed for swimmers.

In addition, over $65,000 was raised over the past year by American Legion Commander Mark Dvorak to give the camp a new dock for the swimming area.

“Everything is a green light,” said Camp Manager Adam Felten. “We are excited to host campers again. When they arrive, they will see that we made significant upgrades while they were away.”

The camp is broken into seven sessions between June 13th and August 6th, with each session lasting six days from Sunday through Friday. So far, 335 campers have signed up to attend.

The camp, located on North Long Lake, boasts 1,000 feet of shoreline among its 600 acres of land.

Legionville’s website is legionville.weebly.com. Registration inquiries can be sent to rhill@mnlegion.org.