AUBURN — In the fight to save Camp Gustin from possibly being sold, there may be no one who wields more power than members of the Gustin family.

On Wednesday night, nearly a dozen of them sat at round cafeteria tables at Auburn Middle School for the Boy Scouts Abnaki District meeting. The son of Charles W. Gustin was there, as were grandchildren, nephews and others. They didn’t wear Boy Scout uniforms like most in the room, but they fit in all the same.

“We’re here to help in any way we can to prevent this sale,” said Michael Gustin, one of the grandsons. “I want that land there for the Boy Scouts to use forever and ever.”

Charles Gustin donated the 135-acre Sabattus property on the shore of Loon Pond  to the Scouts decades ago. It was believed that the land would always be used for that, but recent events have put that idea in peril.

Executives in the Pine Tree Council have made recommendations to sell the property. More recently, loggers have harvested trees over a sizable chunk of the property used by Scouts and their families. How the cutting relates to the sale remains to be seen. But it has generated a sense of urgency among those who want to keep Camp Gustin in the hands of the Scouts.

“It shouldn’t be about finances and money and threats,” said Shareen Gustin, another descendant of Charles. “What happened to values and all the things the Boy Scouts stand for?”

Ostensibly, it was just the regular Abnaki District meeting going on at the Middle School. But the group made no attempt to pretend they were there for any other reason than to talk about Camp Gustin. In many ways, it resembled a political strategy meeting, as members made plans to challenge the sale legally, make their presence known at the camp and possibly crash a Scout board meeting on Nov. 18.

At times, the tone bordered on paranoia as they discussed what they see as conflicts of interest within the Scout administration. They discussed rumors of secret deals, false flags and strategic distractions. But there was no mistaking the bottom line: The family fiercely opposes the sale and will go to great lengths to thwart it.

“The moral aspect is that you have a gift and now you want to sell that gift,” said Ed Desgrosseilliers, the Pine Tree Council’s Abnaki District chairman. “That doesn’t sit right with me.”

It doesn’t sit right with the Gustins, either. As far as they are concerned, Charles Gustin made it plain that the land he donated was meant to be used by the Scouts in perpetuity. It’s in writing, and selling it should not even be a consideration, the family contended.

“That’s why he gave up the land,” Desgroseilliers said. “He wanted it to be always available to the Boys Scouts.”

Lewis Gustin agreed. After Scout executives attempted to have him sign documents stating otherwise, he sent off a letter to Tony Rogers, executive of the Pine Tree Council. His letter was concise: Camp Gustin was bequeathed to the Boy Scouts. It cannot be sold.

“This very much could be a legal matter,” Shareen Gustin said.

Whether that proves true remains to be seen. Members of the Abnaki District are looking for a lawyer to advise them, possibly one who will work pro bono, since money seems to be at the heart of the controversy.

In the meantime, there is a strategy. The group agreed that it should put together a document showing how frequently Camp Gustin is used by the Scouts and their families. In the past, executives have suggested that the sale makes sense because the camp is not used as often as it could be.

Bunk, says the Abnaki District. The camp is used all the time. Where they have failed is in filling out documentation each time they visit the beloved land. Shareen Gustin encouraged the members to put together a chart of the many times they have used the land, even if they don’t have detailed records.

“Whether you have the documentation or not, you have your memories,” she said. “If you’re going to fight the battle, you’ve got to fight it smart.”

And so, two hours of planning.

This Sunday, just after lunch, Scouts and their leaders will go to Camp Gustin to clean brush and do what needs to be done there. They’ll work in the shadows of the logging machinery and the stacks of downed trees that begin just a few feet from the camp’s flagpole. The Gustin family may be there, as well.

On Nov. 18, the council board will meet to mull a recommendation from the committee that advised them to approve the sale. At the meeting Wednesday night, Scout leaders expressed an interest in attending that meeting, one way or another, even though they had not been invited.

Attending Wednesday’s meeting was George Gustin, son of Charles. He said little but listened intently as the meeting went on. He had already made clear his thoughts on the idea of a sale. Roughly 70 years ago, he and his brother were sent to a Boy Scout camp in Raymond. From that time on, scouting has been part of the Gustin legacy. It is what Charles Gustin had in mind when he scribbled his name on a document turning over Camp Gustin.

“He fell in love with the idea of camping and the Scouts and what me and my brother were being taught,” said George Gustin, now 77 years old. “That’s when he became interested in getting some land where kids could have a camp and learn the ways of the wild.”

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