Completion this summer of an 11,000-square-foot camping convenience store at Mauch Chunk Lake Park, will make it possible for campers to enjoy their vacation weekend without the need to leave the campgrounds to visit the neighboring towns of Jim Thorpe, Summit Hill and Lehighton for supplies.

To serve the park's campgrounds, that can draw upward of 1,000 visitors on a popular weekend, the new camp store will provide camping supplies like charcoal and tarps; foodstuffs like bread, milk, eggs and condiments; and snacks like ice cream and soda.The $100,000 building began in the spring of 2009. Awards were made to Kuhns Brothers Log Homes for a kit of materials to build the 42-foot by 26-foot building with an 8-foot by 42-foot front porch, and to Jimmy Marks Masonry for the foundation."There's a big need for it now that we have 13 cabins that are always rented, plus 120 tent sites and four group sites," said Rick Johnson, site coordinator at Mauch Chunk Lake Park.The building is constructed of solid 6-inch by 8-inch-thick logs. During the week of April 19, crews from Mauch Chunk Lake Park and Eckley of the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps, and members of the Mauch Chunk Lake Park Maintenance Department, installed the plywood roofing panels and black paper.The roof will be finished with a metal roof.Because the camping season is already under way, the crews have to address normal maintenance demands, so they are able to work on the camp building only two or three days a week.