ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

Congratulations John Zumbro

We wanted to give a shout out to Assistant Ranger John Zumbro today. John will be leaving Boxwell as he has landed the Head Ranger position at the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in the Long Peaks Council in Colorado.

Pictured here is Ranger Rob Ward (left) and John (right, in truck) in 2018. John was not only a former Stahlman staff member, but as we have showcased before, he was married on Boxwell Reservation property!

Congratulations and good luck to John and his wife Paula from the VirtualBoxwell team!

John Zumbro

Rob Ward (left) and John Zumbro (right) at Stahlman Dining Hall, 2018

From the Archives, July 28, 2019

Campwide Orienteering Course

For a number of years, Boxwell had a campwide orienteering course. The course was built by Lance Ussery and Green Bar Bill in 1986.

The famous Scouter William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt visited Boxwell in 1986 (From the News; From the Archives). One afternoon, Hillcourt and an 18-year-old Lance Ussery wandered the Reservation, laying out the course. Ussery explained the situation in an interview earlier this year:

“Green Bar Bill came to camp and spent a whole day here. That’s where the– I Like Bananas, Coconuts and Grapes song came from. He led that at lunch. I was 18-years-old and was informed that I was spending the afternoon with this old man. That’s really all he was to me at the time. They wanted me to set up an orienteering course, and we plotted more orienteering course out and we went and set up most of it. I don’t think he did every point with me, but we spent the whole afternoon together setting up this course. If we didn’t set the posts, we went and marked things, so that I could set the posts afterward. Looking back, what’s that 32, 33 years now, as I’m 51 years old now, and I’ve had a direct connection to Baden Powell I mean, one step. As I get older that becomes more and more, it becomes cooler and cooler…”

A smaller course was developed for Craig in 1990 by Don Viar. The map seen here is Viar’s map for the Craig course. However, once the course was “put on file” in the Crab, Business Manager Russ Parham came back and drew in the additional posts from the campwide course that Ussery built with Hillcourt. The hand-drawn circles are Parham’s additions to Viar’s map.

And the course itself? Pieces of it are still out there. If you run across a 4×4 post sticking out of the ground with a white and red striped top, you’ve found one of the old Orienteering posts.

Orienteering

Don Viar’s early computer map of the 1990 orienteering course he built. The hand drawn circles (mostly to the left) are from Russ Parham, adding in Lance Ussery’s 1986 campwide course

From the Archives, July 21, 2019

Kitchen Patrol at Linton

We’re going way back this week, almost to the very beginning. This week’s photo from the Archives comes from the Linton Boxwell and features none other than Leslie G. Boxwell himself. More on that in a moment.

The first Camp Boxwell was more like a modern day camporee in a lot of ways. Yes, there was a camp cook–Walter Whittaker–and Scouts ate in a “dining hall.” However, they also brought their own dishes and utensils, which they had to wash themselves. Pots and pans were washed in the Little Harpeth River right back the camp. And, because the first Boxwell had basically no staff, all kitchen work was done by Scout volunteers. Yes, that’s right. The Scouts who were there for the week got K.P. (Kitchen Patrol) duty. And that’s what’s happening here.

This photo appeared in the July 30 issue of the Nashville Banner, the first in a set of three. The caption for this specific photo read, “The top picture shows L. G. Boxwell, chairman of the annual Boy Scout camp for whom the camp at Linton is named, heading the line of K.ps., otherwise known as kitchen mechanics at the Boy Scout cam. The dusty figure in the center is none other than Walter, the camp cook, who knowns to sling hash and sing along with the best of them. The way the boys take to Walter’s three squares daily would give joy to the soul of a dyspectic.”

And so, to the far left, none other than L. G. Boxwell himself. Camp cook Walter Whittaker takes the center position. And surrounding them are Scouts at camp for the week.

Linton KP

L. G. Boxwell, Walter Whittaker, and Scouts on K. P., July 30, 1922

From the Archives, July 14, 2019

Showerhouse 1

As we said back in January, the mundane is only mundane until it isn’t, then it becomes interesting. We were also recently told that we never cover the 1960s. So, here is some mundane 1960s material for you to explore!

Seen here is Parnell’s Showerhouse One as it looked when it was first built in 1960. The basic design and usage of this particular building changed very little over the next thirty-eight years. Indeed, the style and function of this showerhouse was the same as those used at both Stahlman and Craig until they were torn down and replaced in 2001 and 2002.

The left had side of the building were Scout showers. This side was divided in two parts: one part was simply benches. This was a dressing and undressing area. The other was a group shower room. Eight Scouts at a time could take a shower. No stalls, just a room with shower heads, hot and cold handles, and a drain.

In the middle was the water trough. One end had a water fountain, the other end had a spicket. The center was a trough with a pipe that would spray water down into the trough. You could wash hands and brush teeth here.

The right hand side of the showerhouse was in divided in half. The first half, directly opening to the trough but closed to the other half, was the Scout toilet area. In this area was not only actual toilets, but a urine trough. ANd yes, the urine trough was exactly what it sounded like: a metal trough Scouts peed into. A sign identified this as “Scouts,” or as in 1960 “Campers.”

The other half other right hand side was the Staff/Scoutmaster side. This side was small and very simple. Two sinks (With mirrors!!), shower area with two showerheads (no stalls, just a small room), a toilet, and a urine trough. Done. Oh, and this side had a door.

Compared to every other Boxwell and most other Scout camps at the time, this was revolutionary. Today, it is seen as antiquated at best. Also note that the road to the showerhouse is not even graveled. It is just a plain, dirt road.

So there it is. A showerhouse in the 1960s. See? We cover all decades here!

Showerhouse 1

Camp Parnell’s Showerhouse One in 1960

Remembering the Staff, 2000s

Here is our final installment of “Remembering the Staff.”  Once we get the 2019 staff photos, we’ll upload those to the website.  In the meantime, let’s take a look back at 2009.  Carl Adkins was Reservation director and Steve Belew was the head ranger.  Nat Hudson was in his second year as Program Director at Stahlman as was Program Director Aaron Patten at Craig.  There were a slew of other programs by this point. Running the Boat Harbor was Michael Allen, at COPE Kyle Duckworth, at the pool John Kasper, and at the NRA Light Rifle Program was Pat “Old Soldier” Deugaw. Oh yeah, there was CubWorld too. Jody Looper was Program Director.

Featured here are the staff photos for Stahlman, Craig, Cubworld, the Pool, and the Administrative Staff.  Enjoy!

Stahlman Staff, 2009

Stahlman Staff, 2009

Craig Staff, 2009

Craig Staff, 2009

Reservation Administrative Staff, 2009

Reservation Administrative Staff, 2009

Pool Staff, 2009

Pool Staff, 2009