Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you out there from all of us here at VirtualBoxwell! Have a wonderful and safe holiday!
And, in what is now an official holiday tradition here, we give you this photo of DE Buff Groth (Camp Director at Parnell in 1980) sitting on the lap of Tom Willhite (Santa; Reservation Director, 1976-1994).
See you all again in 2021, the Centennial of Camp Boxwell. We have a few things planned…
On July 5, 1921 the VERY FIRST Boxwell opened in Linton, TN.
A truck picked up Scouts going to camp at the intersection of the Belle Meade and Harding Road at 10am and 4:30pm. Camp only ran for about three weeks at the time and cost less than $6 a week!
We are hoping to start a new tradition, not just here at VirtualBoxwell, but across Middle Tennessee Council by celebrating BOXWELL DAY–a day commemorating the opening of the first Boxwell.
To that end, we ask for two things from you:
1) Share this message far and wide. If you use social media, share the post. If you are looking on the website, share the link. Spread the word so that everyone knows this is a new Middle Tennessee Council holiday!
2) Take this opportunity to share your favorite Boxwell stories in the comments AND, if you are staff member, contact an old friend and reminisce about years gone by!
Thank you to all the professionals, volunteers and staff members who have worked for 100 summers to keep Boxwell alive and flourishing!
Happy Boxwell Day everyone!
**May 31 is the final day of my campaign. Every little bit helps! Please spread the word to help make this happen! **
This gentlemen is Greg Tucker. Greg started on Boxwell staff in 1960 and continued on for several more as a member of Parnell Waterfront. Greg worked with Jimmy Joe Jackson and was there when Parnell became the first camp to integrate. Greg went on to law school, but came back to Middle Tennessee. He never worked camp staff again, but he has been involved on Council Committees as well as National Committees for decades. He has never lost his love of aquatics, even teaching at several camp schools.
We discussed this story and many others when I interviewed Greg on June 14, 2017. Greg has himself been interested in the history of Boxwell, so we had a great deal to discuss.
As a result, our conversation ran a solid three hours; I need those three hours transcribed.
Greg’s interview again shows the power of those baby boomers and their impact on camp. However, it also displays the deep bonds that are built on the camp staff as the young men that Greg met and worked with in the early 1960s are still people he gets together with today.
Please, help me reach my goal. Contribute to the Boxwell Interview Transcription Project: https://www.gofundme.com/boxwell-history-transcription-project to get this interview transcribed so I can produce a history of Camp Boxwell for its centennial in 2021.
Greg Tucker at the Rutherford County Historical Society, June 2017.
**May 31 is the final day of my campaign. Every little bit helps! Please spread the word to help make this happen! **
This hard working man is Boxwell’s current head ranger, Rob Ward. Rob has been head ranger since 2015 and before that was a part of the CubWorld staff, specifically the archery instructor… from Australia. Of course, Rob isn’t really from Australia; he just played an Austrialian archer for the Cub Scouts!
We discussed this story and many others when I interviewed Ron on an unusually warm Novemeber 17, 2018. In fact, we sat outside at a picnic table for the entire 3 hours of the interview, discussing CubWorld, ranger life, and how a property like Boxwell works behind the scenes. It was an eye-opening interview in many ways.
I need these three hours with Rob transcribed.
Rob’s interview demonstrates the reality that we often don’t like to confront: Boxwell is a “home” to many Scouts and staff, but it is also a very expensive property that requires a great deal of maintenance and work. Rob’s interview helps us look behind the curtain to see how things operate. Again, these mechanics are all part of the story I need to tell.
Please, help me reach my goal. Contribute to the Boxwell Interview Transcription Project: https://www.gofundme.com/boxwell-history-transcription-project to get this interview transcribed so I can produce a history of Camp Boxwell for its centennial in 2021.
Rob Ward, head ranger. If you can believe it, this outdoor interview was conducted in the middle of November, 2018.
**May 31 is the final day of my campaign. I’m only $800 short. Please, every little bit helps. Spread the word to help make this happen! **
Give a warm welcome to Assistant Council Executive Ron Turpin. Ron was a professional for Middle Tennessee early in his career and then moved to Arkansas for a few years. He returned to Middle Tennessee in 1996 as the new Reservation Director.
I interviewed Ron on September 4, 2015. We discussed his early years as a professional and what brought him back to Boxwell. We looked at his vision for camp as well as what he done since leaving Boxwell, namely his really extensive work with the Latimer Reservation.
Our conversation ran almost 2 hours and it is another example of an interview I need transcribed.
Ron’s interview is important as it sets the stage for the modern period of Boxwell. The changes brought by Ron during his run are, in large part, the standards for how Boxwell now operates. It’s a critical piece to the puzzle!
Please, help me reach my goal. Contribute to the Boxwell Interview Transcription Project: https://www.gofundme.com/boxwell-history-transcription-project to get this interview transcribed so I can produce a history of Camp Boxwell for its centennial in 2021.
Ron Turpin at the Jet Potter Center, September 2015.