Woodbadge

Woodbadge has had a long history with Boxwell. The very first Woodbadge course held at Boxwell was course 34. This was the national Woodbadge training at the time. This course was held at Rock Island and attended by William Harry "Beany" Elam, already a long-time Scoutmaster in Springfield, TN. Elam was so excited about the program, he got trained to be a Woodbadge Scoutmaster and headed up the first Woodbadge for Middle Tennessee (MT-1) in 1954. Indeed, Elam was the Scoutmaster for the first several courses for Middle Tennessee, eventually retiring when the leadership training moved to the "new" Boxwell, though he stayed on as an Assistant Scoutmaster for several more courses.

Although it did not have a permanent camp dedicated to it, Woodbadge moved to Boxwell on Old Hickory Lake at very beginning. Originally, Woodbadge took place in what is today Site 6 in Camp Craig, back when Camp Craig was part of Camp Light and Camp Light was nothing but a wilderness camp. By the 1970s, Woodbadge moved to Camp "Beany" Elam and by the 1980s, Boxwell's Gilwell Field got the permanent structures of the Woodbadge shed and the pole barn. By the early 21st century though, the Woodbadge program changed and most of the program is now done indoors with only a small portion being the outdoor experience that defined Woodbadge training for decades.

Woodbadge staff members are obviously dedicated adult Scout volunteers, but there have also been a large number of Boxwell staff members who have been heavily involved in Woodbadge over the years, such as Steve Eubank, Perry Bruce, and Russ Parham. As the "old Woodbadge" program is quickly becoming a part of history, we felt a duty to present the material we had here and honor the old outdoor program that was a part of Boxwell for so long. As there have been scores of Woodbadge courses, we will make no attempt to mark "missing" Woodbadge courses, but will instead simply present the material we have.

The "Old" Woodbadge, 1951-2000

Woodbadge WB-34, 1951. First for MTC. Collection of Jimmy Stevens/Beany Elam Woodbadge MT-1 WB Staff MT-1 Woodbadge MT-2 WB Staff MT-2 Woodbadge MT-3 Woodbage MT-4 Woodbadge Staff, MT-4 Woodbadge MT-5
Woodbadge Staff, MT-5 Woodbage MT-9 Woodbadge Staff, MT-6 Woodbadge MT-7 Woodbadge Staff, MT-7 Woodbadge MT-8 Woodbadge Staff, MT-8 Woodbage MT-9 Woodbadge MT-9
Woobdage MT-10 Woodbadge Staff MT-10 Woodbadge MT-11 Woodbadge Staff MT-11 Woodbage MT-12 Woodbadge Staff MT-12 Woodbadge MT-13 Woodbadge Staff MT-13 Woodbadge staff MT-14
Woodbadge Course, MT-16 Woodbadge course MT-17 Woodbadge course MT-19 Woodbadge course MT-21 Woodbadge staff MT-21 Woodbadge course MT-23 Woodbadge staff MT-23 Woodbadge course SE-177 Woodbadge course MT-24
Unknown Woodbadge Staff I Unknown Woodbadge Staff II Eubank and Dempsey          

 

Permanent Exhibits

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Special Exhibits

special_exhibits

Woodbadge

Woodbadge Staff