Eagle Scout John-Paul Castells, a 2016 graduate of Tucker County High School, speaks with Davis-Thomas Elementary Middle School students during their lunch about the great opportunities and experiences available in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Volunteers and interested boys are gathering and working toward reforming in Tucker County.
PARSONS – Tucker County has not had a Boy Scout troop in more than two years and has not had Cub Scouts for even longer. Recently, a group of volunteers has come together to help re-organize Cub and Boy Scouting in the county. Allohak Council Scout Executive Dale Musgrave said the organizing committee is in its very early stages.
“We have training that is available for May 1 and another for May 5 to 7 that would teach Scout fundamentals at Camp Mahonegon,” Musgrave said. “May 1 is for the indoor portion and May 5 to 7 teaches the outdoor fundamentals.”
Musgrave said those willing to get involved with reviving Scouts in Tucker County can contact Evan Sieske at the Allohak Council at 304-422-4507. He said he is available for questions by calling the same number.
“If you are familiar with Sheila Coleman-Castells, you can contact her,” Musgrave said.
Musgrave said the organizing group is working to find the level of interest among the boys. He said Cub Scouts includes students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
“In kindergarten we call the Scouts ‘Lions,’” Musgrave said. “That requires they are involved with an adult partner, usually mom or dad, but it doesn’t have to be. Our council is one involved with a handful of councils in this pilot program with the Lion program. We feel very fortunate to be offering that.”
Musgrave said boys in first grade are Tiger Cubs, second grade boys are Wolves, boys in third grade are Bears and fourth and fifth grade boys are Webelos, which is an acronym for we’ll be loyal scouts.
“Scouting is really about setting an example,” John-Paul said. “If we can get a Scouting troop here next year in the Tucker Community, we could really start something. It is best to have a lot of parent volunteers they can share the work of running a troop. If we start Scouting, we can make some waves and really change the way the community looks at Scouting itself.”
“Once the boys turn 11 or complete the fifth grade, they will become a Boy Scout,” he said. “Boy Scouting is for boys 11 through 17. If there was additional need identified, we have a coed program called Venturing, which is for young men and women age 14 through 20.”
Musgrave said becoming an Eagle Scout is a lofty goal.
“We want young people to take advantage of the Scouting program,” Musgrave said. “We place a lot of value and emphasis on Eagle Scouts but even if a boy does not become an Eagle Scout they will take away some tremendous experiences including leadership development and character training.”
Musgrave said he knew a guy once who had been in Scouting for seven years when he was a young man. He achieved the level of a Second Class Scout.
“Most boys earn that in the first six months,” Musgrave said. “I asked him if his troop was active and he said they went camping every weekend and attended two weeks of Scout camp in the summers. I asked him if he was active and he said he never missed a meeting and he never missed an outing. I asked him how he was involved for seven years and only attained the rank of Second Class Scout. He said he could have been a Star Scout or an Eagle Scout, but that was not what was important to him – what was important to him was the outdoor adventure Scouting provided and the ability to hang out with a great group of guys who would keep him out of trouble.”
Musgrave said he thought that spoke volumes. “To hang out with a good group of guys that would help him stay out of trouble,” Musgrave said. “He took from Scouting what he was looking for – comradery, outdoor adventure and good people to be with. Because of his Scouting experiences, he still uses the Scout Oath and the Scout Law in his daily living.”
Coleman-Castells said the interest in reviving Cub and Boy Scouts in Tucker County began with a conversation with Tracy Edmonds Herz.
“She has three boys at Davis-Thomas Elementary Middle School,” Coleman-Castells said. “She has watched my son John-Paul grow up in Boy Scouts. I have told her over the years how wonderful the experience has been. She noticed there is no Scout troop near here and I told her I had to take John-Paul to Oakland, Maryland for Scouts. We talked about the history and that there was a Scout Troop #96 in the area and one in Parsons before, but both groups folded.”
Coleman-Castells said Herz put a post on Facebook on TuckerWV and asked if others would be interested in revitalizing Cub and Boy Scouts in Tucker County.
“Others said they would like to get their sons involved in Scouting,” Coleman-Castells said. “I explained a little bit about what it would take to get the groups going again and people started coming out of the woodwork who wanted to see this happen. There were seven adults and 11 boys who expressed interest just on that thread alone.”
Tucker County Rotary sponsored Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in the past, and expressed interest in renewing that support.
“I called Dale Musgrave and spoke with him at length,” Coleman-Castells said. “I said I would contact the schools and have my Eagle Scout John-Paul talk with the boys about what it is like to be a Scout. This will help the kids become interested in Scouting.”
Coleman-Castells said John-Paul spoke with the boys during lunch at Davis-Thomas and Tucker Valley Elementary Middle Schools.
“There was tons of interest from the boys,” Coleman-Castells said. “At DTEMS, 46 young men attended John-Paul’s talk and said they were interested.”
Coleman-Castells said the group is drafting a letter to send home in student folders which will detail the time and place of an upcoming meeting where parents and students may learn more about re-starting Cub and Boy Scouts in the area.
“This really has to be a community effort,” Coleman-Castells said.
John-Paul said Scouting has had a large impact on his life and said he is glad to speak with others to help generate interest in reforming Tucker County Scouts.
“I started Scouting in the fourth grade in Arlington, Virginia,” John-Paul said. “I was playing multiple sports at the time and I joined Scouting and I stuck with it and dropped most of my sports. I went through the ranks fairly quickly. I met a lot of guys and I found out Boy Scouts was a great opportunity to see leadership in action.”
John-Paul said now that he is older, he can email or text his Scouting friends and leaders if he needs help.
“Scouting is really about setting an example,” John-Paul said. “If we can get a Scouting troop here next year in the Tucker Community, we could really start something. It is best to have a lot of parent volunteers they can share the work of running a troop. If we start Scouting, we can make some waves and really change the way the community looks at Scouting itself.”
John-Paul said older boys should also consider joining Scouts.
“It is good to participate and support the younger kids,” John-Paul said. “Younger kids have an opportunity to do something great. With support, they can start a trend. When younger kids see older kids doing things they automatically want to do it – good or bad. So if we give them a good thing to follow, we help our community as a whole, which I think is very important.”
Additional information is available by contacting Coleman-Castells or by calling the Allohak Council by calling 304-422-4507. The Council has a Facebook page and information is available online at www.allohak.org.
