Scouting in Iowa

Scouting in Iowa has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Early history (1910-1950)[]

The earliest verifiable evidence of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) involvement within the State of Iowa appears to be with Troop 1 in Villisca. The Scout Master was W.H. Bell and his signature is clearly visible on the tattered remains of a Boy Scout Certificate (tucked into a 1st edition scout book) for Ned Cecil Osborn (1898-1985). Ned was 13 years old, in the Ram Patrol, and “Qualified as a Tenderfoot” on October 29, 1912. Both of Ned’s sons, Donald and Richard participated in scouting and continued to do so when the family relocated to Stuart during the Great Depression. When Richard achieved his Life Badge in 1943, it was awarded by a Scouting Executive from Des Moines. The executive started the ceremony by announcing that one of the very earliest scouts registered in the State of Iowa was present and would assist in the presentation. He then called Ned forward to assist in his son’s ceremony.

Beyond his Tenderfoot certification, Ned remained active in Troop 1 and when older, participated as an assistant scout leader. While serving in that role, Ned befriended and mentored young scouter Claude Maxwell “Max” Stanley C. Maxwell Stanley (about 6 years younger than Ned). Max went on to found Stanley Engineering in Muscatine, IA, which grew into Stanley Consultants, Inc., an international engineering firm. Max founded the Stanley Center for Peace and Security which seeks to mitigate climate change and address global violence and atrocities. Max also co-founded HON Industries, currently one of the largest office furniture manufacturing companies in the world. Throughout his life, Max continued to very actively support Boy Scouts including serving as Scoutmaster for Troop 127 in Muscatine. Max’s sons David and Richard “Dick” participated in Muscatine scouting. Dick Stanley went on to become CEO of Stanley Consultants also served as Scoutmaster for Troop 127. Stanley Howe was also a Muscatine scout who went on to become CEO of HON Industries.

Upon graduating from Iowa State University, Ned’s son Donald was hired by Stanley Consultants, whereupon he went on to become their chief electrical engineer and later a Senior Vice President. During his hiring interview, Donald was sternly informed by Max of the key employment condition that if Ned ever visited Donald’s family in Muscatine and was not brought in to see Max, Donald would be fired on the spot. Ned and Max maintained their lifelong friendship until they both passed on in the mid 1980’s. Donald’s three sons Larry, David, and Melvin also participated in Troop 127. Larry served as a Principle Designer his entire (47 year) career at Stanley Consultants. David started his career as a Mechanical Engineer at Stanley Consultants but moved on to manage one of the most successful nationally recognized energy and water conservation programs in the United States at Rock Island Arsenal located in Rock Island, Illinois. Later on, David managed an energy conservation program for all the state-owned property in the State of Wisconsin. The program became so successful that within three years, David was recognized as the “International” Energy Program Manager of the Year at the 2012 World Energy Engineering Congress.

The professional accomplishments of Max and Don and the others inspired through Ned’s original pathway into scouting are great evidence of character building and strong network of influential relationships developed through BSA participation. See also: Scouting in Iowa, Recent History (1950 to 1990)

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) began in Jewell, IA due to the generosity of Mrs. Carrie A. Strong. Mrs. Strong had resided in Jewell and moved to California, but due to her interest in the town even after relocation, she gave the town of Jewell its first step in Scouting. In 1916, Mrs. Strong came back to Jewell for her annual visit went before the City Fathers to tell them that she would provide the fund to buy and build a Scout House on, and give $1000.00 to construct a building suitable for The Scout program. A parcel of land was bought from H. K. and Christian Gronbeck on October feed" 14, 1916, for the sum of $840.00. The building was let to Peterson Builders for The Scout House 240by 48 feet and 12 foot high. The completed cost for the building was 935.00. The First Scout Master was Reverend Norstad and his assistants were professors from the then Jewell College. F. H. Ferbitz became Scout Master in October 1923 with 28 Scouts under his leadership. At that time they formed 3 patrols: Eagles, Owl and Crow. Cameron Severson was scribe and Howard Robson was treasurer and wrote newspaper articles. A Fife and Drum Corp was also started at that time and the grounds were cleaned and the building painted. A Basketball League was formed which consisted of four teams. After the Basketball games, the boys would have what they referred to as " a feed". These feeds were paid for by the continued contributions of Mrs. Strong up to the time of her death on November 27, 1923.

Recent history (1950-1990)[]

During the 1950s and 60s eastern Iowa was home to the Buffalo Bill Council spanning an area from Dubuque to Muscatine. The council office was located in Davenport. The summer camp (Mineyata) was outside of Dixon on the Wapsipinican river and featured a canoe base, swimming pool, and lodge hall. The Order of the Arrow Lodge was the "Golden Eagle" Lodge, No. 313.

C. Maxwell “Max” Stanley C. Maxwell Stanley continued his life-long involvement in Boy Scouts after he settled in Muscatine (see also Scouting in Iowa, early History: 1910 - 1950). He served as Scoutmaster of Troop 127 for 15 years, operating out of Muscatine’s Methodist Church on Iowa Avenue. He was particularly involved during the timeframe his sons David and Dick moved through the scouting ranks to Eagle Scout. He encouraged involvement of the employees of Stanley Consultants and HON Industries in scouting activities. At one point (in 1961), it was noted in an SCI company publication "The Compass" that more than 50 SCI employees and spouses were actively participating in that troop. Dick served as scoutmaster of Troop 127 in the late 50’s and 60’s as Max’s grandsons Linc, Nate, and Joe moved through the ranks. Ned Osborn’s grandsons also participated in scouting in Troop 127 during that timeframe.

Reference: Ros Jensen. (1991). MAX, a Biography of C. Maxwell Stanley, Engineer, Businessman, World Citizen. (Pgs. 108, 122)

Councils[]

There are eight BSA local councils serving Iowa.

Hawkeye Area Council[]

Hawkeye Area Council serves Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn, and Washington counties within Eastern Iowa. It Currently has two districts, Northern Lights and Southern Prairie. The Hawkeye Area Council provides programming for youth ages 5–20 in the areas of leadership development, citizenship building, and career education.

• Scout Executive: Sarah Dawson
• Program Director: Sam Mensinger
• District Executive: Alex Edel and Amanda Speidel
• Business Manager: Gary Weinsh
• Developmental Director: Heather Lampe
• Specialist: Jeannean Barbaren
• Registrar: Tammy Erickson
• Scout Shop Manager: Taylor Sutton
• Scout Shop Associate: Travis Weigner

Former districts[]

• North Star District
• Temaque District
• Wapsiketa District
• Wauhawk District
• Exploring Division

Illowa Council[]

Illowa Council serves Scouts in Illinois and Iowa.

Mid America Council[]

The Mid-America Council offers programs in 58 counties in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. The Council has several camps, including the Little Sioux Scout Ranch.

Mid-Iowa Council[]

The Mid Iowa Council serves the area of the state capital, Des Moines.^[1]

Mississippi Valley Council[]

This council is headquartered in Quincy, Illinois, and is served by Black Hawk Lodge #67. This council serves Scouts in Illinois and Iowa.

Northeast Iowa Council[]

The Northeast Iowa Council is headquartered in Dubuque, IA and serves the counties of Dubuque, Delaware, Clayton, and Allamakee, as well as the cities of East Dubuque and Bellevue. Camp C.S. Klaus is the resident summer camp facility of the Northeast Iowa Council, and is located just west of Colesburg, Iowa.

Winnebago Council[]

The Winnebago Council serves Scouting in 17 counties located in North Central Iowa.

Sioux Council[]

Sioux Council serves Scouts in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

Girl Scouting in Iowa[]

There are two Girl Scout Councils in Iowa, realigned from nine former councils.

In the 1970s the Caravan Trails Girl Scout Council owned Camp Strother in Eldon, Iowa.^[2]

Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois[]

As part of a national realignment the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois formed in April 2007 by combining four former councils. It serves some 20,000 girls. ^[3]

Council headquarters is in Rock Island, Illinois with service centers at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dubuque, Iowa, Waterloo, Iowa, and West Burlington, Iowa.

The former councils are:

• Conestoga Council of Girl Scouts
  Waterloo, Iowa
• Girl Scouts of Little Cloud Council, Inc.
  Dubuque, Iowa
• Girl Scouts of Mississippi Valley
  Rock Island, Illinois and Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Girl Scouts of Shining Trail Council, Inc.
  West Burlington, Iowa

Camps[]

The council has three camps:

• Camp Liberty (formerly Camp Conestoga) is 340 acres (1.4 km²) in New Liberty, Iowa. It was established in 1947.
• Camp Little Cloud is 154 acres (0.6 km²) in Epworth, Iowa.
• Camp L-Kee-Ta established in 1945 is 150 acres (0.6 km²) in Danville, Iowa
• Camp Tahigwa was in Dorchester in Allamakee County, Iowa and had 315 acres (1.3 km²). Tahigwa was established in 1967. This camp was sold in 2017.

Currently, Camp Liberty is the designated resident camp program for girls throughout eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Camp Little Cloud and Camp L-Kee-Ta are used by troops and groups for events and both day and overnight outdoor adventures.

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa[]

As part of the national realignment, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa was created in October 2007 from the merger of five councils.

The five former councils are:

• Girl Scouts of Lakota Council
  Fort Dodge, Iowa
• Moingona Girl Scout Council
  Des Moines, Iowa
• Nishnabotna Girl Scout Council of Southwest Iowa, Inc.
  Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Girl Scout Council of North Iowa
  Mason City, Iowa
• Sioux Trails Girl Scout Council
  Sioux City, Iowa^[4][5]

Headquarters is located in Des Moines, Iowa. Service centers are located in Des Moines, Iowa, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Mason City, Iowa, and Sioux City, Iowa.^[6]

Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa covers 74 counties including 71 in central and western Iowa, one county in Nebraska, and one and one-half counties in South Dakota.

The Leadership Centers are located at:

10715 Hickman Rd Des Moines IA 50322

1860 Madison Ave Ste 3 Council Bluffs IA 51503

601 S Illinois Ave Mason City IA 50401

1515 Zenith Dr Sioux City IA 51103

Camps[]

The council operates five residence camps.

• Camp Sacajawea is over 400 acres (1.6 km²) in Boone, Iowa.
• Camp Tanglefoot is 50 acres (0.2 km²) in Clear Lake, Iowa.
• Camp Joy Hollow is 360 acres (1.5 km²) in Westfield, Iowa.

Former camps:

• Camp Lakota^[7]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scouting in Iowa.

• www.hawkeyebsa.org Hawkeye Area Council

References[]