Annandale Boy Scouts
TIME LINE

Lloyd Walburn - Presentation to the Annandale History Club: Boy Scout Troup 354

1907-1908 – Scouting began in England, created by General Robert Baden-Powell.

1910 – The Boy Scouts of America was founded by Chicago publisher William Boyce on February 8, 1910.

1912 – Boy Scouts of America purchased Boy’s Life magazine, which was started in 1911 by George Barton of Massachusetts.

November 1921  - Annandale Boy Scout troop proposed by Rev. Peters.  The Community Club pledged support.

April 1922 – Boy Scout Troop 1 organized with Dr. George Norris as Scoutmaster and Michael Haggerty, A. H. Lofstrom and George Smith as assistants.  Boys ages 12 to 18 who joined the organization were Roy Haggerty, Neil Norris, David Hart, Merton Herzberg, William Haggerty, Leonard Hart, Milton Andrews, Robert Ransom, Vernon Ponsford, Neil Bahr, George Ritchie and James Gorman.

June 1922 – Camp Scooter opened.  Camp Scooter was a camp for Boy Scouts located on a high site overlooking the south shore of Clearwater Lake at Annandale.  There were accommodations at the camp for 35 scouts.

 1931 – Annandale Scout Troop No. 197 included the following:  Assistant Scoutmaster Roy Haggerty; Richard Betzinger, Donald DeChaney, Gaylord Erickson, Charles Herzberg, Charles Johnson, Keith Kurz, Jack Locke, Basil Maurice, Howard Paulson,  Kenneth Ponsford, Wendell Ponsford,  Charles Rozenberg, Harold Rozenberg, Neil Sawyer, Donald Wright, and Fritz Zable.

July 1936 -   E.J. Stearns of Hutchinson offered $5,000 for the purchase and development of a Boy Scout camp.  A 35-acre tract of land on a peninsula in Lake Sylvia was purchased from former scouter R. M. Peterson of Cokato. The peninsula’s location includes nearly a half mile of shore line and two fine beaches for boating and swimming.  The hilly, heavily wooded, and secluded tract has water on both sides making it admirably suited for Scout camping.   The rural portions of Carver, Hennepin, McLeod, Meeker and Wright counties sent troops, either boys or girls, to the camp.  The camp opened on July 24, 1936.

1964 – Annandale Boy Scouts at Charles Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base:  Mr. Karkhof, Scoutmaster, Norm Heino, Bruce Brashears, Jon Mackereth, Tom Schultzenberg, Ron Peterson, Joel Picken, John Tritabaugh, Dan Worley, Larry Wadman, Dave MacGregor, and George Mackereth.

1941 – Boy Scouts of America created  the Webelos rank.

1949 – Membership ages are lowered to 8 for Cub Scouts, 11 for Boy Scouts and 14 for Explorers.

1951 – Attending Camp Many Point near Detroit Lakes in August were Annandale Troop 279 scouts John Bendix, Jim Hart, Gene McAlpin, Denny Hawkinson, David McAlpin, Douglas Triplett and Jack Ryti.

1955 – The Pinewood Derby became the official activity of the Cub Scouts.

1966 – 930 acres purchased in Stearns County, Fair Haven Township, from the estate of George Crosby (1911-c.1964).  George Crosby was a well-known naturalist, donor, scouter, and owner of WCCO.  Crosby Lodge was given to the camp by his family.  Additional land was later acquired for a total of 1,200 acres, 200 acres of which were donated by Walt and Judy Muehring  

1968 – Heritage Scout Reservation officially opened.  It is a year-round camp located northwest of Annandale on Stearns County Highway 44. 

1984 – Heritage Scout Reservation was rededicated and renamed Stearns Scout Reservation.  The Council sold the 36-acre Lake Sylvia camp donated in 1936 by E. J. Stearns, so they could put more resources into the larger camp.  The camp was renamed to honor the generosity of Mr. Stearns.   The camp, located less than an hour northwest of Minneapolis features 14 buildings and shelters, hiking, orienteering, bouldering wall, disc golf, cross country, skiing, and snow shoeing, and over 1,200 acres of forests and lakes.   Camp Stearns has shoreline on six lakes:  Lake Caroline, Lake Augusta, Little Otter Lake, Scout Lake, and two unnamed ponds.  The Clearwater River also flows through camp boundaries.

July 1, 2005 – Northern Star Council (www.northernstarbsa.org) was created by the merger of former Viking (Minneapolis) and Indianhead (St. Paul) Councils.  The Northern Star Council covers two-thirds of Minnesota and 100 miles into Wisconsin.  There are 24 districts in the Northern Star Council with 95,000 scouts being led by over 23,000 volunteers in 21 counties across Minnesota and four counties in Wisconsin.   Annandale was in the former Viking Council.