Scouting in Kentucky

Burnside, in south-central Kentucky, is believed to be home to the first Boy Scout troop in the United States. In 1908, two years before the Boy Scouts of America was officially organized, Mrs. Myra Greeno Bass organized a local troop of 15 boys, using official Boy Scout materials she had acquired from England. A sign at the edge of town declares Burnside "Birthplace of Boy Scouts of America", and an official state historical society marker commemorates the troop.[1] Burnside is now part of the Blue Grass Council.

Boy Scouts of America Troop 1 in Frankfort, Kentucky was established in 1909 by Stanley A. Harris. There has been a long-standing belief that this was the very first Boy Scout troop in the United States. However, Troop 1 was originally formed under the British Boy Scouts[2] and the charter was destroyed in a fire around 1920. Nonetheless, Troop 1 is still active and is sponsored by the First Christian Church of Frankfort, Kentucky.

Outside of Frankfort, in towns like Danville, Kentucky in Boyle County, 3 new troops organized in December 1911. Troop 1, Christian Church with nelson Rodes as Scoutmaster, Troop 2, Centenary Methodist Church with Sandridge as Scoutmaster, and Troop 3, Presbyterian Church, no Scoutmaster listed. Of these, Troop 1 continues today as Troop 326 and Troop 2 continues today as Troop 27.

In addition, small councils began in a number of places, with the Issac Shelby Area Council that was made up of Mercer, Boyle, and Jessamine Counties, with and the Daniel Boone Council of Winchester, Kentucky and the Frankfort Council. These were among the councils who merged to create the Blue Grass Council in 1927 in Lexington, Kentucky.

Kentucky also claims an early unofficial girl's scouting group (Campfire Girls were one of three groups as affiliated girl's version of Boy Scouts at the time. "Girl Scouts" formed March 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, GA and years later they could not work out a deal to merge with the Campfire Girls. Campfire Girls (1) A group called "Girl Scouts," that had been organized in 1910 in Des Moines, Iowa, by Clara A. Lisetor-Lane; (2) A group called "Girl Guides," that had been sponsored in 1910 by the Rev. David Ferry of Spokane, Washington; (3) Camp Fire Girls, which had been announced in April 1911 in New York..), an 8 girl patrol of Boy Scout Troop #17 in Louisville in July 1911. The first official troops was formed in 1917 in Scottsville.[3]

In 1914, the BSA gave local councils the power to ban African Americans from Scouting. In 1922, the BSA revised that ban and allowed local Councils to create "shadow Councils" for their black and other racial/ethnic minorities. Until 1974, some southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were still racially segregated. (The Old Hickory Council in North Carolina did not integrate until 1974.) The Louisville Area Council, headquartered in Louisville, was the first BSA local Council to develop such a "shadow Council" and board members of that "inter-racial council" were permitted to serve on the Louisville Area Council's board without vote. The BSA's "inter-racial council" program ended in 1954; Louisville accepted their first black Boy Scout Troops in 1959; and their first black Cub Scout Packs in 1963.

Most Girl Scouts of the USA units were originally segregated by race according to state and local laws and customs. By the 1950s, the GSUSA began significant national efforts to desegregate the camps and maintain racial balance. One of the first desegregations was Camp Shantituck in Kentucky, which was accomplished by Murray Walls in 1956.[4]

The National Scouting Museum was located on the campus of Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, before being relocated to the National BSA Headquarters in Irving, Texas. Recognized by Governor Carroll in 1975 for this achievement, he was just 11 years old when awarded his faith's religious emblem (Religious emblems are not controlled by the BSA but rather by each participating church body). Mike Walton of Rose Terrace became the state's only black Exploring representative in 1976, and ran unsuccessfully for national Explorer President in 1977. Since that time, two other Kentuckians—James "Buddy" Lockhart of Owensboro, and Colleen McWhorter of Paris, served as "Area Exploring Chair" of the area encompassing not only Kentucky but also Tennessee.

Hazen A. Dean (1889–1984), a Scoutmaster of BSA Troop 24 at Settle Memorial Methodist Church in Owensboro, KY was the first Kentuckian to receive a "70 Continuous Years of Service Award" from Boy Scouts of America in 1983.[5] He served as Scoutmaster for over 50 years with Owensboro's oldest troop #24, from 1949 till death in 1984.[6] Among his many honors, he received the Scoutmaster's Key and Silver Beaver Awards. Recognized for having led 86 scouts to achieve the coveted rank of Eagle Scout; the most in the U.S.A. at that time; Dean received the Lt. Governor's Outstanding Kentuckian Award in 1982 by then Lt. Governor and later Governor, Martha Layne Collins. A Kentucky Historical marker #1747 was dedicated in special ceremonies held in downtown Owensboro by U.S. Senator and former Governor Wendell H. Ford and Owensboro Mayor Jack C. Fisher in 1984 (website: http://migration.kentucky.gov/kyhs/hmdb/MarkerSearch.aspx). Also a portion of the Boy Scout camp Wildcat Hollow at Russellville, KY was named in honor of Hazen A. Dean. Dean did not receive the Eagle Scout Award until he was an adult in 1958.

There are six BSA local councils in Kentucky. Two councils are headquartered in Kentucky (Blue Grass and Lincoln Heritage). The other four councils are headquartered in neighboring states (Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee). All of Kentucky lies within Southern Region, except for these counties: Kenton, Pendleton, Campbell, Boone, Gallatin, Grant, Owen (all in Dan Beard Council - Ohio), Greenup (in Simon Kenton Council - Ohio), Carter, Boyd, Lawrence, and Pike (easternmost portion only) (in Buckskin Council - West Virginia), are part of the Central Region.

In 2009, Bracken, Mason, Robertson, Lewis, and Fleming Counties from the Simon Kenton Council merged with the Blue Grass Council for a total of 55 Kentucky Counties.

Map of Girl Scout Councils in Kentucky

There are two Girl Scout councils in Kentucky.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scouting in Kentucky.

• List of Eagle Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)