The Virtual Museum
The Staff
From the Linton, TN Boxwell through Boxwell at Old Hickory Lake, the staff has worked hard to provide the best program possible for Scouts. Over 3000 Scouts and Scouters have served on staff over the years, providing a vivid cross section of society and Scouting.
Each staff has its own milestones and adventures, which cannot hope to be related in this space. Nevertheless, there are some important moments to mention. Until 1965, the staff was almost exclusively white. A separate camp was held for African-American troops from 1943 through 1964. From 1965 to 1968, "integration" still meant a separate week. While African-Americans did serve on staff, they were often cooks, such as Walter Whittaker at Linton and the Narrows or Ike Davis at Rock Island. In 1967, the first truly integrated African-American staff member served on the program staff at Parnell.
Women had often been part of the staff as part of the cooking staff as well. In addition to Pearl Schleicher and her sister Estelle Langford (Mrs. Bea), who served as Boxwell's primary cooks for almost 30 years, Judi Eubank served as Parnell's kitchen director in the 1970s. More recently, Diane Gregory became the first woman to serve on program staff, also at Parnell, as Field Sports director. In the early 2000s, several young women served on Trading Post staffs and on Craig's waterfront and then the pool staff and at CubWorld. Females were regularly part of the program staff from the early 2000s forward, long before females became part of Scouting in 2018.
Staffs have grown over the years as well. From a staff of around 100 in the early 1960s to over 250 today, the Boxwell staff offers a wide variety of program from traditional summer camp advancement to STEM to trade skills to COPE. Because of the unique experiences of living on the property for several weeks, Boxwell staff develop a close bond. As a result, there have even been Staff Reunions over the decades for old friends to get together and reconnect.
Some may ask, what does the staff do? The answer is "everything." From putting up camp to taking it down, to running merit badges to cleaning showerhouses and putting on program, the staff does it all.
Exhibit Images
Staff Gallery
You can view all the reunion photos at our Flickr site. Boxwell Reunion Photos.
