From Rock Island through Boxwell at Old Hickory, the staff at Boxwell has worked hard to provide the best program possible for Scouts. Over 2100 Scouts and Scouters have served on staff over the years, providing a vivid cross section of society and Scouting.

Each staff of course has its own milestones and adventures, which cannot hope to be related in this space( though many stories are on the multimedia CDs). Nevertheless, there are some important moments to mention. Up into the 1960s, the staff was almost exclusively white. A separate week of camp was held for African-American troops. While African-Americans did serve on staff, they were often cooks, such as the Rock Island cook. In 1967, the first 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 Schliecher and her sister Estelle Langford (Ms. 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.

For those who ask, what do 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. Follow the link to the next page to see the staffs through the years.

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