This website shares stories, photos, documents, and historical artifacts from the Blue Ridge Mountains Council, BSA, and its predecessors (including Blue Ridge Council, Piedmont Area Council, Roanoke Council, Lynchburg Council, and more). Our archives depend upon the generous donations of scouting materials, and the dedicated work of volunteers. If you wish to contribute any scouting history items, please reach out to us through the Contact Form. In the name of preservation, we appreciate your help!
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Hankins Tales: Remembering Joe Larocco
(Originally posted to social media on January 19, 2021) My old friend Tom Keeley has posted that he just learned of the death of Joe Larocco. I have not had the chance to verify this information but I have a bad feeling that it is true. There are a number of Staff pictures from Camp…
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Hankins Tales: A Grandson in the Wings…
(Originally posted to social media on January 21, 2021) My son just posted a video to our little family forum that shows my grandson Greyson telling stories at Brady Saunders. He is standing right in front of a firepit that I built many years ago. There is nobody in the audience but that is beside…
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Hankins Tales: Zoom Gathering of the ASRPH
(Originally posted to social media on February 8, 2021) A bunch of the boys from Camp Powhatan and Ottari got together this weekend to have a zoom meeting. They were all members of ASRPH (American Society of Ridge Pole Hunters) and I am deeply sorry that I was not there. I do not currently have…
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Hankins Tales: Summer Camps Face the Pandemic
(Originally posted to social media on February 17, 2021) Boy Scout Camps across the country are facing the daunting task of trying to salvage something out of this upcoming season. Some of them attempted to open last year only to shut down due to State restrictions. There are so many uncertainties tied into this decision…
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Hankins Tales: 1968, My First Year on Camp Powhatan Staff
(Originally posted to social media on March 25, 2021) Once a week we got a night off. It was 1968 at Camp Powhatan and it was my first year on Staff. I was being paid a whopping 15 dollars a week to work in a place that I loved beyond measure. A few of the…
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Hankins Tales: Recalling Camp Ottari
(Originally posted to social media on April 5, 2021) Back in the early 1970s, I was part of a very special group of staff members who reopened Camp Ottari for the first time in a long time. The camp had originally been a patrol cooking camp and it just never took off as expected. By…
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Hankins Tales: Breaking Camp in 1969
(Originally posted to social media on May 21, 2021) In 1969 we got to the last couple of days of camp and the decision was made to take down the staff camp ASAP. I think there was a big rain on the way. In those days at Camp Powhatan, the rain could sweep in with…
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Hankins Tales: A Visit from Tim Ward
(Originally posted to social media on May 22, 2021) We just had a brief visit from my old friend Tim Ward and his wife Ginger. Tim is someone who I can trace all the way back to Grandin Court Elementary school in Roanoke. We attended the same middle school and High School. He is about…