Welcome to the Blue Ridge Scouting History Blog, celebrating stories from the Roanoke Area Council, Piedmont Area Council, and Blue Ridge Mountains Council, BSA. You’ll find here a good assortment of narratives, photos and artifacts from over the years, going back to our first council’s origins in 1915. This project has had many versions over the past 25 years, and has grown into a robust archive of stories, images, newspaper articles and other source documents. If you wish to contribute any of the above, please contact the editor by using our Contact Form. In the name of preservation, we appreciate your help!
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A Bargain at Any Cost
As long as I can remember, a Scout uniform has always seemed expensive. Here’s a newsflash: It is cheaper now than it was in 1915 when so many kids were joining the movement! Converted to today’s dollars, a uniform in those days cost $257 and that didn’t include a neckerchief, but it did include a…
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A History of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council Scout Reservation
As Recalled by Joe Davis, Scout Executive of BRMC (1956-1960) This Narrative was Compiled by Ben Crawford of Blacksburg, VA in June, 1998 It was the November 1956 meeting of the Blue Ridge Council Executive Board when Dr. Charles Martin took me aside to inform me that he had received authorization to sell the mountain…
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1978 Camp Powhatan Map Donated to Archive
In 1978, James Potter painted this map of Camp Powhatan which (I believe) was placed in a kiosk at the edge of the parade field. A few years later, in 1983, his younger brother Mark repaired and updated the map. The modified painting eventually became outdated and was removed. I’m not sure of the year,…
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History Displays Added to Camp Powhatan for 2025
By Stephen Warren One of the biggest opportunities for the Blue Ridge Scouting History Project this year has happened at Camp Powhatan. Following a successful Winter Camp, in which a pop-up museum was displayed in the lounge for purposes of merit badge instruction, the suggestion was made by leadership to put some history displays on…
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Camp Dubernwaski
A Brief History of Camp Dubernwaski of Max Creek Village, Virginia(circa 1935-1941) By Stephen C. Warren – February, 2025 Background: During the height of the Great Depression, the United States Congress passed the Federal Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, and created the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Over the next 18 months, more than…
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The Roanoke Scouting History Project at Year’s End
I retired from my social worker job with the City of Roanoke just over a year ago. My wife continues to work full time, and I wanted to stay busy so she wouldn’t get the idea I was laying around the house. That was the impetus for formalizing the Roanoke Scouting History Project a year…
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Hankins Tales: Remembering Brian Nunn
(Originally posted to social media on August 20, 2020) A few minutes ago I was scrolling through Facebook looking for anything that might be positive in Nature, anything that was not politics or Covid 19. Suddenly a face flashed across the screen that I had not seen in 40 years but I would know that…
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Hankins Tales: These Are Extraordinary Times
(Originally posted to social media on August 27, 2020) A lot of people were looking forward to the Order of the Arrow Conclave that was set to be at Camp Shenandoah in October. However, with the pandemic numbers remaining at dangerous levels and the projection that it will get worse this fall it was a…