Hankins Tales: “It’s only a powder charge…”

(Originally posted to social media on May 1, 2023)

I remember way back in 1981, it was my first season as the new Ranger at Brady Saunders. I was invited to tell stories at the opening and the closing campfire each week. I had rebuilt the campfire ring down at the old lake. It overlooked Lake Olga and it had a great acoustic echo to it.

Eventually the Council Scout Executive heard about my stories and he brought his family out to see me in person. You had to do a lot of walking in those days because the parking lot is so far away. I recall that he spoke with me before the campfire. I was holding a 50 caliber black powder rifle. He asked me, “That thing is not loaded is it”? I said, “It has a powder charge in it for sound effect.” I was the last thing out of the gate and I told the Shooting of Dan Mcgrew by special request.

I stood out there in the center of the ring and let loose with the thunder. The crowd was riveted and almost not even breathing. Toward the end of that story there is a famous gunfight in the saloon. Right on cue I raised that rifle and pulled the double set trigger. There was a massive blast. People jumped out of their britches on the front row. All of a sudden this huge tree branch came falling down and landed right beside me. It had fallen about 80 feet from the giant Hickory that loomed over that fire ring. I paused for about 2 seconds just to see if anything else was going to come flying down from heaven.

John caught up with me at the end of the program and said “I thought you told me that the gun was not loaded” I looked right at him and lied. “That must have been some pretty serious wadding holding that powder down” It did not matter, nobody died and I got a long standing ovation……

With permission of the author, these stories by noted scouter and storyteller John Hankins are featured here at Natahwop.Org. He shares these as part of the history and lore of Camp Powhatan, Camp Ottari, and the High Knoll Trail, where he spent many years of his youth. John has an incomperable first-hand knowledge of this scout reservation, as he blazed most of the original trails for High Knoll, and has hiked the rest of them several times over.

John Hankins grew up in Troop 50 (Woodlawn United Methodist Church) in Roanoke, VA. He attended Camp Powhatan as a young scout, then worked at Philmont Ranch as a ranger. He returned to the reservation to serve on camp staff from 1968 to 1978. He was a legendary naturalist who could interpret the outdoors unlike any other. As a teacher, John often relied on the element of excitement to get his point across. His weekly lectures at the nature lodge, for example, introduced scouts to either a live rattlesnake or copperhead – usually dangling on a stick within a few feet of the front row.

John and several others first envisioned the now-legendary High Knoll trail system. They took it to council leadership for prospective funding, where the idea gained several key advocates (but no funding). John recalls how – in those days – they couldn’t pay the staff with money, so they gave them patches. The High Knoll Trail would go on to become one of the best outdoor programs in the country.

John applied in 1979 for the open job of Camp Ranger, but the council said he needed more experience in that post. With his rejection letter in hand, he was immediately hired by Camp Chickohominy, and then by Camp Brady Saunders where he served for 33 years as Camp Ranger. John moved with his wife, Cheri, to West Virginia where they enjoyed the spoils of retirement: grandchildren, travel, and the great outdoors. As of 2024, they are living on the outskirts of Richmond where they can be closer to family.

(“Hankins Tales” are shared here by permission of the author. Each story is copyrighted by John Hankins, and may not be reproduced in any form without his express written permission.)

The Natahwop

Hankins Tales: “It’s only a powder charge…”

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