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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Hankins Tales: Where to Find Videos of John Hankins
(Originally posted to social media on July 18 & 19, 2023) Years ago a man named Jim Maher came out to camp and he began to tape the stories I was telling each week at Camp. Those stories were eventually put into a VHS format and we offered them for sale in the trading post….
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Hankins Tales: The Night Owl of Camp Powhatan
(Originally posted to social media on August 12, 2023) I remember many years ago when I was the Nature Director at Powhatan. There were a lot of nights when I could not sleep, I drank a lot of coffee in those days. So I would get dressed and simply start walking the camp in the…
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Hankins Tales: Memories of The Big Catch
(Originally posted to social media on September 3, 2023) When I was just getting started in the boy scouts I was a little bit of a loner. I did not sit around the campfire poking the other kids with flaming sticks. I would normally go off and find my own entertainment. I recall that the…
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Hankins Tales: Remembering Tony Smith
(Originally posted to social media on December 10, 2023) Billy Parrish sent me a message to let me know that Tony Smith died last week. I had not heard or seen anything about that passing. However I cannot let that death pass without comment. Tony Smith was one of the most impressive scouters that I…
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Hankins Tales: Farewell Troop 50
(Originally posted to social media on December 20, 2023) My old friend Steve Warren just posted a story in the BRMC Scouting History about the fact that Troop 50 was shutting down in Roanoke, Virginia. This is the scout troop that I joined way back in 1963 when I turned 11 years of age. I…
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Hankins Tales: Remembering David Estes
(Originally posted to social media on January 8, 2024) I know how it works. When you are 18 your focus is on graduation and all of your future plans. By the time you are about 28 all of your friends are getting married and it is one big endless celebration. In your 40s you are…
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WSLS-TV Archives – March 30, 1965: Blue Ridge Boy Scout Council Holds Rallies to Plan Golden Heritage
New clip digitized from the WSLS-TV News archives and preserved by the University of Virginia Special Collections Library. They are posted online for non-commercial use. They offer rare, unseen footage of the Roanoke scouts in the field, in meetings, holding camporees, and preparing for jamborees. Most clips include the news anchor’s notes, and any pertinent…
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High Knoll Photos – Its First Year
The photos shown here (slideshow above; gallery below) are from the first week of the first year (1975) of High Knoll Trail Program, Blue Ridge Mountains Council. They were taken by crew leader Donald “Grunt” Allison (ASM, Troop 50, Roanoke, VA), shown at right above. Natahwop editor S. Warren was Grunt’s senior patrol leader, shown…