The Natahwop

The Online Journal of Blue Ridge Scouting History, Inc.

The Blue Ridge Scouting History Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit in Roanoke, VA.
Our mission is to collect, preserve, and present the history of Boy Scouting and Scouting America in Central and Southwestern Virginia.

Hankins Tales: Getting Certified in CPR and First Aid as a Ranger

(Originally posted to social media on May 1, 2022)

I worked for the Boy scouts of America for nearly 46 years, an d 36 of those years were as a full-time Camp Ranger. The other years were as seasonal Camp staff at various camps across the country. One of the requirements of that job was that I had to be trained in CPR and first aid each year. Over the years a lot changes. Standards are rewritten and modified to help make CPR more effective.

When I was first hired as a Ranger I had to take my CPR certification at a local hospital. I was the only man in a room full of student nurses. I had to partner up with one of the girls and I remember her as very attractive with a great sense of humor. We did a lot of laughing as we tried to save a Resusci-Annie who had no arms or legs. Back in those days they also taught how to give CPR to a baby. I do not think they do that anymore but I could be wrong. Giving CPR to a baby is kind of a one-person deal. There is limited space to work in and it can be nerve-wracking. I was told to only use two fingers when I gave compressions. I was in very good condition in those days and I do not think I knew my own strength. I also did not want my new partner to think I was some kind of a wimp. So it came to pass that I approached the down baby and screamed out “CALL 911, That is a NINE and TWO ones. Then I grabbed the baby and flopped it up on a table and I gave it the first compression. In all of the excitement, I pushed all the way through the baby and its head popped off. The head took off with a fair amount of momentum and it rolled all the way across the room and into the radiator grille.

People were screaming and laughing and pointing. I have to believe that the CPR Baby was an old and overused baby. The instructor did come over and tell me that if I ever encounter a baby in the real world, do not go near it! They did allow me to pass the class because they knew that otherwise I might come back.

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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.)

Hankins Tales: Getting Certified in CPR and First Aid as a Ranger

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