Hankins Tales: You Just Never Know

(Originally posted to social media on April 19, 2022)

Years ago and just before I retired, my wife and I were walking together in Richmond. I do not recall the exact location because that has no bearing on this incident. In either case, a young man approached me and he squared himself in front of me and faced me. He said “John, could I speak to you for a moment?” I could not place his name but there was something familiar about him. He was just another one of thousands of young men who have passed through my life over the years.

We stepped off to the side and he said that “You will not remember me, but I remember you vividly” “I was 16 and I had been sent to camp and somebody signed me up for your Ranger’s Challenge program. I was at a point in my life where I was considering killing myself, I thought about it all the time. But that week with you changed the way I felt about the world and the people in it. You showed us beauty and wonder and empathy and understanding, and I began to see beyond the wall of abuse and anger. I just wanted to shake your hand and say thank you.”

I was unable to speak. Finally I blurted out “Thank You,” and I staggered back to join Cherri. I do not know that kid’s name or his full story, but somehow the world seems like a better place for having known him if only for a short while…..

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: You Just Never Know

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