Scouting in Colorado
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Portalpar Scouting in Colorado has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the rugged, mountainous environment in which they live.
Contents |
Early history (1910-1950)
Scouting got a brisk start in Colorado. The Denver Council was founded in 1915, and in 1926 changed its name to the Denver Area Council, which it remains to this day.
The Colorado Springs Council was founded in 1916, and in 1922 changed its name to the El Paso and Teller Counties Council. That council in 1925 changed its name to Pikes Peak Council, which it remains to this day. Pikes Peak Council is home to the oldest continually-chartered troop in the state of Colorado, Troop 2, originally chartered to Colorado Springs' First Presbyterian Church in October, 1917.
The Greeley Council was founded in 1916, and in 1924 changed its name to the Weld and Morgan Counties Council. That council in 1928 changed its name to Longs Peak Council, which it remains to this day. The Fort Collins Council and Longmont Council, each founded in 1917, merged in 1919 into what is now the Longs Peak Council. The Boulder Council, also created in 1917, was merged in to the Council in 1920. The Southeastern Wyoming Council of Cheyenne merged into Longs Peak Council in 1928.
The Trinidad-Las Animas County Council, founded in 1917, changed its name to the Las Animas County Council in 1924. This and the Arkansas Valley Council, founded in 1924, merged in 1927 to become the Spanish Peaks Council. The Pueblo Council was founded in 1920, and in 1928 changed its name to the Rocky Mountain Council, which it remains to this day. The Spanish Peaks Council merged into Rocky Mountain Council in 1932.
The Western Colorado Council was founded in 1942, and is one of the very few councils that have not undergone a namechange or merger in their entire history.
Recent history (1950-1990)
Pikes Peak Council served as host to the 1960 National Scout Jamboree, held north of Colorado Springs adjacent to the then-new United States Air Force Academy, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America.
Scouting in Colorado today
There are six Boy Scouts of America local councils in Colorado.
Denver Area Council
The Denver Area Council (61) of the Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with a satellite office in Greenwood Village, and supports Scouting units and youth in an area of central Colorado from Arapahoe and Adams Counties east to the Continental Divide.
- Arapahoe District
- Centennial District
- Gateway District
- Frontier District
- Timberline District
- Valley District
Tahosa Lodge 383, Order of the Arrow
The Tahosa Lodge 383, chartered in 1948, serves 1218 Arrowmen as of 2004. The lodge totem is a coney (rock hyrax), and the name translates to "Dwellers on the Mountain Tops" in the Kiowa language.
Great Southwest Council
Main article: Scouting in New Mexico
The Great Southwest Council serves the Durango and Mesa Verde areas of Colorado.
Longs Peak Council
The Longs Peak Council (62) of the Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Greeley, Colorado. Named after the tallest peak in the council territory, Longs Peak Council serves Scouting youth in northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. The WyoBraska Council of Scottsbluff merged into the Longs Peak Council in 1973.
As with Pikes Peak Council, there is officially no apostrophe in the name, due to a ruling about the mountain itself by the Board on Geographic Names.
- Arapahoe District
- Cheyenne District
- Pioneer Trails District
- Snowy Range District
- Thompson-Poudre District
- Weld District
- WyoBraska District
Kola Lodge 464, Order of the Arrow
The Kola Lodge 464, chartered in 1951, serves 457 Arrowmen as of 2004. The lodge totem is a council fire, and the name translates to "Friend" in the Lakota language. In 1973, Kola Lodge absorbed Wiyaka Luta 403 of the WyoBraska Council.
Pikes Peak Council
The Pikes Peak Council (60) of the Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Named after the most famous peak in the council territory, upon which 'America the Beautiful' was written, Pikes Peak Council provides Scouting to youth in east-central Colorado, including Park, Teller, El Paso, Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson and Cheyenne Counties. The council camp, Camp Alexander, at Lake George, in Park County, was donated in 1946 by J. Don Alexander of the Alexander Film Company.
As with Longs Peak Council, there is officially no apostrophe in the name, due to a ruling about the mountain itself by the Board on Geographic Names.
On board the Space Shuttle Challenger when it exploded in 1986 was an American flag that was sponsored by Troop 514 of Monument, Colorado. When the Challenger wreckage was retrieved from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, this flag was found, sealed in a plastic bag, intact and completely unscathed.
- Frontier District
- High Plains District
- Jamboree District
- Ute District
In July 2005, the Council moved from its four-decade home downtown to a more centrally located area northeast of there, to account for the demographic and geographic shift of Colorado Springs. The vacated building became the home of Sario, a Lions Club project.
Ha-Kin-Skay-A-Ki Lodge 387, Order of the Arrow
The Ha-Kin-Skay-A-Ki Lodge 387, chartered in 1948, serves 743 Arrowmen as of 2004. The lodge totem is a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and the name is said to translate to "Great Horned Goat of the Mountain" but does not specify the language or dialect. Until 1953, the Lodge was simply known as Pike's Peak Lodge.
Rocky Mountain Council
Image:RockyMountainKoshare.jpg
The Rocky Mountain Council (63) of the Boy Scouts of America is headquartered in Pueblo, Colorado, and provides program services to over 100 chartered partner organizations, delivering Scouting to more than 4,600 youth through 167 Scout units in 19 counties of Southern Colorado, including Pueblo, Fremont, Crowley, Kiowa, Prowers, Bent, Otero, Baca, Las Animas, Costilla, Conejos, Mineral, Rio Grande, Alamosa, Saguache, Huerfano, Custer, Lake and Chaffee Counties.
Rocky Mountain Council is home to La Junta's Koshare Indian Museum, regarded as one of the finest collections of Native American artifacts in the world. The Museum sponsors a Scout troop of dancers, the Koshare Indian Dancers, founded in the 1930s by J.F. "Buck" Burshears.
- Cuerno Verde District
- High Mountain District
- Pioneer Trails District
Tupwee Gudas Gov Youchiquot Soovep Lodge 536, Order of the Arrow
The Tupwee Gudas Gov Youchiquot Soovep Lodge 536, chartered in 1958, serves 117 Arrowmen as of 2004. The lodge totem is a Populus tremuloides or Rocky Mountain quaking aspen.
Western Colorado Council
The Western Colorado Council (64) of the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1942, and is headquartered in Grand Junction, Colorado. Western Colorado Council serves over 4,000 youth members and over 1,000 volunteer leaders through Scout units in fifteen counties of northwestern Colorado.
- Grand Mesa District serves Mesa County, and also hosts the council office
- Majestic Mountain District serves Hinsdale, Gunnison, Ouray, San Miguel, Montrose and Delta counties, a geographic area approximately the same size as the state of Connecticut
- Northwest Mountain District serves Moffat, Routt, Grand, and Rio Blanco counties
- Three Rivers District serves Garfield, Eagle, Summit, and Pitkin (but not Lake) counties
Mic-O-Say Lodge 541, Order of the Arrow
The Mic-O-Say Lodge 541, chartered in 1959, serves 168 Arrowmen as of 2004. The lodge totem is an eagle. The name was chosen by an early Scout Executive who wanted the Council to become a chapter not of the Order of the Arrow but of the preexisting Tribe of Mic-O-Say honor society common to Kansas and Missouri, where he hailed from.