BEAR-CAT TROOP OF BOY SCOUTS ORGANIZED

by Russell Evans

Entry T42 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

                  July 1920

"The attendance at the meeting held at the
courthouse to organize a troop of Boy Scouts
was not largely attended on account of so
many of the boys being out in the country to
work, but they were on hand in sufficient
numbers to put the organization over and
choose their board of managers.

Dr. Mahaffy, C .C . Campbell and Clarence
Pecht are the ones who will stand for the boys
and assist in getting their charter from the
head of the state organization. The charter
will not be asked for, however, until a few
more boys sign up the application, pay in
their .25 cents and present the written
consent of their parents. Boys wishing to
become members and have their names on
the original charter will do well to attend to
the matter at once."

Thus it was that scouting first came to the
community of Mullen. By 1930 or thereabout
Wayne Fitzgerald had taken over as scout-
master in our community. He had around a
dozen boys in the troop and they were
meeting at the grade school.

At that time a bandstand sat on the
northeast corner of the courthouse square,
but the community had not had a band for
a number of years. The county commissioners
offered the structure to the Boy Scouts and
with the assistance of Lewis Folk they moved
it to the river north of town and about 1 1/2
miles downstream. There they sat the struc-
ture on ties and used it as a shelter when they
went there on their outings. By around 1935
or 1936 the scout troop had disbanded and
the structure was moved back into Mullen.
From there it was later moved to the golf
course where it is still being used today.

We have no record of Scouting activities in
the 1940's, but the Episcopal Church was
sponsoring the Cub Scouts in the 1950's.
Mullen's Pack 329 met monthly in the
Episcopal undercroft for the business meet-
ing and the awarding of badges to the cub
scouts. The Blue and Gold banquet was held
there, as well as the first Pinewood Derby car
races. `Bus' Huddle and Glen Tompkins
designed the first track to be used for these
exciting races.

In 1954 Stella Baldwin and Hazel Schoene,
assisted by Boy Scout Raymond Baldwin
organized the first den of Webelo scouts. Dale
Baldwin and Leon Meridith were among the
first Webelos.

Roy Oak, who was an elementary principal
at the time, was the leader of the Boy Scout
troop in the early 1950's and they met at the
commercial club room at the courthouse. By
the mid-1950's Dan Diebler had taken over
as scoutmaster and they had a big Camp-o-
ree on the river north of town. Scouts from
a number of surrounding towns came to
participate. Some of the boys active in
scouting at that time include John and Steve
Vanderbeek, Paul and Robert Coble, Charles
Licking and Leroy McCully.

In 1959 Ronald Tompkins received his God
and Country award in the Methodist Church.
Rev. Robertson made the presentation. On
July 24, 1960, a Scout Jubilee Picnic was held
in the Mullen park in collaboration with
similar events over the nation. The meeting
was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and
then moved on to many exciting races and
relays. Activities included turtle races and
even a slipper kick for the mothers. The
evening ended with the Scouts reciting
"Remember that scouting is for God and
country," followed by the Scout Promise and
the Living Circle. The Senior Boy Scouts
were not active at this time, but the boys who
had been involved before their group was
discontinued acted as den chiefs for the Den
Mothers and the Cubs.

Henry Cox re-organized the Senior Boy
Scouts sometime in the early 1 960's and at
one point he had as high as 30 boy scouts
active in the program. In reflecting on this
time Hank observed that some of the boys
had a reputation for being rather mischiev-
ous, but they got along fine once he found
ways to channel their boundless energy.

Other Boy Scout leaders in the 1960's
include a Rev. Mohlman who was with the
Assembly of God Church, elementary princi-
pal Gary Tuton, high school principal Robert
Mandeville, and Charles Patch who was a
druggist here at the time.

Lloyd Leonard Ginkins and his wife Betty
were among the Cub Scout leaders of that era,
as were Lynn and Jody Phyllips. By this time
the track for the Pinewood Derby was
showing signs of wear and Lynn had to make
some much needed repairs on it. `Ginks' has
continued as a judge for the Derby races from
that time to the present.

In November of 1969 Daryl Tompkins
received his God and Country award with the
Rev. J. B. Choate making the presentation in
the United Methodist Church. In the after-
noon of the same day a Court of Honor was
held there under the leadership of Scout-
master Charles Patch and with the assistance
of Eagle Scouts from North Platte. The
purpose, to present Daryl with the Eagle
Scout award, the highest honor in Scouting.
There were no records of any other Mullen
Scout ever receiving this award so it was
assumed that Daryl was the first. The only
other Scout to receive such an award in
Mullen was David Sautter who moved here
with his family in 1974 and received his Eagle
Scout award that winter.

In 1973-74 Dan Diebler was the Scoutmast-
er here, continuing the tradition his father
had established in the 1950's. Dan said that
the highlight of his period was their winter
campout on the Dismal. He and Raymond
Baldwin took a group of boys to a cabin which
was once owned by Nate Basset and is located
near Bobtail Creek. The Scouts who partici-
pated in this were Verlon and Marvin Shears,
Phil and Scott Baldwin, Fritz Cooley, Gerald
Henry Craig Maire and Billy Wright. It was
cool that weekend and they received several
inches of snow.

By 1976 John Furrow was Scoutmaster,
assisted by teacher Dan Miller. That winter
the Scouts tried another winter campout at
this same cabin and the weather cooperated
a little better. The following summer Dan
took a group of scouts on a canoe trip down
the Dismal. They started from Highway #97
and went to the road south of Seneca,
camping overnight on the Bullingon place
enroute.

The Cub Scouts were going strong during
this period. In May of 1978 they started an
annual tradition of a Cub Scout campout
each spring. The rule was established that
each Cub Scout must be accompanied by a
parent or guardian in order for them to
participate, and that year the campout was
on the Dismal river. By 1979 the Cub Scouts
were doing so well that they made arrangem-
ents to use the school activity bus and about
20 Scouts and their parents and leaders
traveled to Ft. Robinson for a long weekend
of camping, swimming, horseback riding and
more.

By this time the Pinewood Derby track was
beyond repair so Cubmaster Larry French
had built a new one. Larry has been active as
a leader of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts alike
since about 1977 or 1978. In May of 1980 a
Scout-a-rama was held at Mullen at the
Lariet auditorium, along with an overnight
campout canoe races, a cooking contest and
other activities. In June of that year Larry
took four Webelos, Troy Elliott, Scott Evans,
Dirk Porath and Jody Reynolds to Camp
Opal Springs where they received their Arrow
of Light, which is the highest award a boy can
receive in Cub Scouting.

In 1981 several of the scouts were working
on their bicycle merit badge, so they biked to
campouts near Thedford, Halsey, and on the
Dismal southwest of Mullen. In July of 1982
Assistant Scoutmaster Jim Marks and Russ
Evans took several Scouts backpacking in
Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes,
Colorado. While they were there a dam broke,
causing considerable flooding and some
anxious moments for their families back in
Mullen. The scouts meanwhile were on a pack
trail on the west slope and totally unaware of
any problem until they returned to civiliz-
ation that afternoon. By the following sum -
mer Jim Marks was Scoutmaster and he took
a group of Scouts canoeing up on the Missouri
River.

The Scouting program went into a brief
slump after that and by the fall of 1985
Mullen did not have an active Boy Scout
Troop. ln the fall of 1986 the Cub Scouts re-
organized under the sponsorship of the
United Methodist Church and had about 20
boys active. Mullen hosted the Scout-a-rama
the following spring, and by the spring of
1988 the Catholic Church had agreed to
sponsor the Boy Scouts with Sheriff Steve
Lattin as Scoutmaster, assisted by Jody
Reynolds.

The Boy Scouts are indebted to many
people and organizations in Mullen for the
time, interest and support they have given
the Scouting program. When one considers
the values the Scouting program supports,
perhaps Mullen owes a great deal to Scouting.