Tim Pacl’s article in the June Newsletter about “Green Bar” Bill Hillcourt and Mendham, NJ brought back memories of my scouting career as a youth. In the early 90s, my family moved to Mendham, NJ and, soon after, I became a member of the local scout troop. At that time, the troop’s number was 330. I’m not sure how the troop number changed from Bill’s Troop 1 to 330, but in 1992, when Green Bar Bill passed away, the adult leadership of our troop petitioned national to change our troop number back to 1. The request was granted and from then on I was a member of Troop 1 in Mendham with many meetings and campouts on Schiff Land Preserve.
As Tim noted in his article, Schiff Scout Reservation was the location the Scout Training Center starting in the 1930s. By the 90s, the property had changed to the Schiff Natural Land Trust, preserving much of the original scout reservation. At the base of the property in the 90s, there were a number of large buildings that were the old site of the training center and scout owned film studio. All the buildings were in disrepair and were ultimately demolished. Thankfully, I have many memories of scout meetings and campouts held on the property at other remaining structures from the past. Most meetings took place in either Dan Beard Cabin, circa 1939 and named after the first National Scout Commissioner, or Wood Badge Lodge, which was built in the 1960s.
I recall more than one campout spent in Dan Beard Cabin that was large enough to accommodate the whole troop. The one fireplace generated enough heat in the winter to provide comfort on cold nights. The land preserve had numerous hiking trails, campsites, and a large open meadow that was used to host events like district Camporees and the Klondike Derby in the winter.
For those scouts and scouters who have only ever camped in the south, the Klondike Derby was a winter campout where scouts competed with other troops by pushing a team sled full of the troop gear through an often snow covered course. Teams use the patrol method to demonstrate their scoutcraft, first aid, and orienteering skills. From the fall of 1992 to the spring of 1993, I participated in two Camporees and the derby, hosted at Schiff. The three events provided a three-piece patch (pictured) with the Schiff emblem featured on the Fall Camporee patch.
Exploring the Schiff property in the summer often brought the scouts in contact with relics of the past. We would find old wooden structures and lean-tos that had been part of past camping and training experiences on the property. Schiff was the location of the first Wood Badge course in the US in 1936 with Bill Hillcourt as a participant. Hillcourt would go on to lead the US Wood Badge training course.
I feel very fortunate to have had experiences in scouting that are so closely related to the roots and history of the very beginnings of scouting in the US. Reading Mr. Pacl’s article brought back a flood of positive memories related to scouting. I’ll always treasure my scouting time at Schiff that I feel is well represented in the the reservation’s anthem:
Men of Schiff together
Taking to the world,
Scouting ways forever
With flags and Banners
Mightily unfurled.
To our Oath and Scout Law
True we’ll always be,
With every council
Every region
Bound together in our legion
Men of Schiff are we.
