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This column begins over a century ago, in South Africa during the Second Boer War. The British gained control of South Africa, and the earlier German ancestry settlers revolted against the Brits taking over and imposing their will, such as changing the language in which contracts were written.
A famous battle of that war occurred when the Boers siege to the city of Mafeking. The British garrison was commanded by the man who would become Lord Baden-Powell, and he was shorthanded. To keep men on the firing line, he utilized teenage and younger boys as runners. He was impressed with their bravery and felt the entire nation would benefit from starting basic military outdoor training on boys this age – and thus he created the Scouting movement. Later, an American being helped across a foggy street by a British Boy Scout seeking his good deed for the day brought the concept to the United States and created the Boy Scouts of America.
Throughout the 20th century generations of young men learned valuable outdoor skills through the Boy Scouts, with an emphasis on manly traits like a Scout being trustworthy, loyal, brave, clean and reverent.
The 21st century brought stories of abuses, changes in the goals of Scouting hastened by changing times and changing ideals, leaving behind many of the core ideals that made the Boy Scouts what they were.
In Murphy, there was an active Scout troop sponsored by the Methodist church, and as late as a couple of years ago I found myself buying a case of spectacular popcorn from Scouts peddling the popcorn from a coaster wagon. We were eating at Murphy’s Chop House outside and flagged down the Scouts as they rolled by.
Hiwassee Dam was not so blessed. There were plenty of boys wanting to become active in scouting – including your author, who subscribed to Boys Life magazine and dreamed of merit badges and an eventual Eagle rank. Unfortunately, neither happened. Not because of lack of enthusiasm, but because of a lack of Scout leaders.
During my youth, we had two attempts at raising a Scout troop there. The first attempt was by Fatie Chapman, who organized about 30 of us for a camping trip to Cherokee Lake. We organized two troops, one of which I was designated patrol leader, and we marched around the parking lot for a while, I assume to burn up our energy.
Thereafter, we target practiced with .22 rifles, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and told ghost stories around the fire. The scariest was that of a giant lake frog that only came out at night and would gobble up young boys – a very effective way to keep youngsters away from the water’s edge at night.
We turned in, utilizing a pickup load of small tents passed down from an earlier unsuccessful attempt at organizing Scouts. By morning, every tent had been pulled down by the more mischievous in the group. That one trip finished Fatie’s Scout leader experience.
A second attempt was made a few years later, this one more successful. Charles Casteel volunteered to handle the camping, while David Hendrix and Rex Sudderth, the seventh- and eighth-grade teachers at Hiwassee Dam, volunteered their time to handle the detailed instruction Scout classes by staying over after school hours.
In the classes taught by those two teachers for no compensation, a group of us learned knot tying, map reading, using a compass and many skills that I have used throughout my life. It appalls me that my grandchildren have difficulty reading a map, and show little interest when I try to pass along such skills.
Casteel, like his predecessor, lasted one camping trip, this one a fishing expedition to Hiwassee Lake on a red clay point near Hiwassee Dam. The fires were from driftwood and old stumps that were still on the lake bank in those days. History repeated itself in all the tents being pulled down by daylight.
David Hendrix became more active. He took a carload of Scouts to Western Carolina University for a night college football game (our first). One Saturday he led us on a hike from Hiwassee Dam School over a saddle on Ghormley Mountain, through the Mitchell Stiles farm, to Shoal Creek Falls – and back. They said it was a 5-mile hike, but I suspected the distance was further.
A second hike came with classes canceled due to snow. Hendrix called what Scouts he could, drove his pickup from Peachtree to Hiwassee Dam and one by one picked us up, driving to N.C. 294 and Panther Top Road. He parked there and we bold Scouts trekked through the 4-inch snow to Panther Top Tower, built fires for lunch and hiked back down again.
Unfortunately, I have described all four of the outdoor activities during my time as a Scout at Hiwassee Dam.
Despite the limited time of Scouting availability there, I did rise to the rank of First-Class Scout, to be received at an awards ceremony in the cafeteria at Hiwassee Dam School. The parents were to attend and pin the badges on their proud Scouts.
I was the flag bearer at the event. With all eyes following the flag procession into the room, and the subsequent Pledge of Allegiance, I stood straight and at attention, as any good Scout should.
I was still in that position when my smiling parents approached with my First-Class Badge. As they reached me, everything in front of my eyes turned yellow and then black.
The next thing I recall was being in the back seat of our family car riding to Providence Hospital to be checked out. While soldiers are taught when standing at attention to never lock their knees, as one would tend to pass out, there was nothing in my Scout manual or in my instructions about that. I had locked my knees, and thus passed out in front of the entire Scout honors court.
I guess you could say that summed up Scouting at Hiwassee Dam for me.
Bruce Voyles’ local history column runs every other week in the Cherokee Scout. Email him at RoadsLessTraveled@cherokeescout.com.