First Boy Scout Troop in America organized in Pawhuska, OK - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Pawhuska was the location of the first Boy Scout Troop in America, and the Osage County Historical Museum has a room dedicated to Scouting, as well as a monument, sculpture, statue, and banner outside to let visitors know.

Article text:

Have you heard about the rescued kitten, sounds of "God Save the King” coming from an Episcopal church in Pawhuska, or pushing older women from one side of the dirt street to the other?

Perhaps you have heard that the first Boy Scout troop in America was organized in Pawhuska in 1909 by the Rev. John F. Mitchell, a missionary priest from England sent to St. Thomas Episcopal Church by the Church of England.

In England, Lord Baden-Powell had started the British troop in 1907. Mitchell served as a chaplain for that first troop. So when Mitchell arrived in Pawhuska he had a duffel bag full of scouting information.

He founded the troop in Oklahoma in 1909, then a year later the Boy Scouts of America was founded.

So next year will mark the organization’s 100th year.

But in this centennial year of that first troop, many have made it a point to visit the Osage County Historical Museum in Pawhuska, which includes statues outside and one room inside dedicated to scouting. Others across the nation have seen this as an opportunity to pull old clippings and letters about Mitchell’s troop from family collections.

Something smells
Mitchell had the right intention when he stressed to his troop to "do a good deed daily.” But you know how that goes sometimes.

One day, Mitchell and two Scouts decided to rescue a furry little kitten from under a rock ledge. So they started digging and finally got their hands on the kitten. However, when they pulled the animal out, it was black with a white stripe down the back.

Mary Jane Crews of St. Louis is the niece of Jack Coffey, one of the members of the 1909 troop. She sent me a newspaper clipping that included details of this rescue.

The skunk sprayed all three. So they disrobed, wrapped themselves in blankets, buried their clothes under three mounds of dirt, and boarded a horse-drawn wagon for the trip back.

The early days
A display at the museum includes a page from "Scouting for Boys,” the manual Mitchell brought from England. One page lists the Boy Scout Oath, which included, "I will do my duty to God and the King.”

Barbara Pease, manager of the Osage County Historical Museum, and Jack Shoemate, a museum board member, started laughing. She told how the early troop, under the British charter, would sing "God Save the King.”

The news article Crews sent me states, "The British anthem ‘God Save the King’ floated out on the breeze from the old Episcopal church here.”

Shoemate said, "That didn’t last too long.”

Across the street
The museum exhibit includes a photo of downtown Pawhuska in 1909 with a bandstand where the well-known Triangle Building is now. Downtown featured unpaved streets. Large flat stones were the sidewalks.

About 1,200 to 1,500 people lived in Pawhuska at the time. With so few people, it wasn’t always easy to accomplish the daily good deed.

Walter Johnson, a member of the first troop, talked about that challenge in a summer 1961 issue of Oklahoma Today.

"We wore out all the old ladies in Pawhuska, pushing them from one side of the street to the other,” he said. "There weren’t very many.”

Still thriving
The scouting exhibit at the Osage County Historical Museum features not only information about the troop started under the English charter but also many facts about the Boy Scouts of America’s involvement in Pawhuska.

Included is a list of 90 Eagle Scouts from the community between 1923 and March of this year.

"We’ve got archaeologists, medical doctors, ranchers, airline pilots — they’re in every walk of life now,” Shoemate said. "They have certainly set a great example for our boys in Pawhuska.

"We’re seeing the fruits of that almost monthly as these Scouts mature into Eagles.”
Osage County Historical Museum

Where: 700 N Lynn Ave.,

Pawhuska.

When: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sundays. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

For more information: Call (918) 287-9119.

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 11/23/2009 Publication: The Oklahoman Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Kids/Youth

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