Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983 Page: 33
82 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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"WE TAKE
AWAY DESPAIR
//
The neighborhood's deterioration has slowed,
though, and to the north there has even been some
rehabilitation. Youth gangs have declined in
numbers and violence. But the South Bronx
remains far from an idyllic environment.
Hope still lives because Scouting's volunteers
nurture it. Said Scoutmaster David A. Boone of
Thessalonia Baptist's Troop 95: "I'm in Scouting
because it does one thing, and I think about this
often: We remove something from a boy's life; we
take away despair."
It achieves'even more than that. Former Scout-
master Julius B. Jenkins points out that no past or
present member of the troop or its brother Pack 95
has ever been in trouble with the law. And Assis-
tant Scoutmaster James R. Adams, who was a
Scout during the Fort Apache era, said the troop
even recruited a few members out of the gangs in
those years.
Both troop and pack meet in the church base-
ment for two hours on Saturdays. The meetings
are nothing out of the ordinary; they would be
recognizable in Cleveland's Shaker Heights or
South Chicago. For the troop, there's an opening
ceremony of the Oath, Law, and Pledge of Al-
legiance; work on first aid or outdoor skills, a
game of British Bulldog in the church parking lot
next door; planning for a forthcoming outing; a
Scoutmaster's Minute, and the closing. For the
pack, the program is ceremonies, games, and
craftwork.
Clearly the boys love it. Normal attendance at
troop meetings is 17 of the 18 active Scouts. Of the
18 registered Cub Scouts, 14 or 15 are on hand at
every meeting.
"I like it," said Hawk Patrol Leader Sammie
Jackson, 15, "because it's something 1 can do with
my life and not be hurting anybody else. And
we're making where we live a better place."
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Charles Farri-
son, 14. said, "I like coming here because you do
different activities with friends, and it will help
you in the outside world. Like, if somebody on the
street gets sick, you know how to care for them
better."
Senior Patrol Leader Kenneth Bryant, 15, said
he liked the opportunity to go camping and earn
skill awards and merit badges. Besides, he said, "It
gives me something to do that's worthwhile, and
it's better being here than on the streets."
Troop 95 has been in continuous operation for
33 years and Pack 95 for 26. The troop's long
tenure is in part a tribute to the determination of
Cubmaster John H. Lee, a 20-year veteran, and
Mrs. Connie Sayles, den leader for 17 years. For
Scouting October 1983
several years before David Boone was recruited as
Scoutmaster in 1981, the troop had only "paper"
leadership, but Lee and Sayles wouldn't let it die.
"We'd put the Cubs on one side of the table,
Scouts on the other, and work with both," John
Lee said. "We kept the Scouts together. 1 don't
know how we did it, but we did."
Now, under the leadership of David Boone,
James Adams, and Assistant Scoutmaster Shellie
Sampson III, the troop operates independently of
the pack, using the patrol method, taking part in
all Frontier District camporees and other events,
and making plans to camp on its own.
Virtually all the Scouts and Cub Scouts are from
low-income homes. "Quite a few are from low,
In New York's
South Bronx—
despite
devastated
housing, a
transient
population,
low income,
and crime—
ardent Scouters
teach youngsters
to view the
future with
hope.
Thessalonia Baptist
Church Troop 95
members escort a new
recruit to the regular
weekly troop meeting.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 71, Number 5, October 1983, periodical, October 1983; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353543/m1/35/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.