Posted 10:06 am Thursday, February 17, 2011
East Texan Hopes To Add Boy Scouts Museum
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Much of the history of East Texas Boy Scouts camps has been lost, and some camps have been completely forgotten, said Robert Hightower, owner of a mobile Boy Scouts museum.
But Hightower hopes to collect more memorabilia for his museum so the camps' legacy can live on.
He said East Texas has had four to six Boy Scouts camps, though the exact location of the camps is unknown.
One of the first week long camps was in the Marshall area. It was owned by the Pine Tree Council, one of the councils that merged with other small East Texas councils in 1931, High-tower said.
When the East Texas Area Council formed, there was a camp near Rusk called Camp Kiwanis, which was used during the 1930s.
Hightower said that in 1939, Camp Kiwanis closed, and a new camp, Camp Tonkawa, was built near Garrison.
He said the camp was strictly used by white Scouts from 1939 to 1964, and black Scouts had their own camps.
There were two different black camps, Hightower said. One was Camp Bradden, about five miles south of Marshall, which was used from 1941 to 1945. At that time, he said, a new "fancy" camp also was built near Tatum, which was used from 1947 to 1964.
Ken Ives, 69, began attending Camp Tonkawa when he was 12 years old and later worked there as a staff member.
"I can remember having a lot of fun and learning a lot of things," he said, adding that he particularly enjoyed archery and the rifle range.
He said going to camp also was a way for him to get out of Palestine and make new friends.
Ives eventually became an Eagle Scout, which he said was a great advantage to him when he was in the military because he already knew how to do certain tasks.
Hightower has been documenting stories like Ives' for decades.
He started collecting Boy Scouts memorabilia in 1966 when he got out of the Army, and the effort has resulted in a mobile museum of Boy Scouts items.
He first put items on display locally in 1972 and has been putting them on display ever since.
Hightower said his museum now includes a little bit of everything, including old uniforms, equipment, photos and handbooks.
However, he said he still is looking for insignia from the early days of Boy Scouts, before the 1950s.
Anyone with information about the former Boy Scouts camps can call Hightower at 903-723-0418.
They also can send information to 1141 Anderson County Road 378, Palestine, TX 75801 or e-mail hightower.robert @gmail.com.
Community members can view a small display from the museum at 6:30 p.m. March 3 at the First United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, 1031 SE Loop 456.
Items also will be on display March 11 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center.
