Jake Browning
reporter@thefranklinpress.com
Macon County’s girls have a new venue to learn life skills in the form of the area’s first girls-only Scouts BSA Troop 4200.
Scouts BSA, officially known as the Boy Scouts until this past February, has been teaching young men lessons in outdoor education, self-sufficiency and citizenship since 1910. The organization had sponsored some activities for young women for several years, but the full scouting program was opened up to girls for the first time this year.
Blake Barr of Scouts BSA said girls with access to scouting will gain life experience that’s never been available to them before.
“They’re exposed to so much through this program between all of their merit badges, academics, athletics, the outdoors and everything else,” Barr said.
However, even though girls are no longer barred from entry, not all of them have a troop they can join. Beyond Cub Scouts, there are no co-ed troops, so girls can’t join an existing troop of boys.
Fortunately, once the decision to integrate was made, Franklin area volunteers stepped up within a matter of months.
Lucy Thorne is the mother of Eagle Scouts, and when she returned from her time serving overseas in the Army, she wanted to get involved in scouting again. When the program started welcoming girls, she saw the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the lives of a new generation of children. She oversaw the establishment of Troop 4200 in April.
“We’re the first and only girls troop in Macon County,” Thorne said. “Unfortunately, that also means we’re the most perpetually broke and out of stuff.”
Regardless of the status of supplies and money, several local girls have already claimed Scouts BSA as a home.
Trishelle Tyndell has participated in Scouts BSA and Girl Scouts in the past. While she likes Girl Scouts as well, she appreciates the greater variety of activities she gets to enjoy in her new troop.
“Girl Scouts is all arts and crafts and other girly stuff,” Tyndell said. “Here, you learn a lot more about the outdoors and animals and things like that.”
The wilderness remains a core part of the Scouts BSA experience. Setting up a camp, fireside cooking and identifying plants, animals and minerals in the forests of North Carolina have all been covered during the first year in the troop.
Rose Callenback said learning the ropes has been difficult at times, but she feels stronger and smarter for having joined the program.
“I’ve learned how to take care of myself more,” Callenback said.
For more information on Scouts BSA in the Franklin area, call Thorne at 828-226-6335 or go online to beascout.scouting.org.