JEFFERSON — Scouts toting fishing poles and patrol flags down a hill in the rain toward the lake at Camp Conestoga over the weekend carried on a proud tradition.
Multiple generations of Scouts have visited the Somerset County camp over the years, and, on its 75th anniversary weekend, many of those adults were back — to reunite with old friends, participate in activities and encourage the next generation.
“Everybody has a Conestoga story. Everyone has a Conestoga memory. It’s kind of that common thread across the board,” said Sara Bednarofsky, council commissioner for the Westmoreland-Fayette Council, the regional organization for the Scouts. “We’re very proud of our camp.”
The Boy Scouts of America announced May 7 that the organization would be rebranding to “Scouting America,” to reflect the organization’s evolving openness to participation in Cub Scout and Scouts BSA programs.
The rebrand is another seismic shift for the national organization steeped in tradition that did not allow gay youths or girls to begin joining its ranks until relatively recently. Seeking to boost flagging membership numbers, the Irving, Texas-based organization announced the name change at its annual meeting in Florida.
“In the next 100, years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,” Roger Krone, who took over last fall as president and chief executive officer, told the Associated Press in an interview before the announcement.
The change to Scouting America will officially take effect Feb. 8, 2025, timed to the organization’s 115th birthday.
The Scouts as a national organization have faced challenges over the past several years, from bankruptcy to sexual abuse claims to dwindling numbers following the pandemic.
It first allowed girls to participate five years ago, and more than 176,000 girls and young women are involved in programs, including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
Overall participation has nearly halved since the start of the pandemic, falling from more than 2 million members in 2018 to just over 1 million youths today. Membership peaked in 1972 at almost 5 million.
The Westmoreland-Fayette Council that calls Camp Conestoga home has held its own in the past several years. It had 2,120 total youths registered in its programs in 2020 before the impact of covid and now has about 1,984 registered as of the end of last year — a 6% drop.
The scouting tradition at Camp Conestoga is keeping pace with change, said Marcus Ragland, Scout executive. Merit badges and activities might have shifted in focus, but Scouts keep returning to the camp year after year.
Westmoreland-Fayette ranks 12th out of 243 Councils across the country in terms of market share, or percent of total youths in the community who are registered in the group’s programs.
“We’ve got to meet families where they’re at and follow our own motto and be prepared to serve the needs of those families through (our) mission,” Ragland said. “That means something different today than it did in the 1950s, but the impact that it has on the lives of the young people as they prepare for their future is every bit, if not more, meaningful.”
For many of the kids moving up into Scouts BSA, girls being involved is not a big deal, Ragland said.
“To them, it’s like, what’s the big hubbub about?” Ragland said. “I think the people who have issues with it are people that are maybe stuck to how things needed to be in the past, and they’re trying to put that on what kids of the future need. The kids themselves don’t feel that way.”
Drawn by adventure
At the weekend anniversary gathering, scouts divided into “patrols” and competed activities from archery to fishing to golf, climbing and more. They aimed to claim the prize — a voucher for free camp at Conestoga this summer.
Outdoor, hands-on activities are what draw many young Scouts to the group.
Clint Olson, 16, of Delmont’s Troop 211, says most of his weekends are taken up by Scout activities. He started out as a Cub Scout and is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout.
“I just thought it was really cool camping and all the friendships that people seemed to be making in Cub Scouts,” Olson said. “I feel like (Scouting) helps develop a lot of life skills that we’re going to need for the future.”
Clint’s mother, Julie Olson, is unit commissioner for the Laurel Hills district and a committee member for Troop 211. Scouting, she said, is not just about camping and outdoor activities. Newer programs offer Scouts opportunities to earn digital game design, multimedia and tech merit badges.
“I think scouting, even in the 10 years we’ve been in it, the program grows with the changing times,” Olson said. “They do away with some of the merit badges that maybe aren’t as popular or as relevant anymore, and they add new ones in to make it relevant for the kids who are coming through the program at that time.”
Aiden Caramellino, 17, a member of Troop 480 from Hunker, serves as a guide for his troop and is working toward his Eagle Scout certification. Monthly camping trips, earning merit badges, learning life skills and making connections are all part of his interest in Scouts. He also likes the opportunity to mentor the younger Scouts.
“It’s fun to see (younger kids) come up through Cub Scouts and learn all the skills and get to teach them all those skills,” he said. “I still remember my Troop Guides — they were awesome.”
More youths included
Several girls’ troops were formed in Westmoreland County since the opportunity became available, parent leaders said. For some of the girls involved, Saturday’s gathering was their first time at the camp.
Maria Zarod, scoutmaster of the girls’ Troop 1201 in Level Green, says her newly-formed troop is linked to the local boys’ Troop 201. The two groups share equipment, and the Scouts can participate in activities together, which builds teamwork, she said.
“Our Scouts are brand new, so, when they don’t know how to do something, part of scouting is that the Scouts help each other,” she said. “I can refer the girls to go ask one of the boys, go find another Scout to help you out with that, and that’s really been working out. It’s still not an adult telling them what to do. It’s another Scout who is sort of passing that knowledge on to them.”
Zarod’s troop, founded this year, has six members.
“A lot of it, I’ve found, is just letting people know that girls can be in Scouts BSA, that it’s an opportunity available to them,” she said.
MaryAnn Fabian of Delmont is the scoutmaster of Troop 1211 in Delmont, a girls’ troop with 10 members. Her troop got started in 2019 and gathered even through the pandemic remotely. Camping, merit badges, hiking and making new friends have drawn her girls to Scouting.
“It’s important for kids to be able to do this,” Fabian said. “Watching them jel as a team doing things, especially like a weekend like this, is phenomenal. I’m like a proud little mama!”
Corva Vega and Charlotte Landis, both 13, are members of troop 1211.
Landis originally started in Girl Scouts but was drawn to Scouts BSA by the camping and hands-on outdoor opportunities.
“I think that it was so much different back then that it is a crazy point to think that women were not included in (Boy Scouts),” Landis said. “I am so glad that we finally have a chance to do stuff like this.”
Mike Blasko of Mt. Pleasant, the Westmoreland-Fayette Council president, is similarly glad to see the camp be more open for the next generation.
“This place is, every one of us, we’re here, it’s deep in our hearts,” he said. “This place has been to me almost as close to heaven as heaven can get.”
Julia Maruca is a TribLive reporter covering health and the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She joined the Trib in 2022 after working at the Butler Eagle covering southwestern Butler County. She can be reached at jmaruca@triblive.com.
