Safety Harbor Scout Pack Searching For Its History
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Cub Scout Pack 43 of Safety Harbor is turning 60 this year, and as a group, they are only asking for one present: to learn more about the pack’s history.
According to Pack 43 Cubmaster Rich Bennett, theirs is one of the oldest continuous packs in the state of Florida.
And as they approach this milestone anniversary, Bennett said they would like to get as much information on Pack 43 as possible for a ceremony they are hosting in October.
“We’re trying to compile a history of the pack,” Bennett recently told Safety Harbor Connect. “We’re looking for stories, photos, news clippings, lists of past members for a pack history book we are putting together.”
“Over the past 60 years there’s been thousands of kids who have passed through Pack 43,” he added. “We’d like to hear from as many of them as possible to help trace the entire history of the pack.”
After spending time with the group for their annual Pinewood Derby race recently, it’s easy to see why cataloguing the history of the pack is so important to everyone who is affiliated with it.
One parent who attended the derby, where the kids construct cars from blocks of wood and then race them down a wooden track, said the scouts help shape young boys lives.
“It teaches the boys life skills, how to be responsible, how to work together,” Liz McFarland of Clearwater said. “My son looks forward to it every week.”
“The friends you make here are friends for life,” she added. “That’s why compiling the pack’s history is so important to everyone here.”
Bennet said that kind of thirst to have current and future pack members know the complete history of Pack 43 is what is driving this campaign.
He stressed that the scouts have produced many great men in the country’s history, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the Safety Harbor pack has some special former members as well.
“The scouts focus on bringing up boys who will become strong members of the community,” he said. “Some of society’s greatest leaders were Eagle Scouts, which is the highest level a scout can attain, including Colin Powell, President Ford and Neil Armstrong.”
“We’re trying to find out if we have any leaders of society who have been members of Pack 43,” he added. “As long as we’ve been around, I’m sure we have.”
If you have any information pertaining to the history of Cub Scout Pack 43 of Safety Harbor, contact them through their website, their Facebook page or via email at Pack43Rules@gmail.com.
I want to say thank you to those who are helping the pack with this project. In the process of researching, we have found that the pack is actually older then believed. Two newspaper articles have been discovered from 1951 on the Pack’s Charter by the Safety Harbor Elementary School PTA http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wFpIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YU4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1581%2C4264710 and an award ceremony later that year.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GYxaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=h08DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1511%2C637300
We will now start the long journey of having it corrected with the Boy Scouts of America, and filling in the remaining gaps. I just want to say thank you again to the those who have helped us with this project.
Richard Bennett
Cubmaster Pack 43
I have spent a little time searching through some of the Safety Harbor Herald newspapers online, but have not yet seen anything on the troop. In researching for the history book, I do remember there were references to the scouts throughout the years, but just don’t remember which years. If there is someone who has some time on their hands, they might find it helpful to visit the Safety Harbor Public Library and if possible, ask to see the 1954 editions (on up) of the now defunct newspaper. Much of what happened in the Harbor was reported or referred to in that weekly paper. Some of the issues are not available online yet, as the library is raising funds to have the whole collection digitized. It’s probably worth a try though.
http://cdm15899.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/myfirst/id/18/rec/18
I will also put a call out on my Facebook page for A Brief History of Safety Harbor. Maybe a former scout will see it and will take time to come back here and comment. Good luck!
Laura Kepner