Circle Ten Council

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Scouting organization
Organizational data
Name	Circle 10 Council
Location	Dallas, Texas
Country	United States
Founded	1910
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Scouting portal

Circle Ten Council is the main Boy Scouts of America chartered council in the Central North Texas area, as well as a portion of Oklahoma. It encompasses all or parts of: Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, Rains, Rockwall and Van Zandt counties in Texas as well as Bryan County in Oklahoma. Founded in 1910 and based in Dallas, approximately 70,000 youth and 10,000 adults participate in Scouting through the council each year. Within Circle Ten is an OA Lodge(one of the few to have two totems) and 6 camping grounds, three of which operate as summer camps each year. ^[1]

Contents 1 Heritage 1.1 Council Districts 2 Mikanakawa Lodge 101 2.1 The Lodge today 2.1.1 Mikanakawa Lodge Chapters 3 Campgrounds 3.1 Constantin 3.1.1 Jack D. Furst Aquatics Base 3.2 James Ray Scout Reservation 3.3 Wisdom 3.4 Clements Scout Ranch 3.4.1 Cherokee 3.4.2 Meisenbach 4 Paper units 5 International 6 Current board members and staff 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Heritage

The Scouting movement came to Dallas in 1910, the same year the Scouts was created in the United States, and by 1913 several troops were already in existence. In 1923 the council came into possession of its first camp. Donated by John S. Wisdom, also known as "Daddy Wisdom", to support the council he gave his farm as a permanent campsite.^[1] Since Wisdoms' genorosity Circle 10 has acquired three more major camps: Constantin, James Ray, and Cherokee. J.L. Tarr, the Scout Executive of Circle 10 became Chief Scout Executive in 1979. In 1996 Circle 10 moved into their new home, The John D. Murchison Service Center, named after the National BSA President and Dallas area businessman/philanthropist who died in 1979 during the first year of his term.^[2]

[edit] Council Districts

The following is a list of districts within the Council as well as the counties and cities they serve (assume city unless denoted as a county)^[3]:

[edit] Mikanakawa Lodge 101

The Mikanakawa Lodge is the local extension of the Order of the Arrow within Circle 10. It was founded in 1937 by L.L.Hotchkiss after Scouts from Circle 10 came back from the National Jamboree. On April 26^th Hotchkiss, himself a distinguished Arrowman, mailed a letter to the National OA Secretary about starting a Lodge. On June 22^nd of the same year final approval for the Lodge was given and within seven days of the letter the first Ordeal was held at Camp Wisdom. The lodge received their name when the Mikanakawa Tribe, a group of Scouts acting outside of the Order of the Arrow but with similar activities, was merged by Circle 10 into the official Order of the Arrow Lodge and allowed to keep the name Mikanakawa. The Lodge lacked the traditional "patch flap" until 1950 when it was designed by Bill Jordan in preparation for a trip to a National meeting. In 1994 the Mikanakawa Lodge acquired the Okiciyapi Lodge. Okiciyapi was allowed to keep their totem making Mikinakawa one of the few OA Lodges in the country to have two totems: the Owl and the Thunderbird. Both totems can be found on all Lodge patches since the acquisition.^[4]

[edit] The Lodge today

Mikianakawa Lodge has a membership consisting of around 2,500 Scouts. The current Lodge Chief is Cody Robson; Brotherhood warrior is Sandy Walker; Ordeal Warrior is Charles Willis; Vice Chief of Service is Janson Ford; Recording Secretary is Jordan Francis; Corresponding Secretary is Jason Follis. The Lodge Advisor is Wade Graves. The Lodge holds many events, including 5 annual Ordeals, a Native American Pow-Wow, a Fall Fellowship, Annual Dinner, and a Leadership Development Conference. The lodge also sends delegates to the annual Southern Region Section 3 Conclave and recently finished up a large trip to the 2006 National Order of the Arrow Confernce(NOAC)

[edit] Mikanakawa Lodge Chapters

Within the Mikanakawa Lodge there are 16 Chapters, each serving a different District in Circle 10(sorted by number)^[5]:

[edit] Campgrounds

Circle 10 Council operates 6 year round camping grounds and 3 summer camps.

[edit] Constantin

Camp Constantin is the flagship campground for Circle 10. Located on 385 acres on the shores of Possum Kingdom Lake near Mineral Wells, Texas and containing 15 campsites Constantin acts as both a regular camp open to Boy Scouts from all areas and as Circle 10's largest and longest running summer camp hosting roughly 2,800 Scouts during the 8 weeks it's open during the summer. Constantin was acquired by the Boy Scouts in 1946 when Eugene Constantin donated it, after the death of his son in World War II, to the group that he decided best served the needs, morals, and values of young men. The camp recently celebrated its 60^th birthday and regularly plays host to International scouts, most notably Scouting Ireland.^[6]

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[edit] Jack D. Furst Aquatics Base

Within Camp Constantin is a separate Aquatics Base that was established by a generous donation from Circle 10 board member and former Constantin staff member Jack D. Furst. The Aquatics area is the best maintained and most used Aquatics area within Circle 10 Council and one of the best in Texas. The Aquatics Base features a fleet of sailboats(consisting mainly of Sunfish and Hobie Cats), dozens of newly donated canoes, 5 ski boats, a two-year old state-of-the-art swim dock, and two boat docks. Another popular feature are the two "Blobs" set out every summer. Because of Fursts' generosity and the area upkeep by staff members it is able to offer the Swimming, Rowing & Canoeing, Motorboating, Lifesaving, Sailing & Advanced Sailing, and Waterskiing merit badges as well as Lifeguard training. Its Water Odyssey program is unique to the camp and is designed solely for Eagle Scouts.^[6]

[edit] James Ray Scout Reservation

James Ray Scout Reservation, formerly known as Camp Grayson, is located on the Texas side of Lake Texoma occupying 540 acres. Like Constantin, James Ray is a year round camp and a summer camp. During the summer months James Ray utilizes its 12 campsites and is in operation for 5 weeks. During the 2005 summer James Ray suffered a setback when a refrigerator fire damaged their electrical system. They had some dedicated Circle 10 volunteers that repaired the electrical system and were up and running within 48 hours. James Ray is home to the Sanford Aquatics Area which contains a 280,000 gallon, one-of-a-kind swimming pool. In and surrounding the pool is a beach-front entrance, two diving boards, two aqua jet systems, and a 141-foot water slide. ^[7]

[edit] Wisdom

Camp Wisdom is Circle 10 Council's original and oldest camping grounds. Donated in 1923 by farmer John S. Wisdom, still affectionately known by his nickname "Daddy Wisdom" Camp Wisdom was originally roughly 300 acres. At one point the camp grew to almost 1,000 acres through land donations. However, due to highway construction much of the land was condemned and possessed by the Federal Government.^{[citation needed]} Since then Wisdom has returned to much of its original size. Known primarily for Cub World, Circle 10's primary Cub leader training site and Cub Scout camp ground, Wisdom still plays a major role in leadership training for adults and youth oweing, in part, to the easy access from the Dallas metropolitan area.^[2]

[edit] Clements Scout Ranch

Clements Scout Ranch houses two Boy Scout camps, Camp Cherokee and Camp Meisenbach. Named after former Texas Governor Bill Clements, a lifelong supporter of the BSA, the ranch is comprised of 3,300 acres of towering pines and four well-stocked fishing ponds.^[8]

[edit] Cherokee

Camp Cherokee, located near Athens, Texas, nine campsites for weekend and week-long summer camp visitors. Cherokee is the second longest running summer camp in Circle 10 at six weeks. Unique among the Circle 10 camps Cherokee is the only one to feature a climbing wall(60^ft) and COPE course for building trust, self-esteem, and leadership skills. Cherokee's biggest draw is the horse ranch which is the only place in a Circle 10 camp to obtain the Horsemanship merit badge.

[edit] Meisenbach

Camp Meisenbach is the smaller of the two camps located on Clements Scout Ranch and is used exclusively for year-round camping with the area summer camp being Cherokee. Meisenbach features eight campsites with two pavilions. Located on Murchison lake Meisenbach offers great fishing and canoeing programs.

[edit] Paper units

Despite best intentions of many, the Boy Scouts are sometimes subject to controversy. Circle 10 experienced this on April 7, 2000 when it was discovered that some leaders had registered "phantom scouts" in order to bolster the numbers of their troops. The council subsequntially reduced its rosters by 35%, removing all faux-Scouts. In 2003 a federal grand jury was impaneled to consider possible criminal charges. The investigation is still pending.^[9]

[edit] International

Circle 10 Council has strong International Scouting ties, particularly with Scouting Ireland with whom they have set-up a Scouting exchange program every summer. In the summer of 2005 a composite troop from Ireland toured the three Circle 10 summer camps and stayed with foster families for a time in Dallas. In 2006 Scouts from Circle 10 visited Larch Hill and went hiking and camping with Irish Scouts in the Southern part of Ireland. An Irish contingent is planned for 2007 with a return trip by Circle 10 already planned for 2008.

[edit] Current board members and staff

[edit] See also

• Scouting in Texas

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mikanakawa Lodge
• Collection of Mikanakawa Patches