The legacy of Scouting in the Bucktail Council is rich in history and tradition. From the first Scout Meet held in Ridgway in 1930 to the acquisition of Camp Mountain Run in 1932, from the building of the new Dining Hall in 1971 to the inception of the Boone Mountain Experience in 1992, the spirit of Scouting has remained the same. The Adventure Begins...

Chapter One: In the beginning. . .

In 1930, there were many independent Boy Scout troops in the DuBois tri-county area, but there was no local council. Each of these troops had to register directly with the National Council. The idea of organizing a local council was conceived by John Q. Groves, a banker from DuBois. His interest in Scouting was sparked by his brother-in-law George Olmstead, who was, at the
time, chairman of the Region III Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts of America. Groves, with the help of his friend Lyle G. Hall of Ridgway, was able to get many of the area's businessmen interested in starting a local Boy Scout council. On July 24, 1930, an organizational meeting was held. Present at the meeting were Edward J. Durbin of Brockway; Lyle G. Hall, C. Keeler Gifford, Rev. Malcolm Depui Maynard, R. Rees, W.R. Summerville, Mr. McLaughlin, and Mr. Dowie of Ridgway; William Utts, Meggs C. Barrett, and F. Rankin Wilson of Brookville; A.W. McClure of Reynoldsville; Dr. J.C. Borland of Falls Creek; Louis L. Steinberg, John Q. Groves, and Fred D. Osborn of DuBois; and Major Grover D. Van Deboe of Philadelphia, who was the deputy regional executive of Region III, Boy Scouts of America. Major Van Deboe called the meeting to order and acted as chairman. Officers were then elected. They were Lyle G. Hall, president; Meggs C. Barrett, vice president; and Fred D. Osborn, treasurer. These officers were instructed to apply for a charter for their new council. They also voted to hire Howard B. Knepper as Scout executive. Finally, the group decided to adopt a name which was suggested by John Q. Groves. The official name of the council would be the Bucktail Council, Boy Scouts of America. This name was chosen in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Kane's Bucktail Regiment which was largely recruited from this area. A formal ceremony in which a bucktail would be presented to the council would follow after the council was established..The director of the new council, H.B. Knepper, graduated from Indiana State Teachers College, then did post graduate work at Juniata College. He also attended and graduated from the National Boy Scout Training School for Boy scout Executives.

Before being hired by the Bucktail Council, Scout Executive Knepper served as assistant executive of the Clarion-Venango-Forest Area Council. He moved to DuBois immediately after being hired. His first duty was to establish council headquarters which would be located in the DuBois National Bank Building. Another of his initial assignments was making plans for the first Scout Meet which would be held in Ridgway later in the year. The next move in establishing the council was defining its structure. In early 1931, the council adopted its Constitution and By-laws. Then, at the second meeting of the Bucktail Council Executive Board, they defined the council's physical structure. They stated that the council would include all of Elk and Clearfield Counties, the western part of Centre County, and the Brockway, Falls Creek, Reynoldville areas of Jefferson County. This is the way the council was originally chartered and the structure would remain unchanged for many years. On July 14, 1931, at a ceremony held in Falls Creek, a
bucktail was presented to the Boy Scouts of America. James C. Wilson of Falls Creek, the only surviving member of the original Bucktail Regiment, who was then near 95 years old, presented a bucktail to Joseph Vallely, a member of Troop 28, sponsored by the Third Ward Hose Company of DuBois.

Chapter Two: The Search for a Camp

At the time of its inception, there were thirty three troops in the Bucktail Council. However, the council did not own its own camp. This didn't stop the new council from having a summer camp program for its troops. In conjunction with the Oil city Council, the Bucktail Council helped operate Camp Coffman. Camp Coffman was owned by the Oil City Council, which later became the Colonel Drake Council, then consolidated into part of the French Creek Council with its headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania. Camp Coffman was closed and later sold by the French Creek Council. Meanwhile back in DuBois, Council President Lyle G. Hall formed a subcommittee of the executive board to investigate buying the council its own camp. On May 1, 1932, the council camping committee reported that they had located two sites for the possible location of the council Scout camp. One of the choices was a site on the East Branch and the other was a site on the Mountain Run Stream. Members of the executive board inspected both sites. The site on the Mountain Run Stream was chosen. The executive board officially approved the leasing of land on the Mountain Run Stream. This land was originally leased from the Kersey Mining Company and the state of Pennsylvania. Also in 1932 the first structure was brought to Camp Mountain Run. It was called the Iroquois Cabin. The Iroquois Cabin was brought to Mountain Run from an old mining development. This cabin would be used by the Camp Ranger until it was torn down in 1972. It stood where the present day parking lot is located.

Chapter Three: The Council Howss Forward

At the annual Bucktail Council Recognition Dinner in 1934, the council made Lyle G. Hall their first recipient of the Silver Beaver Award. The Silver Beaver is an award given to a Scouter for outstanding service to the council and the Scouting program. Cub Scouting, a new program started by the Boy Scouts of America about the same time the council was founded, got its
start in the Bucktail Council in 1935. There were eight Cubs and four leaders forming the charter membership of the first Cub pack. By the following year, the Cubbing program would grow to seventy seven Cubs and twenty five leaders who comprised the membership of four Cub packs. In 1935, Camp Mountain Run was also on the forward track. The Stackpole Carbon Company of Saint Marys built twelve shelters, which would become known as the Shelter Line. The Shelter Line was used for many years. The last shelter of the Shelter Line was torn down in the late fifties. Stackpole Carbon also made one other large and long lasting contribution to Camp Mountain Run in 1935. They had the original swimming pool built. At the time, the water for the swimming pool had to be naturally heated in a warming pond. Once heated, the water was put in the pool. It was said that on a good day, you could see the bottom of the pool. The Dining Hall Building, or as it has come to be called, the PX, was built the following year in 1936. The Bucktail Council financed its building. The Px had a large room with a wooden floor and a smaller room with a concrete floor. The wooden floor room was used primarily for dining room purposes. The concrete floored room served as the kitchen. The storage room/cooler room was located in the side of the hill near the Px building.

Scouting was progressing well on the national front as well. The first National Scout Jamboree was held in 1937 in Washington, DC. For a fairly new council, the Bucktail Council was well represented. Forty seven Scouts and seven Scouters were in attendance from the council. Back in the Bucktail Council, a new Scout executive was hired and a new position was created. First off, John H. Keller was hired as the new executive director of the council. He succeeded Howard Knepper as Scout executive. Also the same year, the executive board hired Harry B. Stevens as the first camp ranger. His duty was to maintain Camp Mountain Run year round. In the summer, he was assisted by the summer camp staff. Meanwhile, camp staff members had been hard at work developing the council's Boy Scout Resident Camp program over the preceding few years. Every summer a group of individuals hired by the Bucktail Council gathered at Camp Mountain Run at the beginning of June. Under the direction of the resident camp director, they were responsible for the successful operation of Camp Mountain Run during the summer months.

Chapter Four: The Camp Mountain Run Honor Society and the Ah'Tic Lodge

Also in 1937 the Camp Mountain Run Honor Society was organized. Some of the leaders of the council felt that the truly honorable Scouts and Scouters, particularly the camp staff, should be recognized. They considered the possibility of establishing an Order of the Arrow lodge, but it was already the summer camping season, so time constraints were prohibitive. Instead, the Camp Mountain Run Honor Society was formed. The camp staff formed the charter membership. Discussion of forming an Order of the Arrow lodge was continued over the winter of 1937. On January 12, 1938, the Bucktail Council Executive Board voted to apply for an Order of the Arrow lodge charter. Under the direction of Scout Executive John H. Keller, plans were made for establishing the new lodge. The original members of the Camp Mountain Run Honor Society would become nominees for membership in the Order of the Arrow. On June 1, 1938, a ceremonial team from Camp Twin Echo of East Boroughs Council {later East Valley Area Council which consolidated with Allegheny Trails Council to become the Greater Pittsburgh Council) came to Camp Mountain Run to initiate the first members of the Bucktail Council into the Order of the Arrow. Those members formed their own ceremonial team and continued throughout the summer to initiate the rest of the new lodge's forty five charter members. On July 27, the first official meeting of the new lodge was held. They chose the name "Ah'Tic" for the lodge's name. The word "Ah'Tic" was taken from the Chippewa language and means Elk. The elk is the lodge's totem. Officers were also elected at the first meeting. They were William Borland, chief; William Newman, vice chief; Morris Anderson, Secretary; Louis T. Davas, historian; and William Dillman, keeper of the fire.

Chapter Five: Cabins for Camp

In 1939, the Kersey Mining Company sold the land it was leasing to the Bucktail Council to the New Shawmut Mining Company. The New Shawmut Mining Company in turn sold that land to the Bucktail Council for the fee of one dollar. Later that same year, the Courier-Express Cabin was deeded to the council. That cabin had been built by the W.P.A. in the early 1930's. Before it was given to the Bucktail Council, it was remodeled through the efforts of Troop 25 of DuBois, which was sponsored by the Courier-Express. The following year, another cabin was given to the council. It was the Ah'Tic Lodge Cabin. This cabin was built and given to the council in 1940 by the First Methodist Church of DuBois. At one time the cabin had the popular nickname of the Lake Cabin. However, the executive board officially declared that its name would be the Ah'Tic Lodge Cabin since it has always been maintained by the Order of the Arrow lodge. Another cabin was deeded to the Bucktail Council. This time it was the Director's Cabin. Originally, called the Brockway Cabin, it was built it the mid thirties by the W.P.A. It became known as the Brockway Cabin because it was maintained by Troop 40 of Brockway. The troop gave the cabin to the council in 1941. It is now used by the director of the council summer camp program and is not available to be used during the winter or cabin camping seasons. Since the council employed a full-time ranger for Camp Mountain Run, the need to build a permanent residence existed. The executive board, under the leadership of new President Glenn Hengle of Brockway, decided to build a house for the camp ranger. Previously he had used one of the small cabins on the Camp's property. The council raised funds for the ranger's home through general solicitation and, in 1949, the ranger's residence was built.

Chapter Six: Incorporation

The Bucktail Council had been progressing nicely over its first ten years. By the end of the decade, there were seventy four troops and eight packs chartered within the council. This brought the council's membership to nearly 2,000 for the year of 1940. Since the Bucktail Council was now firmly established, it was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania on May 23, 1940. Its legal name thus became Bucktail Council, Incorporated, Boy Scouts of America. Scout Executive Keller left the council in 1942. The executive board voted to hire Charles Acheson as the executive director. He remained in the post for only a short time. In 1948, Harold H. Hills took over as Scout executive. He would serve as scout executive until 1965, a council record of seventeen years.

Chapter Seven: The Area IIIB Meet, a Philmont trip, and the first Vigil Honor

The Bucktail Council's Order of the Arrow lodge, the Ah'Tic Lodge, had grown considerably throughout its early years. Along with the camp ranger, they acted as a service corps to Camp Mountain Run. The lodge became well established within the area -and region {geographical zones of the Boy Scouts of America). In 1950, the Area IIIB Meet was held at Camp Mountain Run. Lowell Peoples, Chief of the Ah'Tic Lodge, acted as host. This was a meeting of all of the area's lodges' officers. At the time Area IIIB included all of western Pennsylvania. Later. Region III restructured the areas within it due to the rapid expansion of membership. Northwestern Pennsylvania remained Area IIIB, while southwestern Pennsylvania became Area IIIF.

Once again, the Order of the Arrow made news in the council. The Ah'Tic Lodge presented the Vigil Honor for the first time in 1951. The recipient was William Shobert, past chief of the lodge. The Vigil Honor is the highest award an Order of the Arrow lodge can bestow on one of its members. The candidate is elected by the lodge for his distinguished service to the council and lodge. Also in 1951, the Bucktail Council sent its first contingent to Philmont Scout Ranch. Philmont i-s a 137,000 acre high adventure base in northern New Mexico intended for older Scouts and Explorers. This trip began the tradition of the council sending a group to Philmont every few years.

Chapter Eight: More at Mountain Run and the Exploring Program

In 1951 another cabin was built at Hountain Run. This cabin, called Eynon Lodge. was constructed and donated by the Pure Carbon Company through the efforts of H.B. Eynon of Saint Marys. The following year, the lake was constructed at Camp Mountain Run. This project was financed by the Bucktail Council. The lake is located in the south end of the camp. It is used for many boating and water related activities. The lakefront area is also used for many other activities, including the Order of the Arrow tap-out (now calling-out) ceremony. Also in 1952, the first Explorer post was chartered within the Bucktail Council. At its inception the Exploring program was created for older Scouts, replacing the senior Scout concept. It became the norm for the same sponsoring organization to charter an Explorer post for older Scouts and a Boy Scout troop for younger Scouts at the same time. Over the next few years, some new buildings were put up at Camp Mountain Run. In 1956, the Ideal Health Lodge was built. It was constructed and donated by Calvin Bean of Sykesville. This building served as an infirmary. During summer camp, there has always been a health officer on duty. This person must be trained in the medical field and licensed as an EMT or higher. The following year, the Bucktail Council erected the Shawnee Maintenance Building. This building is used by the camp ranger to store- supplies. Previously, It was used in the summer by the quartermaster as well. In late 1958, the construction of another cabin was started. It was through the efforts of Glenn Mengle of Brockway that the Glen-Ru Lodge was built. He and his wife, Ruth, financed its building, and then donated it to the Bucktail Council.

Chapter Nine: The Development of the Ah' Tic Lodge

In 1954 the Ah'Tic Lodge once again hosted the Area IIIB Heet. At the time, Robert Parsky was the lodge chief. Also in 1954, the lodge lay advisor position was created. Paul Heitzenrater of DuBois filled the new post. The lay advisor was to act as the adult advisor to the lodge as well as the executive committee. According to national standards and the By-Laws of the Ah'Tic Lodge, the lodge chief must be a youth member of the lodge. In the Order of the Arrow, like Exploring, members twenty one and under are considered youth. However, in a Boy Scout troop, youth member is defined as eighteen and under. Youth members in the Order of the Arrow are eligible for any office, either elected lodge officers or appointed chairman. Those members over the age of twenty one may serve as the advisor to a committee. The lodge's key offices were now well defined. They would be the elected officers: the lodge chief, lodge secretary, lodge treasurer, and district vice chiefs. {Lodge historian and keeper of the fire were no longer elected offices.}They, along with the lodge lay advisor, the lodge staff advisor, and the supreme chief of the fire were the leaders of lodge. The supreme chief of the fire would be the council Scout executive. The lodge staff advisor would also be a professional Scouter. Possibly the Scout executive would serve in this position also. However, in most cases, he appoints one of the district executives to fill this office. The Ah'Tic Lodge presented the first Man and Boy of the Year awards in 1959. Charles "Charlie" Snyder, camp ranger from 1951-1975, was named the Ah'Tic Lodge Man, of the Year and George Test was named Boy of the Year. This marked the beginning of the annual presentation of the awards. The Boy and Man of the Year Awards are presented at the Ah'Tic Lodge's annual banquet/ business meeting which is usually held in late March or early April at Camp Mountain Run. Each recipient is awarded a plaque and his name is inscribed on the Bucktail Council Honor Roll.

Chapter Ten: Some Ghosts and a Master Storyteller

In the mid-1800's. two brothers were traveling through the thickly forested woodland in Clearfield County. Presumably they were coming from the Brockway area and heading toward Clearfield, the county seat. In the afternoon, the two brothers and their dog stopped outside present day Penfield to eat lunch. They tied up their horses and sat under a tree. While they were eating, two men approached; It was the sheriff and one of his men. They accused the two brothers of being horse thieves. The sheriff strung up a noose and proceeded to hang the older brother; The younger brother was still claiming that they didn't do it. He began to scream for help. Their white dog started to go crazy and ran off into the woods. Meanwhile the other officer attached the boy's horses to his wagon to help carry the bodies back to Clearfield. Before the younger brother was hung, he said that his horses would never carry his body across the bridge. After finishing their business, the officers were on their merry way back to Clearfield. Soon they were upon the bridge {east of present day Penfield} that the younger brother had mentioned. As soon as they reached the bridge, the horses stopped. The sheriff cracked his whip to no avail. The horses would go no farther. The sheriff, and his man had to- remove the bodies from the wagon and walk the horses across the bridge. Then, they carried the bodies across the bridge. As they did this, they heard a loud howl. They looked around, then spotted the white dog up on a hill staring right at them... At least that's how Camp Ranger Charlie Snyder told the story. Charlie Snyder was considered by many as a master storyteller. He and many others have reported of sightings of the white dog, who is supposedly still wandering the area which is now Mountain Run. Mr. Snyder also told of a far greater danger that lurks of the lower part of the Brockway watershed and the upper part of Mountain Run. This is the nefarious Hodag. The Hodag lives in what is called Spook Hollow. No one really knows for sure what the beast looks like. Some sources say it.resembles a large bear that walks erect. Others say it looks like a cross between a huge horse and a moose. However, reports say that it has large piercing red eyes. It is said that at the end of the Spook Hollow trail there is a treasure of some kind that the Hodag guards. It could possibly be a shipment of gold that was being transported through the area during the Civil War. It was lost somewhere near or in Elk County. Besides problems from the Hodag, a would-be fortune hunter also faces the Devil's Racetrack. This is an area which is located deep in the woods past the gas line and presumably off the Camp's property. {No one knows for sure if a person wanders into the wooded impasse, he supposedly becomes trapped because everything looks the same from all sides. Once the poor soul starts to panic, the old guy himself, the Devil, shows up and chases the person around. He eventually overtakes his prey and kills it.

The tragedy of Hatchet Hands is like that of the Phantom of the Opera. He was born without hands. In order for him to be of some use, his parents shoved axes where his hands should have been. Since his parents didn't really love him, Hatchet Hands longed for affection from others. He often tried to hug people, not realizing what would happen when he put his arms (axes) around people. Many other stories are also told. They include a lost miner. This "Drifter" wanders around the woods. He pops up every so often to bother but not really harm people. It is also rumored that hill people who hate Boy Scouts live in the hills of the Brockway watershed.

Chapter Eleven: The Generosity of Stackpole Carbon Continues

The Stackpole Carbon Company has always been one of the Bucktail Council's outstanding contributors. Through the efforts of J. Hall Stackpole of Saint Marys, who just happened to be president of the Bucktail of the Council at the time, the company supplied funds for the renovation of the swimming pool in 1960. At this time a new filtration system was also installed. 1961, J. Hall Stackpole, now the past president of the In council, was awarded the Silver Beaver. Scout Executive Harold Hills and Council President Ray Walker of Clearfield were on hand for the presentation. The following year, the Stackpole Carbon Company made another contribution to the council. They helped make the part of Camp Mountain Run that was owned by the Bureau of Forestry of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania become the property of the Bucktail Council. Again through the efforts of J. Hall Stackpole, a land trade was arranged. He traded land that the Stackpole Carbon Company owned for the land owned by the state. Then Stackpole Carbon deeded the land to the council. Now the council owned all of the land on which Camp Mountain Run was operated.

Chapter Twelve: Some New Faces and the first Polar Bear Weekend

In 1965, Scout Executive Hills retired. The Executive Board then hired Vincent N. Borrelli to replace him. Mr. Borrelli had a very short tenure as Scout executive. In 1968 he left the council. Then Uilliam C. Reilly was hired to be the council's executive director. In 1970 under Scout Executive Reilly, the Bucktail Council organized the first Klondike Derby, also called Polar Bear Weekend. The first Polar Bear was organized by Robert Strong of Brockway. Hr. Strong was a firm believer that Camp Mountain Run should be used all year long. This is what prompted him to- be chairman for the first and many other Polar Bear Planning Committees. An unfortunate note: Mr. Strong passed away in 1991. The 1992 Polar Bear was held in his memory. The event took the name of the Bob Strong Memorial Polar Bear Weekend. The usual agenda for the weekend doesn't really start until Saturday morning; however some of the staff and troops report on Friday night. On Saturday the troops compete against one another in contests of camping and Scout skills. An awards campfire is held Saturday evening after religious services. If a Scout stays the weekend, he gets an "overnighter" strip that attaches to the Polar Bear patch.

Going to Polar Bear is like going to church on Christmas: everyone is there. The weekend draws an extremely large crowd of spectators and visitors. Every year in January almost all of the council's troops come to Mountain Run for Polar Bear, which is now an annual event. Hany of the council's Scouters, as well as members of the summer camp staff and of the Ah'Tic Lodge offer
their services as the volunteer Polar Bear staff.

Chapter Thirteen: Hurricane Agnes, "Uncle Larry*. and the New Additions

In 1971 a new Scout executive was hired. Laurence V. Pegg replaced William Reilly as the council's top administrator. Hr. Pegg liked to be very much in control of his programs. He was often at Mountain Run four times a week during summer camp. He was affectionately called "Uncle Larry" by the camp staff. Two outstanding contributions were made to the Bucktail Council in 1971. The first was offered by Mrs. Ruth Hengle Blake of Brockway. She personally financed the building of a new service center for the council. The new service center was dedicated in memory of her late husband, Glenn A. Hengle. The new building, located on First Street in DuBois, would serve as the headquarters and administrative center of the Bucktail Council. The second contribution was from the Stackpole-Hall Foundation. They made the largest single donation to the building of the new Camp Mountain Run Dining Hall. The magnificent new building stands above the warming pond where the former archery range was located; On June 18, 1971, dedication ceremonies were held for both the new Bucktail Council Service Center and the new Camp Mountain Run Dining Hall. Present for the ceremony were Alden G. Barber, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America; Joseph L. Anglim, Regional Executive-Region III; Council President Lyle G. Hall Jr; Scout Executive Lawrence V. Pegg; and Scouts and Scouters representing the council's four districts and almost all of the registered troops, packs, and posts. With the building of the new Dining Hall, the council had a vacant building. Since it was still structurally sound. the- Px became home to the Trading Post (the camp store), quartermaster and handicraft area in 1972. The same year the Bucktail Council build a new headquarters cabin at Camp Mountain Run. The Administration Building or "Admin" became the camp's office and meeting room..Also in 1972, the mighty Hurricane Agnes swept across the mid Atlantic in 1972. Her devastating force was felt throughout the DuBois tri-county area. The lake at Camp Mountain Run was destroyed in the disaster. Attendance at summer camp dropped considerably in 1973 and 1974 due to the fact that all of the facilities at the lake were not in operation. In 1974 some of the aquatic facilities at Parker Dam State Park were used by the camp. In 1974 and 1975 the lake was rebuilt. On June 14, 1975 the Charles F. Scott Memorial Dam was dedicated. Charles F. Scott was an Eagle Scout from Troop 2 of Clearfield who was killed while on a mission in Thailand during a tour of duty with the United States Air Force.

Chapter Fourteen: The Northeast Region

Far be it for a disaster to put down the Scouting spirit in the Bucktail Council! Before the lake was repaired, the Ah'Tic Lodge hosted the 1973 Area IIIB Meet at Camp Mountain Run. This was held in conjunction with the lodge's thirty fifth anniversary. That was the last Area III event held. In 1974 there was a major restructuring of the Boy Scouts of America's geographical organization. The United States was reorganized into six regions. They are the East Central Region, the North Central Region, the Northeast Region, the South Central Region, the Southeast Region, and the Western Region. The Bucktail Council became a member of the Northeast Region. The Northeast Region also included the rest of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Transatlantic Council which serves BOY Scouts of America operations for U.S. citizens living in Europe. Headquarters of the Northeast Region were established in Dayton, New Jersey. The councils within the region are grouped into smaller geographical groupings called areas. The Bucktail Council fell in Area 5. Due to the fact that Order of the Arrow lodges within an area meet with one another on a more regular basis, they were organized into even smaller groups called sections. An area may have more than one section within its bounds. The Ah'Tic Lodge became a member of Section C of Area 5. When referring to the section, the title of NE-SC {which means Northeast Region-Area 5 Section C} was used.

Chapter-Fifteen: The Expansion

The mid-1970's started a sort of clean up of Boy Scout councils. Some councils were small, bankrupt, or poorly managed. In order to save the councils, they were either consolidated with other councils or broken up and parts went to neighboring councils. Such is the case of the William Penn Council which was headquartered in Indiana. That council was broken up. Its northern section, southern Jefferson County, was given to the more a b l e Bucktail Council. Nat ional Headquarters viewed the Bucktail Council to be an outstanding council capable of handling new territory. Now with a new service area, the Bucktail Council faced a restructuring. At the time the council had four districts. They were Elk, Seneca, Clearfield, and Moshannon. It was decided that the Seneca District would be restructured to included all of Jefferson County and the DnBois area. The Clearfield and Moshannon Districts would be merged to form the Susquehanna District. The Elk District remained the same. The new arrangement was efficient for the council in many ways. They now had to employ only three district executives, not four. The district executive is responsible for running affairs in his district. He is directly responsible to the council Scout executive who runs the council as a whole. Now on the council's full-time payroll were a scout executive, three district executives, a camp ranger, and three secretaries who work at the
service center.

Chapter Sixteen: Wood Badge and Section Conclave at Camp Mountain Run

Camp Mountain Run was selected to play host to the Wood Badge course in 1979. Josef E. Donfrfed, the Seneca District Executive, served as the course director. Twenty five Scouters attended and completed the course. Wood Badge is an adult leader training course. The first part is a week long training course which emphasizes leadership and outdoor skills. After completing this portion of the course, the trainee must complete his ticket. The trainee does this by completing projects in his/her area of Scouting. Once the ticket is complete, the trainee is presented with Wood Badge Beads to be worn around the neck, a Wood Badge Neckerchief, and a Wood Badge Neckerchief Slide called a Woggle.