100 years of south Georgia Scouting history

ALBANY — One hundred years ago, the Boy Scouts of Albany and South Georgia were already involved in the tradition of summer camp.

In 1920, Albany and later to include Americus and the surrounding towns, were members of the Nochaway Council, BSA. Summer camp for Nochaway Council began in 1921. As the council did not own a camp, various places were used for summer camps. Regardless of the physical location, the camp was called Camp Nochaway.

Mercer Sherman, an Eagle Scout from Albany, took photos from the early camps, and the comments on them are his.

The 1923 Camp Nochaway was held near Rhodes Ferry at Bainbridge. The actual site of Rhodes Ferry, and most likely the camp site, appears to have been flooded when Lake Seminole was built. The summer camp staff was T. M. Ticknor, camp director; S.K. Simoms, quartermaster; and J.J. West, W. Morrow, and W.E. Carter. Three Eagle Scouts also assisted with camp: Wheeler Johnson of Macon and George Johnson and Jack Bierman of Albany.

Camp operated from June 8 until June 15, 1923, and the cost was $5 per scout. There were 130 boys who attended camp, representing 13 troops from Albany, Boston, Jakin, Bainbridge. Tifton and Moultrie.

At the end of the 1923 summer Camp Nochaway, the 10 scouts who earned the most merit points took a boat trip down the Apalachicola River to Apalachicola, Fla., on the Gulf of Mexico. The scouts were Oliver Benson, Raymond Holt, Joe Leary, Burton Morris, Mercer Sherman, Fred Sumter and George Sparks all of Albany; James Jones of Boston, and Frank Wheelis of Moultrie. Horace Coleman, the scoutmaster of Troop 5 of Albany, led the group and Eagle Scout George Johnson of Albany assisted him. Other boys who qualified to make the trip but could not go were Hugh Shackelford, Charles McClure and Tom Mitchell of Troop 5 Albany. The trip cost the Council $120.

Wesley M. Bagby Jr. was the first Council Executive of Nochaway Council. He served from 1921 until 1925. In 1925, he moved to Savannah to become Scout Executive of the Savannah Council a job he held at least through 1930. He died in 1951 and is buried in the Montezuma Cemetery in North Carolina.

The Rev. John C. Gamble was the second Council Executive of Nochaway Council. He began his tenure as Scout Executive on March 9, 1925. Gamble was apparently working as a Methodist Minister and Council Executive, as he was transferred to a church in Savannah in April of 1925. He served less than two months as Council Executive.

James H. Gillion Jr. was the third Council Executive of Nochaway Council. He served from 1925 until 1927. Gillion resigned his position as Scout Executive in January of 1927 to become the Scout Executive at the Walter Hines Page Council in North Carolina. He died in 1984 in Fayetteville, N.C.

Mercer Sherman was the fourth and last Council Executive of Nochaway Council, serving from 1927 until the Council closed in 1930. In 1925, he was Assistant Council Executive for Nochaway Council. He was an Eagle Scout from Albany. He died in 1997 and is buried in Albany.

South Georgia Council now serves thousands of girls and boys in scouting in 28 south Georgia counties, including Atkinson, Baker, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks Calhoun, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Crisp, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Mitchell, Miller, Schley, Sumter, Terrell, Tift, Turner, Wilcox and Worth. For more information on scouting in south Georgia go to https://www.sgcbsa.org/.

For more history of scouting in south Georgia, go to http://www.sgacbook.com/.

Special Photos: Mercer Sherman, South Georgia CouncilSpecial Photo: Mercer Sherman, South Georgia Council

Special Photo: Mercer Sherman, South Georgia Council