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JUNE 2014 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3 PAID NM Permit 8 ® CIMARRON T HE M AGAZINE OF T HE P HILMON T S TAFF A ss OCIAT ION® U.S. POSTAGE Non-Profit Organization HIGH COUNTRY check us out! www.philstaff.com ® Mission unites (PSA) Association Staff Philmont The and present— staff—past Philmont the adventure, purpose of serving the the for Ranch Scout Philmont of experience and heritage Boy Scouts of America. and the 17 DEER RUN ROAD CIMARRON NM 87714 Our Mission HIGH COUNTRY®—VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3 PHILMONT STAFF ASSOCIATION® JUNE 2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ED PEASE, EDITOR MARK DIERKER, LAYOUT EDITOR JOHN MURPHY, PRESIDENT COLLEEN NUTTER, VICE PRESIDENT, MEMBERSHIP RANDY SAUNDERS, AssOCIATE EDITOR TIM ROSSEISEN, VICE PRESIDENT, SERVICE BILL CAss, COPY EDITOR WARREN SMITH, VICE PRESIDENT, DEVELOPMENT DAVE KENNEKE, STAFF CONTRIBUTOR ADAM FROMM, SECRETARY KEVIN “LEVI” THOMAS, CARTOONIst MATT LINDSEY, TREASURER in this issue CONTRIBUTING EDITORS NATIONAL DIRECTORS columns ROBERT BIRKBY DAVID CAFFEY AMY BOYLE BILL CAss GREGORY HOBBS KEN DAVIS WARREN SMITH MARK STINNEtt BRYAN DELANEY 4 from the prez MARY STUEVER STEPHEN ZIMMER CATHERINE HUBBARD LEE HUCKSTEP 16 short stuff - the dance HIGH COUNTRY® IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE STEVE RICK 28 ranch roundup - eric martinez PHILMONT STAFF AssOCIATION® AND IS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES PER YEAR AS A BENEFIT TO Its MEMBERS. REGIONAL DIRECTORS NORTHEAST © 2014, THE PHILMONT STAFF AssOCIATION, INC. KATHLEEN SEITZ articles ALL RIGHts RESERVED. NO COPYRIGHT CLAIMED FOR RICK TOUCHETTE PREVIOUSLY COPYRIGHTED OR PUBLIC MATERIAL. PERMIssION GRANTED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL REPRINTING CENTRAL 5 mysery solved OR REDIstRIBUTION WITH PROPER AttRIBUTION. MITCH STANDARD 6 psa news - bill mckown PHIL WINEGARDNER HIGH COUNTRY®, PHILMONT STAFF AssOCIATION®, 8 psa news - amigos needed PSA® AND THE OFFICIAL PSA LOGO® SOUTHERN ARE ALL REGIstERED TRADEMARks OF: ANNE MARIE PINKENBURG 10 psa news - rayado/rocs DOUG WAHL THE PHILMONT STAFF AssOCIATION, INC. 12 psa news - bob birkby 17 DEER RUN ROAD WESTERN 14 psa news -2014 reunion CIMARRON, NEW MEXICO 87714 NANCY STICKELMAN 575-376-1138 MICHAEL WAGGONER 18 psa news - autumn adventure FOR MEMBERSHIP AND SUBSCRIptION INFORMATION, 24 philmont history - bill wadsworth On the cover: VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: JIM LYNCH, IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Laura McMillan MARK ANDERSON, PHILMONT STAFF ADVISOR and Chris Saxton with Gunther 30 philmont history - ponil shootout WWW.PHILSTAFF.COM 33 philmont history - living history EX OFFICIO MEMBERS the Snowman during the 2013 EMERY CORLEY, LEGAL ADVISOR Autumn Adventure. Photo by Jon DOUGLAS FASCHING, TECHNOLOGY MANAGER . other HIGH COUNTRY® WELCOMES ARTICLES, PHOTOS AND Thompson. See story on page 18 LEttERS FOR CONSIDERATION FOR FUTURE IssUES. SUBMIssION DOES NOT GUARANTEE PUBLICATION. 5 bulletin board THE EDITORS AND PUBLISHER RESERVE THE RIGHT TO 27 87714 pride SELECT AND EDIT MATERIALS TO BE PUBLISHED. RANDY SAUNDERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 36 good reading SEND SUBMIssIONS, LEttERS OR COMMENts TO “ HIGH COUNTRY” AT THE ABOVE ADDREss OR E-MAIL: PSA® FELLOWS [email protected] BOB HARVEY FELLOW PAUL AND MARY JANE HARVEY ® IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE HIGH COUNTRY GLENN A. FOWLER FELLOW IN ELECTRONIC RATHER THAN PAPER FORMAT, PLEASE BRUCE BARNES CONTACT THE PSA OFFICE AT [email protected] GEORGE A. BULLOCK FELLOW MEMBERS ONLY ACCESS WILLIAM D. BRYCE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS ® OPINIONS EXPREssED IN HIGH COUNTRY ARE THOSE OF BILL CASS KEN DAVIS CATHY HUBBARD COLLEEN LESTER JOE DAVIS FELLOW USER NAME: WEBSTERPASS THE WRITERS AND, UNLEss OTHERWISE stATED, BILL CASS STEVE LEWIS WARREN SMITH MARK STINNETT RICK THOM DO NOT NECEssARILY REFLECT THE VIEws OF THE JOHN A. MAXBAUER, JR. FELLOW YNTHIA RUEMPER ARTY SCHETTER TEVE IMMER HILMONT TAFF ssOCIATION® HILMONT PASSWORD: fishcamp C T M T S Z P S A , P ANONYMOUS SCOUT RANCH, OR THE BOY SCOUts OF AMERICA. VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3— JUNE 2014 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3— JUNE 2014 3 from the president BULLETIN BOARD Upcoming PSA® Events Philmont Hikes On PSA North Texas Regional Reunion – May 31, 2014 St. Francis Church Family Life Center, Grapevine, TX Contact: John Ryan at [email protected] In April at the Ranch Committee the Ranch whatever the future needs meeting, I listened intently as John or challenges will be. Lots of exciting PSA Annual Reunion – July 11-13, 2014 Philmont Training Center Green, BSA National Group Director, times are ahead. This summer nine new Visit www.philstaff.com for more information spoke about the challenges of attract- backcountry itineraries will experience ing young people into Scouting. As it the rich history of the Chase Ranch as PSA Summer Trek @ Philmont – July 14-20, 2014 Philmont Scout Ranch relates to Philmont, he stated that the part of their program. Another high- Visit www.philstaff.com for more information BSA’s strategic focus is to shoot for light of 2014 will be the celebration a host of new Cub Scouts in order to of the 1,000,000th camper to attend PSA Ohio Regional Reunion – August 29-31, 2014 Dayton, Ohio have enough future Scouts to maintain Philmont sometime in July. I hope you Contact: Scott Tritt at [email protected] High Adventure attendance levels in will make plans to join us for the PSA the coming years. That was a wakeup Summer Reunion on July 11-12 week- PSA Autumn Adventure Trek – October 12-17, 2014 Philmont Scout Ranch call. I always assumed that the wait list end. We may just get a chance to be a Contact: Steve & Cynthia Truemper at [email protected] for crews was a given because of the part of that 1,000,000th camper celebra- popularity of the Philmont experience. tion event! The PSA Trek will follow the As former staffers both at the Ranch reunion so there is plenty of activity to and at the Training Center, I’ll bet get involved with. The Mystery Solved! that few of us ever worried about not On a sad note, the PSA lost a great The February and April 2014 issues of High Country included the story of a having enough participants during a friend and member last month with the Philmont program from long ago – the Gateway program and the Rangers who summer. All we saw were happy crews passing of Bill McKown. He has been a made it happen. Months of research to prepare the article was conducted by coming off the trail and adults anxious great Philmont supporter and all who Kathy Leach – one of the two initial female Philmont Rangers, and herself a Gate- for leadership training at PTC. We knew him were in awe of his drive and way Ranger. In the course of her research, she found among her own Philstuff a cannot predict the future, but one thing courage. He surmounted daily adver- copy of her life membership card, issued when she joined the PSA in 1976. With is for sure – Philmont Scout Ranch has sity with grace. Thank you Bill for your it was a note from Dave Bates, then the executive secretary of the PSA, advising offered through history and still offers service, and I will see you walking on Kathy that she was the second female Life Member. today the best High Adventure draw the upper trail someday. That, as one might suspect, provoked several to ask the question: So who was for young people – and even those “not Finally, thank you to all who took the first? so young” anymore – anywhere. It is time to respond to our PSA member Our inquiry to the membership in the April issue resulted in several responses remarkably well run under the leader- survey. Colleen and others on the Mem- – all with the same answer, and ship of John Clark and Mark Anderson. bership Committee will be compiling since confirmed. The first female They make it look so smooth, although the results and they will published in Life Member of the Philmont Staff we all know the challenges of organiz- the near future. It is time to see what Association was Bobbie Hobbs, ing, operating and funding the Ranch you think is important and what you a member of the Philmont staff every year. want the PSA to accomplish! 1964-66 and 1968-69. Thanks to all The PSA has been a great partner who responded to our request for information, and to Bobbie for her with the Ranch for forty years and - John Murphy loyalty through the years. we stand poised and ready to assist President VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3— JUNE 2014 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3— JUNE 2014 4 from the prez bulletin board 5 psa® news The Remarkable Ranger: Bill McKown, 1955-2014 by Mark Stinnett, Contributing Editor center. He carried the Olympic torch when it passed through central Kansas. Long-time PSA board member Bill Bill always remembered his Scout- McKown, 58, passed away at his home ing roots and continually gave back. in Great Bend, KS, on March 19. Bill He became Scoutmaster of Troop 155 served as a Philmont ranger in 1974 in Great Bend and mentored many and 1975. He received an appointment young men to their own Eagle ranks. to the Philmont Ranch Committee in He served as camp director at Camp the 1980s and became its representa- Kanza, the local council camp. He held tive on the PSA’s Board of Directors in positions on the council’s executive 1998, serving ably in both positions up board and chaired multiple committees. Bill with Chope and Virginia Phillips and Julie Puckett in 2011. to the time of his final illness. With his service on the Philmont After his last staff summer at Ranch Committee came more opportu- movements of a couple of fingers on his pher Reeve). Philmont, Bill lived life to the fullest. nities for adventure.

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