Joseph W. Bragg, Scoutmaster Troop 91
Mount Hope WV
"Always there and always in uniform."
The
Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve The
Boy Scouts of America New High Adventure Base And
Boy Scouting in Mount Hope WV
I am Steven Myers,
and grew up within sight of what is now to be BSA's
newest high adventure base. I am a scoutmaster and crew
associate advisor that learned
to take leadership
after making my lifetime committment to scouting with my scoutmaster
over 40 years ago. I received my Eagle in 1968 from
Scoutmaster Joseph W. Bragg in Troop
91
Mount Hope, WV. The legacy he left cannot be underestimated.
To
him and all passed Scoutmasters who have gone home we pray we can have
the influence on our world that they have had.
I can only imagine how proud Mr. Bragg would be, watching The Bechtel Summit being built accross the by-pass.
Links to The Bechtel Summit
Scribd for maps of the summit (see below as well) YouTube for videos (see below as well) Twitter Facebook The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve Scouting.org
I have
an interest in this base because it is being built
in my home town / county of Mount Hope, Fayette County, WV. This page is
partly
to highlight my beloved home town and troop and
partly to show my debt to my scoutmaster for the legacy he left me.
I will
be improving
this page from time to time, so check back often.
Did you know that the land that is to be The
Bechtel Summit was a land grant in 1785 and found its way to Thomas G
McKell as a wedding present when he married Jean Dun? (That is the Jean
in Glen Jean and the Dun in the Dun Glen Inn across from Thurmond.
After his son William McKell passed the land was sold to the New...
River Coal Company whose headquarters today in Mount Hope is now
occupied by Trintyworks
who are building The Bechtel Summit. Trintyworks is at 411 Main
St., Mount Hope, WV 25880 just a few houses from my boyhood home at 402
Main St.
On January 17, 2010 Steve McGowan, lead volunteer
in bringing the BSA to Mount Hope, and now part of the 2013 Development Team, speaks to the Great Trail Council
Wood Badge Dinner.
Things I learned at the WB
Banquet about The Summit that I did not know:
(1) Parking is off site at three locations with shuttles running all
the time.
(2) One location is the Beckley Airport that can land chartered 757
aircraft (who knew)
(3) The Jamboree 2013 site will be highly centralized and more like a
theme park than ever before with a 80,000 seat (did I hear right?)
arena with 6,000 permanent seats, and a front door at Glen Jean.
(4) World class experts on theme park building, BMX motocross...etc
will be used to build The Summit.
(5) That mine reclamation will be paid by the Feds and they will leave
about 9 million dollars of roadway behind, with three major entrances.
(6) That the rail spur (formerly the KGJ&E) that I worked on as
a youth was removed about 15 years ago.
(7) The OA will be building trail throughout the New River National
River George ala Service Corp5.
(8) The OA national HQ will be what ever they make of it.
(9) That the Summit National Summer Camp program begins in 2014
(10) That a world class leadership center will be included to
compliment PTC, not to replace it.
(11) That I miss WV-- you can take the boy out of WV, but can't take WV
out of the boy.
(12) How proud I felt knowing 200+ of my friends in scouting were all
looking at beautiful pictures of WV, taken so near my home town of WV,
and that Steve McGowan let them all know they needed to know the words
to "Take me home, country roads..."
Located amongst world class white water
rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking and more, The Bechtel
Summit sits on more than 10,000 acres adjacent to the New River Gorge,
West Virginia. This facility will be the newest High Adventure™ Base as
well as the permanent home to Scouting's National Jamboree.
Project
Arrow is the national committee that let the team to pick the new site
for the Jamboree, A Summer Camp, A High Adventure base, a Leadership
Center and more.
The
Summit is being built on
the Garden Grounds near Mount Hope to the west and Glen Jean and
Thurmond to the north and Prince to the south. I toured
part of the
Garden Grounds on Thursday December 3, 2009 and took these pictures.
some of the links below also offer pictures.
A few stories on The Summit:
Register Herald, July 29, 2010 The 4-C Economic Development Agency has changed its name to the New
River Gorge Regional Development Authority.
I was
proud to be a part of Troop 91 Mount Hope WV sponsored by the Lions
Club. My Scoutmaster Joe Bragg was a tremedous influence in
my life and I credit the hundreds of scouts who have been in Troop One
Akron
as part of the legacy that Joe Bragg has left. It is my
legacy to see that his legacy lives on. One way this lives on
is
through the Eagles
and other honored
scouts of Troop One and the
volunteers that make Troop One able to help build those future leaders.
Many volunteers have left a legacy I can never
match including their effect on me. Houston
Morgan is one such man.
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