Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
A Tribute To "Old Ed"
November 19, 2004
George Denise, Scoutmaster

How many of you remember "Old Ed" at Camp Hi-Sierra? Ed Sheldon is the chaplain at Camp Hi-Sierra. He was the range master at Camp Hi-Sierra up until a few years ago. He was the first Great Chief in the Camp of Hi-Sierra. In fact, that title was created just for him. Later, he came up with the idea of making it available for all campers to earn.

Ed Sheldon has been on Camp Staff since the mid- to late 1980's. Long before that, however, Ed was a scoutmaster, a minister, a bio-chemist, a high school science teacher, a coach for the U.S. Olympic shooting team, and a probation officer. Years ago, in a city in the Midwest, young juvenile defendants were often given the choice of going to jail or joining Ed's Boy Scout troop. If they chose to join his troop, they had to attend all the meetings, behave themselves, participate enthusiastically, and advance steadily in rank. Ed had to write a monthly report on each scout who was serving probation in his troop and submit it to the courts. It was generally felt by the courts that learning to work and play in a positive way with others in a Boy Scout troop was far better for developing good citizenship and character in a young man than going to jail. Ed also served as a member of my training team for Boy Scout Leader Training in Pioneer and Mene Oto Districts for many years, where I got to know him pretty well.

Altogether, Ed served as a scoutmaster for 47 years. During that time, he led over 750 scouts, and he graduated 137 Eagle Scouts. I don't know if that is a record, or not; I read about a 90 year-old scoutmaster in Scouting magazine who was a scoutmaster for 60 years. But Ed's record has to be pretty close.

Saturday night, the Sierra District held a dinner in Ed's honor, to celebrate all that he has done and achieved in scouting. Ed is in his 80's now, and he has been pretty sick the last few years. I think a lot of people are afraid he might not be around much longer, so they thought it would be nice to recognize him and honor him while he is still alive and can appreciate it.

A few years ago, Ed suffered a heart attack. Even so, he still wanted to come up to camp and be on staff that summer. The adult administration didn't want him to, afraid the strain might be too much. But the youth members and many other scouts who knew him insisted he be allowed to return to camp. The common comment was, "Ed would rather be at camp than be at home, regardless of its affect on his health. If he does pass on, there is no more appropriate place for him to do so than at summer camp. Ed and the scouts got their way and Ed was at camp that summer.

For many years, Ed has been a favorite member of staff at Camp Hi-Sierra. He always has a smile on his face. He knows more good scout stories and scout songs than any other person I know. He is always tirelessly working. And he always has time for any scout or scouter that asks him a question, listening and answering with a "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh", and then answering the question. Scouting is a special place for a lot of reasons. Scouters like Old Ed are one of the more important.

I just thought I would share that with you.

Thank you for listening. And God be with you.