Little Sioux Scout Ranch
Encyclopedia
The Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America
offers programs in 58 counties in Nebraska
, Iowa
and South Dakota
. The Mid-America Council was formed from a merger of the Covered Wagon Council and the Southwest Iowa Council in 1965. The first recorded Scouting in the area was in 1918 as the Omaha Council. In 2000 the council merged with the Prairie Gold Council in Sioux City, Iowa
.
. Other council camps include Camp Eagle, near Fremont, Nebraska
, Little Sioux Scout Ranch, Little Sioux, Iowa
, Thomas Ashford Scout Ranch outside Homer, Nebraska
, Camp Wa-Kon-Da, Bellevue, Nebraska
and Camp Butterfield, near Orchard, Nebraska
. The council formerly operated Camp Wakonda near Griswold, Iowa
, in operation from 1948 until 1978. The Little Sioux Scout Ranch was heavily damaged by a tornado on June 11, 2008, which killed four Scouts and hospitalized 40 of 93 Scouts and Scouters attending a leadership development event. Camp Butterfield is currently being sold for private hunting and recreation purposes.
reservation operated by the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America
. It is located in Little Sioux, Iowa
, approximately sixty miles north of Omaha, Nebraska
in Iowa's Loess Hills
and is approximately 15 minutes east of Interstate 29
.
Hiking trails cover the heavily timbered camp, along with mowed meadows and several remote campsites. There are also four cabin shelters and a 15 acre (0.0607029 km²) lake. The Mutual of Omaha
Administration Building was completed in 2000, and two years later the MidAmerican Energy Pavilion was finished, seating 300 at picnic tables. Individual packs, troops and posts use the facility, along with Order of the Arrow
conclaves, district and council camporees. Pahuk Pride, a weeklong National Youth Leadership Training
event, is held annually at this camp.
The camp was the site of a tornado that killed four Boy Scouts and injured 48 others on June 11, 2008.
is located at Camp Cedars, located on the Covered Wagon Scout Reservation near the village of Cedar Bluffs
in Saunders County
. Perched on a bluff above the Platte River
, the camp has 700 acres (2.8 km²) of deciduous woods, prairie, and river bottoms. Facilities include a heated outdoor pool, shower houses, an air-conditioned dining hall seating over 500 and an amphitheater with seating for over 1,000 audience members, as well as four renovated, air-conditioned cabins and three air-conditioned lodges. Cedars features an extensive Challenging Outdoor Program Experience, or COPE, course a zip line, a 60 feet (18.3 m) tall rappelling tower and climbing walls. There is also a shooting sports facility, a nature center, and an equestrian center. Twelve campsites provide 264 permanent tent platforms, including a wheelchair-accessible campsite, for Scouts and leaders.
It has been the site of archeological digs. Following the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, it was revealed that Cedars does have tornado
shelters. In addition to Little Sioux, Cedars plays is an important site for the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge of the Order of the Arrow
, as well as its own camping society called Nani-Ba-Zhu. Nani-Ba-Zhu was founded in 1919 at Camp Gifford, which was the Council summer camp prior to Cedars. After ceasing to operate starting in 1939, the tradition was renewed at Cedars in the late 1980s.
seven miles outside Homer, Nebraska
this primitive 600 acres (2.4 km²) heavily wooded camp has 13 multi-troop campsites, a climbing tower, picnic shelter, campfire amphitheater, and chapel. The climbing tower, archery, and shooting ranges are opened for large events. Thomas Ashford regularly hosts Cub Day camps, Webelos camps, Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge Conclaves, District, and Council events.
Scouting's national honor society is represented in the Mid-America Council by the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge. The lodge is administratively divided into chapters corresponding to the council's districts. The Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge is part of Section C-5A, in the Central Region
.
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
offers programs in 58 counties in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. The Mid-America Council was formed from a merger of the Covered Wagon Council and the Southwest Iowa Council in 1965. The first recorded Scouting in the area was in 1918 as the Omaha Council. In 2000 the council merged with the Prairie Gold Council in Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
.
Organization
The Council is separated into ten districts.- Goldenrod District
- Lewis and Clark District
- Many Rivers District
- Ohwahnasee District
- Prairie Gold District
- Soaring Eagle District
- Trailblazer District
- Wagon Wheel District
- War Eagle District
- Venturing
Camps
Mid America Council operates five camps. Its summer camps are located at Camp Cedars, near Fremont, NebraskaFremont, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, United States, near Omaha in the eastern part of the state. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census....
. Other council camps include Camp Eagle, near Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont, Nebraska
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, United States, near Omaha in the eastern part of the state. The population was 26,397 at the 2010 census....
, Little Sioux Scout Ranch, Little Sioux, Iowa
Little Sioux, Iowa
Little Sioux is a city in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 217 at the 2000 census. The city is most known for Little Sioux Scout Ranch of the Boy Scouts of America.-Geography:Little Sioux is located at ....
, Thomas Ashford Scout Ranch outside Homer, Nebraska
Homer, Nebraska
Homer is a village in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 590 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Homer is located at ....
, Camp Wa-Kon-Da, Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 50,137 at the 2010 census. Eight miles south of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Originally settled in the 1830s, It was the first state capitol. Bellevue was incorporated in...
and Camp Butterfield, near Orchard, Nebraska
Orchard, Nebraska
Orchard is a village in Antelope County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 379 at the 2010 census.-History:*Orchard Historical Society...
. The council formerly operated Camp Wakonda near Griswold, Iowa
Griswold, Iowa
Griswold is a city in Cass County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,039 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Griswold is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, in operation from 1948 until 1978. The Little Sioux Scout Ranch was heavily damaged by a tornado on June 11, 2008, which killed four Scouts and hospitalized 40 of 93 Scouts and Scouters attending a leadership development event. Camp Butterfield is currently being sold for private hunting and recreation purposes.
Little Sioux Scout Ranch
The Little Sioux Scout Ranch is a 1800 acres (7.3 km²) ScoutScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
reservation operated by the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. It is located in Little Sioux, Iowa
Little Sioux, Iowa
Little Sioux is a city in Harrison County, Iowa, United States. The population was 217 at the 2000 census. The city is most known for Little Sioux Scout Ranch of the Boy Scouts of America.-Geography:Little Sioux is located at ....
, approximately sixty miles north of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
in Iowa's Loess Hills
Loess Hills
The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost part of Iowa and Missouri along the Missouri River.-Geology:The Loess Hills are generally located between 1 and east of the Missouri River channel...
and is approximately 15 minutes east of Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...
.
Hiking trails cover the heavily timbered camp, along with mowed meadows and several remote campsites. There are also four cabin shelters and a 15 acre (0.0607029 km²) lake. The Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association.- History :...
Administration Building was completed in 2000, and two years later the MidAmerican Energy Pavilion was finished, seating 300 at picnic tables. Individual packs, troops and posts use the facility, along with Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
conclaves, district and council camporees. Pahuk Pride, a weeklong National Youth Leadership Training
National Youth Leadership Training
National Youth Leadership Training is the current incarnation of youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America . The program is conducted at the council level over a week or over two weekends. It is intended to provide standardized, in-depth training covering a number...
event, is held annually at this camp.
The camp was the site of a tornado that killed four Boy Scouts and injured 48 others on June 11, 2008.
Camp Cedars
The Mid-America Council's summer campSummer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
is located at Camp Cedars, located on the Covered Wagon Scout Reservation near the village of Cedar Bluffs
Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska
Cedar Bluffs is a village in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 615 at the 2000 census. Cedar Bluffs was a point on the Mormon, Oregon, and California Trails.-Geography:Cedar Bluffs is located at ....
in Saunders County
Saunders County, Nebraska
-History:Saunders County was established by an 1856 act of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature; its boundaries were redefined in 1858. The county was originally named after John C...
. Perched on a bluff above the Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
, the camp has 700 acres (2.8 km²) of deciduous woods, prairie, and river bottoms. Facilities include a heated outdoor pool, shower houses, an air-conditioned dining hall seating over 500 and an amphitheater with seating for over 1,000 audience members, as well as four renovated, air-conditioned cabins and three air-conditioned lodges. Cedars features an extensive Challenging Outdoor Program Experience, or COPE, course a zip line, a 60 feet (18.3 m) tall rappelling tower and climbing walls. There is also a shooting sports facility, a nature center, and an equestrian center. Twelve campsites provide 264 permanent tent platforms, including a wheelchair-accessible campsite, for Scouts and leaders.
It has been the site of archeological digs. Following the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, it was revealed that Cedars does have tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
shelters. In addition to Little Sioux, Cedars plays is an important site for the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge of the Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
, as well as its own camping society called Nani-Ba-Zhu. Nani-Ba-Zhu was founded in 1919 at Camp Gifford, which was the Council summer camp prior to Cedars. After ceasing to operate starting in 1939, the tradition was renewed at Cedars in the late 1980s.
Thomas Ashford Scout Ranch
Situated in a valley by the Missouri RiverMissouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
seven miles outside Homer, Nebraska
Homer, Nebraska
Homer is a village in Dakota County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 590 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Homer is located at ....
this primitive 600 acres (2.4 km²) heavily wooded camp has 13 multi-troop campsites, a climbing tower, picnic shelter, campfire amphitheater, and chapel. The climbing tower, archery, and shooting ranges are opened for large events. Thomas Ashford regularly hosts Cub Day camps, Webelos camps, Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge Conclaves, District, and Council events.
Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge
The Order of the ArrowOrder of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
Scouting's national honor society is represented in the Mid-America Council by the Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge. The lodge is administratively divided into chapters corresponding to the council's districts. The Kit-Ke-Hak-O-Kut Lodge is part of Section C-5A, in the Central Region
Central Region (Boy Scouts of America)
For administrative purposes, the Boy Scouts of America is divided into four regions — Central, Southern, Western, and Northeast. Each region is then subdivided into areas...
.
External links
- Mid-America Council website
- Camp photos and video from WOWT-TVWOWT-TVWOWT-TV, digital channel 22, virtual channel 6 via PSIP and Cox Communications cable channel 8, is the NBC affiliate television station in Omaha, Nebraska. WOWT also serves the state capital, Lincoln, 52 miles away, with broadcast and cable coverage...
, Omaha, Nebraska - Remembering the Boy Scouts at NPR.org