Cub Scouting at the Weymouth Heights Club - 1930's style!

The Weymouth Heights Club sponsors Cub Scout Pack 2, an active, growing and vibrant Pack that has seen explosive growth since it was re-introduced in 2007.
The Pack was first started in March, 1939 at the WHC by Roy Munroe. Mr. Howard Stone was the first Cubmaster, and Mr. Donald Swart, and the Pack met at the Clubhouse twice a month. Mr. Stone unfortunately was obliged to step down soon afterward due to a job change, and was succeeded by Mr. Harold Brown.
Pack growth was so rapid that the group was immediately divided into Dens, and had 45 Cubs within the first few months. Eight Troop 2 Scouts served as Den Chiefs at this time – Ralph McCarthy, William Weir, John Senigo, Gustave Albrecht, John MacKay, and Arthur Hilstrom.

As a bit of history from the Scouting.org website

“In 1930, Cub Scouting was formally launched, with 5,102 boys registered at the end of that first year. By 1933 the time had come to promote Cub Scouting throughout the country as a part of Scouting.

Den mother registration was optional for the first few years. By June 1938, 1,100 den mothers had registered and soon became an important part of Cub Scouting.

The first dens met weekly at a member's home, where boys played games and enjoyed crafts and ceremonies. The pack met weekly or semimonthly for games, den competitions, awards, stunts, and other activities. Cubs advanced from Bobcat (for all new members) to Wolf (age 9), Bear (age 10), and Lion (age 11) and joined a Boy Scout troop at age 12.”

The photo below was taken on the steps of the Children’s Museum in Jamaica Plain, where two Dens and their Den Chiefs went for a picnic. In the picture are Cubscouts George Dunn, Billy McDonald, David Huntoon, Roy Whiteman, Paul Wheeler, Kenneth Young, Carlton McKenzie, William Dunn, John Norve, David McDonald, and Bobby Dizer, with their Den Chiefs Robert Page and William Weir. The adult is likely Mr. Stone or Mr. Swart.



The second photo is from a bit later – October, 1940, and is also of Robert Page’s Den in front of the Weymouth War Memorial near Town Hall.



The third photo appears to be of a group of Cubscouts on a field trip and weenie roast. These are mentioned throughout the Scout News issues from the late 1930's and early 1940's.


We'll continue to keep an eye out for these historic pictures of our Cubs. As you can see, Cub Scouting was and remains a fantastic opportunity for younger troopers to begin on the Scouting trail. As a matter of fact, at our last meeting, during our Scouting Heritage collection presentations, many of the Scouts collections were largely made up of their Cubscout items. These small things - patches, pinewood cars, etc - have a huge meaning to the scouts as they grow through Boy Scouting.