Scouting in Blaine has a long history dating back to the 1920s, but that history was briefly interrupted by the COVID pandemic when Blaine’s Cub Scout chapter shuttered, along with three-quarters of Scouting America’s membership.
That storied history could resume this month, with the Mount Baker Council of Scouting America holding a “Kick Off Night” on Tuesday, April 14 to try and restart a Cub Scout pack for K-5 boys and girls in Blaine and Birch Bay. The event will be held at the Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 Activity Center, 7511 Gemini St., and signifies a new partnership between BBBPRD2 and Scouting America.
Kyle Furgason, a membership growth executive with the Mount Baker Council group, said Scouting America quickly identified BBBPRD2, and specifically Executive Director Heather Lindsay, as a great partner.
“We reached out initially to see if Heather knew anyone or knew any organization that would be willing to help,” Furgason said. “It just so happens she was the right organization to help us. That partnership is a great one. They’re really connected with the community.”
Furgason grew up in North Carolina where he became an Eagle Scout, and has worked with Scouting America for the past two years in Alaska and now northwest Washington. One of his jobs is to identify communities north of King County that are underserved or have lost packs and troops due to attrition.
Blaine, he said, was on the top of that list.
A nationwide movement to bring scouting back is happening nationwide, thanks to a $30 million grant given to the national Scouting America parent organization by the Lilly Endowment in late 2024, Furgason said.
In the early interactions he’s had with the Blaine and Birch Bay community, Furgason said parents are looking for affordable ways to get their kids off their devices and into nature.
“One of the biggest things that I’ve heard from parents everywhere is that they struggle to find other things for their kids to do that aren’t on their screen, that don’t cost tons of money,” Furgason said. “Parents are looking to find someplace for their kids to belong.”
Having an outlet for kids to experience nature, learn leadership skills and bond with their friends is also a main goal for the recreation district, Lindsay said.
“One aspect that I love about Cub Scouts is that it is focused on family,” Lindsay said. “It is an activity where the youth can grow and have hands-on experiences, while also creating a space for families to laugh together, and build lifelong friendships.”
It’s easy to find someone in the community who is proud — and quick — to point out that they are an Eagle Scout, or that their children were in Cub Scouts.
In fact, Furgason found some historic records while searching through social media posts and the Scouting America archives in preparation for the new Cub Scout pack. The earliest record of a troop in Blaine was Troop 25, photographed in 1928, but Furgason said it’s likely that troop was around for a few years prior to the photo.
In 1940, Blaine Harbor was host to a “Sea Scout” troop — a subsection specifically for nautical scouting that has been around for over a century — aboard the S.S.S. Nor’Western.
With a new pack hopefully taking shape this spring, more memories seem to be on the horizon.
The “Kick Off Night” informational meeting is at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at the BBBPRD2 Activity Center. The event is open to all, is intended to answer questions from prospective parents and scouts, and will include a LEGO pinewood derby race, Furgason said.
