There has been a considerable amount of media attention recently on the fate of the 85-year-old log Rovers (Scout) Cabin along 47 Avenue, north of 53 Street.
After a considerable delay, the city has determined that the cabin has deteriorated over the years to the extent that it is no longer relocatable. Hence, there is a conclusion that the cabin will have to be demolished to make room for the proposed north extension to the Central Alberta Emergency Women’s Shelter.
The Scouts have a long and distinguished history in Red Deer, going back more than 110 years. Lord Baden Powell, who had founded the Scouting movement in 1907, wrote to an old friend in Red Deer, Police Chief George Rothnie, to see if there might be some interest in starting a Scout troop here.
There was such enthusiasm for the idea of starting the Scouts in the community that on April 19, 1910, the Red Deer Boy Scout Association was formed. It was the first Scout association in Alberta.
The movement quickly took off. A big boost came on August 23, 1910, when Baden Powell himself came to Red Deer to visit. He met with the local Scout leaders, and provided many suggestions regarding the further development of the local Scout organization.
The outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914 brought a setback to the Scouting movement. Many of the older Scouts enlisted and, tragically, many lost their lives while serving overseas.
The local Scout organization revived in January 1920, largely through the efforts of Harold Callender. Before long, the organization was flourishing in Red Deer again.
In 1924, District Commissioner G.C.S. Crosby decided to organize the senior scouts into Rover Patrols. Designed for young men, aged 17 or older, the Rovers were described as “a brotherhood of the open air and service.” They were to be “hikers of the open road and campers of the woods, able to shift for themselves, but equally able to be of service to others.”
The concept quickly caught on and soon there was a troop of Rovers in the community. By the middle of the 1930s, the Scouts and Girl Guides, who had been using school rooms and church halls for their meetings, were increasingly concerned about a lack of their own facilities. Hence in 1937, the Rovers, under the direction of F.A. Porter, built a log cabin along Waskasoo Creek, on the east side of 47 Avenue.
On July 14, 1937, the Rovers Cabin was officially opened by Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir who was also the Chief Scout of Canada. During the ceremony, the Governor General set a centre stone, with his name and date on it, into the mantel of the fireplace.
Almost immediately afterwards, fundraising began to build a Scout Hall next to the Rovers Cabin. Unlike the cabin, it was to have plumbing and a proper furnace. That building was finished in 1939. It was later officially opened by Mayor Charles Bunn and renamed the Scout-Guide Hall.
The two buildings were centres of Scout and Guiding activity in Red Deer for many years. However, as the city and the Scout/Guide movements continued to grow, they became increasingly inadequate. There was little parking at the site and virtually no room for future expansion of the facilities. An attempt was made to lease a new site, next to the Red Deer Curling Rink, on which to build a new Scout-Guide Hall, but this was turned down by the city.
In the 1970s, the old Scout-Guide Hall was badly damaged in a fire and demolished. The Rovers Cabin was used less and less for meetings and events. Eventually, it was only used as a support building for the Scouts’ annual Christmas tree sales.
In November 2007, the Rovers Cabin was hit by arson. While damage was limited to the east side, near the chimney, virtually nothing was done to repair the damage and to restore the building.
Now, with a determination that the building is too far gone to be relocated to a new site, it is probable that another old landmark is going to soon vanish into memory.
Michael Dawe is a Red Deer historian and his column appears on Wednesdays.