‘A real oasis’ in Baldwin

Posted

If you were to compare photos of Baldwin in the 1930s with what the hamlet looks like now, you’d be hard-pressed to find many similarities. But a plot of land on Grove Street has remained relatively untouched for the past 76 years, and volunteers are working hard to keep it that way.

In 1938, the Baldwin Boys Association, which still exists today but now includes women and girls, built the Tom Sheppard Cabin for Boy Scout meetings and functions in Baldwin. The cabin still stands, not far from the heart of Baldwin’s downtown area on Grand Avenue, but in recent years the BBA has found it more difficult to pay the bills so the cabin can remain open.

Today, two Boy Scout troops and two Girl Scout troops use the cabin for their regular meetings. The property has a large backyard packed with trees as well as a campfire circle, and is the ideal place for boys and girls to learn about nature and earn scouting badges.

Valerie Geasor, a BBA board member, called the property “a little secret in Baldwin,” since not many people know about it. The BBA is a nonprofit organization and a 501(c)(3) charity, run solely by volunteers like Geasor. Its monthly meetings are attended by five or six people, and the main topic of discussion, said Ken Arnold, scoutmaster of Troop 182 and a board member, is always finances.

“The leadership is always thinking about the future,” Arnold said. “Last year it was a struggle to get somebody to insure us again. We always think we’re one problem away from having a problem with our insurance, which could start a domino effect of problems.”

According to Geasor, the BBA struggles to keep up with routine expenses, like insurance, electricity, heat, water and maintenance. She estimated that it costs roughly $5,000 per year to keep the cabin functioning. At one point, she said, the BBA’s bank account was down to $200.

The organization pays its utilities bills, Arnold said, just before the deadlines. Last year, local businesses pitched in to help cover costs, but, he added, it is difficult to ask the same people and business owners for money each year.

Page 1 / 2