SATURDAY 3/20: Open House Fundraiser at the Scout House

By BARRY BUSCHOW
Special to the Falls Church Times

The Falls Church Scout Building Association (FCSBA) will host an open house March 20 from 3:30 – 6:30 p.m. to acquaint neighbors and the community with its function and to raise money for maintenance and repair of the Scout House located at 128 South Spring Street.

The Scout House is an historic log cabin, built in the early 1940s, and home to generations of Falls Church Boy and Girl Scouts and youth activities.  It currently serves several scout troops and is the Ward 3 polling place for Falls Church voters on election days.  Other community service activities also take place in the building.

Scouting has enjoyed popularity in Falls Church almost since the movements were founded by Lord Baden-Powell and Juliette Lowe.  In 1939, local Scout leaders recognized the need for a place for growing Scout groups to meet.  By March 1939, a well-publicized fundraising drive was underway to raise the $4,500 needed to construct the log building that stands on Spring Street.  The property was purchased for $600 in June 1939.  A.J. Webb, assisted by Kenton Hamaker and George W. Carlton, designed the building.  All men donated their architectural services to the project.  Walter Johnson, chairman of the Falls Church Scout Committee, secured pledges, building materials, and labor from businesses and groups throughout the community.  The logs for the complete building and stones for the fireplace and chimney were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Turner of Fairfax County.

When the initial fundraising effort fell short of its goal, 15 local residents personally guaranteed a loan from the Falls Church Bank to obtain the balance necessary for the construction of the Scout House.  Construction began in late 1939 and was completed in early 1940.  By 1942 the Scout House was headquarters to more than 200 Scouts from 9 different troops.  Scouts collected discarded paper, toothpaste and shaving cream tubes, and old license plates to help reduce the building indebtedness. The Scouts’ persistence in fundraising paid off.  On June 17, 1945, just five years after construction, the Scout Building Association held a mortgage burning to celebrate the final payment on the mortgage.

In addition to the Scouts, other civic groups used the house for social functions, including square dances.  During World War II, the building was made available for the American defense effort as an air-raid shelter and a hospital or first-aid center.  However, its primary purpose has always been to further the objectives of Scouting and youth activities, which the building has served for over 60 years.

The FCSBA is a non-profit organization that maintains the house.  The FCSBA is sponsoring its open house in a tradition harkening back to the days of collecting toothpaste and shaving cream tubes, etc.  Previous fundraisers have funded several needed repairs.  The latest repairs have included a new roof, insulation and dormer windows.  More work needs to be done.  Immediate future needs are preservation of the logs, and the replacement of the windows and doors.

For more information, call Kevin Coleman at 703-241-1617or Barry Buschow at 703-533-8610.