[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 129 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA AND THE 
                         NORTHERN STAR COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2010

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I recognize the Boy Scouts of America 
Northern Star Council on the occasion of 100 years of Scouting in 
Minnesota and nationally. Residents of Saint Paul are proud that the 
Northern Star Council has its headquarters located in Minnesota's 
Capital City.
  Since it was established in 1910, Boy Scouts of America have been 
dedicated to training young adults in the promotion of community 
service, outdoor education, and good citizenship. The Northern Star 
Council shares equally historic roots as the national organization. The 
council was originally organized as two councils. The St. Paul Council 
was organized on October 1, 1910. The movement was spearheaded by St. 
Paul businessman C.F. Proctor, who happened to be a friend of Sir 
Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout Movement in 
England.
  A group of businessmen meeting at the Minneapolis Commercial Club 
organized the Hennepin Council on October 15, 1910. Former President 
Theodore Roosevelt, an avid supporter of the fledgling Scouting 
movement and Honorary President of the National Council, spoke at the 
Council's first general meeting in 1911. Sir Robert Baden-Powell 
himself presented a lecture to the Twin Cities Scouting community at 
the Minneapolis Auditorium in early 1912.
  Over the next ninety years, both councils expanded. By 1960, the St. 
Paul Council had increased in size nine times, acquiring counties east 
of St. Paul, including four in western Wisconsin. In 1954, the council 
chose a new name to better reflect all of its membership: the 
Indianhead Council. During the same period, the Hennepin Council 
expanded westward to the North Dakota border and changed its name to 
the Viking Council.
  On July 1, 2005, the Viking and Indianhead Councils merged to form 
today's Northern Star Council, one of the largest in the country. The 
council includes a band of communities reaching from the North Dakota 
border on the west to the communities of Ellsworth and Roberts, 
Wisconsin, on the east.
  Boy Scouts of America is a group that has had a positive impact on 
generations of young people in Minnesota. I am pleased to honor the 
members and volunteers for their hard work and constant dedication to 
our community. Madam Speaker, please join me in rising to honor the 
100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the Northern Star 
Council.

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