Estevan 5th Scout-Cub Troop

5th Estevan Scout and Cub Troop

This 5th Estevan Cub and Scout sign hung on the north end of the Scout Hall,
It was hand painted by my Dad, Phil Gent

Part of the Black and Gold District

The start of the 5th Estevan Scout Troop
I found in a newspaper article, dated June 20, 1959.
Turns out Mr. Murray Embery (alt spelling Embry?) was the fellow credited in the article with starting this Scout troop, securing the Estevan Lion Club as a sponsor.
In the article it states Murray Embery started the Scout Troop in November 1958.
He was the Scoutmaster for the troop, and had to attend an 8 day Scout Course in Prince Albert.
He had to pass the Wood Badge Course, to remain as a Scoutmaster, and to take a troop camping.
The troop had 2 patrols, and a cub pack was being planned.

Feb 3, 1960 the start of the 5th Estevan Cub Pack
The Headquarters was in the Old Hillside School, on George St.
Richard Dacus was the First Cub Master, He was the Minister from the Church of Christ,
Don Wood was the Commissioner, of the Estevan and District Scout Council. Mrs. Ruby Debacker, was the District Cub Master.

Feb 13, 1960 was the First Annual, Boy Scout Father and Son Banquet, held in the Legion Hall in Estevan.
Guest speakers:
Provincial Executive Commissioner, Tom Stark.
C. W. Pool, the newly named Provincial Commissioner.
Bud Sinclair, Vice-President of the Estevan District Scout Council
Scout Mervin Symons toasted the fathers.
Rev. Dunstan Pasterfield (Anglican Church) was master of ceremonies.
There was 4 scout troops in attendance.

Feb 25, 1961 was the Grand Opening of the 5th Estevan Scout Hall
located on NE corner of Isabelle St. and Dufferin Ave.
Today a large 3 story apartment building sits there, and the Kinsmen building on the corner across the street, is gone.
Opening Ceremony conducted by Mayor Harry Nicholson,
Speakers and Guests:
Rev. J. Haugen, President of the District Scout Council
John Bouthillier, Acting District Scout Commissioner.
Mrs. Ruby De Backer, District Cub Commissioner,
Harlow Rud, Chairman of the Group Committee.
A Group Scout Charter was given to the sponsors of the 5th Estevan Group, the Estevan Lions Club.

I know Mayor Harry Nicholson at the time donated some wood to build the Scout Hall.

Part of World Wide Boy Scout Week, an International Scouting Event took place in Estevan.
Held on Saturday, Feb 19, 1966.
The Estevan Black Gold District, Estevan Lions Club, and the Estevan Bruins, all hosted the event.
Scouts, Cubs, and Leaders, from Crosby, Williston, Tioga and Lignite, ND, USA, attended.
Plus Canadian Comrades from:
Estevan, Weyburn, Oxbow, Arcola, Alida, Carlyle, and Belgrade.
More than 400 attended at the Estevan Legion Memorial Hall.
They held a mass parade between intermissions at the Bruins-Saskatoon game that evening.
The Bruins gave tickets to all attending.
Leading the parade was Districts Chief Scout, Harry Nicholson,
and the former Chief of the Carlyle White Bear Indian Reserve, William Standing Ready.
Other officials attending:
Al Brewin, President of the District,
and Mrs. Ruby De Backer, Assistant Commissioner,
and Glen Ross, Boy Scout Commissioner from Weyburn.
Sunday, Feb 20, 1966, they held the Father and Son Banquet, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Estevan.

Not much mention of the 5th Estevan Scout Troop in any Estevan History books, which doesn't really surprise me,
since there wasn't much recorded of Hillside, in any of the history books either.
My ambition is to not let this history disappear.
For all the Scouts and Cubs from Hillside, that attended meetings, and had tons of fun,
I hope this page will trigger a long past memory, of those good old days!
No Drugs, No Booze, No Bullying, Just good, clean, disciplined fun!

In 1967 Andrew King mentioned the troop in his “Estevan the Power Center”
“No. 5 with two cub packs and one scout troop for a total of about 75 boys, sponsored by the Lions Club. This group has its own hall located in Hillside. ”

Black and Yellow were our Troops colors, these were the colours of our Pack neckerchiefs, visible in picture below.
I remember my Mom sewing a bunch of these up.

Mom and Dad receiving their silver plate and bouquet of roses when they resigned from being Cub Leaders
Engraved silver plate from 5th Estevan Group presented to my Mom and Dad

From what I have been able to piece together, William (Bill) & Dorothy Hinzman were one of the early Scout and Cub Leaders, respectively, of the 5th Estevan Troop.

Bill and Dorothy Hinzman, sorry for quality as it is from an old slide
When we moved to Estevan in 1958, they found out my Dad and Mom were Cub leaders in Bienfait, where we used to live.
They were then asked to join the 5th Estevan Troop.
My Dad was Akela, the Great Gray Lone Wolf
and Mrs Hinzman was Baloo, the sleepy old grey Bear,
and my Mom was Bagheera, the Black Panther.
Lord Baden-Powell chose Rudyard Kipling's (1894) “The Jungle Book” as a source of symbolism, for the Cub movement.

A fellow by the name of Spenser Wood was the fourth Cub assistant leader.

Bill Hinzman was a Scout Leader for many years.
and Dorothy his wife was Cub leader for many years also.

The Senior Group Scout leader was Jack Willis.

Jack Willis, Senior Group Scout Leader

There was another Scout leader named John Dornian.
He was an Assistant Scout Leader
per a nice letter, I received from his wife Jean, on Sept 22, 2009
Turns out Mrs. Jean Dornian was an Assistant Cub leader, using the name “Rikky Tikky Tavi”, after the valiant young mongoose, from “The Jungle Book”

Mrs. Jean Dornian goes on to tell me, that with the help of Mrs. Jean Miller, they wrote a song for the new Hall opening,
to the melody of a Woody Guthrie song called “We Ain't Down Yet”.
Mrs. Miller played the piano, and Mrs. Dornian and the Cubs and Scouts, performed the song at the opening of the new hall.

Turns out the Dornian's owned a cabin down at Boundary Dam where my Mom and Dad had a cabin.
The Dornian's moved to Liberty Saskatchewan, in 1988, after moving to Estevan, from a farm near Outram in 1948.

Mr. John Dornian passed away Sept 17, 2007, at 85 years of age, at Imperial SK. Born June 26, 1922

Mr. John Dornian was a member of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, and served overseas in the Canadian Army.
He was a member of the 2nd battalion, of the SSR during the liberation of Holland.

Jean was also in the services, in England,British Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service, A.T.S. (Army)

John and Jean Dornian, Mar 1946

I also know my friend Bud Haygarth's dad, Harrison Haygarth, was one of the early Scout leaders. He was also a member of the Services.

In my Mom's history book, she lists more of the leaders she remembered:
Bob and Doris Greenaway and Frank Needham.

We raised money on bottle drives, etc. to build our own Quonset hut Scout Hall.
It was on the outskirts of the Subdivision, on Isabelle St. all by itself, except for a small Kinsmen School for handicapped Children, which was across the street.
Now there is new houses built up in this area, all the way to the new Estevan Comprehensive School. No more Scout Hall.
There is an 3 story Apartment complex on the spot today. The building was sold and moved to Kenosee Lake, and turned into a cabin by Scotty Watchman.

We had a great bunch of Cubs and Scouts and think this training helped out in later life, better than most!

Phil and Helen Gent
My Mom and Dad
Mom and Dad were leaders of the Bienfait Troop, ca 1956-58 prior to coming to Estevan.
Dad and Harry Barker formed the Cub pack there.

My brother Wayne Gent became a Scout Leader for the 5th Estevan Troop.
He was only 17, and needed special permission, due to his age, from the District Commissioner, to even become a leader, which was granted.
Have to ask Guy Mehler about him, and the run home from the camping site, located down at the Souris River,
to the Scout Hall on Isabelle St., in Hillside, without stopping, and each with a full pack on!

Boy Scout Certificates for my Mom and Dad

My dad's Boy Scout Badges and pin collection

I was leader of the Golden Eagle Scout Patrol, and made this flag as a banner for our troop

Attendance Booklet for Hillside Cubs

Mom's games for cubs book, 1962

How to Run a Cub Pack Book, Gilcraft, 1945, inscribed 5th Estevan Pack Cubmaster
These are some of the books my Mom and Dad used as leaders of the Cub Pack

Mr Bill Hinzman investing me into the Scouts, Feb 6, 1962,
Both pictures you can see Scout Leader Mr. Bill Hinzman, and Scout Jim Haygarth to my left in the left picture.
The right picture you can see the moustache of leader Mr. John Dornian, taken inside the old Scout Hall

City Hall Presentation
We even made a City Hall Presentation to Mayor Harry Nicholson
From this picture we know we had a Ladies Auxiliary group, led by Inez Walker, wife of ECI School Teacher, Don Walker.
Mrs. Ruby De Backer, nee Gardipee, in the photo, Her brief genealogy below

We would go camping down at the Souris River just to the left, south of Vaughn's crossing, which today is across from the baseball field, and just before Nathan Lamb's farm. We would erect 2 round ex army canvas tents, and spend a weekend, catching catfish, using safety pins, on the end of a piece of string, tied to a short willow sapling. Also remember eating pork and beans, cooked in the tin, on the edge of the coals of the fire.
We would pick up phosphorous reflective pieces of driftwood, and take them into the tent at night for a spooky effect.
We would be filthy by Sunday, and full of wood ticks. But boy we had fun.

A picture of some cubs putting on a skit about Mexico, pic from an old slide, sorry quality is poor

Up to my Mom's passing, many, now grown men, approached my Mom, and thanked her for their Cub experience, in the early 60's.
She enjoyed their stories, and experiences while a Hillside Cub.

My Dad cleaning the hall, Apr 1963

5th Estevan Cubs and Scouts on a parade float in the July 1963 Estevan Parade.
Note the Woolworth's sign in the background.

My dad, Phil Gent and myself, preparing to leave out the front door.

I know other families in Hillside were involved with this troop, from raising funds, to building the Hall.
If I have missed anyone, it was not intentional. As no written record was kept, that I have found, it is my memory and my Mom's scrapbook to go on.

More Leader Information

Mr. William (Bill) Hinzman - 1913- 1993
He served with the Regina Rifles as a Corporal in WWII.

Mrs. Lillian (Dorothy) Hinzman
d- April 12, 2007, age 84

Phil G. Gent, (my Dad)- 1912- 1982
Helen Gent (my Mom) 1911-2007
all four above buried in Souris Valley Memorial Gardens on Highway 39

Names of Cubs in my Mom's attendance book
the Cub Pack was broken into groups, and each group was given a colour,
Cloth coloured patches matching these colours were then sewn on to your shoulder.
No year on this list, sorry!

Blue Group
Allan Hart
Dwight Blomander
Kevin Ross
Ed Wilhelm
Kevin Schlingmann
Mark Tipper

White Group
Ricky Knill
Tommy Elliott
John Blomander
Elgin Muirhead
Bruce McNeice
Walter Matthies

Red Group
Loren Christenson
Bill Dyer
Paul Murray
Jack McWilliam
Donnie Chipley
Ben Anderson

Yellow Group
Michael Whiteside
Bill Blomander
Terry Mehler
James Carruthers
Gordon Nelson

Green Group
Rickie Morrison
Ron Roelfsema
Myles Schopf
Kenny Elliott
Delbert Stocking
Craig Dyer

Orange Group
Ed Roelfsema
Garry Jones
Doug McComb
Cliff Cornish
Donald Roach
Vernon Verhaegh

35 Cubs, all at the same place, same time!
Good thing we had some discipline then!

Last page has these names and I would bet they were the leaders at the time
Cam McClure
Bob McNeice
Ron Whiteside
Gerald Ross
Jack Willis
(note he was later Scout leader, as shown above)

General Cub History

Wolf Cub Promise:
I promise to do my best
To love and serve God, to do my duty to the Queen;
To keep the law of the Wolf Cub pack,
And to do a good turn for somebody every day.

Wolf Cub Law:
The Cub respects the Old Wolf,
The Cub respects himself/herself.

Grand Howl:
A-h-h K-a-y L-a-a
W-e-e-l-l d-o-o o-o-u-u-r BEST!
D-Y-Y-Y-B, D-Y-Y-Y-B, D-Y-Y-Y-B, D-Y-Y-Y-B
(draw this out like a wolf howl)
W-e-e-l-l DOB, DOB, DOB, DOB!“
(make it sound like short, sharp barks)

DYB (pronounced “dib”) means Do Your Best, and
We'll DOB, DOB, DOB, DOB means we'll Do Our Best

Wolf Cub Motto:
Do Your Best

Ages 8-10
Each pack was divided into a “Six”
with a “Sixer” as leader of those 6 boys.
2nd in the Six was called a “Second”
Each Six had a different color triangle shoulder patch
with 2 arm bands for the Sixer, and 1 for the Second.

General Scout History

Trivia- 2007 is the 100th anniversary of Scouting.

Scouting began in 1907 when Lt. Gen. Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell took a group of youth to a camp on Brownsea Island.
The Movement was incorporated as “The Boy Scout Association” throughout the Commonwealth, by Royal Charter granted by King George V in 1912.

Scouting started in Canada in 1908
Chief Scout of Canada is the Governor General

Scout Promise:
On my honour
I promise that I will do my best
To do my duty to God and the Queen
To help other people at all times,
And to carry out the spirit of the Scout Law.

Scout Law:
A Scout is helpful and trustworthy,
kind and cheerful,
considerate and clean,
wise in the use of all resources.

Scout Motto:
Be Prepared

Bios and Genealogy

Ruby De Backer, nee Gardipee
b- ?
husband- Cyril George De Backer,
b- Mar 12, 1901, in Brussels Belgium
d- Dec 18, 1977 at Red Deer Alberta, age 75.

Ruby and Cyril had one son, and 2 daughters.
Cyril's Father- Leon De Backer, Mother- Sebronie

Ruby was still living in 1984 in Red Deer.

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