End of an era at Scouters Lane

St. Vital

Along with the recent opening of the new Scouts Canada exhibit at the St. Vital Museum, there is another milestone to mark concerning the history of youth scouting in St. Vital. This spring, the 3rd Winnipeg Beaver Colony, which I lead, will move from its present meeting space at St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church, owing to the sale of that building.

The 3rd Winnipeg Beavers, which also boasts Cub pack and Scout troop groups at other locations in the community, was one of the first six Scout groups to be organized in Manitoba in 1909, by Lt.-Col. James Arthur Hesketh, building on the movement created by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in England. By this measure, 3rd Winnipeg is one of the earliest groups formed in North America.

If you explore the green space beside Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre, you will find a street sign, marking the lane between Molgat Avenue and St. Vital Road as Scouters Lane. This marker, though modest, tells a story of the countless youth and volunteers who gained formative life skills and experiences at this spot.

At its outset, 3rd Winnipeg originally met at Fort Osborne, where the Manitoba legislature now stands. In the years that followed, scouting grew in Winnipeg and worldwide. In 1924, when St. Mary Magdalene Church was established, it had its own Scout troop, the 21st. Owing to the construction of the legislature, 3rd Winnipeg soon moved from Fort Osborne, and met elsewhere until 1938, when the St. Vital Scout hall was built along what is now Scouters Lane, beside Mary Magdalene. The hall was located roughly at the present grove of trees by the gravel parking lot, from box cars donated by Mr. Clayton of St. Vital’s Clayton Construction. Over the years it was renovated and expanded. Scouts met there for decades until it was demolished in 1994, and the group moved into Mary Magdalene.

The Beavers, joining with other sections, will move to a new home at St. Mary’s United Church (613 St. Mary’s Rd.). Though 102 years of scouting is coming to an end at Scouters Lane, its legacy remains and continues to serve new generations of St. Vital youth – including my own son — just up the road.