The only things we keep permanently are those we give away.   Waite Phillips

By Mark Griffin

©Mark Griffin 2007

A description of the Philmont Training Center geography, facilities, and program in any of several early 1950's Scouting magazines could probably be used today with only minor changes.

One of the many attractions of the Training Center is that the more it changes the more it stays the same. While the conference offerings and techniques may change, Scouters who came to the Training Center as a youth, or come back after several years away, enjoy the "deja vu" they feel as they drive past the cottonwood trees and up the road to PTC, as they move into their tent, or walk across the Greensward to the Villa Philmonte. It is not only a place of good training, it is a place of special memories.

But the greatest value - greater even than the beautiful land and wonderful buildings - of the Philmont Training Center lies in the conferences and the family program.

There is no accurate way to determine exactly how many Scouts, Scouters, and family members have been to PTC. In some reports "off-season" attendance is reported, and some years it is not. At times Scouts and Explorers on treks are included, and some years not.

However, it is safe to say that more than 300,000 people have attended a conference or participated in a family program at the Philmont Training Center since 1950. Regardless of the numbers, there is no doubt that every Scout and every leader in the Boy Scouts of America today has been impacted by someone who has had a Philmont Training Center experience.

This is about all of that, and about the wisdom and generosity of Waite and Genevieve Phillips who made it all possible.

As early as 1930 Oklahoma oilman and philanthropist Waite Phillips wanted to formally share his Philmont Ranch in the mountains of northern New Mexico with Boy Scouts and their leaders. While he was not directly involved in Scouting, he was familiar with the movement and the work Scouts were doing throughout the country. He had allowed Scouts from nearby communities to camp on Philmont and felt that the Boy Scouts of America was an organization that was the best at preparing young men for adulthood. Phillips wanted Scouts to enjoy the mountains as his son Elliott and Elliott’s friends had since he had acquired the property in 1922.

After nearly a decade of thought and frequent use by local Scouts, and over a year of persuading officials of the Boy Scouts of America to take the gift, in 1938 Phillips turned over 35,857 acres of his 300,000 acre ranch to the BSA. The next year the new Philturn Rockymountain Scout Camp became a place for Scouts from all over the nation to have a high adventure experience on a real western ranch, in Phillips’ words "a university of the outdoors."

Phillips had more than just Boy Scout camping in mind for Philturn. The experience and joy Genevieve, whom Waite described as a wonderful wife and mother but not a rancher or outdoorswoman, and their daughter Helen Jane had shown him during their ranch holidays proved to him that his ranch was not just for rugged adventurers. He also wanted Philturn to be enjoyed by Scout leaders and their families.

Waite Phillips thought that Philturn had great potential as a location for the training of volunteer and professional Scout leaders. Boy Scouts of America President Walter Head, Chief Scout Executive James E. West, and Director of Operations Arthur A. Schuck agreed and felt that it might provide a western version of the training offered at Schiff Scout Reservation in New Jersey.

Brochures from the first summer of operation stated that part of the purpose for Philturn was to provide "facilities for the training for local, regional, and national Scouters, volunteer and professional, in methods and practice of Wilderness Camping." Even though Philturn had no facilities for families, promotional materials mentioned Philturn as a destination for a Scouter’s vacation with his family.

The plan suggested that Scouters could camp on the property while family members visited nearby attractions and stayed in neighboring towns. The 1940 brochure mentioned the possibility of "Scouter Conferences" as a new Ponil Lodge dining and meeting facility had been completed at the Philturn base camp.

The waning years of the depression and a looming war in Europe limited training and conferences at Philturn. But again, Waite Phillips had more in mind. As 1941 came to a close Phillips and the BSA were discussing a second gift - a gift that would include the Villa Philmonte, Phillip’s palatial ranch home.

On December 5, 1941, only two days before Pearl Harbor, Waite sent a "personal and confidential" letter to Walter Head that has been called the "Gentlemen’s Agreement" letter. In this fascinating letter Phillips offers several ideas for the operation of the expanded camp (including reminding Head of a Philturn idea that would later become the Philmont "Trail Crew" program) and he asks the "privilege of selecting the name of ‘Philmont Scout Ranch’ for the entire acreage, including what is now known as Philturn."

A 1942 letter from Phillips to Schuck suggested the idea of renovating the servant’s quarters in the Villa so that it could serve as an assembly hall and dining room. With additional land and potential facilities for conferences, a training center was now a more realistic possibility.

The Villa had four bedrooms that were used by the ranch management and four guestrooms for visitors, but more housing for conferences would be needed. In 1942 the BSA built a bunkhouse in the apple orchard just behind a row of cottonwood trees that marked the eastern end of the lawn behind the Villa. This new building could house 96 men in ten rooms and had a small office on the south end. At the same time the removal of interior walls of the servants’ quarters and renovation of the kitchen in the Villa, or "Big House" as it was called, was completed. This area could now accommodate 120 for meals or meetings.

Unfortunately, World War II and travel restrictions limited opportunities to visit Philmont to nearby councils in the BSA’s Region 9. Ranch Manager Minor Huffman, who served from 1942 to 1947, hosted a few conferences during his tenure, but he too saw the value of training at Philmont and was developing plans for after the war. At times two of the rooms in the Bunkhouse were converted to classrooms so that breakout sessions and smaller groups could meet, but this took away some of the housing capacity.

During Huffman’s tenure a proposal was made to the Philmont Committee and National Executive Board for the establishment of a training center. Schuck’s notes recommended leader training and regional conferences at Philmont, suggested a Philmont Training "degree", and year-around use of the facilities. Huffman and his staff also considered the idea of hotel-style housing for families after the war, but this was quickly discarded as too expensive to build and maintain to meet the hoped for attendance "of thousands." A tent city was thought be a more likely solution. However, there was no immediate action taken.

The first training under the leadership of the national council was a finance course in 1943. The conference had 50 Scouters in attendance. Like other training during the war years this course was conducted by members of the various region staffs. The length, topic, and time of the year of these courses varied from year to year.

After the war ended there was little progress towards a full-scale training center. May 1946 saw the first National Camp Leader’s Course at Philmont with 101 participants. However only an additional 75 people in four conferences used the facilities that year so the Villa and Bunkhouse facilities were not being used to their potential. There were some signs of what was to come, but Phillips’ and Shuck’s hope for a national training center went unfulfilled.

In 1948 Arthur Schuck was named Chief Scout Executive. Phillips and Schuck had discussed plans for Philmont for many years and shared a friendship as well as grand ideas for the ranch. Schuck had been Phillips’ main contact with the national council but when Schuck left to become the council Scout executive in Los Angeles in 1944, Phillips felt that their common interest in the early ideas for the ranch had left as well.

In correspondence and meetings with the new Chief, Phillips brought up the idea of the adult training center at the Villa once again. He felt that the restoration of the formal training center idea would also be a way to protect the Villa.

Some thought that the greatest challenge of getting a training center going was the current ranch management. In letters to Schuck and George Bullock, Philmont’s Director of Camping from 1947 to 1954, and in meeting notes, Phillips expressed that opinion as well and said that the Villa, which was being used as the general manger’s home, had not been well maintained and that the downstairs rooms had become a staff social hall.

It did not take Schuck long to get things going at Philmont. In a February 1949 letter to Phillips, he shared that "the dreams we had for utilization of the area as a Scout Leader’s Training facility in addition to it being a Scout Camping facility had been practically forgotten. We are going to get into this promptly." Bullock wrote to Phillips to tell him that "greater use of the Villa and Bunkhouse as a training center is scheduled for 1950."

In October 1948 the second Wood Badge training course in America had been conducted at Cimarroncito camp in the southern part of the ranch. Another would be held at a new Wood Badge Lodge at Philmont’s Zastrow camp in 1949. The Zastrow course would be the prototype for courses all over the nation.

Plans were also in place to conduct training for youth leaders at Philmont. On April 15, 1949, Schuck wrote to Phillips "we have cooked up a new idea of providing an all-summer training program for 32 carefully selected boy leaders who will train the older boy Unit Leaders in their respective local councils. This is a training project that has great possibilities in its extension and ramifications and in years to come we could give this outdoor training experience to hundreds of boys each summer." Phillips replied giving his "hearty approval" to the idea.

Philmont’s first junior leader training troop was formed in July 1949. The course lasted 42 days and had 26 participants.

Schuck wrote to Phillips to share that in September 1949 there would be a Scout executive’s conference at the Villa. The idea was to show these men the property in the hopes that they would promote future use of the ranch. In a reply Phillips wrote "I am pleased to learn of your forthcoming Philmont conferences next September. You and I have built a great PLANT at Villa Philmonte for adult training purposes and that should be beneficially used."

That September, 30 Scout executives, and importantly for the future of the Training Center 18 wives, attended the first Fellowship Conference at the Villa. It was described as the "richest training experience they had ever had." Phillips was also informed in this letter that the rebuilding of the Kit Carson home had started and of the Wood Badge held at Zastrow.

Three week-long National Council training conferences were held in 1950 with a reported attendance of just under 400 Scouters and wives.

Letters that fall from Schuck told Phillips that this could be "the greatest training center in America for volunteer leaders," that he was "looking forward to thousands" of participants each year, and that the center would be an "outstanding contribution to our country." He also envisioned that in the summer months "we should be able to offer diversified courses of interest to volunteers," and he agreed with Phillips that they should include wives and family members because "their cooperation is vital to the volunteer and will pay dividends." He wrote that the BSA was going to allocate between $400,000 and $500,000 to accommodate 350 participants a week at the new Philmont Scout leaders’ training facility, and a full slate of conferences was planned for the summer of 1951.

The dream of a Philmont Training Center had finally become a reality.

With the success of the 1950 conferences and the national council’s approval of funds to greatly expand the facilities at the Villa Philmonte, the future of the new Scout leaders’ training facility at Philmont looked bright. The early 50's would set precedents that would last into the next century.

In 1951 Philmont and the National Council offered an expanded schedule of summer and fall conferences. In contrast to the weekend conferences at Schiff Scout Reservation in New Jersey, Philmont was offering week-long, Sunday to Saturday training experiences.

Waite Phillips was greatly appreciative of the new training plan. Since the Villa bunkhouse was limited to men, Phillips had even suggested early on that his old Polo Barns be converted to family housing so that every member of a Scouter’s family could come.

Scouting magazine, in its May 1951 issue, promoted "a vacation opportunity combined with some fine training. Scouters coming to these conferences are invited to bring their wives." This was a special feature at Philmont that would make Philmont training different. But in the next issue of Scouting an idea that would really make Philmont training unique was announced.

The June/July issue of Scouting told Scouters that "here is a chance for a glorious vacation experience for the whole family" and noted that arrangements to accommodate entire families and "attractive recreational opportunities" for women and children would be available at Philmont that summer. It also mentioned that "roomy tents with flies, floors, beds, and wardrobe lockers are supplemented by a central shower house, laundry facilities, etc."

Each conference week would cover a specific area of Scouting. There were weeks for professionals, finance, Commissioners, Troop Leaders, Explorer Leaders, and Cub Scout Leaders. Fees for Scouters were $35 for the week. Fees were $30 for wives, and daughters over the age of 14. Children aged 5-13 were $15 and 1-4 $5. Boys over 14 were expected to "logically register for some regular Explorer trip" offered by Philmont during the week.

The November 1951 issue of Scouting included an article titled "Cub Scouters Pioneer at Philmont." This story presented a description and photos of the first volunteer conference week of 1951 and the early years of the Training Center.

The 1952 Cub Scouting conferences started a pattern of participants choosing a "major" topic of interest in Cub Scouting such as crafts, game leadership, puppetry, pack administration, or the "knack of leadership." These smaller groups met throughout the week with "minor" topics on some afternoons. Each major group was led by a member of the Cub Scouting Service and members of the National Cub Scout Committee.

Another unusual feature of the 1952 Cub Scouting Conference was the inclusion of women in the classroom for the first time, or as Scouting put it in January, "Those wives who are interested in Cub Scouting may join in the conference sessions" and that it was "possible for both mothers and dad to participate."

More was on the horizon in 1953. Attendance would grow by nearly 15%, with 883 in conferences and a total of 2,333 participants. The major construction projects that were approved by the National Executive Board in 1950 were completed or nearing completion. The schedule was changed so that conferences would fit neatly into the two-week vacation typical of the day; beginning with lunch on Wednesday and concluding with breakfast on Tuesday, with Sunday set aside for relaxation and tours. The conference offerings were expanded to include a District Operation conference.

In 1953 for the first time in print, Philmont’s Scouter training facility was called the Philmont Volunteer Training Center.

The basic patterns of operation for the next 50 years of training and program were set in these first four years. The week-long schedule with diverse Scouting topics, an age-specific family program including "Small Fry," a backcountry trek for older boys, the tent cities, a day off in the middle of the week to enjoy Philmont and nearby communities, and evening family activities (including a Western dance) are all part of the program today.

A 1954 Philmont Volunteer Training Center brochure (titled "Hi! Scouters - Training for You, Vacation for Your Family") touted the new facilities that would greet the staff and families who arrived that summer.

From the start Chief Scout Executive Arthur Schuck envisioned thousands in training and family programs at Philmont each summer, and made sure the funds were available to build a campus that would accommodate them. The Training Center needed a larger room than the single Villa room for conference participants and family activities, a larger dining hall that was not in the same room as the conferences, housing for training faculty, a permanent tent city for families, and more family program areas.

The largest single addition in the expansion was a new assembly hall, dining hall, and kitchen on the south end of the Villa. The new building was connected to the Villa at the Gazebo and faithfully matched the style of Waite Phillips’ former home. In addition to accommodating much larger groups, the Villa meeting room would no longer have to be rearranged for meals and other gatherings.

Additional space for concurrent conferences or breakout sessions was created in the form of three nearly identical classrooms in a new building south of the Bunkhouse/Office.

Housing needs were met with three duplexes on the lawn behind the Villa for faculty and families, and an expanded tent city with new shower houses - complete with washing machines and kitchen appliances for mothers to prepare food for infants - a playground, and an office and gathering building with a craft lodge and trading post.

A very creative renovation of the Phillips’ dog kennel near the Villa resulted in a new summer residence for special guests of the ranch that was called the Cottage. In the mid-50's the BSA’s Director of Phillips’ Properties Ray Bryan, whose office was in the Philtower in Tulsa, and his family stayed here for the summers.

As significant as the 1954 expansion was, the Training Center was growing by leaps and bounds and soon stretched the limits of the new structures. Attendance continued to increase: a reported 13.7% in 1954 and 11% in 1955. The 1956 season would see 1,316 men in training, with 895 wives and 1,727 children. Another $300,000 was budgeted for construction for the 1957 season.

The 1957 expansion doubled the capacity of the Training Center. A second tent city was built to the south of the Greensward and a second, much larger dining hall with two serving lines was added to the south end of the Villa Philmonte/Assembly Hall complex.

With two new duplexes for faculty, a Recreation Building for "handicrafts, movies, and family parties" near the tent cities, and a Health Lodge to replace the nurse’s station in the north end of the Bunkhouse, the campus now surrounded the greensward behind the Villa and extended into the apple orchard on the east and south.

The basic layout of today’s Training Center was in place.

In 1960 the Boy Scouts of America celebrated it’s 50^th Anniversary, Arthur Schuck ended his tenure as Chief Scout Executive, Philmont changed the name of Clear Creek Mountain - at the time Philmont’s highest point - to Mount Phillips in honor of Waite Phillips, and the Philmont Volunteer Training Center turned 10.

That year’s BSA Report to Congress noted that 3,857 people had attended Philmont conferences and family programs. In it’s first decade the plans that Phillips and Schuck had made "for thousands" had been more than met.

More and more committees and services of the National Council were using the Volunteer Training Center for conferences. There was now training available for almost every adult and boy leader in the BSA, and more and more of them were visiting the ranch each summer.

National organizations that used Scouting to serve youth also saw the possibilities of the Training Center to strengthen their Scouting programs. Some conducted conferences in the "off season" months and others joined the summer schedule to take advantage of the family programs.

In 1963 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose to conduct an annual summer conference for stake presidents. Fifty members of stake presidencies and other church leaders attended this first "Scouting in the Mormon Church" Conference. At the time the organizers stated that the conferences would be held "until all stake presidents attend." Today there are two LDS conferences each summer and they are the largest in terms of total attendance.

The mid-1960's saw more expansion of the Training Center conference offerings and facilities. In 1965 a new conference room, new duplexes, and a camp for Boy Scouts along the Urraca Creek near the base of the Tooth of Time Ridge were added to the map. In 1968 the 1954 classroom building was remodeled and expanded to accommodate professional National Executive Institutes that would now be held at Philmont in addition to the ones at Schiff. Attendance had grown to 1,277 in 28 conferences and a reported total attendance of 5,478.

The late 1960's and early 70's were years of change in American society and the Boy Scouts of America, so of course things were about to change at Philmont.

The popularity of the Training Center and Philmont as a Scouting vacation, an image promoted extensively by Philmont and in Scouting, had begun to overshadow the conferences. Too many Scouters were attending year after year and were not returning to their councils as trainers. Many attended the conference that fit their vacation schedule rather than the one that fit their Scouting job.

Despite the open invitations, attendance was actually declining. Some thought that it was because the value of the conferences was not what many participants expected with such a wide range of volunteers, many of whom were there just for a vacation.

Training concepts and delivery methods were evolving rapidly, as was the structure of the phases of the Scouting program. The national council was making an emphasis on local council-based training. Councils and the Volunteer Training Service wanted volunteers at Philmont who would share the information that they learned to improve Scouting in their local councils. They also wanted people who could contribute to the success of the conference with their knowledge and experience. They wanted the "right" Scouters, not just warm bodies.

Professional Scouters were informed in November 1968 that there would be a "new purpose and operation of the Philmont Training Center." Forms for recommending men for training conferences would be sent to councils and the schedule would no longer be publically announced. A Scouter would only find out about conferences if he was proposed by his council and received an individual invitation from the Chief Scout Executive. Now, "more than ever the Philmont conferences will be train-the-trainer experiences, and consequently should not involve unit leaders."

In the January 1969 Scouting volunteers were told "Philmont training courses will now be aimed mainly at key volunteer leaders who are responsible to training, guiding, and inspiring other district and council Scouters."

Schedules and promotional articles disappeared from the pages of Scouting, but attendance started to grow again. As councils listed the names of their best Scouters and as those then received a personal invitation from the Chief, the prestige of being invited and attending a conference rose.

Another challenge faced by the Training Center was that, communication not being what it is today, as changes in the BSA occurred the Scouters at Philmont were often among the first be informed. The National Executive Board meeting and/or the National Council Meeting was usually held in May, just before the conferences started. Volunteers were hearing about changes approved at these meetings and returning to councils with information that Scout executives and top council volunteers did not have.

An example was the 1971 introduction of the "Improved Scouting Program" with skill awards, new rank requirements, new positions, a de-emphasis of commissioner service, new training concepts, and new uniforms - including the red beret. As volunteers arrived home with new information and photos of these uniforms, they often embarrassed their Scout executives who knew nothing about them and would not get the information until later in the fall.

This led to a backlash in many councils against sending volunteers to the Training Center, and led to a policy that new information could not be presented at Philmont until it had been introduced to both the volunteer and professional leadership of the BSA.

This new information policy also led to some interesting and challenging opportunities for faculty members. They were not allowed to share new information and were at times presenting ideas that would be out of date within a matter of days. It was both humorous and sad to see a faculty member who was a member of a team that had developed a new training plan or program, but could not talk about or share the new information.

After hitting a high of 1,487 in 1971, conference attendance dropped to a post-1954 non-jamboree year low of 1,116 in 1975 and a jamboree year low of 1,080 conference participants in 1977.

By now many of the changes that had occurred in Scouting over the past decade were getting another look. One of those was communicating the Training Center schedule with volunteers. Stories about the Philmont Volunteer Training Center schedule returned to the pages of Scouting magazine.

Volunteers still had to be invited through their council and be approved by their Scout executive, but awareness of the offerings and increased promotion was necessary to turn around the declining attendance. Scouters were once again encouraged to talk to their council and let them know that they were interested in receiving an invitation to a conference but still had to be approved by the Scout executive.

Another helpful addition was a season-ending week of professional training conferences conducted by the South Central Region. These family-included sessions exposed the Training Center to a new generation of professional Scouters - who in turn encouraged volunteers to attend.

Other than region training conferences, there had been little professional Scouter training at Philmont since the last National Executive Institute in 1970. The number of professionals outside of the southwest who had ever even been to PTC was declining. For the most part the only professionals during the main summer sessions at Philmont were on the faculty or in a district Key-3 conference.

In the early 90's some professionals began to rediscover the potential of the Training Center. Two Scout executives, Tom Deimler and Keith Gallaway, took staff members and key volunteers to summer conferences and wrote about the experiences in Professionally Speaking. They both shared the many positive aspects of the conferences and encouraged other councils to make similar plans. Later Deimler would become the director of the BSA’s Relationships Division and Gallaway would become the director of High Adventure and general manger of Philmont.

In the fall of 1993 Parvin Bishop, the director of the BSA’s program group, called a meeting of members of the national executive staff who were responsible for conducting the summer conferences at Philmont. He surprised those in attendance by announcing that he was about to recommend the closing of the Philmont Training Center.

Conference attendance had been the lowest since the decline in the late-70's and the operation was losing money. Family attendance had experienced a steady 10-year decline and was less than half of what it was in 1984.

After the shock of the announcement wore off, Bishop appointed a task force to work with PTC director Forrest McVicar to figure out what the problems were and what, if anything could be done. He said that he would delay his decision pending the report and actions of the task force.

The task force very quickly discovered that there was not one, but several factors leading to the decline.

They found that those who conducted conferences, the divisions and committees of the national council, thought that promotion was the responsibility of the Training Center and local councils. The staff at PTC said that it was the responsibility of the divisions and the local councils. As a result promotion was haphazard at best.

In reality there was some counter-promotion. During the week the conference attendees were welcomed warmly, but were told in a nice way not to come back in future summers. Many in the Scouting hierarchy thought that attending a training conference should be a one-time experience. It was hoped that Scouters would promote back home, and they did. But this created a situation where attendance from councils or districts with good promotion grew, but dropped to zero in others.

The 1993 National Scout Jamboree and the 1992 consolidation of regions, resulting in the end of the South Central Region’s annual training week, had also impacted attendance. But those only accounted for the decline in 1993, not the trend line.

It is ironic that a factor in the decline at PTC was the increasing success of the high adventure backpacking programs at Philmont! Philmont’s camping program had begun to see capacity summers and multi-year waiting lists. When the summer hiking trek schedule filled up, the camping department at Philmont would send letters to councils thanking them for their support and informing them - and subsequently their volunteers - that "Philmont was full" for the summer. Most people in local councils assumed that this meant that all of Philmont was full and had stopped encouraging volunteers to apply for conferences.

This opinion also spread beyond councils. When the task force met with the editor of Scouting magazine about doing a promotional story, they were told that Scouting did not do PTC feature stories anymore because "Philmont was oversubscribed."

Other than those directly connected to the conferences, it had become apparent that almost everyone in the Boy Scouts of America wrongly assumed that the Philmont Training Center was full every summer. Further, it appeared that the only real source of information was the invitation letter to selected Scouters from the Chief Scout Executive, which were dependent on the professional staff of the local council putting the names of Scouters on the invitation list.

The task force determined that the solution was something that is the solution for many challenges - communication.

They decided that it was time to once again use Scouting to share the value of PTC with volunteers. They placed a two page advertisement in the January-February 1994 issue. The ad included a coupon that a Scouter could send to Philmont to get more information or, with Scout executive approval, sign up for a conference.

The divisions and committees of the national council that conducted conferences increased their promotion by developing new brochures and new conferences that would attract a broader range of volunteers. In some cases they just changed the titles of conferences to provide more excitement for both those interested in attending and professionals adding names to the list.

Just as it had been in 1968, the goal of the task force, PTC, and the program group was not just to get bodies to fill the seats - or rather the tents. The goal was to get more of the "right" Scouters. Scouters who would make a positive impact on their area of Scouting service, but it would be a little different this time. It would not be a secret.

A survey that McVicar and the task force developed had shown that the top influence on attending PTC was the letter from the Chief Scout Executive. That was no surprise because that was the main source of promotion. But number two was "my district executive encouraged me to attend."

It was clear that district executives were the biggest promoters of PTC. But most knew little about the center, so there was a need to increase their awareness and stress the advantages of sending more of their best volunteers - and not encouraging volunteers that would not return as an asset to the district or council.

It would be important to both get more information to professionals and to get more of them to PTC to experience it themselves. BSA professional training opportunities were offered once again and information about the center was shared at professional development conferences. Each trainee at the Center for Professional Development was given a postcard and encouraged to list the quality volunteers in his or her service area that should be invited to attend.

The Training Center also decided that the traditional mid-week beginning and ending of conferences no longer fit into the structure of typical American vacations. The schedule was changed to a Monday-Saturday pattern making it possible, at least in theory, to attend and only use one week of vacation.

To enhance the value of the conferences, Bishop encouraged the divisions of the program group to introduce program updates and changes at the now annual National Council Meetings in May rather than at the Top Hands meeting for Scout executives in August. Now the latest concepts could be shared at Philmont.

The last piece of the effort was to revise the fee structure for family members to make it more economical for a Scouter to bring all of his or her family. Fees for conference participants went up slightly, but fees for family members were reduced. This was completed in time for the summer of 1996. That year also saw another schedule change, back to a full week beginning on Sunday, because the six-day week had reduced conference time more than the divisions and committees wanted.

The success of this new wave of communication and promotion helped, just as it had earlier, and increased attendance to new highs. The 50^th anniversary summer of 2000 saw the highest conference attendance ever, nearly doubling 1993's total.

Beautiful country, an expert faculty, and fellowship with volunteers from around the BSA and the world make the Philmont Training Center a superb training experience. But the ingredient that has always made it unique and special is the family program.

Waite Phillips had the idea for the family program because his intent was for Philmont be enjoyed by families just as his family enjoyed the ranch. As is nearly always the case with a Phillips idea, it was and is innovative and successful .

Over the years many spouses and children have been apprehensive, or worse, when their Scouter talks them into going to a conference at the Philmont Training Center. To ease the concern somewhat, family program and facilities have been a big part of the promotion of the Training Center.

When summer conferences started in 1950 the idea was that there would not only be Scouting training, but that they would include programs for members of a Scouter’s family, with plenty of time for a family to enjoy Philmont together. The goal of the Philmont Training Center was to provide a quality conference experience for Scouters with their families. "With" being the key word.

While the programs for families have evolved, the basic patterns that exist today started early. A day set aside with no classroom time so families could do something together, evening "fun nights" including square dances and a picnic, nature, hikes, horseback rides, crafts, and games were all part of the 1951 program. As was a program for spouses.

Scouting magazine articles in the 1950's and early 60's titled "We Found Scouting’s Heart", "Philmont Honeymoon", "Queen For A Week", "The Family at Philmont", and "Mom Goes To Philmont" were written from a mom’s perspective and featured the fun the kids would have - and the fun and relaxation that mom could have while the kids were being cared for by the Philmont staff.

Phillips and Arthur Schuck knew that a wife’s support was necessary to have the best possible attendance at the Training Center. While today there are husbands as well as wives in the spouse program, the idea is the same. Family support of a Scouter is a big key to success back in the local council - and at home.

The spouses’ program has changed the least of all the family programs. It has always been a day that is full of activities for the family Scouter and the other members of the family so that a spouse could enjoy free time doing a wide variety of things - or nothing - without having to worry about the children.

As for the rest of the family, it makes sense in an organization that is based on the patrol method that small, age-specific family program groups would be organized and given names.

The only family program that has had the same name for over 50 years, and the first to be named in print, is the Small Fry program. In 1953 Scouting magazine called the six year old and under group "Small Fry" and described their activities and schedule.

Phillips’ 1950 idea of using the Polo Barns for family housing may have provided the idea for converting the south wing of the barns into a Small Fry Center - complete with a pony ring - in 1956. Each morning the Small Fry were bussed over from the Training Center for a full day of play, pony rides, and naps.

As facilities expanded, the nursery and Small Fry groups were split apart and the youngest family members in the nursery program moved in to the remodeled Health Lodge building on the Greensward. Now they would not have to be bussed to the Polo Barns and their parents could watch them play in the attached Nursery playground.

In 1994 a new Small Fry Center was built near the Handicraft Lodge. This new building, and the 1995 addition of a nearby pony ring, totally eliminated the need to transport Small Fry away from the Villa area. It provided a location for quality day of fun for nursery and Small Fry while easing the anxiety of parents who disliked watching their young ones leave each day on a school bus.

In the mid-90's Gayle Stanton and Martha Collins, a mother-daughter team from a Boy Scouting family with a day care facility management background, joined the Training Center committee. They provided toys, materials and training for the staff each summer and helped to make the building and program state of the art.

Early on, the boys and girls that were seven to 13 years old enjoyed Philmont in groups called Kit Carson Boys and Kit Carson Girls. However, the broad range of ages proved to be a challenge, and there was a desire to arrange the boys’ groups along Scouting program lines. Boys soon logically became Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

The argument that Philmont is after all a Boy Scout camp versus the practical application of a real Scouting program in a one-week "provisional" program away from the unit, has caused the level of direct connection with the phases of the Scouting program to increase and decrease over the years. At times there have been structured Scouting programs, and at times they were Scouting in name only. Directors have decided to, or been given direction to, make the boys’ program groups more like Scouting, or staffing challenges or management philosophy has caused them to lessen the connection.

For many years a Training Center Cub Scout pack with dens for each Cub Scout age was organized each week. A day camp was held with most of the activities at the Stockade, a camp at the foot of the Tooth of Time that featured a recreation of an old Western fort. The challenges of maintaining the Stockade and bussing the Cub Scouts to the camp every day ended the program at the Stockade after 1991. The day camp and pack idea ended as well.

After Webelos camping was approved by the national Cub Scout committee, a father-son, and later a parent-son, campout was added to the program. Webelos have camped at Rayado, Badger, Ponil, Rocky Mountain Scout Camp, and even the PTC nature trail over the years.

Just as there was a pack, there was also a Training Center Troop for Boy Scouts. A Boy Scout camp was built in 1965 to provide a summer camp experience for Boy Scouts attending PTC. Called Camp Urraca, it was on the road to the Stockade at the location of the present Badger Camp. Boy Scouts were formed into patrols and PTC staff members served as Scoutmasters and assistants. Scouts participated in shooting sports, hikes, crafts, and all the non-waterfront fun activities you would expect at a Scout camp. The highlight of each week was an ascent of the Tooth of Time, usually up and down the old Stockade Trail.

After the summer of 1971 Camp Urraca was closed and replaced by Rocky Mountain Scout Camp. Located just up the road from Camp Urraca, the program was similar to what had been offered at Urraca but the facilities and location were much better.

In 1992 the Boy Scout camping program was discontinued and moved back to the Training Center. Staffing challenges, unfamiliarity among the Scouts in a provisional troop, the increasing number of boys in attendance who were not Scouts, and 10 year-old Boy Scouts who had never camped without mom or dad were impacting the success of the program.

As with the demise of the pack, the troop and patrol structure also ended with this change. Scouts still did many of the same activities, including the Tooth of Time hike, but they ate most meals in the PTC dining halls and stayed in their parent’s tents.

Because the Boy Scouts had returned to the tent cities, overall weekly capacity was reduced. When attendance returned to near capacity in the late 1990's, 16 smaller "Boy Scout tents" were added to the tent cities to get the space back for conference attendees and to give the Boy Scout-aged boys at least a semblance of camping out away from mom and dad.

One of the challenges that the Training Center staff faced was rank advancement in the "Scout name" programs. For many years this was not a problem because in Scouting in general, and at camp in particular, advancement was more of a result of activity and not the activity. Also, since the program was for 11 to 13 year olds, nearly all participants were still working on the basic Scouting skills back home. At the end of the week parents could get a detail of the Scout’s program and could give the Scout credit if the troop back home agreed.

After the early 1970's changes that allowed, and for a time required, Scouts that were not yet First Class to earn merit badges. The emphasis on rank advancement increased and many parents wanted their Scouts to earn merit badges or have a formal advancement plan in camp. This presented many problems, especially in dealing the broad range of needs, skills, and experience among the Scouts at Philmont.

PTC needed to follow both practicality and national advancement policy. What they did was pretty much summed up in a statement that appeared for the first time in the 1996 Family Guidebook:

Other family programs at PTC were give Spanish names or were named for something or someone in local history. The Kit Carson Girls of the 50's became Muchachas and Senoritas of the 60's. From the 70's to the 80's there were Blancas, Ninas, Muchachas, and Los Jovenes. In the 90's there were Ninas, Chicas. Muchachas, and Los Jovenes. Spouses changed from just "women", to Senoras and Senores.

In the early 70's the names Lobos and Blancas were selected for the programs for six and seven year old boys and girls. These names came from the wolves in Ernest Thompson Seton’s Northern New Mexico story Lobo, King of the Currimpaw. Blancas was dropped after a few years, for reasons ranging from Blanca’s sad ending in the story to political correctness, and became Ninas. Beginning in 1994 the Lobos were informally called Tigers to match age range of the BSA’s Tiger Cub program. In 1996 the name Lobos was dropped in favor of Tigers.

When there were small numbers of younger family members during a week, the Lobos and Ninas programs were merged and called Nibos and later Amigos.

In 2003 all connection with Scouting programs was removed and the "Spanish" names were changed to Western ranch names. Cub Scout and Boy Scout age programs were changed to Cowpokes, Deputies, Sidewinders, and Trailblazers. Girls became Cowgirls, Ropers, and Mustangs. Spouses became Silverados.

This change was primarily made because of the challenges the staff faced with potentially wide ranges of ages in Scouting programs. The age and/or grade program requirements that the BSA programs had adopted, along with the variables of Webelos to Scout transition calendars, often created a broad age range within a group. At times there were both 11 year old Webelos and nine year old Boy Scouts in program during the same week. These variables had also increased the movement between groups after arrival at PTC.

Eliminating the Scouting connection through boys’ group names, and sticking with age-only program groups made things much easier for the PTC staff and more consistent with the girls’ program groups. But there are some that are saddened by the disconnect.

At first only boys over the age of 14 could go on treks, and treks or junior leader training was their only choice for many years. Until the 70's, girls of that age - called Senoritas - planned their own program of activities. As girls became Explorers, and were allowed to serve as Rangers, Mountain Women treks were offered.

When older boys started to arrive at Philmont that were not Scouts, or did not have the interest or ability to take part in a trek, a co-ed program called Los Jovenes (the young ones) was created. Los Jovenes took on the method of the Senoritas and did as much, or as little, as they wanted each week. Quite often they were bored and a burden to the staff and parents. In 1996 a Training Center COPE course was built and a string of horses returned to basecamp for PTC program, those became a popular feature of the Los Jovenes program and a more structured program became the norm.

Every PTC director has stories about Scouters and families at the Training Center. Scouters whose enthusiasm is renewed or whose families become closer and more supportive because of the Philmont experience are not the exception. A few years ago a Scouter who had just left the Training Center called the director. He said that he had to share that as his family had left the parking lot, driving past the Villa and the cottonwoods, his wife thanked him for bringing their family to Philmont and said "I will never resent the time you spend in Scouting again."

That is what PTC is really all about and what Waite Phillips had in mind.

If you ask a director or former director of the Philmont Training Center what the best part of the job is or was, he will tell you working with the young (and not-so-young) members of the Training Center Staff. Each summer hundreds of people, mostly college students, arrive to spend about three months together providing family program and supporting conferences and families.

Like Scouting in general, until the 70's most of the staff at the Training Center was male. The only females were the daughters or wives of other staff members or local residents. Due to the nature of the activities the Training Center was a natural fit for the first female staff at Philmont - many of whom were previous family program participants who wanted to go back to Philmont.

The seasonal Training Center staff consists of family program group leaders, COPE staff, Villa staff, craft staff, services staff, registration staff, tent city mangers, a pony wrangler, and the dining hall staff.

A small group stays for the fall conferences. They lead a modified family program and provide nearly all of the other services that the full staff does in the summer.

For most of its history, the Training Center was managed in the "off season" by the same staff that was leading the hiking and other programs at Philmont. During the summer one or more of the professionals of the Volunteer Training Service of the National Council would move out to Philmont to manage the conferences.

As Philmont’s popularity grew, and with the advent of professional training at the ranch, the BSA decided to place a professional on site with primary responsibility for the Center. The first manager was Darwin Van Gorp in 1968, followed by Will Conradi in 1970.

At a 1974 ranch committee meeting it was announced that a switch was going to made back to seasonal management. For the next 12 years a seasonal staff member was hired and assigned to manage the Training Center staff for the summer.

In 1985 the national office was reorganized and the Volunteer Training Division was dissolved. Responsibility for volunteer leader training, and Philmont Training Center conferences, moved to the various divisions of the National Council. Most of the division’s staff were also transferred to other divisions of the program group. On January 1, 1986 Associate Director of Volunteer Training Robert Maxfield became the Director of the Philmont Training Center.

Bob’s experience in the Volunteer Training Division was important because he now had to not only coordinate to the conferences of several divisions, but he also had to manage the Training Center and its staff. He also had to do it from Cimarron and not the National Office.

Maxfield served until his retirement in 1989. Forrest McVicar, who for many years had been associate director of Exploring, led the Center until his 1994 retirement.

Associate director of Cub Scouting Mark Griffin arrived in 1995 and left in 2000 to become the council executive of the Blue Mountain Council in Kennewick, Washington. His successor Rick Barnes was the first to take the position from outside the national council, having served as the council executive in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Rick was the director for two summers until he was selected as the council executive for Ogden, Utah.

Current director Brian Gray came to Philmont in 2002 after his tenure as the council executive in Maui.

While the summer Training Center conferences at the Villa complex are the most famous, the largest in attendance, and indeed the focus of this book, there have been a wide variety of events held at Philmont over the years.

Many national organizations and groups that use Scouting to serve youth have held training or conferences at the ranch. For example, from 1957 to 1964 Philmont hosted a Tribal conference for Native American Scouters with as many as 28 tribes in attendance.

Executive board retreats, endowment seminars, professional staff conferences, local council training weekends, Order of the Arrow events, and of course Wood Badge and junior leader training have all found a place at Philmont. Most of these have been hosted by the Training Center.

The second Wood Badge course offered in the United States was held at Cimarroncito Base Camp (now called the Hunting Lodge) in October 1948. A new Wood Badge Lodge was built at Zastrow Camp for the second Philmont course in 1949. The Zastrow course would be the prototype for courses all over the nation.

In 1995 the hosting of Wood Badge courses was shifted from the Program Department at Philmont to the Training Center. Zastrow continued to be the site for national, regional, and local council Wood Badge courses until 2002 when it was taken over by the Philmont camping operation for use as a mountain biking camp. Subsequent Wood Badge courses were held at Rocky Mountain Scout Camp.

In May of 1996 the Training Center hosted a Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge conducted by the National Council and lead by course director ("Cubmaster") Sue Wieirman.

A specialized "Walking Wood Badge" was offered from 1976 to 1994 by the South Central Region. The course was similar to the course offered in other locations around the nation, but involved hiking in Philmont’s backcountry and emphasized low-impact camping skills. There were many reasons for the demise of this course, but from a Philmont perspective the increasing load on the backcountry from growing attendance by Scouts was part of the formula.

Philmont’s first junior leader training course was held in July 1949 and lasted 42 days. By 1951 there were eight, 36-day sessions with 32 participants in each session.

Carson-Maxwell Base Camp, later called Rayado, was the location for most of the youth leader training courses until 1994 when they were moved to Rocky Mountain Scout Camp.

For a brief time in the mid 1970's the national youth training courses were discontinued and only local council courses were held, but that did not last long and the week-long National Junior Leader Instructor Camp was again held at Rayado.

The names of the various youth training courses have changed over the years, the first just called a junior leader training troop and the latest being the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience. Perhaps one of the most interesting course names was the 1973 "Woodman’s Thong" course.

These training camps have had an evolving content, participant base, and schedule over the years. But all have had the intent of training youth leaders and to help them pass their skills on to the other youth in their troops, teams, posts or crews.

Late summer and Fall conferences were offered at the Training Center from the very beginning. The 1951 schedule included a November Explorer Leaders Conference.

As much of the BSA’s training was "localized" In the 1970’s, formal fall and winter conferences pretty much disappeared from the schedule. Other than the office, many of the buildings were "cocooned" from September to May.

The current September conference schedule came as a result of a couple of unrelated circumstances. In 1995 National Director of Program Parvin Bishop suggested that there should be more year-around use of the facilities at PTC. Funds were provided so that insulation and heating could be added to most of the buildings. This increased the potential for hosting more, and larger events.

During the summer sessions the Boy Scout Division had begun to offer more and more conferences that wanted to venture into Philmont’s backcountry. There was a concern, that often came true, that there might be a conflict between these conferences and programs for Scouts in the mountains. Further, these conferences were very "family unfriendly" since the participants were away from PTC-proper for most of the week. This was contrary to the mission to the Training Center.

In 1998 John Alline, the director of Boy Scout training and the Boy Scout conference coordinator, agreed to move these conferences to the fall of 1999. It was decided that a couple of Center-based conferences - such as Scouting for the Homeschooled - would be offered at the same time in the PTC classrooms for those that could not go into the backcountry. The conferences included a modified family program so that Scouters could still bring their families.

Local Council Conferences

Many nearby councils have held weekend volunteer training and family events during the "off season" at the Training Center. Amarillo, Pueblo, and of course Albuquerque have been the most frequent visitors, but local councils all over the BSA have been welcomed to hold special retreats.

The first Venturing Powderhorn course was held at the Hunting Lodge and in the Cimarroncito Meadow in 1999.

The Philmont Training Center was and is called (formally until it disappeared from official publications in 1992) the Volunteer Training Center. Yet the first formal training conferences at the ranch and the Villa were for career professional Scouters, and professional training has been an important part of the conference schedule for most of the Center’s history.

Beginning with the 1943 finance conference and the 1949 Scout Executive’s Conference, Philmont offered a western conference setting for the movement’s professional leaders. In 1968 the National Council decided to use Philmont as a western location for the National Executive Institute - the basic professional training that had only been offered previously at Schiff Scout reservation in New Jersey. Additional classrooms, housing, and other facilities were built, but the experiment only lasted a little over a year due to transportation challenges for participants and guest instructors from the National office.

For many years the BSA regions that included Philmont conducted regional professional training, often including a family program element. With the cancellation of an all-hands national training conference in 1975, the South Central Region decided to conduct a week-long session at PTC that included management and finance training and a family program. These conference continued into the 90's.

Today the Training Center works with the BSA’s Center for Professional Development to offer several courses in the spring and summer and professionals are encouraged to attend the other summer and fall offerings.

Over the years there have been some wonderful articles about the Training Center in the pages of Scouting magazine. Scouting was a key element in the promotion and early success of PTC and is an important factor today.

Since these articles give a snapshot of the early days, are often entertaining, and are pretty hard to find, the text from a few of the early ones is included here. As was mentioned earlier, with a few minor updates for program changes, and of course modern sensibilities, many of these articles could be used to promote the Training Center today.

May 1951 - (the first mention of the Training Center in Scouting)

For volunteers who carry key responsibilities in Local Council administration, there are available two unique opportunities for training under the guidance of national leaders, and in an ideal setting.

These are definitely "plus" opportunities, unusual in their leadership, unusual in the calibre of men who attend, and unusual in their outdoor environment. They are designed for key men who can carry training back to the Local Council. In fellowship, in personnel, and in natural setting, they combine the best in training and the best in fun.

Now a series of courses at Philmont Scout Ranch combines the chance for top-flight training, with a chance to see this marvelous mountain country. Scouters all over the nation will want to avail themselves of this opportunity to visit the spot which has come to mean so much to a host of Explorers.

The first five conferences on the Philmont schedule - July 15 through August 25 - offer something new ... a vacation opportunity combined with some fine training. Scouters coming to these five conferences are invited to bring their wives; reservations should be made through the Local Council, and as far in advance as possible.

November 1951

During the summer of 1951 a total of 112 men, women and children participated in the first volunteer Cub Scouting Conference at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. These fine folks who came from18 states and Mexico were pioneers in the true sense of the word since they represented Cub Scouting’s first venture at the great mountain ranch.

National Cub Scout Committee Chairman John M. Bierer and National Committeeman R. E. Eckles were on hand to mark this first step by the Boy Scouts of America in conducting combination vacation and Cub Scouting adventure for entire families. The ages ran from two up to one Cubmaster who surely was the granddad of all Cubmasters in the land. The families lived in a glorified tent city, the tents having spring cots, wooden floors - even private small tents for the children.

The conference was not only a work session but a great family venture. Thirty-five men, women and children went on a long horseback expedition to the Tooth of Time. There was a special day set aside for long expeditions. Everyone went off to see such spots as the Pueblo Indian village at Taos and the beautiful city of Santa Fe. There were bus and motor caravan trips across the entire Philmont mountain range.

In addition to the conference sessions and family recreation periods there was a complete program for children. The activities included popular nature hunts which uncovered hundreds of nature objects including several horned toads. There were special craft periods, story hours, fun nights, puppet plays, horseshoe tournaments and game hours.

The business side of the conference included open forum discussions on all subjects which the group wanted to discuss; an evening games session based upon the Pow Wow Games Section; interesting projects in connection with basic training, and special exhibits and demonstrations provided by the members of the conference. Informal discussion carried on in the big house until the wee small hours.

In the near future Scouting Magazine will give information about plans for the second National Conference of Cub Scout leaders, to be held at Philmont in 1952. It is hoped that this will be the greatest gathering of Cub Scout leaders ever to take place in America.

December 1951

Already Scout families all over America are thinking of next summer’s trip to Philmont Scout Ranch at Cimarron, New Mexico. They think of it as their ranch - this 127,000 acre stretch of land in N.E. New Mexico. You too, may come to Philmont for training and a grand vacation.

The Training Conferences provide instruction by nationally known instructors who will teach you how to use your time and energy most effectively in giving leadership to the Scout program.

During your stay at Philmont there will be opportunities for you the see the great Scout Ranch in operation and to visit its outstanding scenic and historic spots - Ponil, Cimarroncito, Kit Carson’s home and the beautiful Abreu country. The mountains, wooded valleys, plateau’s and fertile plains abound with wild game and the streams are filled with gamy fish. Those who have visited Philmont are high in the praise of its beauty.

Today you can still see the deep ruts left by the wagon trains on the old Santa Fe Trail which traversed the area now known as Philmont. The robust days of the Old West are frequently brought to mind around the campfires which take place on the very spot where pioneers pitched their tents or stopped their prairie schooners.

Yes sir, bring your family. Facilities are now available to accommodate families of Scouters who are participating in Conferences and Training events on the Ranch. Special programs will be offered for family groups - nature hikes, games and general sight-seeing trips. Social gatherings and rainy day programs in the Big house will also be scheduled.

A comfortable "tent city" provides roomy space for family groups. Housekeeping duties are reduced to a minimum. Even large family groups will find facilities for every need. Tents are provided with a wooden floor and comfortable beds.

January 1952

August 3rd-9th, 1952, will be one of the most important weeks in the Cub Scouting calendar. That week will mark the opening of the National Conference of Cub Scout Leaders at Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico. It will be the greatest national gathering of Cub Scout Leaders in the history of our Movement.

Not only will it be the richest Cub Scouting experience ever offered, but it will also provide Cub Scout Leaders and their families one of the finest vacation experiences of their lives. The conference schedule will leave plenty of time for fishing, hiking, some horseback riding, and sightseeing in the historic Southwest country. The mountains, trout streams, wildlife and real western ranching operations are only a few of the things which make Philmont an attractive vacation land.

There will be an opportunity to build Cub Scouting friendships with people from all corners of America. It will be Cub Scouting's greatest trading spree, because everyone will be loaded with gadgets and ideas to swap.

The conference program will be packed with new "how" material, and will be organized on the university plan. Certain major subjects will be offered in the morning, each person choosing one such major. The major subjects will run throughout most of the conference

On certain afternoons minor subjects will be offered, each person choosing two. These subjects will be of shorter duration, and there will be a wide variety from which to choose.

Major subjects will include theme crafts, game leadership, puppetry and dramatics, Pack administration, the knack of leadership, etc. Minor subjects will include song leading, ceremonies, story telling and play acting, tricks and puzzles, Den meeting programs, Indian lore, etc.

The conference evenings will be devoted to social activities and features which will finish off each day with a refreshingly different experience.

The various subjects presented at the conference will be led by outstanding authorities. Members of the staff of the National Cub Scouting Service and members of the National Committee on Cub Scouting will also give leadership to many of the conference activities. Leaders will receive the best in every subject included in the program.

During the last portion of the conference an entirely new approach will be made. At this point the entire conference will change from learning and getting, to giving and building. Each leader will be assigned to a specific project which will be undertaken as his obligation to the Scouting Movement. Thus the entire conference will devote itself to the creation of new Cub Scouting ideas and materials which will in turn find their way into the program during the year ahead.

Special activities will be offered for children. These activities will be under competent supervision arid will make it possible for both mothers and dads to participate in the conference sessions. There will also be recreational programs for family groups.

Facilities at Philmont are being greatly enlarged for the 1952 conference, so leaders may bring their families with them. Those wives who are interested in Cub Scouting may join in the conference sessions. The f£e will be $5 per day for each man and woman. This includes both meals and lodging. For those taking the training an additional $5 fee will be charged to cover training materials.

The rates for children are as follows: Daughters under 14 - $5 per day. (It is expected that sons 14 years of age or over will register for some Philmont camping schedule going on in the same period.) Children 5-13 years of age - $2.50 per day. Children through 4 years of age - $1 per day. ir should be obvious to everyone that these fees are far below the normal fees for most vacation experiences.

Facilities are necessarily limited and will have to be allotted on a first come-first served basis. If you are interested in participating in this greatest of all Cub Scout experiences get in touch with your Local Council immediately, in order that they may take steps to request space for you.

Philmont - the gathering place of famous Explorers - again invites you and your family to take part in the now popular family conferences.

These conferences are where you and other Explorer leaders get leadership training with time out for vacation - and where the wives and children just vacation.

Tell us that you’ll be there at one of the Explorer conferences at Philmont Scout Ranch.

Yes, tell us you’ll be there. One of the high spots un your family’s experience will be your trip to Philmont.

Plenty of time to spend with the little lady every afternoon and plenty of time for her to be on her own with the other gals - swappin’ recipes and having a corkin’ good time.

A program for all children through thirteen years of age will be provided. Boys fourteen and over will be expected to register with one of the Philmont Schedules going on at the same time.

The conference in which you will play a most important part will be a real National Conference with an exchange of ideas and working methods dealing with how to help that teen-ager.

February 1953

The Volunteer Training Center at Philmont Scout Ranch will again offer Volunteer Scouters across America the vacation opportunity of a lifetime. And training, too!

Here's the story. Any Scouter may register for one of the conferences and bring his family along. In 1952, 777 men availed themselves of this opportunity, and most of them brought their families!

The dates are vacation-tailored. Each conference starts with the noon meal on Wednesday and ends with breakfast on the following Tuesday. This schedule fits perfectly into a two-week period which begins and ends on a week-end.

Special provision is made for the recreational needs of children 7-13 years of age. A fine supervised playground, pony riding, craft program, hikes and trips will keep them happy and busy. For the small fry (children 6 and under), a nursery program takes them at 9 a.m. and brings them back at 4 p.m. fed, napped and happy. Mom has at least seven hours when she may pursue her own pleasure.

The Tent City got rave notices from men and women alike. Innerspring beds, electric lights, floors, chairs and other items and equipment make the oversize tent as comfortable a dwelling as could be had. The kids love this "camping out" and even the ladies who were tenting for the first time found the experience great fun.

In each half of Tent City the shower house facilities are very complete. Imagine - a laundry room with automatic washer, and kitchen with stove and icebox for preparing baby formula or storing it.

Meals are served cafeteria style and the pattern of excellence has already been established in this phase of Philmont living. You just can't eat any better anywhere in the Southwest than you can at the Training Center.

The program offers many opportunities for hours of pleasure. Breath-taking, beautiful scenery surrounds the Center. Tours, horseback riding and free-time wandering will let you get acquainted with the whole Ranch. Crafts, games and just plain lounging will let you see it from your tent home. Take your choice! The program is flexible, in order that you may see and do the things you want most.

The Conference schedules are so established that Dad, Mother and the youngsters will have plenty of time together. Good roads go to the Ponil, Carson Maxwell and Cimarroncito Base Camps. Taos Indian pueblo is only 65 miles away. Fishing spots are close at hand. Truly, this is a vacation wonderland, and with flavor of Scouting fellowship added for good measure.

April 1953

Philmont is an ideal vacation land, and it's all yours! Its trout filled streams, its breathtaking scenery, its cool and grassy mountain meadows are waiting for you this summer. Famous Philmont training awaits you too. There will be conferences for Finance committee members, Commissioners and District and Council operating committees.

The Finance conference includes among the subject matter Local Council Finance planning, Council campaign techniques, community campaigns, trust fund promotion techniques and community chest relationships. Dates are July 8-15.

The District Operations conference is being held for the first time at the Training Center. The conference is pointed at all District personnel, except Finance chairmen and Commissioners. Dates are July 29 - August 4, 1953.

The Commissioners' conference will be based on the job of the Commissioner with these two general job descriptions:

1. District Commissioner - To recruit, train and supervise an adequate staff of Neighborhood Commissioners: 2. Neighborhood Commissioner - To keep his Units alive and healthy. Dates are July 1-7; July 15-21; July 22-28.

While dad participates in the Training Conference with other Scouters from all over the country, Mom and the children can have the time of their lives!

"Kit Carson slept here." Only fifteen minutes from the Training Center, Tent City is Kit Carson's home. Along the roadside to Carson-Maxwell Base Camp the deep ruts cut by the covered wagons of early settlers and traders still crease the soil.

The "small fry" are taken over and given care, fed lunch, given a rest period and kept occupied all day. They're even taken on a picnic in the hills once during the week.

The older children, 6-14, are given an organized program throughout the week. Games, hikes, riding and craft work are all available.

The gracious rooms of the Villa Philmonte open for reading, good talk or just lounging. Shady lawns invite relaxation, and the many miles of good roads on the ranch invite casual sight-seeing. The whole ranch is a photographer's and naturalist’s paradise.

In addition, Mom will find so many home conveniences that taking care of the family will be easy. The over-sized tents have inner-spring beds, clothes closet, table, chairs, electric light, and all linens furnished. Automatic washing machines, refrigerators and stoves available. All of the comforts of home - but no cooking to do, no dishes wash!

You're invited. Ask your Scout Executive for folders describing the Conference you want to attend. He'll give you a reservation blank, too. Start the ball rolling toward the vacation of a lifetime! NOW!

October 1953

Dear Doc, (Harold West, the National Director of the Exploring Service)

You asked that we write to tell you the most important thing we got out of our stay at Philmont. The wheels of our little convertible had rolled nearly three thousand miles homeward before I could "see the forest for the trees." the "trees" were beautiful and I loved them. There were the stately pines of peaceful hours, the great oaks of friendship, aspens shaking with the excitement of new adventure, and cotton woods covering everything with the white happiness of all us being together at Philmont.

But to answer your question - from Philmont I brought a feeling of great respect.

Respect for the men from all walks of life who so unselfishly give not their wealth but themselves that the boys of America may have the benefits. Skills and ideals of Scouting. There at Philmont I saw those volunteer Scouters from all over the country, from all walks of life, from all professions, hard working men who were willing to give their few hours of leisure to the boys of their home town - some the towns little cross-roads on the map, some of then dirty mining towns, some of them vast cities, but in all of these towns boys in need of men to lead them.

Respect for the professionals Scouter; his ability to deal wisely and kindly with all the various personalities that make up the vast army of volunteer workers, to inspire and direct them. All of you have a remarkable executive ability, coupled with a willingness to attend to minute details - not often associated with the executive type.

Respects fo the Scouts I saw in Philmont. All of them seemed to have taken on some of the dignity fo the vast country of New Mexico. Many, facing new adventures alone, had quite serious misgivings but all of them - my son included - came out of the hills considerably farther along the road to manhood.

Respect for God. I’m so glad that you opened the gates of Philmont to Him. He walked so naturally among us in the foothills of the Sangre de Christo Mountains. Beneath the stars that seemed so close, men spoke His words so simply in the different accents of the various sections of the country. Surely "out in God’s country" we all felt a deeper feeling of respect for our Maker. "I have seen Him in the campfires...."

There are those who say the professional Scoter has an easy life. Sometimes we call the Scout leader a sucker. There are those who scoff at the Boy Scouts and call them "sissies." But at Philmont, where the air is so clear, I saw them all with a keener vision and a wider perspective, and to them all I give my deep and sincere respect.

Because this letter is so full of "respects" I was going to sign it "respectfully yours" but since I have done something I seldom do, spoken what I truly feel, I shall sign it simply....

Sincerely yours, Lucile Klinefelter

April 1954

If you’ve been fighting down the urge to follow Horace Greeley’s advice to "Go West" - just relax. Now is the time to go! It’s never been easier to go west and never has it been more fun or less expensive.

The Volunteer Training Center at Philmont Scout Ranch is a ready-made terminus for your trip to the land of the ten-gallon hat, the war bonnet and "Howdy, Pardner."

The conference leaders are nationally known Scouters. The instruction includes the very latest in information and the finest in techniques.

Here’s what Donald H. Cooper of Bethesda, Md., has to say about his family’s 1953 stay at the Training Center. "The fellowship of other Scouters during those six days was an inspiration that will stay with me for the rest of my years. During our entire stay my wife, my children and I were comfortable and happy. The family camp arrangement gave us more fun at a low cost that we have ever had. We all want to go back again."

"The Training Center and program were excellent! It’s too bad all leaders can’t share in this experience." W. J. Wilkes, Austin, Texas

"Wife enjoyed it very much, wanted to stay another week." E. L. Klaman, Danville, Ill.

"I do not believe you can improve the women’s and children’s programs. They were almost perfect." C. E. Breeden, Norman, Okla.

G. J. Gelbard of Milwaukee, Wisc., has this to say about the training phase of his stay: "Believe the personnel, program, materials and facilities were ‘tops.’ Many thanks for one of life’s finest experiences."

Over 2300 men, women, and children came to the Training Center in 1953. They had a good time. They liked to food and found the accommodations pleasant and comfortable.

Frank Snider of Calumet City, Ill., sums it all up very well. "The hustle-bustle of sleeping, eating, Conference, square dances, movies, handicraft, general good living and the clean associations of a group representative of America ..... clean thoughts, clean people - Philmont."

January 1955

(The comments from "Mom" that make up the majority of this article were accompanied by photos of family activities.)

Howdy! I’m Willard Dial form Anthony, Kansas. For some time we’d talked about taking one of those family vacations at Philmont, the big Scout ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. While I was taking my course at the training center there, Mom and the kids would be enjoying a real western vacation. Well, last summer we finally did it. It rook some selling to get mom there, and when we arrived she - but I’ll let here tell what happened. Mom take over!

Well, here we are! It’ll be fine for Will with his training course, and the kids’ll love it here. But guess who’s going to be the official baby sitter? Me!

I must say the food here is certainly delicious! This would be an ideal vacation if I didn’t have to watch the youngsters all week.

Say! Maybe I won’t after all. It seems they have a supervised recreational program for the children here. That’s our Dana on the lead pony there, folks.

And here are Mike and Pat going full tilt in the handicraft shop here. You can make almost anything you want. Expert instruction, too.

Here are the boys on an afternoon hike. Supervised activities like these happen every day here. And where are the mothers - ?

We mothers - glory be! - are Scot free to get together and plan our own activities. Here’s our program committee getting some expert help in planning.

And here’s one of the things we planned - a real western square dance! The kids? They’re on hand tonight, too. Philmont’s a "whole family" place.

Horseback riding is tops at Philmont. Here we are getting ready to head out for and exciting ride into the hills. Planned it ourselves, too.

Heavens! I almost forgot about Will, back in his training course. He met a wonderful group of men there, he tells me, and learned a lot.

Time to go home already? Good gracious, how did this wonderful week go by so fast? That’s us there, in front to that fabulous Philmont scenery.

Will says he’s not sure yet where we’ll go on vacation next summer! Can you keep a secret? I’ve already made up his mind - PHILMONT!

What about your ‘55 vacation - Considered Philmont?

May-June 1955

Gentlemen:

To say "thank you" seems so few words to express an appreciation. However, from Lewis Erdos, Thelma Erdos, and Robert Erdos comes a great big "thank you." While we were at Philmont we enjoyed ourselves very, very much. In fact, I have a confession. When Lew, my husband mentioned to Bob and me that he would like to go to Philmont last summer as part of his vacation we both had doubts - lots of them - about the value of the entertainment we would get out of it. Had we known more about Philmont our fears would have been calmed immediately because we had the time of our lives there. Now we are talking about how soon we can get back to Philmont. Here is just a part of what we have to say about our week there:

FROM LEW: I enjoyed my time at Philmont. "Doc" West and his staff made the week a complete one. The training and field experience we received while there was a most complete education in the Explorer way of life and program. I am more enthusiastic that ever before about getting an Explorer group together and serving as their leader. I hope also that when this has been accomplished the whole unit can go to Philmont. The movies which we took at Philmont will sell the idea.

FROM THELMA: I have from the earliest part of my life always feared horses. It was at Philmont I learned not only to trust these animals but to really love them. I only hope that when we get back to Philmont I might be able to spend more time horseback riding. At the same time I must also compliment your group at the Hobby Shop for the most enjoyable and educational training I received there. The setup in general for the family, the children’s programs, the leaders’ programs, the laundry situation, the tent arrangement, and not to be overlooked, the food situation! To mention them in the order which I have seems just like a lot of words but I just can’t seem to express exactly my appreciation for all the enjoyment I received out of this.

FROM BOB: Boy, oh boy, did I have the best time of my life on my vacation! I had more fun riding the horses. I found out just how big and grown-up I can be and am when I am on a horse. I hope to spend more time riding the horses when I get back there. I had lots of fun learning about different things in the Hobby Shop. The movies were lots of fun and I enjoyed my tent life too. Altogether, I want to go back again and soon.

FROM ALL OF US: Our thanks to all of you who had a share in making our stay at Philmont so enjoyable that we are looking forward to going back there. Your kitchen staff is not to be overlooked either. The food was so good the we were afraid of staying there any longer for fear of the overstuffed look we would have when we got home. Thanks again, and we are really looking forward to seeing you in the very near future.

January 1958

How would you like to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for our vacation next summer?" asked my husband, one snowy February evening when he came home from a neighborhood Scout workers' meeting.

"Philmont!" our children breathed reverently, their nostrils already dilating with mountain air.

"Don't be silly!" I answered. "I can't shoulder a pack. I can't march off into the wild blue yonder mountains. I can't . . ."

"You don't do any of those things at the volunteer training center," he interrupted. "Sure, we'll live in tents, but everything else is solid comfort. Just you wait and see!"

I never quite believed his extravagant picture of Philmont, but nevertheless I became infected with the family's enthusiasm as vacation time arrived.

With mounting excitement, we approached New Mexico from southeastern Colorado over breath-taking Raton Pass into New Mexico. Its sweeping panorama of great distances and majestic Sangre de Cristo mountains made New Mexico's slogan, "Land of Enchantment," understandable.

Though we wanted to linger, the thrill of being so near Philmont spurred us on, over Highway 64, to Cimarron, where we turned south to Philmont.

"Buffalo! Antelope!" our children shouted, and they all four leaned out one side of the car as we passed a securely fenced in area.

Arriving at Tent City, with its row of high-flying, bright flags, the children could restrain themselves no longer. Susan, eight, and Danny, five, headed for the playground where swings, merry-go-rounds, and teeter-totters were already swarming with other youngsters. Tom, eleven, and Jim, thirteen, were immediately involved in a volleyball game with other boys their age.

"Well," grinned Dad, "I said you wouldn't have to shoulder a pack, but you may have to help carry the suitcases to our tents, unless you can break up those games."

"Not bad," I had to admit, as we peeked in the tents. Our family got three wood-floored tents, each with two single beds, complete with sheets and wool blankets. "A closet—and an electric light! Even two lawn chairs— so far so good. Now I wonder where I wash all our dirty clothes? In some babbling brook?"

The solution turned out to be an automatic washer in the nearby service building, where rest rooms and showers were located. "Hi! My load of clothes will be done in five minutes if you want the machine," a friendly gal from Salt Lake City greeted me.

"I'm almost ready to concede," I told my husband, "that we won't have to eat our meals around a campfire."

"Soft lights and sweet music, just like I promised you," he answered as we walked up to the Big House. This had been the palatial Spanish-style residence of Waite Phillips, oil millionaire and donor of Philmont. At one end, a large dining room built in matching style accommodated dozens of tables. A huge lounge room, with comfy sofas, was dominated at one end by bigger-than-life paintings of a Cub Scout, a Boy Scout, and an Explorer. Strains of the "Grand Canyon Suite" filtered from one corner.

That did it! "Do you suppose they'll let us come back again next year?" I asked. "This is paradise."

"Scout-style paradise," my husband amended.

"Want to see the blood brother of the original head that the buffalo nickel was drawn from?" someone asked. "It's downstairs in the trophy room." So our children raced down to the collection of stuffed native animals and patted a huge buffalo head over the fireplace.

Next we visited the trading post, where we purchased souvenirs, Indian jewelry, and cards. Then we peeked at the small, but complete infirmary. It was comforting to know that medical care was available and free, if anyone needed it.

At a Scout official's invitation, many of us decided to take a tour of the surrounding plateau and mountains.

During the trip we learned that Philmont has three separate, cooperating parts. One is the Volunteer Training Center for families, our Tent City.

Another is the ranching operation, for Philmont has a self-supporting ranch as a part of the 127,000 acres. In addition to the ranch herds, one can find, among the craggy mountains, elk, bear, bobcat, mountain lion, wild turkey, beaver, deer, antelope, and an infinite variety of birds. Plus jack rabbits unlimited! This sounded like paradise to city-bred boys. However, our only liaison with these animals was a family of bunnies who lived under the floor of the boys' tent.

The third part of Philmont, perhaps the soul of it, belongs exclusively to Explorers, Scouts who are fourteen years or over. They have three base camps, where each summer 10,000 boys come for an "expedition" of twelve days, or to participate in a junior leader training course. They hike or combine hiking with burros along to carry packs. Each boy also has the opportunity of riding horseback during his stay. They are given thorough physical checkups, for the trips are rugged, though not dangerous. Occasionally, in the days ahead, as we drove around the ranch we'd see these boys plodding along, or see their pin points of campfires at night.

Our guide took us to the reconstructed adobe house that had been Kit Carson's, for years ago part of the ranch had been his land, and the road we were following was once the glamorous Santa Fe Trail, life line of the Old West. Part of Carson's ancient home is used as a museum.

That evening, after a dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad, and strawberry shortcake, everyone met in the big activity room for plan making.

It all boiled down to this: while Dad gets a thorough, inspirational Scout workshop, Mother gets a vacation, free from housework, cooking, and child care. And the children get a taste of ranch life in doses suited to their ages.

"Guess what, Mom?" said Danny. "Every morning I'll go in a school bus to a special spot on the ranch. We'll play games and have lunch there. We won't come back till almost supper time. And our bus driver says we sing songs all the time we're on the bus. He's going to teach us cowboy songs."

"I'll be a Kit Carson girl," said Susan, "and we'll meet every morning for games, handicraft, and songs. There are a dozen ponies out in the corral, and we get to ride them. Your group does too, Danny."

"We're in the Kit Carson boys' group," said Tom. "That's for boys seven to fourteen years old. We'll have volleyball, baseball, and mountain fishing. And handicraft if we want it."

"Just think," said Jim, eyeing the distant mountain trails wistfully, "if I were only a few months older, and fourteen already, I could go out tonight on a five-day camping trip. Wouldn't that be cool!"

The meeting ended with a song festival, topped off by the deeply moving Philmont hymn. We all headed for our tents. Those of us who were novices to mountain temperatures were amazed by the chill night air, for the day had been hot. Our altitude, over 6,000 feet, caused this and we soon adjusted to it. Although it was cold at night, the heat was back early each morning, teasing us from our mountain of covers.

The world's largest remuda of saddle horses awaits Philmont riders, so the next day forty of us tried some out, riding up a steep mountain trail for a splendid panorama of the Big House and Tent City, against a backdrop of the Philmont plateau and the rugged Sangre de Cristo mountains.

That evening there was a square dance, and our husbands, who had been busy all day in training course activities, joined us in the fun.

The next few days slipped by in a delightfully lazy pattern of leisure, handicraft, and forays into the countryside, for us wives, and a variety of exciting activities for the children.

On Sunday we were free to take trips on our own. Our family chose Taos and Santa Fe, both richly Spanish in architecture and atmosphere, and both steeped in the romantic history of the colorful early West.

Back at Philmont that night, every family was excited about its day's travels. Some had gone to Raton to swim, others to Cimarron. Some groups had 24 visited Scout base camps, others had taken the scenic Red River Canyon drive. Everyone was anxious to tell of his trip, but a turkey dinner got top attention.

"Only one more day at Philmont" was the sorry realization on Monday morning. Though we were all to leave Tuesday morning, somehow we'd been hoping it would go on indefinitely. Everyone tried to cram as much fun, handicraft, sun-tanning, and horseback riding as possible into the final day. After dinner, skits and songs added to the festive, though nostalgic, atmosphere.

Although no dance- was scheduled, everyone demanded—and got—one. So we had a last late night of fun. Like one big congenial family, everyone seemed reluctant to break Scout ties and scatter to the four winds.

It had been a week of incomparable fellowship, and best of all, because it's the real reason for this Tent City, a week of intensive training that would' spell better Scouting in every community represented.

What does Philmont, deep in the "Land of Enchantment," do to your heart to cause the deep devotion we all felt? On our last evening there I listened to the Philmont hymn, ringing out over the cool night air into the mysterious mountains and let the words etch themselves into my heart.

Then I looked around the room, dominated at one end by the three enormous lighted pictures, a Cub Scout, a Boy Scout, and an Explorer. I watched the happy family groups, expressing the best in American living and the highest in Scout ideals. Tomorrow it would all end. Or would it? For, as a result of this experience, we would all be better individuals, better families, better Scouters. I'm sure each heart echoed my thought:

Philmont—someday we'll be back again!

January 1965

The other day I surprised my husband by remarking that I was looking forward to visiting Philmont Scout Ranch again. He told me that until now he never quite knew if I had enjoyed the ranch. Of course I did. Our trip to New Mexico two years ago was more than a vacation. It was a wonderful honeymoon.

I thought that Les was kidding when he first suggested that we go to Philmont after the wedding. I had seen the pictures of his previous treks on the ranch trails and couldn’t imagine myself hiking with a packsack or sleeping on the ground.

But there was another side to Philmont, he explained. This was the Volunteer Training Center for Scouters and their entire families.

We arrived at the ranch after a pleasant auto trip, sprinkled with sight-seeing. All of Philmont’s training courses start on Wednesday and terminate on the following Tuesday. This affords plenty of traveling time to and from the ranch.

Our accommodations were not Waldorf but wall tent. Tent city was spacious and comfortable, every tent having a wood floor, two beds, warm blankets, a small wardrobe closet, a table and chairs, and electricity. It was just a short walk from our tent to the laundry house with its automatic washers. Adjoining this building were the washrooms equipped with showers.

We had our meals at one of the beautiful dining halls. The other women at the training center welcomed the holiday from kitchen chores, but, being a newlywed, I did not fully understand the happiness. I do now.

What really impressed me at Philmont was the fact that there was something for everyone from the smallest tots to the teen-agers. Even the teen-age girls who were sure they would be overlooked at a boys’ ranch were sorry to see their Philmont vacation end. One evening there was a dance for the teen-agers - after the adults were shooed to bed.

While the men attended their classes, we wives had the run of the ranch. We went on conducted tours of Philmont camps and interesting nearby sights of New Mexico, played cards, took lessons in handicraft, haunted the Western antique shops in Cimarron, or just lapped up the luxury of the Villa Philmonte, the beautiful mansion that Waite Phillips gave to the Boy Scouts of America.

There was plenty of free time for family events such as horseback riding or visiting a tourist site. Les and I ventured to Taos for a glimpse of the Indian pueblo dwellings and Kit Carson’s home.

We have so many things to recall: the evening the buffalo herd came out of their pasture and into camera range, the buffalo roast that was quite a tasty treat, the wonderful campfire programs under the vast southwestern sky, and the gay Saturday night square dance.

Most of all I’ll remember the wonderful people we met at Philmont. There was the mother who proudly wore her home-district "Scout Widow" name tag and the couple who brought their family of 11 kids along. I learned that Scouting is one tremendously big, happy family.

The wife of a 50-year Scouter gave me some sound advice. "If you want to keep your new husband happy," she said, "let him Boy Scout."

Did I enjoy Philmont? You bet I did. And I know I’ll enjoy our second Philmont honeymoon as much as I did our first.

The Training Center began with a remodeled Villa kitchen and servants’ quarters that could be used as a dining hall and meeting room, and a bunkhouse that was built "to house 96 men." As plans were being made for the future and the popularity of Philmont grew, it was quickly evident that a lot more of everything would be needed.

In late 1950, after just the first summer of national conferences, the Boy Scouts of America budgeted nearly $500,000 for new facilities. By the summer of 1954 the Training Center boasted a new assembly hall and dining hall, a new conference building that could be divided into three rooms, duplexes for the conference faculty, and a new tent city. The basic configuration of today’s PTC was in place.

Each facility at PTC has a bit of history of its own.

The Assembly Hall was part of the original 1950-approved construction project. In the early days each week consisted of one large, single-topic conference. As attendance increased a large room that could handle all of the week’s conference participants was needed to replace the relatively small Villa conference/dining room. The ranch also had plans for square dances and other family activities.

The design of the Assembly Hall closely matched the original style of the Villa Philmonte, which ended at the Gazebo. Many Philmont visitors are not aware that it was an add-on by the BSA and think it was part of the original home.

The Assembly Hall has undergone only minor changes since 1954.

Dining Hall 1 and the PTC kitchen was also part of the original expansion that was completed in 1954. This greatly increased the capacity of the Training Center as conferences did not have to shut down and clear the room for meal preparation.

The dining hall was connected to the Assembly Hall with a partition for closing either facility off for concurrent use.

Like the Assembly Hall, Dining Hall 1 matched the style of the Villa.

Dining Hall 2 was built in 1957 and with two serving lines was called Dining Hall 2 and 3 for many years. Participants came in the end doors and left out the center doors.

Heat was added in 2001 so that Dining Hall 2 could be used year-around.

Originally built as part of the 1950-54 project, the original structure only included what is now the Bent and Beaubien classrooms. The building originally had three doors on the porch and accordion walls so that it could be separated into one, two or three classrooms. This building gave the Training Center the facilities to host more than one conference at a time or to have break-out sessions.

The building was remodeled in 1968 when the National Executive Institute was brought to Philmont to provide an additional location for basic professional training. Beaubien was made into one large room and the Miranda room, restrooms, and an office for the NEI staff was added. The storage room was modified to provide media capabilities, including film projection into Beaubien and Miranda.

These rooms were named in after important historical figures in Philmont county history: pioneers and landowners Guadalupe Miranda and Charles Beaubien, and New Mexico territorial governor Charles Bent.

The old NEI office became a conference faculty office for many years and is now the office of the Philmont Staff Association.

Maxwell was added in 1965 as part of another Training Center expansion. Maxwell could be divided into two conference rooms with an accordion wall.

The room was named for pioneer landowner Lucien Maxwell.

The PTC office complex was originally built in 1942 as a bunkhouse for visitors to Philmont. The building had a small office on the south end, restrooms, and 10 sleeping rooms that would accommodate 96 men.

At times in the 40's two or more of the bunk rooms were converted to meeting rooms, but this drastically cut into the housing possibilities. In the 50's the north end was used as a nurse’s station.

In 1950 the office portion was expanded, but the bunkhouse remained in use for 50 summers (1942-1991) as housing for staff and single male faculty members. In 1992 the last sleeping rooms were converted into the Apache conference room, a staff work room, and storage.

The first permanent conference room was converted from the nurse’s station on the north end of the building. Originally called Rayado, this room was first used in 1957 and enlarged in 1992. In 1998 the room was renamed Kit Carson to match the historical figure theme of the rest of the rooms and to avoid confusion after the facilities at Rayado began to be used by the Training Center. Several individuals had driven down to Rayado to find conferences when told they would be meeting in Rayado.

The second conference room was added in 1993 and was called Apache. In 1998 this room was renamed for George Webster, again to fit the historical figure theme.

For many years the staff at Camping Headquarters moved into the Training Center office for the winter and this was the program office for the entire ranch.

In 2001-2002 the building underwent a major renovation.

East Tent City was the first tent city at PTC and was built for the summer of 1951. The current tent city office was built in 1954 along with new shower/wash houses. The early shower houses were called service buildings and included washing machines, stoves, and refrigerators so that "mom could have all the comforts of home." The service buildings were remodeled in the mid-1980's.

Before the Handicraft Lodge was built the East Tent City Office included a trading post and a craft area.

Capacity at PTC was doubled with the addition of South Tent City in 1957.

The laundry building, which houses coin-operated washers and dryers for conference participants and a large laundry for the ranch operation was built in the mid 1980's. Prior to that each tent city service building included a laundry.

Originally built in 1957 as a Health Lodge, this building was later converted into a Nursery and family program office. The yard on the south side was fenced and had a playground. It remained a Nursery until 1994 when the new Small Fry Center opened. In 1994 and 1995 it was used as housing for cooks and senior dining hall staff. Beginning in 1996 it became housing for the PTC seasonal management staff.

The three duplexes on the greensward are the original duplexes built by the BSA for faculty housing in 1954. The others were built as part of ensuing expansions, with the last built in 1999 in an area that used to be the PTC staff parking lot. Heating units were added in 1996 so that the duplexes could be used for conferences at any time of the year.

With the increased need for off-season roofed housing and an increasing number of conferences and faculty with families, the Multi-Plex was built in 2003.

The Cottage is an original Phillips building, but was a kennel for the family dogs in those days. The BSA converted it into a summer residence in 1954.

In 1996 the Ranch Committee began the development of a long-range plan to address the needs of the Ranch's facilities for the new century. One of the needs was additional classroom space at PTC.

Unfortunately, two of the Training Center’s seven classrooms were inadequate to meet the growing needs of conferences. One (Bent) was large enough to accommodate a conference of no more than 12 participants. The original Villa conference room was not handicapped accessible, had no restroom facilities, and was putting a strain on the aging Villa.

The committee determined that the construction of a new building that included a large (100 person), dividable conference room and storage facilities would meet the needs of the Training Center for the near future and would allow for alternative uses for the existing rooms.

The family of Walter M. "Buster" Brown, III, a long-time Scouter and member of the Ranch Committee, decided that assisting the Ranch in building this facility would be a fitting tribute to the continuing dedication and devotion that Buster had to Scouting and Philmont.

In 1998 the building was completed and the twin classrooms were named after Waite and his twin Wiate Phillips (who died when the boys were 18.) Like Maxwell, and Beaubien/Bent before 1968, the rooms can be separated by a movable wall and can be made into one large classroom.

The space occupied by the Villa Museum was originally servant’s quarters for the Villa. In 1942 the space was converted into a dining room and classroom for the first training conferences at Philmont. With the addition of the 1954 dining hall the room was used exclusively as a classroom until 1997. In 1998 it was replaced by the Phillips classrooms and was converted by Villa Superintendent Nancy Klein into a museum of the Phillips family and their years on the ranch.

The Small Fry Center was completed in 1994. The funds to build the center were provided by a gift from the estate of prominent California livestock man Loren Charles Bamert.

In 1957 the current structure was built for "handicrafts, movies, and family parties" and was called the Recreation Building. The items carried at the Trading Post were limited so in 1996 the trading post was closed to give the craft operation more room. Another consideration in the decision to close the trading post was to encourage PTC families to go across the street to the camping headquarters trading post. Many had left Philmont having not seen that part of the operation and the hundreds of Scouts arriving each day. In 1998 there was another expansion creating an enlarged pottery and kiln area.

After the summer of 1971 Camp Urraca, built in 1965 and located on the road to the Stockade at the present Badger Camp, was closed and replaced by Rocky Mountain Scout Camp. In 1992 the Boy Scout camping program was discontinued and moved back to PTC. The National Junior Leader Instructor Camp moved from Rayado to Rocky Mountain Scout Camp in 1994.

The PTC Chapel was built in 1959 by the Committee on Protestant Service of the Boy Scouts of America, chaired by Judge Charles W. Froessel of New York. Funds to build the chapel, and the chapel at camping headquarters that is now the Ranger Office, came from members of the committee and Protestant services at the 1959 National Training Conference and the 1957 National Scout Jamboree. A dedication was held on August 2, 1959 during the Protestant Workshop on Scouting conference.

The COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) ropes and challenge course was built in part by a grant from the Order of the Arrow beginning in 1996. It was intended to be a model course with a wide variety of elements for training and local council review.

The Hunting Lodge was one of Waite Phillips’ mountain cabins. In the early years it was the site of the Cimarroncito Camp and where John Westfall wrote the words to the "Philmont Hymn" in 1945. Concerns about the proximity of Cimarroncito facilities to the source of the Cimarron drinking water convinced the Scouts to close the camp and move it to the present Cimarroncito location.

For many years the Lodge was used as a staff rendezvous. Various staff groups used the Lodge for staff celebrations and it fell into general disrepair. In 1994-1995 $50,000 was spent to restore the building and repair the sagging roof. There was no interest in making it a new backcountry camp so the Training Center took it over. Furniture found in the building and other locations on the ranch was restored and the Lodge was put back in use. The Lodge was used as an overnight camping spot for the Muchachas program (11-13 year old girls), a day-hike destination for spouses, and outdoor training. It was the site of the first Venturing Powderhorn course in 1999. It was also often used by the Kanik winter camping program as a base.

In 1999 a historical program and tour at the Lodge was proposed for both Training Center participants and passing crews. Control of the Hunting Lodge was passed to the camping operation and the camp and the historical program was offered beginning in 2000.

In October 1948 the second Wood Badge training course in America had been conducted at Cimarroncito. For Philmont’s second course in 1949, a new Wood Badge Lodge was built at the homestead site of early Colfax County settler, Paul F. Zastrow. The Lodge was remodeled in 1960.

The Wood Badge sundial at Zastrow was a gift from the Boy Scouts of England to the Boy Scouts of America in 1950. Its inscription says "Presented by the Scouts of the British Commonwealth and Empire in commemoration of forty years of Scouting by the Boy Scouts of America." The sundial was originally located at Schiff Scout reservation to recognize Schiff as the symbolic home of Wood Badge in the U.S. When the BSA closed Schiff in 1979, the sundial was moved to Zastrow to recognize the it as the second home of Wood Badge in the U.S.

Wood Badge courses were held at the site until 2002 when it became part of the backcountry mountain-biking program. The heritage of training and Wood Badge is part of the current camp program.

One of the most historical places on the ranch - in terms of both New Mexico and Boy Scout history - Rayado, started out as Rayado Rancho Base Camp and then Carson-Maxwell Base Camp. It was one of several base camps for various camping and hiking expedition programs for many years. From 1946 to 1993 it was also the home of junior leader and Explorer training. Beginning in 1998, in an effort to expand conference offerings and provide a place for outdoor-oriented sessions, some conferences were held at the Rayado Dining Hall. The Dining Hall was also used to allow meetings to be held in the summer without interfering with conferences.

The original PTC Program Bowl was located behind East Tent City to the north of the staff area, near where the warehouse and shop are today. In 1981 Philmont decided to build new program bowls for both PTC and camping and the PTC bowl was erected in its current location. The bowl was rebuilt in 2007.

The original Stockade was built in 1949 at a cost of $5,000 and was closer to the turnaround than the current building. In 1960 it was destroyed by what was believed to be a tornado and was rebuilt at its current location. The Stockade has been used off and on by treks and the camping program at Philmont, including as the starting location for Kit Carson Treks and the ending location for Rayado Treks and Ranger training. For many years the site was used by the Cub Scout programs at PTC as a day camp location. After the Boy Scout program moved back to PTC in 1992 the Stockade was where a weekly Boy Scout overnight campout was held.

Polo was a popular sport among the ranchers of the area and Waite Phillips had one of the best facilities in the area. The barns included storage, stalls for horses, and homes for the wranglers. A polo field and track was located to the southeast of the barns.

The small fry center at the Polo Barns was opened in 1956. It was closed after the 1993 summer and moved a the new building near the Handicraft Lodge at PTC.

In 1996 Philmont hired a food service company and the small fry center was renovated and turned into housing for their employees.

The original pony ring was located where the staff tent city is today, in the middle of an apple orchard. From 1956 to 1994 a pony ring was located at the Polo Barns. Photos of children riding the ponies with Tooth of Time Ridge in the background were often featured in magazines and promotional brochures.

In 1995 Ranch Superintendent Bob Ricklefs proposed building a new ring closer to the new Small Fry Center so that the youngsters would no longer need to be bussed or have cross the street to ride ponies. This also allowed parents to watch their children ride and children to ride more often.

Two shelters at PTC, one near the nature trail and one near the duplexes, were built in 1997. The first was built with a fire pit to provide a location for Scouting skills training and a shelter for family program groups on the nature trail. The second, sometimes called the Pavilion, was built to provide a shelter for faculty bar-b-ques and a rainy day location for family program groups.

In 2004 a new, much larger pavilion was erected for faculty bar-b-ques and the old pavilion was moved to the south end of East Tent City.

Many Scouters and families coming to PTC want to go on a hike. After all, that is what usually comes to mind when one thinks of Philmont. Many hiking opportunities were offered on the mid-week day off, including at times Zastrow, Hunting Lodge, Window Rock, Indian Writings, the T-Rex print, Lovers Leap, the Tooth of Time, and early on even Baldy.

Some of these hikes were and are beyond the physical capabilities of many participants. But also, large numbers of PTC day hikers were negatively impacting the wilderness experience of Scouts on backpacking treks.

In 1987 the Training Center designed and built a special trail just for PTC in an area not used by treks. This trail presented wonderful views and a variety of vegetation zones. To make it even more attractive, a special patch was created.

Over the years the trail has been expanded and rebuilt - most recently by the Philmont Staff Association.

In 1957, the year I was born, the annual Norman Rockwell Boy Scout calendar featured a painting of Explorers hiking towards the Tooth of Time at Philmont. There were a lot of people born in 1957, but I’d like to think that it was a sign that Philmont would be a part of my life.

I have included my story here because I wanted to share the impact of the ranch and the Training Center on the life of one Boy Scout.

Over the years I have developed a reputation among those who know me as a Philmont person. One who will talk, at length, about Philmont at the drop of a hat; who will find, or create, any excuse to go to Philmont; and will promote Philmont at any gathering of two or more people. I must confess that it is a deserved reputation. Philmont has experienced such a profound, positive impact on my life I want to share it with everyone.

The first time I ever heard the word Philmont was in 1971 when my father announced that we would be going there for our summer vacation. He had been invited to attend a commissioner conference at the Training Center and wanted to take my mother, my sister, and me. He promised that there would be a fun program for all of us. My 13-year-old mind, that was starting to lose its desire to go anywhere with my parents, was not looking forward to driving from Florida to New Mexico to go to a Boy Scout camp.

The trip didn't contribute much to my desire. My dad rented a small - no, very small - travel trailer from the Navy for us to stay in at night. Each evening we stopped in a campground. Since there were only two beds in the trailer, I slept on what was left of the floor between the beds. My main activity in the campgrounds was to see how many flies I could kill. As I recall, my highest daily score was in a small campground on the Ponil Creek just outside Cimarron. I was sure Philmont would be just as bad.

Things began to look up when we finally got out to the ranch. The mountains looked pretty interesting and my Scout uniform that my dad made me wear wasn't as out of place as I thought it would be. The thing with the most potential however was my sister's tent mate. I thought I could get to like spending the week getting to know her.

I quickly found out that in a few minutes I would be leaving and wouldn't see base camp, or Jorji's tent mate, again until next week. Things were back to looking bleak again on the bus ride to Camp Urraca and the Boy Scout program.

At Camp Urraca the magic of Philmont started to hit me. We got to plan our own program, and it was all fun - nothing like the merit badge classroom atmosphere at summer camp. We got to climb the Tooth of Time. We saw a rattlesnake that the staff had captured in a garbage can. One morning, we got up early and went to the skeet range to look for deer. It was foggy at first, but the as the fog lifted we started to see the shapes of deer (I stopped counting at fifty!) grazing among the broken skeet we had shot the day before. I even got to see Jorji's tent mate again on a hayride we went on with their group - the Muchachas! I don't think I even talked to her, but at least I saw her again. I had a blast at Camp Urraca.

Like so many before and since, we didn't want to leave. Our Christmas card that year was of our family in front of my parent's tent just before we left Philmont. You can tell by our faces that we weren't excited about leaving.

On the way out of Cimarron we came upon a car broken down along the road. It was Jorji's tent mate's family! We helped them get to a place where their car could be fixed and stayed to make sure they were able to get going again. I finally got to talk to her a little. I never saw her or heard from her again, but it was another good Philmont memory for a young teenager.

Our family had had a great time and began to making plans to come back. We all did get back to Philmont eventually, although it would be 22 years before all four of us were there at the same time.

Shortly after returning to Pensacola my father began making plans to send me on a full 12-day trek in 1972. This time I couldn't wait. Our trip included an Astros' game (vs. the Mets and Willie Mays) and visit to Ciudád Acuna, Mexico. The hiking was a lot of fun, and much more of a challenge than Camp Urraca had been.

One day, when it was my turn to lead the crew on the trail, we saw a bear. I remember looking up and seeing the bear on the trai