Women in Scouting

Many outside the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are surprised to hear that women are allowed to be involved with the organization at all, let alone have a paid job within the Boy Scouts. Amongst volunteer as well as professional positions, BSA summer camps also have jobs available to women.

Heritage Reservation is a Boy Scout summer camp nestled in the mountains of Farmington, Pa. For the following women, working on camp staff for ten weeks out of the year and the months of planning prior that it takes to get program together has become more of a lifestyle than a job. The same is true for any staff member, regardless of gender, who considers Heritage their second home.

Each woman is adamant that when it comes to working with nearly an all male camp staff, all that matters is how hard any staff member works, regardless of being male or female.

For more information on how Heritage Reservation operates and to understand the camping terms used in this article, watch the following informational video:

LIFE ON A BOY SCOUT CAMP

Heritage is not just open for use during the summer months; in the off season, the camp is used for other Boy Scout programs, and is also open for various groups not involved with Scouting to use as a retreat center. 2,000 acres of land is a lot of land to keep up, and so the BSA employs three rangers to live in houses on campground year round to take care of the facilities.

One of the rangers, Ken Kirsch, has been there since the beginning of Heritage's history, and has lived there since 1984. His only child, Althea Kirsch, grew up with a 270-acre lake, bears, and thousands of Scouts a summer right in her back yard. Needless to say, her life has been interesting.

 “I can't remember any light bulb 'oh, my life is weird' moment,” Kirsch said, whose father used to pick her up at her bus stop--the entrance of camp-- driving everything from camp vehicles, an ATV and even a two seater bicycle. “I did my best to swing up onto the backhoe like a pro with all those kids looking on!”

Just because she grew up at camp did not mean Kirsch had an all-access pass to use every facility and program area as a playground.

“I knew at a very early age that there are people at camp doing work and activities in which I had no place. No staff member really needs the ranger's daughter spying on their program, messing up their numbers and using materials without paying to stay on the property. They really don't need Scouts asking 'What's that girl doing here?' Frankly, I was too shy to answer the barrage of questions I'd get when they'd answer 'She lives here'.”

However, the staff that came along each summer was a different story. Though Kirsch couldn't participate in program often, she was the ranger's daughter, and Ken Kirsch had a way a way of making camp an enjoyable experience for all staff.

“Fun came to me. I've had a series of babysitters and surrogate brothers,” Kirsch said.

One of her favorite staff members, Shana (Elliot) Dowlin, taught Kirsch how to tie a lanyard and said that she still has a double barrel of Dowlin's to this day. “ I never looked to adults to see the kind of person I was 'allowed' to become, but looking back I think it helped to see a female who was a lot like I planned to be myself: fun, charismatic and useful as all the guys around.”

Kirsch eventually had the opportunity to work at camp and so when she was old enough she made the switch from camp kid to employee, and joined the Central (High Adventure) staff at Heritage. One of the few women working at camp, Kirsch said it wasn't a problem. “The thing is, no one really thinks about gender at camp. After all, no one is supposed to be dating in the first place and your average female there is going to be comfortable with the basic array of male behavior, so gender is essentially off the table. Sure, each female there is still 'the girl' but it's just not an issue.”

When it came time for college, leaving the mountain was an adjustment for Kirsch. “I grew up thinking that sexism was dead because in my little world it didn't exist. In college I discovered otherwise and how hard it can be to find 'normal' with gender inequality, even of a non-malicious nature, as a variable.”

Kirsch met husband Derek Christopher on camp staff and married him at Heritage during Fishing Derby weekend in September of 2008. The kids floating by the lakeside ceremony had no idea a wedding was taking place, but the wedding is an example of how Heritage has shaped lives.

“I was in Shana's wedding where every male was a former staff member and Eagle scout. I was escorted by the man who taught me to swim as a child. I've rafted, traveled and skydived with staff. They've helped me move and I've been to their weddings. The names have changed over the years but there is always continuity somehow. They've always been my friends and it was great to finally have them as peers.”

As for what qualities a woman should posses in order to be successful at Heritage, Kirsch said being self reliant and open minded are a must and joked, “It also helps to be a bit of a pyromaniac.”

FROM PARENT TO CAMP DIRECTOR