Scouts Canada
History of the #253 South Heritage Scout Group
 Scouting in Acadia and WillowRidge has been around almost as long as the neighbourhood. The St.Cecilia 64th Scout Group was apparently founded as a Catholic dominated Group the year after the church was built. This makes the Group about 40 years old. The Group at that time served the neighbourhoods of Acadia, Fairview, and Haysboro. Willow Park and Maple Ridge were also part of the ‘recruitment’ area until the 162nd WillowRidge Group was formed in 1974. The 162nd was initially sponsored by St. William School, but in later years it moved to the Willow Park Elementary School because it outgrew St. William.

The Acadia 60th Scout group was formed in 1966/67 when the population and numbers of youth in Acadia outgrew the McDougall 117th United Church space. This Group met at the Fred Parker Elementary School for its whole life, was always small and generally recruited from the west side of Acadia. Youth of scout age were sent to the McDougall 117th or in later years to Willow Park depending on the parent’s choice.

Due to community aging the Acadia Groups were brought together to form the combined 60/64th Scout Group around 1988. The two groups decided with the permission of the church that they would be non-denominational at that time and have been ever since.

Both the St.Cecilia/Acadia Scout Group and the 162nd WillowRidge Group have run all sections at various times in their history [i.e. Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Ventures and Rovers] and attended several Alberta and Canadian Jamborees. The last and biggest Jamboree presence by the Group was the Scout section attending the 1993 Canadian Jamboree in Kananaskis and the Cubs attending the Alberta Jamboree in 1999 at Camp Impessa.

The Willow/Ridge Group decided to join forces with the St.Cecilia/Acadia 60/64th Group to form a new and vibrant Scout Group, #253 South Heritage in 2003. The name came from Heritage Dr. and Southland Dr. as our two main delineating roads, and we continue to meet at St. Cecilia on 90th Avenue. We typically have about 50 youth among the three sections of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

In recent years the Group has focused on the annual Scout popcorn sale for fund-raising, and this has supported a very high quality program for the youth in the Groups. Our challenge has been to continue to attract volunteer leaders, either full or part-time. So please, don’t be shy!

Some typical activities during the year include a Zoo sleep-over, a trip to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, several camps, building snow caves, doing archery and pistol shooting, crafts, a toboggan building/racing day, kub kars, The Great Escape, and many other programs. In 2005 we are participating in the Alberta Centennial Brotherhood Jamboree at Impessa in July.

For more information, contact Scouts Canada at 283-4993 or your local leaders.

Bring on the Adventure! Yours in Scouting,
Craig Barraclough, Group Commissioner - #253 South Heritage 278-7823.