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Troop 32
75th Anniv
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Our Indian Scout Heritage
The drums were beating in the hearts of our scouts when they first became members of the OA during the early 1950's. It was an unquenchable fire that began, for some, a lifelong passion for our native american culture and the art for expressing it.
The First "Wave"
The first wave of Troop 32 scouts who participated in Nishkin
activities were Albert O'Neal, Bobby Sawey, Jim Sawey, Hugh
Helbing, Pat Riley, Tom Stewart, and A J Stewart. Among these,
Albert O'Neal had a natural gift at ceremonies and at the
performing art of indian dancing. Scouts from Troop's 34 and 32
combined to form the Nishkin Dance Team which eventually won the
1956 National Dance Team Honors. As National Dance Team Champions,
several were rewarded with Lodge Office. Albert was elected 1958
Nishkin Lodge Chief while others were selected for committee
positions.
Second Wave
Remnants of the 1950 dancers combined to form a statewide indian
hobbyists association called TIHA. However, some years later,
Albert O'Neal returned to his love of indian dancing in 1969 when he
became Dance Team Advisor. The Devil Dance, Hoop Dance, Fluffy Dance
and Buffalo Dance were among those performed and which garnered local
and regional awards from 1969-1974. Frank Bernat, Jerome Luttrel, Charles
Bush Jr, Charles Jennings, Donald & Joe St John, Mike Bartula, Richard
Cosgrove and John Ryan were members of this team. Charles Bush, Frank
Bernat and Richard Cosgrove were elected Dance Team Chairman from 1969-1974. The
Troop 32 dancers were the only scouts who could dance so we became
the "de facto" Nishkin Lodge Dance Team. After 1969, these scouts won
many team and individual dance competitions to bring honor and glory to
Nishkin Lodge and Troop 32.
Unique
Opportunities
As the troop has moved from Ft Worth and grown in size, several
other attempts have been made to introduce the concept of a
dance team. During 2002, our close association with the Kwahadi
Dancers (Venture Crew 9) in Amarillo prompted a request to be
a "sister" dance team. They welcomed us during June 2003 as
we traveled with them to Philmont for a show at the Philmont
Training Center in Cimarron, New Mexico (J R, R G, Z H, J H,
D G, P R, T P). P R, J D, and JJR traveled back to Amarillo
and received intensive Hoop Dance lessons so that they could
teach other local scouts the routine that every boy fell in
love with during the Kwahadi Show. We are continuing with a
small group of scouts and welcome any First Class scout or
above to join us.
Possible Next Trip: June 2006
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