Looking back at Cochrane history, public library archivist Ardis Proulx-Chedore tells about the Scouting movement in the Rail Town.
“In the 1910s, a Boy Scout troop met in the basement of the Pro-Cathedral Anglican Church,” she recounts. “Then in 1921, the First Cochrane Boy Scouts committee was founded. In 1955, it bought the former Orange Lodge on Railway Street for $5,200s. It served as the Scout Hall for almost 30 years.”
Then in the 1980s, $75,000 was raised – partly through concerts by Ronnie Prophet and Kitty Wells – to build the existing hall on Eleventh Avenue.
(Cochrane Public Library Archives)
As Scouting’s 100th anniversary in Cochrane approaches, Proulx-Chedore reminds us of a Scout wedding.
“On February 18th, 1978, Scoutmaster Fred and Wolf Cubs leader Lois Pope were married in full uniform at the Presbyterian Church. That year almost marked Fred’s 25th and Lois’s tenth year in the Scouting movement.”
All of our material for our Cochrane history features comes from the archives at the public library. It’s available to anyone with a library card.
