Old Baldy Council

Old Baldy Council (#043)
Owner	Boy Scouts of America
Headquarters	Ontario, California
Country	United States
Founded	1917
Defunct	2006

The Old Baldy Council (#043) was founded in 1917 as the Pomona Council. It changed its name in 1921 to Old Baldy.^[1] The Old Baldy name is from Mount San Antonio, often called "Old Baldy" or "Mount Baldy", the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains.^[2]

On May 1, 2006, Old Baldy Council was dissolved, with the chartered organizations and units reassigned into two neighboring councils. The Sunset District (in Los Angeles County) joined with the San Gabriel Valley Council and the Golden Eagle and Trails End Districts (in San Bernardino County) merged with the California Inland Empire Council.

Greater Los Angeles Area Council' (GLAAC) is a new Boy Scouts of America Council made from the merger of the Los Angeles Area Council and the San Gabriel Valley Council, with part of the former Old Baldy Council. The vote to merge was held on March 21, 2015.^[3] The new name of the Council, Greater Los Angeles Area Council, was announced on June 11, 2015. The new Council will continue with Scouting Service centers in Los Angeles and Pasadena. GLAAC has three Scout shops in Los Angeles, San Pedro and Pasadena.^[4] GLAAC operates eight BSA Camps in the greater Los Angeles area.^[5][6] Due to the large size of the two original councils, the merger is a process that will be completed over a time span.

Organization

Former Districts:

• Golden Eagle District served the towns of Ontario, Claremont, Pomona, Walnut and Diamond Bar.
• Trails End District served the towns of Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland.^[7]
• Sunset District served towns of Diamond Bar, Walnut, and Pomona

In the San Gabriel Valley Council the area that was formerly Old Baldy Council's Sunset District is now divided and added to expand the Valle Del Sol and Golden Eagle districts. The towns of Diamond Bar, Walnut, and Pomona that were part of the Old Baldy Council's Sunset District, become part of the San Gabriel Valley Council. The former formerly Old Baldy Council's cities of La Verne, San Dimas and Claremont were added to Valle De Sol District of the SGVC. ^{[8] [9]}

Old Baldy Council and its Districts held a Scout-0-Rama event each year at the L.A. County Fair grounds. Scout-O-Rama is a large outdoor event where Scouting groups have games, crafts, activities, skill events, displays and more.^[10]

Old Baldy Scout Shop

The California Inland Empire Council operates the Old Baldy Scout Shop in the city of Montclair, California to serve the Old Baldy area after the closer of the Ontario shop and Headquarters. ^[11]

Camps

Holcomb Valley Scout Ranch
Location	Fawnskin, California
Coordinates	34°18′10″N 116°53′46″W / 34.3028°N 116.8960°W
Website http://www.sgvcbsa.org/programs/camping/holcomb-valley-scout-reservation

• Holcomb Valley Scout Ranch was opened by the Old Baldy Council in 1974 near Big Bear, the camp was transferred to the San Gabriel Valley Council in 2005.

• Circle B Scout Ranch was closed in 1974 by the Old Baldy Council after the successful opening and operation of Holcomb Valley Scout Ranch. Circle B Scout Ranch was a BSA Summer camp. Buckskin, youth leadership, camps were held there also. The Order of the Arrow's Navajo Lodge was active part of the camp. Opened in the late 1950s, the camp was just East of Sequoia National Park, off Sherman Peak road, in the southern Sierra Nevada. West of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. The camp was at 6,000 feet (1,800 m) elevation and the geographic location coordinates of former camp are 35°58′34″N 118°08′07″W / 35.976111°N 118.135278°W^[12]

Order of the Arrow

Old Baldy Council had an Order of the Arrow lodge, the Navajo Lodge # 98, that also was moved into the adjacent councils. The Lodge was California's Oldest OA Lodge, chartered January 17, 1937.^{[13][14][15][16]}

See also

• Scouting in California
• San Gabriel Valley Council

References

1. Hook, James; Franck, Dave; Austin, Steve (1982). An Aid to Collecting Selected Council Shoulder Patches with Valuation.
2. The Council Guide online
3. scoutsunited.org, SGVC/LAAC UNITED - UPDATES
4. Los Angeles, San Pedro Scout Shops
5. SGVC BSA camps
6. LACC BSA Camps
7. The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California · Page 32, November 21, 1982
8. .sgvcbsa.org, Golden Eagle district
9. goldeneagledistrict.org
10. [Montclair Tribune from Montclair, California · Page 31, March 13, 1968
11. bsa-ciec.org, Old Baldy Scout Shop
12. wikimapia.org, Circle B Scout Ranch
13. Navajo Lodge - A Great History
14. Cahuilla Lodge OA history
15. sageventure.com, A Brief History of Navajo Lodge
16. area4history.com Lodges Of Section W4B Conclave and Area 12-A