"The WHY and HOW of Camp Billy Gibbons"
By Cliff Pouncey, Scout Executive 1930-1932

"Many of the places we go and see and some of the good things we attend, like Camp Billy Gibbons, we take for granted and think little of the WHEN did this happen or WHY did they select this place and how did it all come about.  Well behind all the good things, like our Camp Billy Gibbons, there is a reason and an answer as to WHEN, WHY, or HOW.

"Many years before our camp was even thought of the one who is writing the History of Camp Billy Gibbons was an outdoor man, trapper, hunter and fisherman, and he made a trip to the Mouth of Brady Creek fishing.  This was about 1916, not knowing the road through the Gibbons Ranch, he stopped at a gate below Ed Gibbons house where a man on horseback opened the gate and told him the way to the mouth of Brady creek and introduced himself as Billy Gibbons ans this was the Uncle Billy, as we all later knew him.  After a real rough road or trail, as it really was at that time, he got to Brady Creek and made camp, trying a tarp to the old Model T Ford as a shelter.  it was a quiet place and wild, a noise up the creek attracted his attention, walking about two hundred yards he saw what he thought was buzzards flying into a tree, it was just after sundown.  It was just after sundown and almost dark, but buzzards do not roast in green trees, so upon closer investigation he found they were wild turkeys.  He returned to camp thinking about how wonderful it was to see wild turkeys there.

"Putting his portable boat in the creek, he started to setting out one of the three trout lines he had along.  Tying one end to the willow limb he started across and before he got across there was a tug on the line like a fish pulling.  Tying the line, he hurried back down the line and took off a good size channel catfish, then the fun began!  Starting to bait the line, he felt more tugs and began taking of cat fish and never completed baiting the one line, catching several channel cat fish on the bare nickle plated hooks which they stuck without bait.  That night he caught over 100 channel cat fish and a number of drum or as he called them Gaspergau, and tired out, he quit about 1 o'clock.

"Next morning, looking across the creek, he saw a deer watering and a coon after crayfish along the bank. This was a wonderful wild place and one to which he would like to come back to.  He cleaned a dish pan full of cat fish and on leaving he went by Uncle Billy Gibbons house and left him the big mess of fish.  Mr Gibbons said "Many people go fishing down there but you bring me fish" he liked that and asked him to come back, from that time on they became friends.

"I never saw a Scotsman or Irishman who did not like fish.  I became better acquainted with Uncle Bill and found he came from Scotland and settled on the ranch and started raising cattle and buying up the land, - some of it as low as $2.50 an acre - but it was rough and hard to get to in those early days.  He had to fight to keep both land and cattle.  There were claim jumpers and cattle rustlers and some tough character then.

"Brandy Creek was fished an hunted all the years leading up to the time Scouting became a part of our program and then camping was brought up he thought what a wonderful place this Mouth of Brady would be fore the boys.  It was primitive, plenty of fish, wild life and roaming room, some 55,000 acres at the time.  There were caves, old Indian campsites and mounds and just about everything to interest a boy in Scouting.  So it came to pass.

"Now read about it in the History of Camp Billy Gibbons."

Camp Billy Gibbons and "The Pecan Valley Council"
By Cliff Pouncey. Scout Executive 1930-1932

"Many years back we held a meeting at Camp Gilly Gibbons, with Board Members, Scoutmasters, Assistants and older Scout, more or less just as a get-together, and I was asked to give a talk on the History of Cam Billy Gibbons, which I did, not realizing that only a few of the old timers even know of that beginning of our camp, the events that brought it about, the groups present seemed to like my talk and then or later the Executive board asked me to write "The History of Camp Billy Gibbons" it was then I began to realize that there were only a very few people left who really know about the early times of our camp, most of the old timers who were in at the start are gone to the Happy Hunting Grounds and only what they started remains to be enjoyed today.

"To begin with I am not a writer and I apologize to start with for the way this may be written, in the first place I cannot write these memo's without placing myself in them and I assure you that I am not trying to place myself in the limelight, for it takes more than any one person or even a group of persons to set up a camp like Billy Gibbons, it takes a lot of people interested n boys to get the job done.  I cannot begin to give credit to all those that were in on the beginning, for my memory does not serve that well, somewhere along the line you will become acquainted with many of these people and their help in building our camp, if you have read the prelude, you know of some of the why of selecting our location.  I happen to be the person referred to in the prelude, and thank goodness that most of us are still happy with the locations and selection of Camp Billy Gibbons.

"It is impossible to write only about our camp, it ties in with the history of our Council and is, of course, interwoven with the events of our Council organization.

"So let's turn back the pages and let me start with 1927, don't get excited!  I know the Council was not even chartered until May of 1928, then why mention 1927, because the events of 27 caused the Council to be organized, let's look back, the first Scout troop in Brownwood was organized and in operation as a Lone Scout Troop back in 1912, sponsored by the St. Johns Episcopal Church with the Rector Dr. John Power as Scoutmaster.  I have a list of the names of the Scouts in this troop and I will try to dig it up and later on give you their names, the only one I can think of right now, living is Ed Henley of Brownwood.

"Dr. John Power was a wonderful man, was rector of St. Johns for years and years and was still Rector, when in 1927 they decided to organize a Scout Troop again at and for the church.  Mr. Lucas of the old Lucas Farm and Pecan Orchard was asked to be Scoutmaster and although I was not a member of the church, my wife and 3 children were I was asked to act as Assistant Scoutmaster.  That was in October of 1912.  We had no charter or Council, but secured literature and started,   Events requiring Mr. Lucas attention out of town caused he to quit as Scoutmaster in November and I was made Scoutmaster of what a few months later was known as Troop Two.  There were other troops either set up or setting up at that time, the First Methodist Church, Troop No. 1, Cub Ragsdale, Scoutmaster.  I believe Bob Rankin was or maybe already set up with  Mr. O. E. Winebrenner, Scoutmaster No.8.  I do not remember the Assistant, also Mr Wilkeshead a troop going or in process at the time I believe at the church on second ave No. 7.  The troops, Scoutmasters and troop committees met and set up a banquet to the Region Nine (at that time) headquarters at Dallas with Jim Fitch Regional Scout Executive.

"Mr. Jim Fitch was a man of action and before the year was out he sent the field man to investigate our request and if conditions warranted to set up a Council and a Scout Executive to head quarter in Brownwood.  A few days later, Mr. jack Brumberg was in Brownwood, looking things over, he called a meeting of troop leaders, troop committees and heads of sponsoring institutions and told us what it took to have a Scout Council, saying he would act as Executive and listed  more counties that would  have to be organized into the Council and Troops started.  At our next meeting, Brownwood agreed to accept the responsibility financially and the name Pecan Valley Council was selected. We received our council charter in May 1928, also at that time all troops then in operation received their charters, although our troop and several others were even older than the Council we who were in operation at the time will receive recognition from May 1928.

"Jack Brumbery had plenty to do and to set up the Council with Brown, Comanche, Erath, San Saba, Lampasas counties as part of his territory to organize.

"Jack was a good organizer and outdoor and camp man and it was my pleasure to work close with him in getting together our first Council Scout Camp, located on the Ellis Ranch on the San Saba river between Richland Spring and San Saba.  It was a nice place and was secured the services of Jim Red Eagle as Council Ring adviser.

"The Council Ring was carried on and always opened with the Apache Indian ceremony which gives thanks to the Great Spirit above the Mother Earth and the 4 winds, that opening ceremony we still use in our council ring today, because we all love it, and it is fitting..

"Our Executive left  us in 1930 and we had a problem trying to keep the council going, we had no camp in 1930, but went to the (Concho) Valley camp (Camp Fawcett) at their invitation on the river near the town of Barksdale.

"The Scouts enjoyed the camp but it wasn't our camp and it operated differently of course.  I had been calling on the troops and Scoutmaster in the Council keeping them organized the best I could until we could get another Executive.  We went through 1930 and pare of 1931 without one.  At a board meeting early in 1931, the Executive Board of our Council selected me as Council Executive and I went to work promoting mostly out door programs for different places and working closely with the troops trying to keep them in operation, however, many of them had dropped out due to lack of leadership and were not active.

"The big job as I saw it was getting a location for a Camp and it was then I thought of the Gibbons Ranch and it possibilities.  A camp organization was set up and I was authorized to look into sites, on our camp committee, we had Cub Ragsdale, Bob Ranking, O. E. Winebrenner from Brownwood and Will Fox and Warren Tolliferro of Lampasas.  There were others from Goldthwaite and Stephenville and San Saba but I do not remember their names."

---

Back to Old Camp Billy Gibbons
Return to Home Page