Lakeview Scout House
Lakeview Scout House
If you’ve ever been to Lake Winnie, you have probably driven right past the Lakeview Scout House and not realized it. This structure near the corner of Castleberry Rd and Lakeview Dr has hosted various scout meetings since at least 1961, possibly earlier.
Troop 8’s early history is unclear, but our first documentation of them in Lakeview is in 1961. The scout house was owned by the Lakeview Lions club, who sponsored boy and girl scout troops, and probably built the structure. 92 year old former Troop 8 scoutmaster Marvin Thacker shared fond memories of the troop with the history committee. In 1968, “a bunch of us got it fixed up. We had a wood stove, and eventually had an electric stove to cook on, but not much in there. We might have put a new roof on it too. It hadn’t been used in a good while, the grounds too, we had to do a lot of work on it. We had it in pretty good shape.”
A while after Marvin left the troop in 1972, Troop 8 briefly disbanded. It was reorganized under David Gasaway in 1975, who many will remember from his 12 year tenure as scoutmaster. Troop 8 thrived through the 80s and 90s, during which time ownership of the building passed into the hands of the council. Around 2008 Troop 8 met for the last time, and the scout house lay empty.
Enter Troop 17. They had moved around the Fort Oglethorpe and East Ridge areas and were in need of a new meeting place. A Troop 17 leader made contact with the Scout House caretaker, and in 2013 they moved to occupy the available Lakeview Scout House. The council still owned the building, and in 2013 a private individual affiliated with Troop 17 purchased it from the council. Troop 17 still meets at the Scout House, carrying on a long tradition of scouting in Catoosa County. We hope they can continue to do so for years to come.
The history committee pieces together stories like this from many different sources, and our information is often incomplete. We are always looking for more stories, photos and documents to preserve and share. Much of this info comes from the late Chris Ratliff, a Troop 8 Eagle Scout under David Gasaway, and Lynn Lawson, 20+ year Troop 17 leader. Please consider contacting us with information about your troop’s history!
Thank you to Jordan Broadwell for composing this article!
