The New Tigers in Town

The Alabama Hill neighborhood welcomes a new beginning Boy Scout troop.

A new group of Boy Scouts, Troop 4044, recently assembled in the Alabama Hill neighborhood.

The boys are known as "tiger cubs," the youngest level in the Boy Scouts of America system. Because of the natural "ebb and flow" of kids in the neighborhood, residents agree that the new group of Tigers is an exciting addition.

"There hadn't been a new den in the neighborhood for a while, so this was really exciting news for all of us," said Jim Boyle, an Alabama Hill resident and father of tiger cub, Jackson.

Six boys are needed to form a den. This number was reached in the fall of last year, said Boyle. The new tiger cubs of Alabama Hill represent the start of a new group of Boy Scouts at the first level.

Boys enter the Boy Scouts during their elementary years. They typically begin in the first grade, as tiger cubs. The boys will then graduate to become wolves, bears, and they ultimately graduate as “Webelo."

Scouts in Bellingham
According to Duane Rhodes, Scout Executive of the Mount Baker Boy Scouts, the first Alabama Hill troop was chartered in December of 1970. Because of recent electronic databasing, however, there is no record for start dates of every den in the neighborhood.

Although the interviewed cub parents could not say what a Webelo was, Rhodes was also able to provide this definition.

“Webelos means ‘WE'll BELOyal Scouts.’ It used to stand for ‘Wolf, Bear, Lion, Scout’ which was the old progression of becoming a Boy Scout,” he said.

Bob Hook is the current scout master of Troop 4044. Just as his own tiger cub will graduate this year, Hook will also retire as leader of the tiger den. Another parent will have to replace Hook in order to continue a new group of tiger cubs.

Rhodes said the process of implementing a new leader is fairly simple. The applicant must be a father of a scout and if approved, he will go through training. The process lasts for a few months, depending when the parent begins, before the gathering of the new den.

"The Boy Scouts program is great because it teaches our young members how to live well in the community," Hook said. In addition to learning outdoor skills—like tying knots and making fires—the boys also assist in community cleanup.

The most memorable event for Boyle was when he and Jackson, along with all the other tiger cubs and their parents, helped pick up litter at Whatcom Falls Park earlier this year.

Hook believes the boys learn a sense of dedication and accomplishment through the program.
Both Hook and Boyle expressed the constant necessity for scout recruitment. Currently, the Scouts advertise through fliers or bulletins in schools and by word of mouth.

New recruits
There is a great need for recruitment especially when it comes to the Bear Den, the third-grade level.

Hook said that boys are simply more interested in sports than Scouts during that age, and that the low “bear-year” number never seems to progress.

"In my particular block, there are only six boys. It really does depend on having the right numbers—including ages—at the right time," Boyle said of troop development.

The last Alabama Hill Troop 4044 meeting of the year, takes place next Wednesday at Silver Beach Elementary School.