For first time, girls exploring the great outdoors at the Valley's Boy Scout summer camp

SWOOPE – Seated at a picnic table surrounded by lanky pine trees, rising sixth grader Ginger Stewart wrinkled her nose. She appeared confused by the question: how are the boys treating you during your first week at camp?

"I mean—they treat us as they would a fellow scout," Stewart said in a tone that made it easy to imagine a "duh" tacked to the end of the sentence.

Other members of Troop 1138 seated around the wooden table echoed the sentiment with equal skepticism about the question's premise.

"Yeah, they treat us as equals," said rising seventh grader Sammie Curry.

Soon-to-be eighth grader Allison Monfalcone spoke up with a clarification. The boys treat them as equals—except in the Gaga Pit, a dirt-floored ring where campers play a version of dodgeball. 

"They're like, 'Take out the girl, take out the girl,'" Monfalcone said, imitating the boys. "Then you beat them."

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Following the Boy Scouts of America's decision to admit girls into its flagship program, scouts of different genders are camping together this summer for the first time in Camp Shenandoah's 69-year history. The membership change sparked controversy nationwide, but Camp Shenandoah scouts and staff say the transition has been an easy one.

"It's great for female troops to be here," said Camp Shenandoah Director Clint Long. "It's really been no different ... The first week, we had a female troop here. And in most of the events, they kicked all the male troops' butts."

The Boy Scouts of America's announcement that Boy Scouts—the organization's well-known program for 11- to 17-year-olds, now known as Scouts BSA—would be open to girls starting in spring 2019 sparked strong reactions across the United States. Some criticized the change as politically correct while others lauded the group, which has seen declining membership for several years, for being inclusive.

But Camp Shenandoah, a sprawling 456-acre plot tucked into the hills of Swoope, has remained untouched by controversy. The camp welcomes about 2,000 scouts from across the country for week-long sessions each summer, including about 10 female troops this year, Long said.

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Nothing at camp is different now that there are girls around—except that the shower and restroom facilities are separated, Long said. Boys' and girls' troops set up their campsites in the same general areas with staff tents separating them, and so far, campers have followed the rule to stay out of others' sleeping areas, he said.

Long, now 22, joined Tiger Scouts as a kindergartener. He's passionate about the Boy Scouts of America's mission of preparing youth to make good decisions and thought the decision to accept girls was "awesome."

Long pointed out that Boy Scouts of America's exploration-focused program for 14- to 21-year-olds has been co-ed since the 1960s. Now girls who want to be a part of the organization don't have to wait until they're teenagers, he said.

"It's an opportunity to teach more people to make moral and ethical decisions," he said. "It's an opportunity to show other people why we do what we do, why we love what we do."

Troop 1138 was formed in Palmyra this year when Scouts BSA opened to girls. Several of them were in Girl Scouts at one point, and they said it's a good program—just not a good fit for them.

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They wanted to camp in tents, go swimming and learn skills like how to build a fire, they said. They felt Girl Scouts involved too much classroom time and too many restrictions. 

"I think Scouts BSA has been a lot more outdoorsy for them," said Troop 1138 leader Julie Curry, who also leads a Girl Scout troop. "Girl Scouts, from what I've noticed, is more entrepreneurial ... more business-oriented."

The wide range of activities at Camp Shenandoah has been exciting, the new scouts said. Before noon on their first full day of camp, a few members had already gone canoeing and learned life-saving skills for the water. Others were looking forward to archery and basket-making.

"It's cool because we get to explore more," Monfalcone said.

Troop 138, the girls' brother troop in Palmyra, has been welcoming and showed them "the Scouts BSA way," Julie Curry said. The group loaned them equipment and supplies while the girls were establishing their own troop.

Camp Shenandoah veterans in Troop 138 agreed that this week at camp felt like business as usual.

"It's been nice," said Troop 138 scout Brett Hicks. "It's fun to work with them."

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