With Creemore’s longtime volunteer Beavers Leaders retiring from the position, Scouts Canada is looking for new Leaders to run the group.
Cathy Traverse (known to her Beavers as “Malick”) first got involved with Scouting Canada when her younger son, Tim, was five. He was about to start school, but Cathy thought he was a little too attached to his mother. So, she enrolled him in Beavers at the Creemore Legion Hall to help the little guy with separation.
One week in, the Leader said the program could close without help from parent volunteers. So, Cathy signed up for some training and started helping out.
“I thought, OK, I’ll be a parent volunteer and that’s it,” Cathy explained.
Later that year, the Leader quit the group for good, leaving Cathy with a colony of little Beavers on her hands.
Thirty-two years – and about 100 overnight camping trips – later, Cathy has guided about 500 Beavers through the program.
In that time, she has witnessed many changes to the Scouting organization. One of the most major changes was welcoming girls to the group about 20 years ago, which Cathy describes as being “great.”
Over the years, Cathy’s involvement with the organization bloomed. She became Group Chair for Creemore’s Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in 2009.
The next year, she organized the 100th Anniversary of Scouting celebrations at Burl’s Creek, which featured parachuters jumping out of the sky and military tanks rolling up the road.
She has also clocked many volunteer hours, with planning meetings, weekly Beaver meetings, sleepovers, special events and fundraising activities.
“It was a lot of time, but it was worth it,” Cathy said. “It was all pretty special.”
Cathy is quick to point out that she hasn’t done it alone. Fellow Leaders Leah Bailey (known to the Beavers as “Rainbow”) and Lyle Noble (“Hawkeye”) have been at her side for the last 15 and 17 years, respectively. Once the program finishes next week, Leah will also retire and Lyle will take on a new position with the organization.
“We’re like a family,” said Cathy of her co-Leaders. “We have such a bond; we feed off each other’s feelings.”
Cathy also credits her husband, Wayne, and the others’ spouses, for their support.
This weekend, Cathy, Leah and Lyle will take their group of eight Beaver boys and girls to Acton for their last overnight camping trip. For Cathy, the highlight of these trips is seeing kids overcome things they didn’t think they could do.
“On a hike, they’ll say they can’t cross a rope bridge, and we’ll say, yes, you can! And their faces will light up when they reach the end,” explained Cathy. “But I won’t miss waking up every couple of hours to make sure they haven’t fallen out of their bunk beds!”
While Cathy says she’ll miss the kids, she is looking forward to catching up on episodes of “Duck Dynasty” and spending more time with her four grandchildren who live in Barrie.
With the departure of its Leaders, the Creemore Beavers is now looking for a new leader. If you are interested, call Betsey Wright, Group Chair at 705-466-2654.