CORNELIA, Ga. — Cornelia Boy Scout Troop 24 has been a steady presence in the community for 92 years — and a recent volunteer workday is helping ensure that legacy continues.
Troop 24 was sponsored by the Cornelia Kiwanis Club in June 1933, launching a partnership that has lasted for generations. Twenty years later, the troop celebrated a major milestone when Bron Forrester became Troop 24’s first Eagle Scout in July 1953, beginning a tradition of leadership and achievement that remains central to Scouting today.
Not long after that first Eagle Scout milestone, Troop 24 gained a permanent home of its own. In 1954, Scoutmaster Bob Turpen led the effort to build a Scout Hut measuring 20 feet by 40 feet. The hut served as more than a meeting space — it became a lasting monument to Turpen’s dedication to the troop and his emphasis on character, service, and the Scouting value of reverence. The effort to build the scout hut, along with numerous other achievements led to a Silver Beaver award for Turpen.
For decades, the Scout Hut hosted meetings, planning sessions, and the day-to-day work of building young leaders. Hundreds of local Scouts learned skills there, earned advancements, and formed friendships that carried far beyond their time in uniform.
But after roughly 70 years, the building has fallen into disrepair.
Over time, age and wear have taken a visible toll on the structure. The hut now needs meaningful work to bring it back to a condition that can safely and comfortably support Troop activities.
Over the weekend, current Scoutmaster Jason Smith joined a crew of volunteers to begin breathing new life into the Scout Hut, marking the start of what supporters hope will become a broader community effort to restore the building for future generations.
While the City of Cornelia owns the land where the hut sits, Troop 24 owns the hut. The city has recently renewed its lease agreement for the scout hut. Unlike in 1953 when the lease was only one year, the new lease is significantly longer, illustrating the city’s commitment to Troop 24.
The restoration effort is focused on practical needs — repairing and upgrading essential systems and addressing the wear that comes from decades of use — with the goal of making the hut a functional, dependable home base for the troop again.
Troop 24 leaders say community support will be key to the project’s success. Donations of funds, building materials, and skilled labor — including carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, and general construction help — can all make a difference as the troop works to preserve one of Cornelia’s longstanding youth institutions.
Those interested in supporting the project can contact Frank Wolf, President of the Habersham Kiwanis Club, at (801) 493-5063.
As Troop 24 continues its mission — teaching leadership, service, and life skills — volunteers hope the Scout Hut restoration will allow the next generation of Cornelia Scouts to inherit a building worthy of the legacy built inside it.
