Family Shares Passion for Scouting

When Jay Schaefer and his son Jay Jr. of Halethorpe returned from the Philmont Scout Ranch in 2005, Jane Schaefer rekindled her interest in the scouts, based on what she heard from her father and brother.

Once a Girl Scout, she had lost interest and moved on to other things, but she wanted the incredible experience they had.

“It’s the ultimate camping experience in scouting,” said Jay Schaefer.

Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, NM, covering approximately 137,500 acres of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

More than 950,000 scouts, venturers, and leaders have experienced the adventure camp since it opened in 1939.

The ranch offers a range of activities, including horseback riding, burro packing, gold panning, chuck wagon dinners, and exciting challenges—rock climbing, burro racing, mountain biking, and rifle shooting, on 12-day treks into the back country.

Jay Schaefer, involved with the Boy Scouts for 45 years, began developing a Venturing program so his daughter could go to Philmont.

A program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women, Venturing’s purpose is to provide positive experiences to help youth mature and to prepare them to become responsible adults.

“There was one in Catonsville,” he said, “and I wanted to start one here in Halethorpe.”

Jane Schaefer set her sights on becoming a ranger. The Ranger Award is Venturing’s equivalent to the Eagle Scout and requires the same amount of work.

“It’s designed to encourage youths to acquire a high level of proficiency in outdoor skills, including First Aid, communications, cooking, emergency preparedness, land navigation, leave no trace, wilderness survival, and conservation,” said Schaefer.

A member of Halethorpe’s Venturing Crew 764, sponsored by the Halethorpe/Relay United Methodist Church, Jane Schaefer participated in a trek in 2008 and has worked at the Philmont Scout Ranch the past two summers. She was responsible for training and guiding crews for the first 3 days of their 12-day trek before releasing them on their own in the back country wilderness.

On one memorable trek last summer, Jane Schaefer had her “home” crew, consisting of her brother and members of Halethorpe’s Venturing Crew 764; American Legion Post 109’s Venturing Crew 109; and Catonsville’s St. Marks Venturing Crew 456.

Through some special arrangements, Jane’s mother and father were able to meet up with the crew while in the back country, and her father presented her with the Venturing Ranger Award.

“I was just as proud as when my son became an Eagle Scout,” said Schaefer. “It’s a phenomenal place and I'm extremely jealous that she gets to work there.”

A sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in Conservation and Recreation Management, she was moved by the experience.

“Being presented with my Ranger Award in the back country of Philmont was a once-in-a lifetime experience,” said Jane Schaefer. “ Not only were my parents and older brother present, but my home Venture Crew and fellow Philmont staff members also witnessed the ceremony.”

She has been rehired at Philmont for this coming summer as a “Ranger Trainer” and next Saturday completes her probationary period on the Virginia Tech Rescue Squad and becomes a member.

She says that being part of the staff at Philmont Scout Ranch is an honor but being able to claim her employment in the Ranger Department is an even higher one.

“I have learned more about myself in the 2 summers I've worked as a ranger than I have in 20 years of life,” she said. “The ability to touch the lives of scouts of all ages from all over the country and to spend the summer doing so is exhilarating.”

“Philmont holds a special place with us, so it was a powerful moment for us to share as a family,” said her brother and Eagle Scout, Jay Schaefer, Jr.