PHOTO: Dr. Marvin Barron, who founded Scout Troop #184 in Rainsville, addressed the scout troop on Monday night. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — On Monday night, the scouts of Troop #184 got a special treat for their meeting. The founder of scouting in Rainsville, Dr. Marvin Barron addressed the troop. Barron even wore his original scoutmaster uniform from 1962.
Current scoutmaster Josh Wigley introduced Barron: "This is Dr. Barron, he's a dentist here in town. He also was a scoutmaster in Rainsville, he helped form this troop, and helped get (Camp) Comer started."
Dr. Marvin Barron began the first Boy Scout Troop in Rainsville, Troop #184. Barron began by explaining that when he moved to Rainsville around 60 years ago, he noticed that there was no local scout troop. A group of local boys were meeting, but there was no sponsor in order to form a formal troop. After Barron helped form the Rainsville Ruritan Club, which in turn agreed to sponsor the troop.
Barron also explained the impact scouting had on his career and life. He told a story of one of the troop's first trips to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Barron told the troop to, "always be prepared," and also reminded them that the area they were camping in was home to bears. He asked the troop to, "not leave anything around that's got food in it. Always be prepared. Hang it up in a tree where the bears can't get it."
After the scouts returned from eating in Gatlinburg the bears, "got into all the food. Tore the sacks open and got in all the food, and from then on, the boys remembered the scout motto, "Always be Prepared."
Barron also served in the military, where remembering the scout motto and scouting rules helped him to be a, "good soldier."
While Barron was scout leader, he had to earn the merit badges with the other scouts, because he, "couldn't be a scout leader and not have any merit badges." Barron also explained that, "there was one badge that I couldn't get. The swimming badge. I didn't know how to swim."
Barron explained that he didn't know how to swim due to there only being a small creek near his home growing up, and this was instrumental in him and several others building the public swimming pool in Rainsville.
Dr. Barron also related how he took a mission trip up the Amazon River to perform dentist work on the native population. He stayed, "three or four days taking out teeth from indigenous patients." While he removed many teeth from hundreds of natives, the last patient he treated had a unique dental issue. Due to, "always being prepared," Barron was ready for the situation.
"The last patient he saw, he had a tooth with a curved root that had to be extracted. If I hadn't of had the proper instrument to do it with, if I hadn't, I would have broke that root off. That guy wouldn't have had the money to treat it, he would have gotten a swollen up face, and would have been in bad shape," said Barron.
Barron also explained how himself and Troop #184 were instrumental in moving the Boy Scout Camp from Sylacauga to right here in DeKalb County, to Camp Comer near DeSoto Falls.
Barron also unveiled a family portrait, with his wife, daughters, and son, all in their scouting uniforms. Mrs. Barron also formed the first Girl Scout Troop in Rainsville.
