Litchfield Park Scout Lodge

Behind the Watt House is the historic Litchfield Park Scout Lodge, built by Mr. Litchfield in 1954. Mr. Litchfield of Goodyear Tire and Rubber was introduced to scouting in 1909 and was so impressed that he opened Scout troops everywhere Goodyear had company personnel.

This is what Mr. Litchfield wrote in his book The Industrial Voyager in 1958:

“I have sometimes thought too, that if every nation had utilized the basic values of scouting as America had done, that boys everywhere had grown up with these common ideals, world peace and understanding might not be the impossible goal it often seems now. The brotherhood of man starts with the brotherhood of boys.”

Litchfield Park was one of those places. Troop 90 was chartered in 1929 for the Goodyear Farm families, and for several years our church was its charter organization. Just ask Fran Grumbling!

Mr. Litchfield built the Lodge in 1954 as part of his commitment to provide a meeting place for the troops. Troop 99 was chartered in 1943 when Mr. Litchfield opened Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. Those scouting dads built their lodge on the corner of Litchfield Road and Western. When it was converted to Goodyear City Hall, Troop 99 moved to the Litchfield Park Scout Lodge.

It’s been said that this area has one of the highest concentrations of scouting in the Phoenix area. I feel that is due, in part, to the scouts having ownership of a “Lodge.” On any given week, between the two Boy Scout troops, the Cub Scout packs, and the Girl Scouts, more than 300 scouts meet and learn in the Scout Lodge.

I don’t have the number of Gold Awards earned by the Girl Scouts, but between the two Boy Scout troops, 276 boys have earned their Eagle Scout Award. Many of their projects have focused on improving the local environment and meeting other community needs.

With the progress in our new downtown, the City needs more parking. The plan is to raze the historic Scout Lodge and build a three-story parking garage. Yes, we were sad and tried every way possible to move the old Lodge, but it was simply not stable enough.

The scout families seized the opportunity to build a new, safer, larger, and long-lasting Scout Lodge in Scout Park. It’s a $1.3 million project and we are actively looking for business and community partners to help ensure the future of Scouting in Litchfield Park.

The plan is to start the build at the beginning of the year. The City is willing to hold off on its project until we are ready to open the new Lodge. We plan to use the old roof tiles, the fireplace bricks, and hopefully the old interior beams to retain that familiar Lodge look.

Stay tuned—this is going to be an exciting project!

Kindly,

Meredeth Stucky, Church Historian

Contact Meredeth for more information.