Historical society fights to save former youth cabin
The Atascadero Historical Society is working to save this nearly 90-year-old cabin from demolition. Photo courtesy of Lon Allan
The nearly 90-year-old structure almost as old as Atascadero itself
A historic cabin, now known fondly as the Boy Scout Cabin, in Atascadero ushered many community youths through their childhoods, including a number of future city leaders who met there as both scouts and school chums.
“My earliest memories there were of Chuck Paddock as scout master; Mr. Mackey, Marj’s husband, an assistant scout master; and Alan Baer, one of Ellen and Milton’s children, was my patrol leader,” said Atascadero Mayor Tom O’Malley. “We planned compass hikes and camping trips. We learned to appreciate nature through adventure. We helped with many community projects, including our zoo; we learned community pride. When young boys had heated disagreements, out came the boxing gloves. Somehow we all ended up as friends and learned to handle a range of emotions and ultimately learned how to work as a team. The Boy Scout cabin seemed old even then, but the multi-generational relationships seem timeless. It is important for a community to have places to gather, but even more important is for folks to gather as a community.”
Paddock was a park ranger who founded what is now the Charles Paddock Zoo; Mackey’s wife, Marj, was Atascadero’s first woman mayor; and Ellen Baer was librarian at Lewis Avenue School while her husband, Milton, taught music in the school district — those names are all part of the legacy of Atascadero and are all tied to the little cabin whose fate is now uncertain.
The problem is that the nearly 90-year-old structure sits on Atascadero Unified School District property that is being upgraded into a sizeable construction project. The project has targeted the cabin for demolition if it isn’t moved to a new location.
That’s where the Atascadero Historical Society comes in. The society is working with the district to relocate the cabin to property the society recently acquired near the Atascadero Library on Capistrano Avenue. The Capistrano property is slated to become a cultural heritage center, and the cabin will likely become the natural-history museum, one of four buildings at the site, according to historical society president Jim Wilkins.
“This has all happened so fast, and now we’re working with the school district and waiting on permits from Cal Trans,” Wilkins said. “It’s looking really positive, but the district gave us until July 1 to move the cabin, so we’re hoping Cal Trans and the district can meet in the middle. Maybe Cal Trans can approve the permit quickly, and the school district can give us a little more time.”
The Cal Trans permit will allow the cabin to be transported along Hwy. 41.
The structure is thought to have been constructed in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Wilkins said a group of businessmen in the 1920s, including his great grandfather Harold Wilkins, came together to raise funds for what was then a youth center and later the Boy Scout cabin.
“Anyone from their 40s to 80s will have memories of that cabin,” Wilkins said. “From youth activities to Boy Scouts and the Pinewood Derby, that cabin has been there a long time.”
In the mid 1940s, former Atascadero Mayor Jerry Clay, now in his 80s, spent time in the old cabin.
“I was a Boy Scout in that building and, in fact, I used to go to school there for a couple years, maybe three,” Clay said. “That cabin is a historical monument, and it’s kind of discouraging that they might not have enough time to get it moved — there’s a lot of history there.”
That history stretches across the North County as Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin also remembers his scouting days in the cabin in his pre-teen years.
“It’s where I learned to tie knots, pitch tents, read maps, do first aid and work cooperatively in small groups,” Martin said. “Going to scout meetings was always special to me — we had scout training there, stored troop equipment and planned projects. I don’t know its significance to the community, but it has a place in my heart.”
The historical society is hurriedly raising money to fund the relocation, which is expected to cost between $21,000 to $26,000, Wilkins said, by the time all is said and done. More than $15,000 has been raised so far.
Former city historian Lon Allan said he hopes the building can be saved.
“If we can save old buildings that I certainly think we should do so,” Allan said. “We should do everything we can, but I’m a realist too. I know you can’t just give it away, so I hope the money can be raised in time.”
Donations to help save the building may be mailed to Atascadero Historical Society, P.O. Box 1047, Atascadero, CA 93423.
