RIDGE COUNCIL, aka RIDGE AREA COUNCIL 1926 to 1928 (Lake Wales)
The rural areas of south-central Florida in the teens and 1920s had been covered by a patchwork of troops coordinating in local "second class" councils, such as "Avon Park Council", with no professional, full-time employees to recruit, expand, and raise funds. Growth in this area in the mid-1920s, and financial support from communities in the area, led to the creation of "Ridge Council". The new council, consisting of the communities of Highlands, Hardee, DeSoto, and Polk County outside of Lakeland, was organized in June 1926, with great enthusiasm, but little funding. Troops met and camped, baseball games and swim meets were held to compete against other local teams, but the council never seemed to get completely off the ground. The council executive committee was reorganized in 1927, with little success. By March 1928, newspaper articles referred to the "now defunct Ridge area council", as fundraising drives were held, to try to reactivate the council. The troops likely came under the supervision of the more-established council in Lakeland.
There may have been a camp for Ridge Council. Newspaper articles from 1930 show that the city of Avon Park had purchased "the Boy Scout camp and hut on Lake Lotala", having been owned by the Scout council, and the mortgage held by a defunct bank. The city assumed the mortgage on the property, to offset the loss of the city's Park Department funds that were held in the failed bank.
There may have been a camp for Ridge Council. Newspaper articles from 1930 show that the city of Avon Park had purchased "the Boy Scout camp and hut on Lake Lotala", having been owned by the Scout council, and the mortgage held by a defunct bank. The city assumed the mortgage on the property, to offset the loss of the city's Park Department funds that were held in the failed bank.