Walk through time with Scouts

The Georgia-Carolina Council of Boy Scouts of America is preparing for its second Walk Thru Augusta History and is hoping schools and businesses will join the event.

The 10-mile walk, held in partnership with the Augusta Museum of History and Historic Augusta, will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday with two starting points - at the museum and at the Ezekiel Harris House.

Linda Griffith, the finance director and walk coordinator, said the main purpose of the walk is to raise money for the Scouting outreach program, which aids underprivileged, at-risk youths who cannot afford Scouting.

"We have so many children in (the area) who can't afford to become a Scout," Griffith said.

"We have lost funding we used to have for those kids, and we feel that every young man should have the opportunity to enhance their life with Boy Scouting. It gives them something to do and makes them feel like they're part of a team. This will help fund those programs."

With re-enactors at every stop along the way, Griffith said, the walk also will be a history lesson.

"People have walks through various places, but not through the historic area," she said. "It's open to the public. We want to get the whole community involved. People will pay money to go to Charleston and Savannah's historic district, and they don't even know what we have downtown."

Places visited on the walk are: St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fort Augusta, the Confederate Monument, the Cotton Exchange, the Fort Grierson Marker, Ware High School Marker, Springfield Baptist Church/Springfield Village Park, Hawk's Gulley, the Confederate Powderworks, Ezekiel Harris House, Butt Memorial Bridge, Augusta Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill, Sacred Heart, Meadow Garden, Union Baptist Church, the old First Baptist Church, St. John United Methodist Church, First Christian Church, the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson, First Presbyterian Church, the old Medical College, the Academy of Richmond County, Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, the old government house, The Augusta Chronicle marker and the Haunted Pillar. Walkers also will go to the museum for lunch and snacks.

There will be a vehicle along the walk to pick up people who cannot finish, Griffith said.

The council serves 16 counties, including Columbia, Aiken and Edgefield, and Griffith wants students, businesses and residents of all counties to take part. The walk costs $5 per student, which covers the cost of lunch and snacks. There is no charge for teams who walk, although donations are sought, she said.

"We won't turn down anybody who wants to walk, but I'm hoping each team member will raise at least $50," she said.

The council is selling road signs for $100 each that will be placed around perimeters of the entire route "so people will be seeing who supported the Boy Scouts," Griffith said.

There will be an 8 a.m. registration on the day of the walk, but Griffith is urging people to register in advance to ensure there is enough food to accommodate participants at lunch.

For information on walking or purchasing a sponsor road sign, call 733-5277.