Photo Source: Free Richmond Press

Black History Month Feature: Linwood D. Ross

Mr. Linwood D. Ross was a beloved Scouter in the Heart of Virginia Council, mentoring countless young Scouts during his 70-year tenure as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 478 chartered by Ebenezer Baptist Church in Jackson Ward.  This incredible tenure set a record for the longest service ever for an adult leader in the Boy Scouts.  We are proud to feature Mr. Ross this week.  Join us in marveling over the service of Mr. Linwood D. Ross.

The following is an excerpt from Linwood D. Ross’s obituary on Richmond Free Press.

Linwood Dixon Ross taught hundreds of Richmond boys to be prepared while building their confidence and helping to shaping their character.

He did so during his extraordinary 70-year tenure as scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 478 based at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Jackson Ward, setting the apparent record for the longest service ever for an adult leader in the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.

Mr. Ross, who was inducted into the Boy Scouts National Hall of Leadership 10 years ago, still held the title of scoutmaster of Troop 478 when he died at age 91 on Sunday, May 9, 2021.

Never a scout himself because his family could not afford the uniform, Mr. Ross, a lifelong member of Ebenezer, started out as an assistant scoutmaster of the troop in 1950 and became scoutmaster a year later. He did not expect to have such a long tenure. He had decided to retire after more than 36 years, but relented when the church pastor pleaded with him to stay on. In recent years, he retained the title but handed most of the scout duties to another church member, Forrest White Jr.

In recognition of his work, Mr. Ross received every honor the Boy Scouts of America awards an adult, including the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to young people, said George K. Martin, managing partner of McGuireWoods law firm’s Richmond office and one of at least 20 troop members who earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in scouting, during Mr. Ross’ tenure.

Along with his leadership of the troop, Mr. Ross also held leadership posts in the Frederick Douglass District before it was dissolved in 1968 and served on the staff of four National Boy Scout Jamborees.

His legacy and the lessons he taught live on in the troop members he mentored, Mr. Martin said. For him and others, Mr. Ross sought to embody and instill in them the tenets of the Scout pledge to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

“He taught us to value excellence, to lead by example and to never give up,” said John B. Harris Jr., a retired international banker, another troop member who attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

Mr. Harris said Mr. Ross set high expectations for troop members, while motivating with encouragement rather than criticism. At camporee competitions with other troops in the Richmond area, “we understood that we were expected to come home with blue ribbons,” Mr. Harris said. “Nothing less would do. We always strove to be the best.”

When Mr. Harris was doubtful he could make Eagle during his final year of eligibility, he said Mr. Ross would not allow him to quit. Mr. Harris said he had particular difficulty earning the life-saving merit badge because of a requirement to create flotation devices out of his shirt and pants while in the water.

He said Mr. Ross would get into the YMCA pool with him and patiently show him over and over again how to inflate and tie off the clothes until he got it.

Mr. Martin said Mr. Ross also taught troop members about teamwork, collaboration and leadership in pushing them to be the area’s top troop. “In order to win, you had to learn to work as a team,” Mr. Martin said.

He said Mr. Ross’ dedication to the troop was inspiring. He said Mr. Ross took the troop camping at least once a month “even when there was snow on the ground.”

Mr. Ross also would arrange his vacations from work so he could take the troop to camporee competitions or to spend a summer week at Camp Brady T. Saunders, the regional Boy Scout camp in Goochland County.

Mr. Martin said one year, Mr. Ross took him and other troop members to the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., to camp and hike in the Rocky Mountains.

Born in Jackson Ward, Mr. Ross grew up during the hard times of the Great Depression. For his first 17 years, his fam- ily lived in a ramshackle home on Henry Street that lacked electric wiring but rented for just $10 a month, which they could afford.

“We were on welfare. I was lucky to have a pair of shoes on my feet,” Mr. Ross recalled in a 2011 interview as a Richmond Free Press Personality. He noted that he often had to stuff his shoes with cardboard when they began to wear out.

He graduated from Armstrong High School and found work at the Port of Richmond in South Side, where he rose from laborer to supervisor.

Mr. Martin said Mr. Ross “never missed a day of work” before he retired after 50 years.

In addition to his scouting role, Mr. Ross also was elected a deacon at Ebenezer in 1963. He was so admired that the congregation kept waiving the rule that members of the Deacon Ministry could only serve one five-year term. Eighteen years later, he was elected chair of that ministry for a term that was supposed to last just two years but kept being extended.

He also was a member of the Maymont Civic League and of the NAACP.

“Mr. Ross was honored with the ‘National Hall of leadership Award’ by the Boy Scouts of America on March 18, 2011. The event was sponsored by Ebenezer Baptist Church and held at First Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. A person is judged by their actions not what they say.”

Sources:

“Linwood D. Ross, Scoutmaster and Deacon, Dies at 91.” Richmond Free Press, https://richmondfreepress.com/news/2021/may/20/linwood-d-ross-scoutmaster-and-deacon-dies-91/.