The Scoutmaster: 61 Years of Camping & Leadership with Author Brooks Eason | MS Outdoors Podcast

In this episode of the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, Matt Wyatt sits down with Mississippi author Brooks Eason to talk about his book The Scoutmaster — the story of his father’s extraordinary 61 years leading Troop 85 in Tupelo. Eason shares memories of monthly campouts dating back to 1947, rope-bridge traditions at Tishomingo State Park, canoe trips on Bear Creek, and the hundreds of boys who grew up under his father’s leadership.

Brooks also explains what he learned while researching the book, including long-lost stories from taped interviews, letters, and conversations with Scouts from the 1940s through the 1990s. He talks about his other books, his adoption story, and the camping and hiking adventures that shaped his writing.

Mississippi Outdoors is produced by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Follow MDWFP
Website: http://www.mdwfp.com
Facebook:   / mdwfp  
Instagram:   / mdwfponline  
X:   / mdwfponline  

00:00 – Intro: Author Brooks Eason
00:30 – Adoption story & early life
01:15 – What The Scoutmaster is about
02:00 – His father becomes scoutmaster in 1947
02:45 – 61 years of campouts with Troop 85
03:45 – Annual Tishomingo rope-bridge trips
04:50 – Shiloh battlefield hikes
06:00 – What made his father a great leader
07:30 – Interviewing Eagle Scouts from 6 different decades
08:40 – Reactions to the book from former Scouts
09:40 – Why the book matters to scout leaders
10:20 – What the book teaches about leadership
11:00 – Discovering old tapes from a family interview
12:10 – Stories he learned after his father passed
13:20 – Eason Boulevard connection in Tupelo
13:50 – Why he turned down a bronze bust in favor of a river trip
15:00 – His other books (Travels with Bobby, Fortunate Son, etc.)
16:00 – Writing short stories for his parents
17:00 – Ole Miss stories, WWII pilot story
18:40 – How he started writing seriously
22:00 – Travels with Bobby: hiking & camping out West
23:40 – The free-range cow & sprinkler system stories
25:20 – Writing after a stroke and career change
27:00 – The new novel I Remember Everything
29:00 – Future writing ideas
29:40 – Favorite camping spots in Mississippi
30:50 – Scoutmaster lessons that shaped generations
33:00 – Canoe trip disaster with a broken arm
38:00 – What readers get from The Scoutmaster
40:00 – His adoption memoir and family discovery
41:15 – Closing