About the Author

     In his four decades as a Scout leader, Tom Sholes built a wide-ranging reputation as a “Scoutmaster’s Scoutmaster.” During his leadership tenure, Tom inspired hundreds of Boy Scouts and Explorers, nearly 50 of whom achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
     Born and raised in the Mississippi River Valley town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Tom was but eight years old when he experienced his first Indian dance lesson from a warm, smiling Winnebago lady. Throughout his Scouting years as a boy and as an adult, he shared his love of the Native culture and their dances, creating and participating in four Scout-related interpretive dance troupes.
     Awarded the rank of Eagle Scouting 1946, Tom kept his love of Scouting alive for another 30 years serving as Scoutmaster, first in Roseville, Minnesota and later in Littleton, Colorado. His leadership skills and devotion to Scouting earned him such honors as the District Award of Merit and the coveted Silver Beaver. Upon retiring from troop leadership at age 58, Tom spent an additional 10 years as an advisor to a high-adventure Explorer Post near his home in Larkspur, Colorado.
     Tom is a contributing writer to Scouting Magazine, has developed the POP accreditation program for home healthcare agencies, is an active member of the Colorado Archaeological Society, and has worked many southwestern sites performing surveys and excavations as an accredited avocational archaeologist. Tom and his wife, Charlotte have four children and eight grandchildren. Tom’s sense of adventure continues in his backcountry explorations and in his travels, having wandered through more than 60 countries.