The Urban Rangers

When 14-year-old Titus Woods joined his fellow Urban Rangers on the Current River last summer, it was far more than just another fun outing with friends.

In many ways, it was a landmark moment in his recovery from life-threatening health issues.

A little more than a year previously, Woods underwent liver transplant surgery after being diagnosed with cancer.

The surgery went well, the cancer is gone, and the Lee’s Summit teenager is on the road to recovery. His top goal last summer? To follow in his older brothers’ footsteps and go on the adventure of a lifetime.

The three-day trip is a collaboration between MDC and the Kansas City-based Urban Rangers Corps, a nonprofit that is dedicated to putting youth, many of them from the inner city, on a path to success.

“Some of these kids have never been out of the city before,” said Benjamin Suber, the summer program director for the Urban Rangers. “They’ve never canoed, camped, or fished before. This is a new world to them.

“But it’s the highlight of the year. Even if they’re a little scared at first, by the time they’re done, they can’t wait to come back.”

Such is the case with Woods. This trip was his chance to feel “normal” again.

“I’m just now starting to get my energy back,” he said. “I got tired paddling. I took a lot of breaks. But I had a great time.”

The Roots of a Special Adventure

The Urban Rangers Corps was founded in 2005 by Father John Wandless, the pastor of an inner-city church.

He believed that many Black youngsters needed a positive influence in their lives, a guiding force to provide hope. He gathered a group of mentors who could help the boys achieve good grades, get jobs and internships, and focus on life goals.

At one session at MDC’s Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Wandless talked to Pat Whalen, a naturalist, about a wild idea — taking the boys on an extended adventure to the Ozarks.

“Father John and I had both been Boy Scout leaders and we knew the value of taking kids on camping trips,” Whalen said. “I had experience leading overnight float trips to the Buffalo, the Current, the Eleven Point, and even the Green River in Utah, and they were challenging but great fun. So, I was open to the idea.”

That started a partnership that is now 15 years old. Under the leadership of Whalen and Steve Jacobsen, assistant manager at the Discovery Center, MDC provides canoes, tents, life jackets, and meals.

Last summer, MDC, Missouri State Parks, and the Missouri River Bird Observatory provided volunteers to ensure that the 28 boys who signed up were safe on the water and to provide leadership. 

The tents were set up by the time the young campers arrived at an Ozark National Scenic Riverways campground at Round Spring. At night, they gathered around a campfire and exchanged stories as they poked at the embers.

It was early to rise the next morning as they headed out for their float trip. The group traveled from Round Spring to the Pulltite access to begin their 9-mile float back to their base camp.

They stopped for lunch, swimming and exploring to find the critters living in the popular stream. On their return, they were treated to a cookout prepared by conservation agents, forestry workers, and other representatives of MDC’s Twin Pines Conservation Nature Center.

After one more night of camping, they explored, went birdwatching, played yard games, and relaxed.

The adults who led the trip then were able to exhale and reflect on what a few days in nature can do for the soul.

“With a number of kids, we will see a big change from the time they launch their canoes to the time they’re finished,” Jacobsen said. “Some of them dump their canoe right away, but they’re pretty efficient by the end of the trip.

“You can just see their confidence grow. And that’s what it’s all about. It’s our hope that a trip like this will spark a longtime interest in the outdoors.”

A Leader with a Passion

Whalen has no trouble practicing what he preaches.

Today, he is an avid canoeist, delighting in getting off the grid and enjoying the beauty of Ozark float streams.

“The Current is a perfect setting for a trip like this,” Whalen said. “The scenery is beautiful, the water is clear, and the current keeps you moving along. We’ll see people from all over the country here.

“It’s just one of those places that is special.”

Whalen has been searching for that solitude much of his life. He grew up in the inner city, much like many of the kids involved in the Urban Rangers.  But even then, he was drawn to the outdoors.

“Our neighborhood backed up to Forest Hill Cemetery, and at the time, there was a patch of undeveloped land with some woods and a creek running through it,” he said. “I was constantly out there, exploring.”

Today, he is based at a nature center — the Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center — just down the road from where he grew up. As a naturalist, he does everything from leading nature hikes to managing the native landscape gardens at the center.

The trip with the Urban Rangers is one of the highlights of his year.

“I’ve seen 200 to 300 kids go through this trip over the years,” Whalen said. “Every once in a while, I’ll run into an adult who comes up to me and thanks me for the experience they had years ago. That’s when I realize we must be doing something right.”

A Success Story

DaQuon Cheadle is living proof that the Urban Rangers program works.

Several years ago, he was “in a bit of a dark place,” he said. He didn’t have much drive, and he didn’t see much hope for the future.

Then he learned about the Urban Rangers through a cousin, and he decided to join. That influence turned his life around, he said.

“The program’s goal is to take inner-city boys and build them into responsible men,” said Cheadle, 20, who now lives in Parkville. “They want to show us that there is a life away from the drugs, gangs, and things like that.”

Cheadle responded by getting better grades, getting a part-time job at Home Depot, and playing on Schlagle High School’s football team. He embraced the program’s goal of remaining confident in uncomfortable situations. He uses the wilderness trip as an example.

“I had never canoed, camped, fished, any of that,” he said. “I never had the opportunity.

“I was a little scared before I went (to camp) my first time. I was afraid I was going to flip, get eaten by bugs, or not know what kind of animals were out in the woods. Once I did it, it was a great feeling.”

Cheadle went back every year he was eligible (through his senior year) and now returns as a counselor. He and others are credited with coming up with a new term for flipping their canoes — to titanic.

“I didn’t titanic (last year), but I came close,” he said. “We had three canoes bump into each other, and mine was rocking a little bit, but I kept from going over.”

Cheadle now attends Coe College in Iowa and has aspirations of becoming a data analyst. His dream job? To work for the Kansas City Chiefs. Even if that doesn’t happen, he is confident he will find a job somewhere in his field.

“I wouldn’t be the man I am today if it wasn’t for the Urban Rangers,” he said. “They taught me to believe in myself.”

Identifying With the Kids

Suber was figuratively in the same boat as many of the kids when he attended his first overnight camping and canoeing trip.

“I had never experienced any of this,” said Suber, who retired from the Kansas City Public School system after spending 34 years in its sports program. “But I couldn’t show the fear I had of being out in the woods, sleeping on the ground, canoeing. I had to be a leader.”

That was tested on one of his first float trips when he was one of the first to “titanic.”

“All I could hear as I was going into the water was everybody laughing,” Suber said. “I told them I did it on purpose. But I don’t think they bought it.”

Today, Suber is comfortable on land and water in the Current River region and looks forward to bringing the Urban Rangers back each summer.

“Taking these young men five hours from the city and having them get into a canoe and exploring a whole new world is a test,” he said. “But the majority of them love it. This is just another part of their learning process.”

For more information about the Urban Rangers, visit urckc.org/abouturc.