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Baden Powell |
Ernest Thompson Seton |
Daniel Carter Beard |
James E West |
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A 1914 membership card |
Early 1911 Minute scouting booklet |
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W.D. Boyce
Newspaper Publisher |
E.M. Robinson
YMCA Executive |
Colin Livingstone
BSA President 1910-1925 |
Theodore Roosevelt
President of the USA |
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- Preface - |
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Years ago I visited the National BSA Museum in Murray, KY. At the entrance
were robots representing Ernest Thompson Seton, Dan Beard and James E West,
arguing over who was the founder of the BSA. When the museum moved, the
robots were gone, but I’ve been thinking about it for years.
During the Covonavirus lockdown, spring, 2020, I began reading some of the
books that I accumulated during a lifetime of scout collecting. Handbooks,
Annual Reports to Congress, Scouting Magazines, etc. Books by and about
Seton, Dan Beard and Baden Powell, etc. I found the 1911 Boy Scout Minute
Tapioca booklet and settled into an easy chair to thumb through it. What I
read, shocked me, the BSA wasn’t designed to be a stand alone
organization, the BSA would operate within the framework of other
organizations. I’m knowledgeable about scouting history but had never
heard anything like this. I went to the 1910 and 1911 BSA handbooks. I
became interested in Seton and Beard. I read Seton 2015 biography,
Seton The Trail of an Artist Naturalist
and Beard’s 1939 Hardly a Man is Now Alive,
autobiography. I have Seton’s 1906, Birchbark
Roll and Beards 1909 Boy Pioneers
books. I've read Dr. Rowan’s, To Do My Best,
James E West’s biography.
I came away from this research with a new opinion of the founders. Most
people reading this love Scouting, and I’m not one who wants to disparage
hero’s. But, these men were flesh and blood. They had idiosyncrasies, egos.
and in some cases they were petty and vindictive. It’s never been explained
why W D Boyce incorporated the BSA and requested a Federal Charter when it
appears that he wasn’t prepared to establish an organization. Seton and
Beard sniped at each other until Seton was gone from Scouting. Beard
continued to claim he was the founder. James West was a powerful figure with
a strong personality that pulled it all together, a lesser man might have
seen the BSA pulled apart.
I began this project with a fondness for Ernest Thompson Seton. I have a
collection of his animal books and have actively acquired first and
autographed editions. Most people have probably never read Seton, but his
animal books are wonderful. His stories, in the modern era when people have
a different view of animals, are probably more pertinent than in the early
1900’s. I read them to my children and when my grandchildren learned to
read, I’ve given them Seton books. Seton gives animals personalities and
endows them with human traits. He’s a fascinating individual and made his
way in the world against obstacles. In Seton’s biography, little is
mentioned of the founding of the BSA. His biography reveals things about
Seton that modern readers might find shocking. Having dogs euthanized so he
could study their muscle structure. His reference to Mexican-Americans in
New Mexico, etc. But elsewhere I write that it’s unfair to judge people in
history by modern standards.
Dan Beard’s autobiography reads like a boys book, lots of adventure stories.
Beard claims to have recall of early childhood events. It contain
fascinating information on Beard active and interesting life. Beard’s book
has information on the founding but doesn’t go into depth. In Murrays 1935
the History of the BSA there is a comprehensive information on the founding.
It names individuals and documents and their contribution. I recommend it to
anyone seriously interested in the history of the BSA, but the rift between
Seton and how the support of the YMCA was lost, is not explained.
This type of research is so much fun. You start with the story framed in
your mind and the more you learn the more you realize that much of what you
thought, was wrong.
Paul E. Myers, Jr
Goshen, Indiana
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- The Founders of the BSA - |
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Baden Powell is universally acclaimed as the founder of Boy Scouting. His 1899
booklet Aids to Scouting (for NCO’s and
enlisted men) was written while he was serving in the British Army in Africa. It
was intended to help young men in the military. When Powell returned home to
England in 1903 he discovered that youth groups had adopted his manual and were
“scouting”. In 1908 Powell published a serialized edition of booklets more
tailored to boys. These were entitled Scouting for
Boys. In most organizations there is a person who has an idea and a cast
of individuals who contribute in different ways. That’s how it was with Baden
Powell but again he is the Founder. Powell met with Ernest Seton in London in
1906 and it’s claimed that Powell was influenced by Setons 1906 book,
The Birch Bark Rolls. Dan Beard claimed his,
Boy Pioneers, Sons of Daniel Boone, published
in 1909, influenced Powell, even though Scouting for
Boys was already in circulation.
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It seems that in 1910 scouting organizers in the USA thought it would be
beneficial to have a “founder” of American scouting. W.D. Boyce a
businessman and newspaper owner had incorporated an organization in 1910 and
seemed a likely candidate. A legend about him being lost in the London fog
and being directed by a Scout was developed. E.M. Robinson, a YMCA executive
encouraged Boyce to fulfill the potential of the organization. Boyce
promised financial support, but only made three payments. The YMCA organized
hundreds of scout troops some as early as 1909. Businessmen and bankers like
Washington DC’s, Livingstone were supporters. Ernest Thompson Seton and Dan
Beard had existing youth groups. Dan Beard’s, Boy Pioneers, Son’s of Daniel
Boone and Setons Woodcraft Indians. When Beard and Seton’s groups
consolidated into Scouting, Beard and Seton were acknowledged as founders.
The story is well known and has been repeated in BSA handbooks for a hundred
years. The story is more interesting than commonly known and the YMCA’s role
is largely forgotten.
In 1910 the BSA was a subsidiary of the YMCA. It was E. M. Robinson, a YMCA
Executive from New York City who traveled to Chicago to pledge support for
Boyce’s new group. The new headquarters was in the NYC, World Headquarters
of the YMCA. The first Managing Director was a YMCA employee, John
Alexander. Seton published a thrown together handbook in 1910 that proved so
unsatisfactory that Alexander worked to develop a more informational
booklet. This was published and distributed by the Minute Tapioca Company.
The YMCA imported insignia from England. It’s believed the YMCA paid Baden
Powell’s expenses when he visited the USA in 1910. The original plan was
that scouting would not be a separate organization, but rather a program
offered within the framework of existing groups.
The difficulty regarding who was the USA founder of Scouting started at the
1910 Walldorf Astoria dinner honoring Baden Powell. Powell seemed to decline
the honor of being the founder and suggested that he was but an uncle giving
credit to Seton and Beard. It’s impossible to know if this was sincere or a
kind gesture by a visiting Englishman to his hosts in New York City. In any
case it caused difficulty for the new BSA. Seton had just compiled the first
BSA handbook so his credentials seemed established. Beard worked for years
trying to proclaim himself as the founder. Boyce had incorporated the
organization, but wasn’t active in it’s operation. After 1914 Seton was out
of Scouting, and in 1915 Boyce started a separate boy organization. Uncle
Dan became a beloved figure in his buckskin outfit, throwing tomahawks,
leading an annual pilgrimage to Theodore Roosevelts grave and writing
articles in Boys Life. Beard claimed to be the founder for years despite the
fact that his program, Boy Pioneers
contained nothing resembling Scouting.
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- The YMCA and the Founding of the BSA - |
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In 1910 the YMCA was a well organized, well funded and highly respected youth
organization with hundreds of locations across the USA. They had a summer
camping program as early as 1886. Each YMCA enjoyed local autonomy and
independence, especially when it came to camping. YMCA’s used Woodcraft Indians,
Boy Pioneers, Boys Brigade, English Scouting or locally developed programs for
camping. The YMCA’s in Canada would develop two groups; Trail Rangers and Tuxis
Boys.
J.A. Van Dis, the YMCA Boys Work Secretary for Michigan had been organizing
Scout troops in YMCA’s as early as 1909. They used Baden Powell’s Scouting for
Boys as a guide. In 1910 Van Dis saw a newspaper article mentioning W.D. Boyce
of Chicago organizing the Boy Scouts of America. Van Dis contacted E.M. Robinson
the Senior Secretary of the YMCA. Robinson took a train from NYC and they
visited Boyce in early 1910, pledging the YMCA’s cooperation. Robinson selected
John Alexander from Philadelphia to serve as manager of the new BSA. Alexander
moved to NYC to a office in the YMCA Headquarters on June 1, 1910.
Alexander was on the YMCA’s payroll, he was an excellent choice for the job.
Almost immediately he organized a meeting of thirty nine national youth
organizations to gain support for scouting and see how Scouting could be
incorporated into their organizations. As a result of this meeting Colin
Livingstone of Washington, DC became the National President. Alexander arranged
a experimental camp attended by select YMCA boys, it was held at Silver Bay, NY.
Seton was Camp Chief, Beard attended and even James West visited from Washington
DC, on the last day of camp. Alexander developed a 54 page booklet and got the
Minute Tapioca Co. to print 500,000 copies. This 54 page booklet gives a better
description of the new BSA than Seton’s handbook. It puts forth the idea of what
American scouting is, how councils are formed and general information. It’s
often overlooked by historians but it’s important.
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In 1911 Alexander returned to a more normal YMCA life in Philadelphia. It’s a
mystery how the BSA was able to pull together a totally American handbook in
only about six months after Seton’s 1910 handbook. James West replaced Alexander
in January, 1911 and the BSA moved into their own headquarters in NYC. January
1, 1911 is the real beginning of the BSA we know today.
Many of the organizers and men who would become Scouting professionals had a
YMCA background. James West had been assistant to the General Secretary of the
YMCA in Washington D.C. When the time came it was West who was responsible for
the idea of Scouting professionals working in local councils. It’s similar to
the way the YMCA is organized. West’s first title in the BSA, Managing Secretary
is a YMCA term. A. Stamford White of Chicago became a BSA Vice President, White
was the first President of the Chicago Council and had been President of the
Chicago YMCA. White selected a YMCA professional, D. W. Pollard to be the first
Scout Executive in Chicago. This pattern was repeated all over the country with
many YMCA men joining the ranks of Scouting, often in positions like Scoutmaster
and then accepting paid positions when councils formed. National BSA records
indicate than in 1920, eight years after the YMCA withdrew support, there were
still 78 Boy Scout troops sponsored by YMCA’s. |
Robinson was a friend of Seton and Woodcraft Indians were used in some YMCA’s
summer camp program. Until recently the Y had an Indian Guide program. Scouting
recognized the opportunity to recruit boys of other religious backgrounds, but
such a strong connection to the YMCA might be a handicap. The Catholic church
was anti-scouting, but in 1913 both Catholic’s and Mormon’s (LDS) adopted
Scouting. Jewish boys came to scouting about the same time. Scouting has had
troubles with religion even to the modern day. To some the fact that Scouting
asks a boy (now boys and girls) to have a reverence for God seems extreme.
Others want Scouting to take a stronger profession of faith. The religiosity of
the YMCA is eliminated. The Y, is not the Young Men's Christian
Association, just the Y. They abandoned their Spirit, Mind & Body theme and the
father and son/daughter, Indian Guides are gone.
The YMCA’s early interest in Scouting was to develop a nationwide program for
use in local YMCA’s for outdoors and camping. When it became obvious that the
BSA would be a stand alone group with it’s own organization, the desirability of
Scouting being a part of the YMCA diminished.
In
1919 the YMCA developed a Handbook for Pioneers.
The forward is written by Edgar M. Robinson, who was the driving force in
organizing the BSA. This 411 page manual reads like a BSA Handbook. The contents
page is shown below. The Pioneers were designed to replace any outside
organizations, still operating in YMCA’s. The book was reprinted in 1924 but out
of print in later years. By the late 1920’s it must have been obvious that
Scouting was well on it’s way to being the premier outdoor youth organization in
the USA. Today the YMCA still has an active summer camp program. In the past
some BSA councils shared a camp with the YMCA.
To the left - Image of the earliest YMCA summer camp, 1886. Camp Dudley, Orange
Lake, New York.
The YMCA was developing an extensive camping program.
There are several pages of a historic statement in the Pioneers Handbook. It’s written
by E. M. Robinson and outlines how the YMCA had been searching for a
standardized program for camping. It’s laid out in the Pioneers book. He details
the history of the program, the first camps, individuals who were involved, but
there is no mention of the BSA. The YMCA had once sponsored hundreds
of scout troops. Some YMCA’s used Seton’s Woodcraft Indians, but I believe it
was unsatisfactory because of its lack of citizenship themes. The Boy Pioneers
program has seventeen pages on citizenship and ten pages on religion.
In 1929 when the Silver Buffalo was developed, it’s curious that Robinson wasn’t
honored. Boyce received the Silver Buffalo, but he had merged his LSA into the
BSA in 1924. My research has lead me to believe that Robinson might have been
the most critical person in organizing the BSA in 1910. Perhaps there was
animosity between Scouting (James West) and Robinson over the loss of BSA units
or the Pioneers.
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Paul Myers Goshen,
Indiana
gimogash@comcast.net |
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