Beard wrote that he became interested in youth after attending a business meeting one cold, snowy day. With great difficulty he made his way through a storm to where the meeting was held. Outside he saw half a dozen newsboys huddled together improperly clothed, shivering in the cold. After the meeting when he existed the building they were still there just as cold and even more pitiful than before. He thought on his carefree childhood of comfort and leisure and decided that he might do something for youth. His first book for boys was The American Boys Handy Book published in 1882. It’s curious that his next book for boys wasn’t until 1907, at which time he wrote Jack of All Trades, Dan Beards Animal Book and The Boy Pioneers (Sons of Daniel Boone) in 1909. It’s possible that Beards interest was awaken by the fact that others were prolifically publishing books for boys in these years.

In 1907 Dan Beard took over the Boys Department of Recreation Magazine. In the spring issue he announced a new group; The Sons of Daniel Boone. In the May issue he answered inquiries and in the August issue he started describing his programs. Recreation Magazine was an outdoorsmen's magazine. Articles included; The Famous Coyote Hunt of Weld County (Colorado), A Haul from the Herring Pond, Cruising for Crocodile, The Beaver as a Builder, etc. It was about this time that Beard started developing his “how to” books for boys. The magazine closed but Beard took the idea of the group to Women’s Home Companion magazine. Beard had difficulty with the new editor and left. It seems that WHC retained the rights to the name Son’s of Daniel Boone. In 1909 Beard changed the name to Boy Pioneers and published a handbook under the auspices of the Pictorial Review. It was stated in the forward that The Pictorial Review, at the present writing, is the official organ of the authors club for boys. 

The book is based on the hero’s of Beards childhood in Kentucky. Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Simon Kenton, Kit Carson, and Johnny Appleseed. All except Johnny Appleseed were Indian fighters. There is a chapter on Indian Sign Language but it does not appear that Beard was enthralled with Native Americans in the way others of his era were. When Beard was a youth in Kentucky the Indian Wars were fresh in peoples minds. Beards parent would remember the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the Treaty of Greenville. His grandparents would know that the Shawnee indiscriminately killed the game outside Marietta to starve the pioneers and would remember the massacre at Big Bottoms.

It’s unknown to what extent The Sons of Daniel Boone grew. Beard wrote that there were forty forts across the breadth of the USA. 32 boys in a fort x 40 is 1260 boys. Elsewhere it’s claimed that 20,000 boys wear the button of the SDM. Beards 1909 book was two years behind Seton’s Woodcraft Indians and a year after Baden Powell’s, Scouting for Boys. A costume is described and how to make it. Each boy held a position and the book had patterns that could be copied and cut from felt or cloth. With the BSA forming in 1910 Beard merged his group. Beard later claimed he lost a substantial sum of money by consolidating with the BSA. His group had no dues and only sold a small button, without membership numbers its impossible to know. It’s difficult to judge the appeal of the Boy Pioneers. In many areas boys carrying a Bowie knife or a tomahawk in their belt might be frowned on. I cover the Sons of Daniel Boone on other pages.

In 1919, The YMCA published an outdoor book, Handbook for Pioneers. It was “A program of Christian Citizenship Training for Boys Twelve to Fourteen Years of Age”. It’s 411 pages and similar to a Boy Scout Handbook. The YMCA Pioneer book has nothing to do with Dan Beards, Boy Pioneers/Son’s of Daniel Boone. I’ve covered the YMCA program in a separate section. It’s interesting to note that Seton was a favorite of the YMCA but when they developed their own manual it was loaded with citizenship.

Beard was an avid outdoorsman, but his experience was camping, hunting or fishing with men of his acquaintance often from the Campfire Club. He had little experience working with boys. He met Col. Gignalliat of the Culver Military Academy on the newly formed BSA Executive Board. Culver had a nautical summer camp but wanted a camp for younger boys, based along Scouting principals. Beard became the Director of “Woodcraft Camp” at Culver, 1912-1915. The program was a mixture of Boy Scouting and Beard’s Sons of Daniel Boone. Beard claimed to designed the uniforms, but his design, a frontiersman style outfit, was rejected. His S of D B insignia was used. Beard enjoyed his experience at Culver and he was well paid by the Woodcraft Camp.