Seventy Five Years of Scouting
(1910 - 1985)
"Mohican Council - Boy Scouts of America"
- by Dr. Robert N. King
[Article reproduced exactly as it appeared in Glens Falls Today, Winter 1985, Vol.1, No.2; pp. 33-36; Ó Glen Street Publishing Company.]
Scouting has been in the Glens Falls Region since 1910, the year the Boy Scout movement was founded. The Boy Scout movement started through the interest of three outstanding men. Earnest Thompson Seton, a naturalist, writer and painter founded Woodcraft Indians, a boys program that offered badges for learning outdoor skills and Daniel Beard, a painter and illustrator, founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, a youth program that taught camping, outdoor life and Indian Lore. While these men were developing ideas for youth programs in the United States, Lord Robert Baden-Powell sought to improve the abilities of English youth by developing a program to build character, resourcefulness and public spirit. A British hero of the African Boer Wars, he had written a manual for soldiers, Aids to Scouting, which was used by boys interested in camping. He tested the manual and program with a group of boys and researched other youth programs, including those of Seton and Beard. This resulted in the 1908 publication of the first Boy Scout manual, Scouting for Boys.
Scouting Spread to the United States through the interest of William Dickson Boyce, a self-made Chicago millionaire newspaper owner. On February 8, 1910, Boyce filed incorporation papers for the Boys Scouts of America in Washington, D.C. Shortly after, the Boy's Work Secretary of the YMCA in New York City, Edgar. M. Robinson, agreed to serve as the first executive to organize Scouting in America. Soon Scout troops began to spring up around the country. The original American Scout manual written by Seton was replaced by an official manual a year later, the Handbook for Boys. It contained the American Scout Oath, Law, advancement requirements, uniforms, badges, and also covered woodcraft, nature lore, camping skills, athletics, first aid, life-saving skills, patriotism and citizenship.
In August 1910, the first adult leaders training course was conducted in our home-region, at the YMCA camp at Silver Bay on Lake George. Demonstrations of nature study, camping, and Indian Lore were presented by Seton and Beard. Less than a month later, a local committee was established by the Glens Falls Chamber of Commerce, which commissioned the Rev. Lindsey S.B. Hadley to attend a meeting on Scouting in New York City addressed by Lord-Baden Powell. Hadley returned to Glens Falls brimming with enthusiasm. Later, a field representative of the National Council, B.S.A., met with a citizen's group in the YMCA to discuss organizing a troop. they spoke to 250 boys at City Hall the next day. By November 1910, the first Boy Scout unit, Troop 1, was registered under the sponsorship of the First Presbyterian Church. When the Rev. Hadley was called to serve in China, this troop was taken over by the Baptist Church. Soon after, other troops in the area organized as well.
By 1919, interest in Boy Scouting had reached a point that a more formal organization was needed. The Warren County Council was formed to serve Warren County. the first Scout Executive, Lawrence Harris, took office in 1920, with headquarters in City Hall, and launched an organized Scout Council in the area. Fourteen troops had already been registered and more were in the process.
The summer camping program opened in 1920, first on Big Burnt Island on Lake George, latter on Log Bay Island, then on Daggett Pond near Warrensburg, and next at Chadwick Farm on Luzerne Road. Scouters named the first campsite Wakpominee, an Indian term meaning "from whence all good things come." In 1931, members of the Executive Board of Mohican Council purchased a camp site from the Washington County Council located at Sly Pond in West Fort Ann. One of the earliest improvements to this site was the construction of a log cabin by Troop 4, Christ Church, Methodist. This cabin was later turned over to the Council and also serves as the Nature Lodge. The Tribe of the Wakpominee, forerunner of the Order of the Arrow, was organized at camp in 1930.
The first two decades of Scouting in Glens Falls were noteworthy for steady growth in membership and for the rapid development of the camp. Mohican Council, the successor of the Warren County Council, received it's official charter in 1923. It combined both Warren and Washington Counties in the early '30's. In addition to the regular scouting program, a Scout band, drum and bugle corps and a junior brigade of marchers were organized in cooperation with the American Legion, the latter for pre-Scout age boys. Meanwhile, the Kiwanis Club organized a Sea Scout program complete with a ship, the Flying Cloud. Scouting was alive and well.
The decade of the 1930's introduced a second Scout Executive, Arthur P. Newkirk. The standard Mohican Constitution and By-Laws were approved, the Cub Scout Program was established with the formation of the first Cub Pack at Christ church, Methodist, the Silver Beaver Award to outstanding adult leaders was instituted in 1931, and a national camp honor society, the Order of the Arrow, was officially adopted. The Depression took its toll. Financial problems forced the merging of Warren and Washington Counties and the town of Hoosick in Rensselaer County. In 1937, the first National Jamboree took place in Washington, D.C. A year later, Mohican Council added North Hudson, Moriah, Crown Point and Ticonderoga to its roster. The Council employed the first full-time field executive. Explorer Scouting for older boys was introduced in 1939 and a year-round, short term camping program was started in Camp Wakpominee.
The fourth decade of Scouting in Mohican council was marked by the loss of manpower and changes in Scout Executives. The third Scout Executive, Keith Peaslee, served from 1939 until the start of World War II. Although Scouting continued to be popular with boys, getting leaders became a major problem. Roland E. Stimson held the Council together with 30 active troops that contributed to the war effort. The fifth Scouting Executive, Howard B. Boyd, picked up the post-war program from 1946-50. During his tenure, Explorer Scouting was expanded and an Air Scout program begun. The number of troops increased, necessitating the employment of a second field executive.
The next ten years employed the sixth Scout Executive, William R. Gelder, who instituted the first Council-wide Camporee. by 1953, Camp Wakpominee was greatly expanded as a result of a severe wind storm that felled many trees. The sale of the resulting lumber along with gift donations made possible the construction of a new dining hall, a kitchen facility, health lodge, waterfront building, and the Glens Falls Rotary Winter Lodge. A lean-to site was developed on the west side of Sly Pond. The increasing strength of the Scouting program was evidenced by the registration of the 200th Scout in Mohican Council - Daniel Wilke of Cambridge. That same year, Mohican Council introduced a monthly news bulletin, The Powderhorn. In 1955, Mohican Council was reorganized into three districts - Pioneer, Iroquois and Adirondack.
Many phases of the Scout program progressed significantly during Mr. Gelder's administration. The Philmont Expedition, the Adirondack Canoe Trip, the Explorer trip to Griffis Air Force Base and the Canadian Canoe Trip became part of the regular program. The Lions Club sponsored a Cub Scout weekend at Camp Wakpominee for Scouts and their fathers. The increasing use of camp facilities lead to the employ of a full-time camp ranger.
The sixties opened with the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of American Scouting. Over 1,000 Scouts participated in a candlelight ceremony in the Wakpominee Council Ring in conjunction with the hundreds of thousands of Scouts all over the United States. A marked increase in membership occurred during this period in all Scout activities. The first capital fund campaign for camp development raised $325,000. It made possible the construction of a shower house, handicraft lodge, trading post, administration building, cook's quarters and improved waterfront facility, some Adirondack lean-tos and tents. four full-time professional and the camp ranger now served the Council.
Mr. Gelder retired in 1966 and was followed by Kenneth W. Prowse as Scout Executive who served until 1972. During his administration, the budget exceeded over $100,000, boy participation was over 4000 and 144 Scout units were in operation. In 1968, the Scout headquarters building on Pearl Street was completed, and at camp, new docks and a rifle range were constructed.
The seventh decade of scouting in Mohican Council was launched with a Silver Jubilee Celebration. The event, held at Fort Ticonderoga, was participated in by more than 100 Scout Troops and Cub Packs. The eighth Scout Executive, Richard Bielefield, briefly took office in 1972. HE was followed by David W. Worley in 1974 for a four-year tenure. During this period, a new Ranger's house was constructed at Camp Wakpominee. As part of the Bicentennial Celebration, Scout retraced the old Knox Trail from Fort Ticonderoga with a series of hikes. The Council trust fund increased to over $125,000 and camp facilities were improved to allow more winter camping. A Klondike Derby was held at Trout Lake in 1977. A year Later, 17 Scout Councils united to for m the Association of Adirondack Scout Camps to study the use of camp facilities for better programming at reduced cost. Late in 1977, the Council Camping Committee conceived the idea of a regional campout. n 1978, area Scout Councils joined together and held the North-o-ree at Frontiertown with nearly 4000 in attendance, including over 2000 Canadian Scouts. In 1978, Linwood C. Wiley was chosen as the tenth Scout Executive for Mohican Council.
Mohican Council is now enjoying its eight decade of active operation. A new program for pre-Cub Scouts, Tiger Cubs, was introduced in 1982. Almost 4000 youths participate in Exploring, Scouting and Cub Scouting. Career Awareness Exploring in the school career orientation program began in 1983. Under Mr. Wiley's leadership, a major emphasis has been placed on the physical plant at Camp Wakpominee. This has resulted in a totally revamped waterfront, new road construction to alleviate traffic in the center of camp, and a program to replace existing campsites and latrines. A new and expanded field sports center was given in memory of Dr. Palmer Colson by his wife, Mrs. Susan Colson. the Council Service Center on Pearl Street has had its exterior refurbished, and all capital office equipment replaced. Mohican council now boasts on of the most complete Scouting audio visual libraries of an council of its size. The professional staff stands at four, with three clerical staff and the full-time camp ranger at Camp Wakpominee.
In this year, the 75th anniversary Celebration of the Boy Scouts of America, Mohican Council highlights include a Diamond Jubilee Scout Camporee at Fourth Lake in Luzerne, a rededication of the Silver Bay Campfire Circle, the site of the first Scout training program for leaders in 1910, donor-sponsorship of a hot air Boy Scout balloon to the Adirondack Balloon Festival, a Council Cub Scout Field Day at Rogers Island, a special Adult Leader Recognition Dinner focusing on the 75th Anniversary, the participation of 42 Scouts and 6 leaders at the 11th National Scout Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia, and by 1985, 742 Scouts in Mohican Council had attained the Eagle Scout Rank, the highest rank in the program.
The growth enjoyed from early days and the continuous support has been largely due to our local pioneers, who had the vision to bring Boy Scouting to the North Country, and to the thousands of parents and community leaders and the many businesses who have contributed time, money and labor which has made Mohican Council an important youth program in the region.
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[Article reproduced exactly as it appeared in Glens Falls Today, Winter 1985, Vol.1, No.2; pp. 33-36; Ó Glen Street Publishing Company.]