Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BOY SCOUTS: Difference between revisions
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The next troop was organized in 1912 by [[SUMMIT CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST]]. One of the boys who joined that troop was Milt Blosch who, in 1997, was honored for his 75 year involvement with scouting with a pin from the national organization. At the time, he was one of only 84 people in the country to have had that many years in the organization. (2) | The next troop was organized in 1912 by [[SUMMIT CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST]]. One of the boys who joined that troop was Milt Blosch who, in 1997, was honored for his 75 year involvement with scouting with a pin from the national organization. At the time, he was one of only 84 people in the country to have had that many years in the organization. (2) | ||
Interest was revived in 1916 when local businessmen organized by [[WILBERDING, Henry|Henry WILBERDING]] and a Scout executive, Walter Gunn was hired. Fired with enthusiasm, Gunn organized troop after troop so that by 1919 Dubuque had 525 registered Scouts. (3) | Interest was revived in 1916 when local businessmen organized by [[WILBERDING, Henry|Henry WILBERDING]] and a Scout executive, Walter Gunn was hired. Fired with enthusiasm, Gunn organized troop after troop so that by 1919 Dubuque had 525 registered Scouts. (3) The Northeast Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America with headquarters in Dubuque was founded in 1917 and served only four boys from Dubuque. (4) | ||
In | In 1928 there were eleven active troops: [[SUMMIT CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST]] (Troop 1), [[WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH]] (Troop 4), [[ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH]] (Troop 6), [[FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST]] (Troop 7), [[YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.)]] (Troop 12), [[IMMANUEL CONGREGATION UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (Troop (3), [[THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH]] (Troop 9), [[HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH]] (Troop 20), [[ST. LUKE'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH]] (Troop 5), [[ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH]] (Troop 8), [[WASHINGTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL]] (Troop 19), [[UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE]] (Troop 15), [[ST. MARY'S ORPHAN HOME]] (TROOP 11), [[NATIVITY CHURCH]] (Troop 10), and [[FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH]], (Troop 13). (5) | ||
In | In 1921 Lynn Osborne became the first Dubuque Council scout to earn the Eagle Scout designation, the highest rank a Scout can earn. (6) | ||
A lasting memorial to his [John Burton's] name was created in 1929, when Camp John Burton was dedicated as a Scout Camp. The land for this purpose, some 26 acres, was given by James Harold Wallis and John Rider Wallis, both grandsons of John Burton, whose daughter [Mary Burton] had married a Wallis [John William Wallis]. ( | In 1928 with a financial debt lingering from the year before, Harold H. Baker, the new scout executive locally, and A. C. Buettell, the head of the Boy Scout Council Finance Committee and and chairman of the Budget Fund Campaign took an appeal to the city. Their efforts were focused on raising $6,500. (7) Locally, a new scout council was chosen from members of civic, fraternal and patriotic organizations. Plans were made for establishing a permanent scout camp with permanent shelter and equipment. (8) | ||
A lasting memorial to his [John Burton's] name was created in 1929, when Camp John Burton was dedicated as a Scout Camp. The land for this purpose, some 26 acres, was given by James Harold Wallis and John Rider Wallis, both grandsons of John Burton, whose daughter [Mary Burton] had married a Wallis [John William Wallis]. (9) | |||
[[Image:furnace.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The ruins of Burton's furnace in Durango. Photo courtesy: Andrea Wallis Aven]] | [[Image:furnace.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The ruins of Burton's furnace in Durango. Photo courtesy: Andrea Wallis Aven]] | ||
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with the chimney of the smelter - an ingenious | with the chimney of the smelter - an ingenious | ||
way of increasing the draft to carry the smoke | way of increasing the draft to carry the smoke | ||
and fumes without building a high vertical chimney. ( | and fumes without building a high vertical chimney. (10) | ||
In 1930 financial security came to scouting when it became part of the Community Chest collection. Local scouts also benefited by the donation of a rugged and heavily wooded campsite south of Durango from the Wallis family. ( | In 1930 financial security came to scouting when it became part of the Community Chest collection. Local scouts also benefited by the donation of a rugged and heavily wooded campsite south of Durango from the Wallis family. (11) | ||
A committee from the [[ELKS CLUB]] met with the District Scout board in 1935 to establish a Cub Scout organization for boys 9-11 years of age. The goal for the first years was establishing two "packs" with forty members. Meetings would be held in the home of a "den mother" with the assistance of an older scout serving as a den leader. ( | A committee from the [[ELKS CLUB]] met with the District Scout board in 1935 to establish a Cub Scout organization for boys 9-11 years of age. The goal for the first years was establishing two "packs" with forty members. Meetings would be held in the home of a "den mother" with the assistance of an older scout serving as a den leader. (12) | ||
In | In 1942 area Scouts joined their group nationwide in distributing millions of copies of the booklet "What You Should Know About Wartime Price Control." It was estimated that 9,000 copies would be distributed within the city of Dubuque. The Scouts were chosen for this responsibility due to their response to other wartime activities including the collection of waste paper, test mobilizations, messenger work, and aid at nurses' stations. (13) | ||
In 1948 the Northeast Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America serving, in 1956, fifty troops involving the Iowa counties of Dubuque, Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware and East Dubuque, Illinois, made the decision to sell the Wiegand property given to it years before. The Weigands had hoped that the land would be left in its natural state, but at the time of the gift the Council stated it would not accept the gift if there were restricts on its use. The Scouts were not organized to hold property and did not have the funds to develop it. No restrictions were contained in the deed. With the feeling that the Wiegands had intended to help the scouting program and had not meant to restrict that help to only the local area, the Northeast Iowa Council sold the property. The proceeds were set aside as the 'Wiegand Camp Fund' to acquire and improve or to improve and already acquired tract of land for a permanent camp. (14) | |||
Prior to 1956 the Northeast Council had operated Adventure Island, the nation's only full-scale summer camp on an island, in the [[MISSISSIPPI RIVER]] near Guttenberg. While satisfactory for older campers, it did not need the needs of younger campers. There were issues of cost, insects, transportation and worried parents due to the location. In 1956 Clifton Klaus granted the Northeast Council a 25-year lease to 137 acres of land west of Colesburg. Camp C. S. (for Sophia, his wife) Klaus was opened in 1956. Assistance came from the [[JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS]] which furnish the men and machinery needed to build a lake and [[A.Y. MCDONALD MANUFACTURING COMPANY]] which installed the water system. (15) By its seventh season, Camp C. S. Klaus was available for fall, winter and spring camping. (16) | |||
Scout-O-Ramas, held at the fairgrounds, were first used | In 1960 the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Scoutmaster Don Hesseling and two assistants organized Troop 67 exclusively for the handicapped. It was the first troop of its kind in the Northeast Iowa Council. (17) | ||
Scouts displayed their talents to the public in Scouting in Action fairs during the 1950s. (18) Scout-O-Ramas, held at the fairgrounds, were first used in the 1960s to showcase the activities of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. (19) | |||
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3. "Scout Executive Inspects Troops," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 6, 1921, p. 3 | 3. "Scout Executive Inspects Troops," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 6, 1921, p. 3 | ||
4. "Eleven Troops of Scouts Active Now," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 22, 1928, p. 22 | 4. "Scout Anniversary," ''Telegraph Herald'', February 13, 1944, p. 39 | ||
5. "Eleven Troops of Scouts Active Now," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 22, 1928, p. 22 | |||
6. Wallis, John Rider. '''Platt Smith 1813-1882 A Brief Biography; Notes From the Bonson Diary 1840-1854; Rambles Thru Linwood, History in a Graveyard,''' 1973 | |||
7. "Scout Movement on New Basis Here," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 22, 1928, p. 22 | |||
8. "Loizeaux is Head of Scout Council," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 22, 1928, p. 22 | |||
9. Wallis | |||
10. Ibid. | |||
11. "How Scouts Grew..." | |||
12. "Younger Boy Scouts Will Get Program," ''Telegraph Herald,'' March 24, 1935 p. 3 | |||
13. Local Scouts Distributing OPA Booklet," ''Telegraph Herald'', July 9, 1942, p. 7 | |||
14. Scouts Explain McGregor Sale," ''Telegraph Herald'', November 3, 1948, p. 6 | |||
15. Beasley, Bob. "Lake to be Built, Camping Areas to be Prepared for Boys by July 8," ''Telegraph Herald'', April 29, 1956, p. 16 | |||
16. Lawrence, Bob, "Dubuqueland Scouts Rough It in Camp Klaus 'Wilderness,' ''Telegraph Herald'', July 24, 1963, p. 28 | |||
17. "Form Special Scout Troop for Physically Handicapped," ''Telegraph Herald'', March 27, 1960, p. 28 | |||
18. "Scouts Exhibit Skills at Fair," ''Telegraph Herald'', May 19, 1952, p. 5 | |||
19. "Colorful Setting for Scout-O-Rama," ''Telegraph Herald'', May 9, 1965, p. 3 | |||
Special appreciation to Andrea Wallis Aven. | Special appreciation to Andrea Wallis Aven. | ||
Revision as of 20:06, 16 April 2017
BOY SCOUTS. Dubuque's first two troops of Scouts were organized soon after the arrival of a representative from the national office in August 1910. Due to lack of cooperation and interest, these troops gradually disbanded. (1)
The next troop was organized in 1912 by SUMMIT CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. One of the boys who joined that troop was Milt Blosch who, in 1997, was honored for his 75 year involvement with scouting with a pin from the national organization. At the time, he was one of only 84 people in the country to have had that many years in the organization. (2)
Interest was revived in 1916 when local businessmen organized by Henry WILBERDING and a Scout executive, Walter Gunn was hired. Fired with enthusiasm, Gunn organized troop after troop so that by 1919 Dubuque had 525 registered Scouts. (3) The Northeast Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America with headquarters in Dubuque was founded in 1917 and served only four boys from Dubuque. (4)
In 1928 there were eleven active troops: SUMMIT CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (Troop 1), WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (Troop 4), ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH (Troop 6), FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (Troop 7), YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.) (Troop 12), [[IMMANUEL CONGREGATION UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (Troop (3), THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (Troop 9), HOLY GHOST CATHOLIC CHURCH (Troop 20), ST. LUKE'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (Troop 5), ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH (Troop 8), WASHINGTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Troop 19), UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE (Troop 15), ST. MARY'S ORPHAN HOME (TROOP 11), NATIVITY CHURCH (Troop 10), and FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, (Troop 13). (5)
In 1921 Lynn Osborne became the first Dubuque Council scout to earn the Eagle Scout designation, the highest rank a Scout can earn. (6)
In 1928 with a financial debt lingering from the year before, Harold H. Baker, the new scout executive locally, and A. C. Buettell, the head of the Boy Scout Council Finance Committee and and chairman of the Budget Fund Campaign took an appeal to the city. Their efforts were focused on raising $6,500. (7) Locally, a new scout council was chosen from members of civic, fraternal and patriotic organizations. Plans were made for establishing a permanent scout camp with permanent shelter and equipment. (8)
A lasting memorial to his [John Burton's] name was created in 1929, when Camp John Burton was dedicated as a Scout Camp. The land for this purpose, some 26 acres, was given by James Harold Wallis and John Rider Wallis, both grandsons of John Burton, whose daughter [Mary Burton] had married a Wallis [John William Wallis]. (9)
The smelting furnace was located just
south of the present [in 1973] red
bridge at Durango- immediately behind
the stone structure was a very steep hill.
As a young boy my great uncle, Jos. Herod,
showed me the remains of a stone flume or
chimney built on the hill side and connected
with the chimney of the smelter - an ingenious
way of increasing the draft to carry the smoke
and fumes without building a high vertical chimney. (10)
In 1930 financial security came to scouting when it became part of the Community Chest collection. Local scouts also benefited by the donation of a rugged and heavily wooded campsite south of Durango from the Wallis family. (11)
A committee from the ELKS CLUB met with the District Scout board in 1935 to establish a Cub Scout organization for boys 9-11 years of age. The goal for the first years was establishing two "packs" with forty members. Meetings would be held in the home of a "den mother" with the assistance of an older scout serving as a den leader. (12)
In 1942 area Scouts joined their group nationwide in distributing millions of copies of the booklet "What You Should Know About Wartime Price Control." It was estimated that 9,000 copies would be distributed within the city of Dubuque. The Scouts were chosen for this responsibility due to their response to other wartime activities including the collection of waste paper, test mobilizations, messenger work, and aid at nurses' stations. (13)
In 1948 the Northeast Iowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America serving, in 1956, fifty troops involving the Iowa counties of Dubuque, Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware and East Dubuque, Illinois, made the decision to sell the Wiegand property given to it years before. The Weigands had hoped that the land would be left in its natural state, but at the time of the gift the Council stated it would not accept the gift if there were restricts on its use. The Scouts were not organized to hold property and did not have the funds to develop it. No restrictions were contained in the deed. With the feeling that the Wiegands had intended to help the scouting program and had not meant to restrict that help to only the local area, the Northeast Iowa Council sold the property. The proceeds were set aside as the 'Wiegand Camp Fund' to acquire and improve or to improve and already acquired tract of land for a permanent camp. (14)
Prior to 1956 the Northeast Council had operated Adventure Island, the nation's only full-scale summer camp on an island, in the MISSISSIPPI RIVER near Guttenberg. While satisfactory for older campers, it did not need the needs of younger campers. There were issues of cost, insects, transportation and worried parents due to the location. In 1956 Clifton Klaus granted the Northeast Council a 25-year lease to 137 acres of land west of Colesburg. Camp C. S. (for Sophia, his wife) Klaus was opened in 1956. Assistance came from the JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS which furnish the men and machinery needed to build a lake and A.Y. MCDONALD MANUFACTURING COMPANY which installed the water system. (15) By its seventh season, Camp C. S. Klaus was available for fall, winter and spring camping. (16)
In 1960 the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Scoutmaster Don Hesseling and two assistants organized Troop 67 exclusively for the handicapped. It was the first troop of its kind in the Northeast Iowa Council. (17)
Scouts displayed their talents to the public in Scouting in Action fairs during the 1950s. (18) Scout-O-Ramas, held at the fairgrounds, were first used in the 1960s to showcase the activities of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts. (19)
---
Source:
1. "How Scouts Grew in Dubuque," Telegraph Herald, January 31, 1960, p. 5
2. Bragg, Mary Rae. "Boyhood Funs Becomes a Scout's Honor," Telegraph Herald, May 13, 1997, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19970513&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
3. "Scout Executive Inspects Troops," Telegraph Herald, April 6, 1921, p. 3
4. "Scout Anniversary," Telegraph Herald, February 13, 1944, p. 39
5. "Eleven Troops of Scouts Active Now," Telegraph Herald, April 22, 1928, p. 22
6. Wallis, John Rider. Platt Smith 1813-1882 A Brief Biography; Notes From the Bonson Diary 1840-1854; Rambles Thru Linwood, History in a Graveyard, 1973
7. "Scout Movement on New Basis Here," Telegraph Herald, April 22, 1928, p. 22
8. "Loizeaux is Head of Scout Council," Telegraph Herald, April 22, 1928, p. 22
9. Wallis
10. Ibid.
11. "How Scouts Grew..."
12. "Younger Boy Scouts Will Get Program," Telegraph Herald, March 24, 1935 p. 3
13. Local Scouts Distributing OPA Booklet," Telegraph Herald, July 9, 1942, p. 7
14. Scouts Explain McGregor Sale," Telegraph Herald, November 3, 1948, p. 6
15. Beasley, Bob. "Lake to be Built, Camping Areas to be Prepared for Boys by July 8," Telegraph Herald, April 29, 1956, p. 16
16. Lawrence, Bob, "Dubuqueland Scouts Rough It in Camp Klaus 'Wilderness,' Telegraph Herald, July 24, 1963, p. 28
17. "Form Special Scout Troop for Physically Handicapped," Telegraph Herald, March 27, 1960, p. 28
18. "Scouts Exhibit Skills at Fair," Telegraph Herald, May 19, 1952, p. 5
19. "Colorful Setting for Scout-O-Rama," Telegraph Herald, May 9, 1965, p. 3
Special appreciation to Andrea Wallis Aven.