Scouter Blog

Baden-Powell, Daniel Carter Beard, Ernest Thompson Seton, W.D. Boyce, James E. West, “Green Bar” Bill Hillcourt, Dr. E. Urner Goodman. These were Scouting pioneers who were internationally known and, for by and large, universally adored. (Disclaimer: I know that each of them was imperfect, as we all are.) 

Over the decades, there have been few others to reach iconic, or semi-iconic status. Some examples of ones who did may be Eagle Scouts Henry Aaron, Gerald R. Ford, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, even the late Steve Fossett, whose death, like his life, was adventure. Each of these men achieved fame and notoriety in his own field, and became scouting icons because of that.

During the World Wars, Presidents Woodrow Wilson and  Franklin D. Roosevelt used their association with the Boy Scouts of America to accomplish a huge number of grassroots projects, including raising money through the sale of bonds, collecting drives for newspapers, scrap metal, glass, even peach pits (for gas masks).  Recently, I read about the huge number of service projects that the BSA was called on to perform during WWI and WWII. I get a lump in my throat every time I read the list of more than 30 emergency service projects that the Boy Scouts in Hawaii accomplished during the 10 days or so immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. My friend Mitch Reis wrote a fantastic book about this period in the history of the BSA.

After seeing his incredibly motivating speech at the Jamboree Closing Show last summer, I wonder if Eagle Scout Mike Rowe may be the next “iconic” figure the BSA has been looking for. First, he rode onto the stage in the scoop of a front end loader, then he brought down the house with his presentation and with his addendum to the Scout Law – “A Scout is Clean, but he must be willing to get dirty.” Finally, he told a moving story that summed up his whole Scouting experience, and life lessons by telling the crowd that everything he needed to know in life he learned from his first Boy Scout meeting and from playing “British Bulldog” and “Swing the Cat”.Do you think that there will ever be someone who rises up in the movement to the level of fame of West, Beard and Seton, et. al? Why or why not?

Tags: baden powell, boy scout, boy scouts of america, bsa, Chief Scout Executive, Daniel Carter Beard, Ernest Thompson Seton, James E West, Scouting

If you read my previous post about The First Encampment, you know that Blake Cortright is a 16-year-old Eagle Scout from New York. Blake recently produced The First Encampment, a documentary that tells the story of the first organized Boy Scout camp held in the United States in 1910 at Silver Bay YMCA of the Adirondacks. The camp director was Ernest Thompson Seton, and Daniel Carter Beard and James E. West participated on the last few days.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to get to know Blake and his family, and have become a big fan. I was able to get him to take a break from his final exams long enough to answer a few questions:

Scouterblog:  Blake, tell our readers a little about your Scouting background. I understand that you earned your Eagle a couple of years ago and that you have a younger brother who is following in your footsteps.

Blake Cortright: I started Scouting as a Wolf in Cub Scouts. I carried through the Cub Scout program and moved into Boy Scouts. I planned my project before I turned 14, I finished the project and earned my Eagle about 6 weeks after I turned 14. My young brother Bradley has been in the program since Tigers, and I served as a Den Chief for his Webelos Den. He is 13, the Senior Patrol Leader of our troop, and only needs his Eagle project to earn the rank. He turns 14 this summer.

SB:  How did you get involved in film making? Is it something you’ve played around with before?

BC: I started in film making from a young age. My friend Matthew Elton, also a scout, and I had started making some cheap, short films in the woods in 2006. Two years later, we began documenting events and making short promotional videos for our Church. We started our film making business called “Plasma Productions” and we continued to expand our video services.

SB:  How did you find the production people who worked on the film for you?

BC: Many of the voice actors in the documentary are family friends. The voice of Lord Baden Powell was delivered by Richard Wilkinson, an Eagle Scout who earned his award in the English Scouting program. The quotes from William Edel were read by Kyle Kearney, a fellow Eagle Scout and the Program Director for Rotary Scout Reservation in New York State. Kyle put me in touch with his father, John Kearney, who is a professional voice actor. John Kearney provides the narration for “The First Encampment” and his voice created a professional sound for the documentary.

SB:   When were you first made aware of the historic camp that is the focus of your documentary?

BC: In 2008, I went to a family camp held at Silver Bay by my church. I’ve been going to Silver Bay almost every summer since I can remember, and I’d never known what the Council Ring was. In 2008 we finally read the plaques at the Council Ring and we learned that there was a Boy Scout encampment held there many years before. So we organized a troop campout for that August and when we were setting it up a Silver Bay Staff member informed us about a presentation by another Staff member and Volunteer, Bob James. Mr. James had researched this first encampment for years and he presented the history to our troop on the last night of the campout. For 45 minutes he talked with nothing but old photographs, and his voice. He kept the attention of the boys for the whole time. This is when I first heard the story of the first Boy Scout encampment in America.

SB:  Are you a fan of documentaries in general, or is this a new  genre for you?

BC:  I have not been greatly interested in documentary filmmaking until my work on “The First Encampment”. In fact, I did not originally plan to make a documentary. My original goal with this project was to preserve the history, fortunately it did grow into a documentary.

SB:  Now that you have studied up on the early years, how do  you think Scouting has evolved over the past century?

BC:  I believe it’s not so much a question of whether the organization has changed, but rather whether this idea of Scouting has changed in the last 100 years. I believe the idea of Scouting has remained the same. Training boys to become men. Teaching morals to teenagers. Giving life skills to young men. The idea of Scouting, I believe, is as strong now as it was when it was first conceived.

SB:  How have boys’ motivations to be in Scouting and to go to Camp are different in the 21^st century?

BC:  Boys today are interested in the camping, the adventure, and the friendship from Scouting. I believe this was similar 100 years ago, though I also believe that the idea of being a Scout was also intriguing to them.

SB:  Has anyone famous contacted you after seeing the publicity surrounding the film?

BC:  No “famous” people have contacted me, but I have gotten many messages from Scouters and those enthusiastic about this history which have been very encouraging. The West family, descendants of James E. West (the first Chief Scout Executive), have contacted me after hearing about the documentary and they are enthusiastic about it and very encouraging.

SB:  Wow! So the descendants of James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive have contacted you? Not many teenagers can claim that.

BC:  They have been very nice. His great grandson Andrew West has recently published a new edition of his Great-Grandfather’s book Making the Most of Yourself, that was originally published in 1930.

SB:  What other activities besides Scouting are you involved in?

BC:  I am the president of the Christian club at my school, I’m also involved in the school’s broadcasting club and involved in my church both in youth groups and in the youth band, I play keys. Matthew Elton and I run Plasma Productions, our videography studio, and we’ve been learning so much from every job we do.

SB:  So, you’re pretty busy doing a lot of stuff. As a high school student, when do you find time to study?

BC:  Good question! I’m in honors classes in my school, and the workload is a lot. It’s challenging, but I set my priorities and then follow through. I get my homework done first, then I’m free to move on to my other projects. That works well, because my mind is free from my school responsibilities when I begin my projects.

SB:  So, what’s next for Blake Cortright? Another film on the early days of Scouting?

BC: This summer, Plasma Productions is doing wedding and event videography for upstate NY. As far as another film, I do have several ideas in the works. One of these ideas pertains to an individual who was at the first scout encampment in 1910. But that’s still just an idea, though I do hope to carry through with the project. I’ll keep you posted on this and other future projects.

SB:  Please do, Blake. Good luck.

So, I think you will agree that Blake is a great example of why we Scouting volunteers do what we do.

You can purchase the DVD at bigrockpubs.com and I’ll enclose a really amazing free Scouting gift but you’re going to have to go check it out to see what it is.

P Todd Kelly is a nationally recognized expert in Sales and Use Taxation. Todd is President of Tax Traxx, located in Johns Creek, GA. He is also the founder of Big Rock Publishing and is excited about the upcoming release of the Centennial Edition Boy Scout Adventure Series.

You can read Todd’s blogs at ptoddkelly.com. He also discusses Scouting issues at Scouterblog.com and DanielCarterBeard.net.

Tags: Andrew West, baden powell, blake cortright, bob james, boy scout, boy scout camp, boy scout encampment, boy scouts of america, bsa, Chief Scout Executive, cub scouts, Daniel Carter Beard, Eagle Scout, Ernest Thompson Seton, first boy scout camp, first boy scout camp in america, James E West, lord baden powell, making the most of yourself, plasma productions, silver bay, silver bay ymca, silvery bay, The First Encampment

What were you doing at age 16? I’ll bet it wasn’t quite as exciting and educational as what Blake Cortright, a 16-year-old Eagle Scout from New York has been up to.

Blake is a young film maker has wrapped production on “The First Encampment”, a 30-minute documentary telling the story of the first Boy Scout camp in the United States, held in August 1910 at Silver Bay YMCA Camp in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. Chief Scout Executive James E West, Daniel Carter Beard, and Ernest Thompson Seton were in attendance.

Blake worked on the film with longtime scouter Bob James and professional Voice Talent John Kearney.

“The First Encampment” has been picked up by PBS station WCNY and will air Sunday, August 8th at 3 PM.

Tags: boy scout, boy scouts of america, bsa, Chief Scout Executive, Eagle Scout, Ernest Thompson Seton, Scouting

Heard on the Hill: A Scout’s Honor for the Scouts

May 19, 2010

By Emily Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton

Roll Call Staff

We’re sure Rep. Bart Stupak (D – Michigan) is proud to be a Member of Congress, but we think he’s just as proud to be an Eagle Scout.

The Michigan Democrat took to the House floor last week to salute the Boy Scouts of America on its 100th anniversary. As an Eagle Scout (the group’s highest rank), Stupak said he has “a special appreciation” for scouting.

“In scouting, you learn to do a good deed every day,” Stupak said. “The world would be a better place if we all lived by this simple creed. In scouting, you learn to leave your campsite in better shape than you found it. Many scouts grow up to be leaders in their communities or here in the United States Congress, and strive to leave things better than they found them.” (Editor’s note: I’d love to see that, too, Congressman Stupak.)

Becoming an Eagle Scout isn’t easy; requirements include performing a leadership service project in the community.

Stupak spokeswoman Michelle Begnoche tells HOH the Congressman is from the “old school,” meaning he wasn’t required to do a specific project to earn the rank. But Stupak did do “loads of community service” to earn Eagle Scout status, she said.

Editor’s note: To have avoided the Eagle Scout Service project, Stupak would have had to have earned his Eagle prior to the 1965 revision, in conjunction with the 7th Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. According to his website, Congressman Stupak was born February 29, 1952, so he would have been a very young Eagle Scout, even in 1965.

I don’t know how they did it in the 60′s, but in the 70′s and 80′s, every time the National Office changed requirements, particularly for Eagle Scout – you had a short window to get in under the old requirements before the new ones took effect.

The Eagle Scout Requirements from the 6th Edition

(I’m looking at a First Printing, 1959, p. 367) says,

Note that there’s nothing about an Eagle specific service project like we have nowadays. But, if we look at the

7th Edition of the Boy Scout Handbook, issued in 1965.

(I’m looking at a Second Printing – April 1966, p. 367):

Notice now much more introspective the service requirement became in the mid-60′s?

Frankly, I don’t care whether Congressman Stupak did an Eagle project or not. I just think it’s interesting to see how the requirements change over time. In a previous post, I discussed the original 1910 First Class Requirements.

Also, check out another Scouting blog http://danielcarterbeard.net/