Chances are everyone knows a Boy Scout or two.
This youth-building movement began in London back in 1908. It was brought to America shortly after by W. D. Boyce, an American newspaperman, who after being aided by a London scout thought it would a great program for kids in the US.
After returning to America in 1910 he joined up with Edward S. Stewart and Stanley D. Willis and incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8 of that year.
Boyce was encouraged to take it nationally by Edgar M. Robinson, a leader of the YMCA in New York City, and offered financial help. That year the Woodcraft Indians led by Ernest Thompson Seton, the Boy Scouts of the United States headed by Colonel Peter Bomus, and the National Scouts of America headed by Colonel William Verbeck were absorbed into the new Boy Scouts of America.
The first office was opened in New York City on June 1, 1910, in the 128th street YMCA building.
By the fall they had applications for leaders in 44 states and 150,000 requests from youths. The National Council formed in the fall of 1910 with Colin H. Livingston as the national president and Robinson becoming the managing secretary. Seton became Chief Scout and wrote ‘A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-Craft,’ the original Boy Scout Handbook.
You can download the original at archive.org.
So who was the first official Boy Scout Leader? On September 19, 1910, only three months after the Scouts became official, Simeon F. Lester of Troy, New York, became the very first person to hold the Scouting leadership position of Scoutmaster that was approved by the BSA. He received his certification from the BSA headquarters in New York City. Lester was already working on a Scout program earlier.
During three weeks in July 1910, he led a group of 63 boys at Camp Ilium, in Pownal, Vermont.
Camp Ilium was the starting point of the Boy Scout Movement for Troy, and Pownal is only 35 miles away from Troy. Camp Ilium began in 1908 on Barber’s Pond at Pownal. The camp was used for eight years and then moved in 1918 to Camp On-Da-Wa on a rented site on Crooked Lake until 1921. That was replaced by Camp Van Schoonhoven on Burden Lake.
Lester eventually moved to Wellsville and headed the Allegany County YMCA and died at his home in Middlesex in 1937.
While at Troy Lester lived at 100 Seventh Avenue in Lansingburgh and worked for the YMCA on First Street in Troy.
The Troy Semi-Weekly Times on Tuesday, August 6, 1910, discussed the founding of the Troy Boy Scouts in an article about the opening of the Lake George Ernest Thompson-Seton Camp (In 1910 Ernest Thompson Seton became chairman of the founding committee of Boy Scouts of America). The camp was new and its purpose was to advance the work of the Scouts of America in the Young Men’s Christian Association.
The article goes on to say:
The Movement in Troy
The Boy Scout Movement was started in the Troy association [YMCA] at Camp Ilium and has met with great favor. The following members qualified as tenderfeet: Walter MacNey, Daniel C. Lester,
The Future Work
Secretary S. F. Lester of the local association has been appointed Scout Master of Troy by John Alexander of New York, who is at the head of the movement. [Alexander was a YMCA administrator from Philadelphia – DR.] The work will be vigorously pushed at the close of the vacation season. Those who have qualified as tenderfeet are making excellent progress toward the next step, when they will become second class scouts. Scout Master Lester is arranging a three-day outing September 3-5. He is receiving many inquires for information as the association rooms. Mr. Lester said to-day the purpose of the camp at Lake George was to make the fellows well acquainted with the movement and produce results after their return.”
Scouting was not universally accepted in Troy or elsewhere and particularly with the Catholic Church. They did not like it since it was founded by the YMCA, a protestant based organization.
In the Albany Evening Journal of September 25, 1911, it was reported that:
The Rev Msg John H. Swift, pastor of St. Patrick’s church announced from his pulpit yesterday that he did not want any of his parishioners to allow their children to belong to the Boy Scouts as he said, the Scouts were an auxiliary of the YMCA. When interviewed he is said to have stated that the warning was for his own people only. The movement was a good thing for Protestant boys, he said, but he did not favor the organization seeking recruits among Catholic children.”
That didn’t catch on fortunately.
Got History? Don is the author of a dozen books about his hometown. You can reach him at drittner@aol.com
RITTNER: Troy and the Boy Scouts — Part 1
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16.12.2023
Chances are everyone knows a Boy Scout or two.
This youth-building movement began in London back in 1908. It was brought to America shortly after by W. D. Boyce, an American newspaperman, who after being aided by a London scout thought it would a great program for kids in the US.
After returning to America in 1910 he joined up with Edward S. Stewart and Stanley D. Willis and incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8 of that year.
Boyce was encouraged to take it nationally by Edgar M. Robinson, a leader of the YMCA in New York City, and offered financial help. That year the Woodcraft Indians led by Ernest Thompson Seton, the Boy Scouts of the United States headed by Colonel Peter Bomus, and the National Scouts of America headed by Colonel William Verbeck were absorbed into the new Boy Scouts of America.
The first office was opened in New York City on June 1, 1910, in the 128th street YMCA building.
By the fall they had applications for leaders in 44 states and 150,000 requests from youths. The National Council formed in the fall of 1910 with Colin H. Livingston as the national president and Robinson becoming the managing secretary. Seton became Chief........
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