The Boy Scouts
Mr. William Hewell and his wife Edna
lived in an apartment next door in the Ed Travis House.
Mrs. Hewell was principal of the Fayetteville Grammar
School and Mr. Hewell was a banker with his brother at
Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank. They were leaders in their
church and Mr. Hewell was also the local Scout Master.
I wanted to be a Boy Scout so very much. I’d see Mr. Hewell
in the yard and I’d ask him questions about the Scouts. He
said it would be a while before I could join since you had
to be 12 years old and I was only 6.
When I became 12 Mr. Satterfield was the Scout Master. Mr.
Satterfield was the Soil Conservation Agent for this area.
To become a Tenderfoot you had to commit to memory the
Scout Law and the Scout Oath. Mr. Satterfield required that
you be able to repeat the Scout Law verbatim. I spent some
time in his office until I could repeat it to his
satisfaction.
Daddy and Mother were very supportive. Daddy went to the
Army Surplus store in Atlanta . (He had been in the service
and said he knew what I needed). He bought me a pup tent,
some army blankets, a folding cot, a mess kit, and a
canteen. When we went on camping trips, I had about all I
could carry. Mother knew someone whose son had been in the
Scouts and she bought me his uniform. It was a little old
fashioned with a Smoky Bear hat . The pants were short and
were worn with knee-high stockings. The shirt had long
sleeves. Although I didn’t look like the other boys, I
thought I looked real good. It was the way I had dreamed of
looking when I’d talked with Mr. Hewell.
That next summer the school principal Mr. Owens was
Scoutmaster and he planned for us to spend a week at Camp
Thunder, which was down below Concord. About half the troop
rode in Mr. Owens’ car but some of us had to ride in a
small pull trailer. About half way to camp my Smokey Bear
hat blew off. Mr. Owens stopped so I could run back and get
it. As I ran back my knee-high stockings fell down around
my ankles. I tried to pull them up as I ran with little
success. I got back in the trailer, sat on my hat, and
rolled my stockings down to my ankles. ....not quite the
look I’d aspired to.
I loved the Scouts. Most of the other boys found other
interests but I stayed on. I even went back to Camp Thunder
one summer. At one time I was Den Chief of a Cub Scout Den.
Now being older than the other scouts, I became a Junior
Assistant Scout Master. The Scoutmaster at this time was
the Methodist Preacher. He was not the robust type. He even
carried sandwiches on one of our camp-outs. I was able to
help him a lot.
I never fulfilled my dream to be an Eagle Scout, but I
almost made it. When the troop disintegrated I was a Life
Scout which is one level below the Eagle.