Buck Carson and Green Bar Bill

[LeCastor]

I am doing quite a bit of research on Green Bar Bill lately and discovered that he may have lived with Buck and Martha Carson in the Syracuse area later in life. Can anyone tell me more about Buck Carson?

 

This photo is particularly striking to me but the whole set is great:

 

 

Does anyone know where these photos we taken? Was this an international Scouter event? The photo with Hillcourt and the buffalo statue is famous for being on the inside cover of the ninth edition of the Boy Scout Handbook. I remember buying that book at a shop in Estill Springs, TN in 1989 and reading it cover to cover. That photo of Green Bar Bill is etched in my brain.

[Kahuna]

I can't help with the event, but I can tell you it was at Gilwell Park in England and probably before about 1980, based on the old-style uniforms they were wearing. Bill wore the new uniform after it came out. You might try sending a direct message to Scouter Terry. He was very closely associated with Bill during this period and I'm sure he would know. Let me know if you have trouble contacting him. I would be very interested in any and all history you uncover on Bill Hillcourt. Best of luck in your efforts.

[LeCastor]

I can't help with the event, but I can tell you it was at Gilwell Park in England and probably before about 1980, based on the old-style uniforms they were wearing. Bill wore the new uniform after it came out. You might try sending a direct message to Scouter Terry. He was very closely associated with Bill during this period and I'm sure he would know. Let me know if you have trouble contacting him. I would be very interested in any and all history you uncover on Bill Hillcourt. Best of luck in your efforts.

Thanks, Kahuna! Yeah, while GBB wrote so many of our handbooks, etc. and helped keep the outdoors in Scouting, there is hardly and scholarly work out there about him. Of course, we have Nelson Block's essay and some shorter essays on various websites. And then there's always Men of Schiff...:-)

[SCOUTER-Terry]

BTW, it was Carson and Martha Buck... and yes, Bill (and me, for a while) lived in a basement apartment of their farm house (after decades at Schiff). It was great to talk with you tonight LeCastor, and walk down fond memories of Bill Hillcourt. Looking forward to continuing the discussion in person in the coming weeks!

[LeCastor]

BTW, it was Carson and Martha Buck... and yes, Bill (and me, for a while) lived in a basement apartment of their farm house (after decades at Schiff). It was great to talk with you tonight LeCastor, and walk down fond memories of Bill Hillcourt. Looking forward to continuing the discussion in person in the coming weeks!

Thanks, Terry, for the clarification. It was great to speak with you this evening and I, too, look forward to the continuation!

[armcomm]

After the close of Schiff William Bill Hillcourt did live in the basement of a small red house owned by Carson and Martha Buck on Route 173 in Manlius, NY, in his later years. At the time that was Hiawatha Council, now Longhouse Council. Green Bar Bill used to get his annual letter copied at my mother's store, Color Copy Center (a Kinko's before there were Kinko's) in Shoppingtown Mall, Dewitt. Hillcourt would schedule his appointment and my mom would always have me at the store when he came. Although he rarely would appear at small events, he did come to the Eagle Court of Nelson Rodman, a fellow Troop 515 Eagle Scout in Oran, NY. If you are ever in the area you should visit the William B. Hillcourt Scout Museum and Carson Buck Memorial Library at Camp Woodland, just 30 minutes outside of Syracuse. http://www.orgsites.com/ny/greenbarbill/

[Kahuna]

Thanks for posting that, armcomm. I wasn't aware of the museum and some of the details on the museum page.