Where's Frank - true story how scouting was back in the day

[RememberSchiff]

Today this might be called free-range scouting but more likely abuse.

 

http://www.fredericksburg.com/opinion/columns/column-long-ago-trip-shows-how-parenting-style-has-changed/article_05f46b5d-2b3a-5430-83f8-f7ee139c1dfc.html

 

“Where’s Frank,†by Lloyd Philip Johnson (available on Amazon) documents the journey of 18 Boy Scouts who climbed aboard a fruit truck in Yakima, Wash., in 1946 and took a 10,000- mile journey around the United States.

 

Their scoutmaster, Curtiss Gilbert, had dreamed about starting a Scout troop that would produce self-reliant, competent men, and in 1921, he began leading Troop 9 in Yakima, a position he would keep for 26 years, until his death.

 

After years of leading his boys on adventures such as mountain climbing and winter camping expeditions in the Cascade Mountains, and long trips to California and Boy Scout Jamborees, Gilbert had earned the trust of parents. When he proposed the trip around the entire country, the parents were on board and the kids were excited.

 

Gilbert was an apple grower, so a fruit truck “troop carrier†was a natural solution to question of how to transport 18 kids and three adults. With its 20-foot bed fitted with benches for riding, shelves behind the cab for storage, slatted sides, and a canvas cover, the 1941 Ford was soon ready to go. It would never pass muster today for safety, nor would most kids be able to tolerate the jostling, the hard seats, and exposure to the elements. But times were different then. “Freedom meant adventure, admittedly with risks,†Johnson writes.

 

Traveling east through the northern tier states, the Scouts camped where they could, ate what was available, and carefully cleaned up after themselves. When they stopped in a town (or city), Gilbert would let them roam on their own, with orders to be back at the truck on time—or else. “He trusted us,†Johnson writes, “to behave and use our heads and not get lost.†Most of the time, that worked.

 

Gilbert had picked a route that he felt would help the Scouts appreciate their country. Glacier National Park, Mount Rushmore, Chicago, Niagara Falls and Boston soon were ticked off the list. With the normal amount of shenanigans, all was going well.

 

 

 

Then, in Hartford, Conn., 14-year-old Frank failed to make it back to the truck by the designated departure time. Gilbert decided “it would be a good lesson to Frank to have to catch up with us in New York the best way he could.†So he drove off. A little while later, young Brodersen found himself all alone in Connecticut with two cents in his pocket.

 

To the Scouts, leaving Frank was just the natural consequence of his violating the rules. To Frank, though, it was scary.

So what did he do? ....

 

Anyway this is my next reading adventure.

https://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Frank-Intrepid-Leader-Scouts-ebook/dp/B01COCY0ZW

 

Edited June 4, 2017 by RememberSchiff

[MattR]

That sounds like a hoot. Please let us know if it's a good read when you're done.