Scouts hike the AT in 1936

[Eagle732]

Picked this up on whiteblaze.net and thought I'd pass it on

 

 

Appalachian Trailway News, November/December 1994

 

The Summer of 1936: A flickering memory recalls a thru-hike by Bronx Scouts

 

In 1936, a year before the Appalachian Trail was completed as one

continuos, unbroken footpath, six Boy Scouts from the New York City

area followed the route from Maine to Georgia. It was a 121-day

odyssey into manhood and its significance as perhaps the first

thru-hike of the A.T. wasn't realized until recently by one of the

participants. (Earl Shaffer is credited as the first person to

thru-hike the Trail as a completed footpath. His solo hike was in

1948.)

 

It was only in the last year that Max Gordon became aware that the

Appalachian Trail Conference still existed. An ATC membership

solicitation he received stirred fading memories. He responded by

joining ATC and then searching through boxes of old photos and

mementos. Slowly, he was able to weave together bits and pieces of

the summer of '36 when he and five other teen-aged Scouts made their

journey on the Appalachian Trail.

 

The boys were members of Scout Troop 257 in the Bronx at a time when

Harry T. (Pop) O'Grady, a leader in the area Scout council, suggested

that a local veterans group sponsor an A.T. hike from Maine to

Georgia.

 

Mr. O'Grady "may have been some kind of entrepreneur ... Whenever

there was a problem in Scouting, he was called in. He was a very

persuasive person. He even went to my school principal and talked him

into letting me out early enough in June to go on the hike. Pop

always seemed to be there for us," recalls Mr. Gordon, whose father

had died four months before he was born.

 

The veterans, led by a Mr. Grabow, used their World War I bonuses to

provide equipment and expenses for the trip, and they met the hikers

at various points along the Trail to replenish their supplies.

 

"One of the veterans had a truck, and it was our life-line," says Mr.

Gordon. Since the support vehicle couldn't reach many parts of the

Trail, the boys carried up to two weeks worth of provisions between

visits.

 

"We were poor kids. We couldn't have done it without them," he says.

"My mother made my sleeping bag, and it wasn't fancy at all, no

feathers, just a couple of blankets sewn together. I could pull part

of it over my head to keep the dew off..., and we used ponchos when

it rained. Most of the time we slept out in the open rather than in

shelters." The boys had boots from L.L. Bean, and Mr. Gordon recalls

that his soles finally wore out somewhere in North Carolina.

 

Most of the boys were 16 or 17 years old. At 15, Mr. Gordon was the

youngest and, because of his first-aid training, "was the doctor of

the hike." He doesn't recall any serious medical problems along the

way, and all six completed the hike together.

 

The older boys charted the course (from maps provided by the

veterans) and led the way. The fact that he walked fifth or sixth in

line was a real blessing in Maine, Mr. Gordon recalls. "There was

snow most of the way through Maine, and the older boys had a harder

time because they were breaking trail. I just followed on their

snow-packed tracks."

 

It took two weeks for the boys to reach New Hampshire, and, after

changing clothes and some gear, they started out again. They were a

day late meeting their support truck in Adams, Mass., "but the men

didn't seem to mind."

 

The next section, south through New York, "was very enjoyable because

we were in our own backyard." he says. The boys had often day-hiked

in Harriman State Park. Pop O'Grady and the veterans met the boys at

Bear Mountain Bridge and kept them there a day, to celebrate, rest

and provide a photo opportunity.

 

"I think Pop hoped to use our hike as some sort of promotion," Mr.

Gordon recalls.

 

The hike continued, but the memories are scant. Mr. Gordon remembers

the scenery in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park "being the most

impressive since Maine," but, other than that, the mid-Atlantic A.T.

is a blur.

 

All but three miles of the 2,054-mile Trail had been cleared and

blazed as of 1936: a one-mile stretch between Davenport Gap and the

Big Pigeon River in Tennessee and a two-mile link between Spaulding

and Sugarloaf mountains in Maine. The Maine section was the last to

be completed, and the Trail was opened as an unbroken footpath on

August 14, 1937.

 

"There were times we didn't know if we were on the Trail, and we had

to feel our way," Mr. Gordon recalls.

 

"It is difficult to remember many details so many years ago," he

says. He barely remembers the southern end of the hike. He fingers a

Scottish military pin, given to him by a man he met while hiking in

the Carolinas - "His name was Mr. James McQueen and his daughter,

Flora, was with him. Do you think I could ever find him?" The pin

remains his only keepsake of the hike.

 

Mr. Gordon recalls the easy climb without a backpack up Mt.

Oglethorpe, Ga. (the southern terminus until 1955). The truck was

waiting for the boys to complete the Trail and take them to Atlanta

before heading home.

 

Two of the boys "had been ready to quit at the start because of the

snow and drifts." but they stuck it our. Over all, it had been a

pleasant summer, and, except for minor arguments that occasionally

erupted among the boys, the most disagreeable time was "hiking in

really hot weather." Mr. Gordon recalls.

 

"At the time, we really didn't know what a feat this had been." Mr.

Gordon says. But, back in school and Scouting, he says the boys found

they had to live up to newly acquired reputations. His older brother,

Mandel, recently recalled that his sibling had lacked the

self-confidence needed to be a leader. But, "after the hike, that

fear seemed to have vanished," Max Gordon remembers. "Other boys and

girls turned to me for leadership. The hike had given me 'status',

and it was respected by the teachers. It was a very good feeling."

 

Slowly and one by one, as the boys graduated, they drifted apart.

Many, like Mr. Gordon, were active in different branches of the

service during World War II. Mr. Gordon recalls that one boy in the

group, Louis Zisk, was a Marine who was killed during the was.

Another in the group, Seymour Dorfman, who died only a couple of

years ago, "was my best friend for 42 years," he adds. Mr. Dorfman

served in the Army in North Africa and Italy during World War II.

 

Mr. Gordon can recall only a nickname or two about the other three

boys, and he suspects that he many be the only one left.

 

If Pop O'Grady planned to turn the hike into a publicity campaign in

behalf of Scouting, it never materialized, Mr. Gordon says. He had

heard, long ago, that Mr. O'Grady left Scouting during the was and

had become head of a Catholic youth organization of the West Coast.

 

As for Mr. Gordon, now 73 and in good health, he has so far served 60

years with the Boy Scouts and has received some of the organization's

highest honors, including the Wood Badge (Jan. 18, 1958) and the

Silver Beaver (June 5, 1961). He was personally cited by Presidents

Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. In May 1960, he was the

first Scout in the nation to receive the Shofar Award from the Jewish

Committee on Scouting.

 

He worked at the Bronx Botanical Gardens and the Brooklyn Navy Yard

before joining the Navy and serving with the Seabees in the Pacific

during the war. Afterward, he settled back into life in the Bronx

neighborhood of his bride, Lilian. He recalls being home only two

weekends the first year he was a Scout leader. Most of the time, the

Scouts were out on day and weekend hikes.

 

Often he was back on the A.T. Later, when he was in his 30s, his

Explorer Troop challenged him to a 72-mile A.T. hike southward from

Kent, Conn. Fourteen started the marathon hike, and, 18 hours later,

Mr. Gordon and three Scouts completed the trek. He says he'll never

forget how much his muscles tightened up after sitting briefly in a

car following that hike.

 

When he first started dating his wife-to-be, he recalls "wanting to

make sure she could walk. So we took a five-mile hike on the A.T.,

and she did pretty well, considering she was wearing high heels."

 

A seasonal Christmas-time job with the post office turned into a

career. Mr. Gordon was a clerk for 18 years in New York City and the

vicinity, after which time he began earning bonuses for suggestions

that worked. As a result, he was promoted so much that, by the time

he retired at age 57, he was a postal operations analyst responsible

for all offices from Maine to northern New Jersey and including the

West Indies.

 

Mr. Gordon had built a chalet in Dingmans Ferry, Pa., and the couple

retired there briefly before moving to northcentral Florida. In the

15 years they've been in Beverly Hills, Fla., Mr. Gordon has been

involved with the volunteer fire department and several fraternal

organizations and spent nine year putting records together for the

local (Citrus County) historical society. And, he says, he has never

stopped hiking.

 

One of the most vivid memories he has taken with him for the past 58

years is the day the Scouts were at Franconia Notch in New Hampshire.

 

"We about froze to death. It was nine degrees that morning," Mr.

Gordon recalls. "In the city, you don't get the mist you get in the

woods. But, that morning, the woods felt like another world. Then,

the overpowering sensation of reaching up on those tall mountains,

reaching up as if a man could put his hand out and touch -- I don't

know, it's a real sense of religion you never forget as long as you

live."

 

The following American (Sioux) Indian prayer is a tribute to that

experience, Mr. Gordon feels. He learned it in Scouting, and for

years it's been part of his life. He handily pronounces the Lakota

words: "Wakonda They Thu Wapathin A To-Hey."

 

Drawing back on his A.T. experience as a 15-year-old boy who was

"just having a good time," he offers a literal translation --"Great

Spirit, a needy one stands before thee; I who speak am he." The

message, for Mr. Gordon, is not in the English interpretation, but

from the feeling of the Lakota words.

[Stosh]

Wow, and now a-days, getting the boys to hike to school is a chore. It sure shows how much things have changed and how different scouting is today in spite of those who say it isn't.

 

Stosh

[Eagle732]

These Scouts averaged 17 miles a day carrying up to two weeks worth of food and supplies and using the 1930's equipment. I have an old wooden pack frame that went to Philmont in 1960, I can't imagine carrying that thing for 4 months!

[Eagle732]

These Scouts averaged 17 miles a day carrying up to two weeks worth of food and supplies and using the 1930's equipment. I have an old wooden pack frame that went to Philmont in 1960, I can't imagine carrying that thing for 4 months!

[Kudu]

back in school and Scouting, he says the boys found

they had to live up to newly acquired reputations. His older brother,

Mandel, recently recalled that his sibling had lacked the

self-confidence needed to be a leader. But, "after the hike, that

fear seemed to have vanished," Max Gordon remembers. "Other boys and

girls turned to me for leadership. The hike had given me 'status',

and it was respected by the teachers. It was a very good feeling."

 

That is a good example of boys learning leadership SOLELY from the SELF-CONFIDENCE that comes from undertaking challenging outdoor JOURNEYS, rather than the obesity business formulas that we have taught since Scouting's sharp decline in popularity in 1972.

 

When Scouting takes place outdoors, OUTDOOR SKILLS ARE LEADERSHIP SKILLS!

 

This is why Baden-Powell's game requires "Scout Journeys" or "Expeditions" through unfamiliar territory:

 

Required Scout Journeys

 

2nd Class = 8 miles

1st Class = 15 miles

Life = 20 miles (Bushman's Cord Venturer Proficiency Badge)

 

Traditionally, Scouts also participate in the following

 

Optional Scout Journeys

 

Star = 2 days, 1 night (Scout Cord Explorer Proficiency Badge)

Life = 10 miles + 10 miles (overnights) + 30 miles (2 nights) (Bushman's Cord Hiker Proficiency Badge ["Hiker" = "Backpacker"])

Eagle = 50 miles on foot or water, or 120 miles horseback (Queen's Scout Senior Explorer Proficiency Badge)

 

See:

 

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/activities/scout_journeys.htm(This message has been edited by Kudu)

[SSScout]

No adult leaders. Six boys. 2000 miles. Only contact when they met the truck? One Truck followed 'em thru the whole trek? Wore out his LLBean shoes (hope he got'em resoled. Even back then, I think they were guarnteed for life). Maps? Compass? Wow.

 

Eagle732: M4 Plywood backboard? I replaced my canvas back strap with a mesh nylon one, used it on thru my Scout career. Even screwed on hinges on the bottom and created a hip belt for it.

Troop meeting tonite. Think I'll ask if I can read this to the boys for closing.(This message has been edited by SSScout)

[Kudu]

SSScout writes:

 

"No adult leaders. Six boys. 2000 miles."

 

At the time the BSA trained Scouts to how to hike without adults. Note the similarity between the BSA's First Class Journey and Baden-Powell's:

 

(5) Make a round trip alone (or with another Scout) to a point at least seven miles away (fourteen miles in all), going on foot, or rowing a boat, and write a satisfactory account of the trip and things observed.

 

Kudu

[scoutingagain]

Well sounds like Mr. Gordon fulfilled THAT requirement!

 

Very impressive. I wish I could get Parents and other adults to buy into more challenging opportunities for the boys. The boys seem ready, it's more often adults that need to be convinced.

 

SA

[SSScout]

I made a copy of the article and, with the SM's permission, read some of it to the boys at the end of our last Troop meeting. Talked about then and now. Home made equipment. No cell phones. Talked about Patrol activities. About adult support of doing what the boys would like to do.

Actually got a small conversation going with a couple of the boys and their dads. Hike the WHOLE AT? Three months? ummm...

 

We'll see.

 

 

[roguedawg]

This adventure of hiking the entire AT would make a great adventure story and even a movie. I am not a writer though. I have a good imagination and vision though. RD

[BrentAllen]

It has been made into a movie, or documentary. Check out "Trek - A Journey on the Appalachian Trail" If you decide you want to purchase it, make sure you read the reviews on Amazon. Most are very good, but some were expecting the film to be much different that what they got. Also, be aware there are a few scenes in it that you might not find very appropriate for Scouts (language, hand signs).

 

[scoutingagain]

The description of the video is that there are 4 individuals who hike the AT and document their journey. Doesn't sound like scouts in 1936. Still might be an interesting video to get scouts interested in backpacking.

 

SA

[BrentAllen]

Yes, this movie is NOT about the 1936 Scout trip. It is about hiking the AT, in 2001 to be exact. Sorry for getting off subject.

[Eagle732]

SSScouter, That packframe is made by Sierra Pack Frame Co., San Luis Obispo, CA. It's made of curved slats of what looks like oak. Burned into it is "Philmont 1960 728A". This pack frame belonged to my uncle who went to Philmot that year as a leader. He was a Scout/Scouter for 61 years from the time he joined Cub Scouts in 1939 until his death in 2000.

 

This article was posted on Whiteblaze.net. For those who haven't been to the site it's worth checking out. If you are planning an AT hike or would just like to learn more about it this is a good place to go. Lots of information on backpacking, some of which goes against established BSA wisdom (such as hiking in running shoes).

 

Our troop camped with 3 southbound thru-hikers last October in Maryland. At least one of them, "Johnny" and his dog "Cash" has since completed the trail. These 3 had a great discussion with our scouts about thru-hiking and answered many questions.

[Eagle732]

Of the three thru-hikers we met on the trail two of them said they were Eagle Scouts and one was still active in his troop.