by Ray Ezell, Assistant Southern Region-Area 7 Commissioner
During the formative years of the Scouting movement, local Boy Scout leaders across the Commonwealth of Virginia (and other regions in which Scouting was active) sought ways to demonstrate the practical utility and benefit of organized troops of boys engaging in widespread community service. One such way that the Boy Scouts in Staunton, Virginia did this was to be of service to the Staunton Chamber of Commerce during their city wide sanitation and beautification efforts. In the Spring of 1912, Boy Scouts in Staunton conducted an animal census in all parts of the city on behalf of the Sanitation Committee of the Chamber of Commerce which was then under the leadership of Dr. Marshall J. Payne (who would later become the first President of the Staunton Rotary Club).
A Boy Scout Board of Health consisting of scouts; Levering Early (chairman and second Eagle Scout in Virginia), George Powell, Monroe Southard (who would go on to be the first Silver Beaver recipient in the Connellsville, Pa. area), Joe Tyler, William B. Miller (patrol leader of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church troop), Sydney Rawlings, A.T. Lewis, Jr., and Robert Bell, was organized at the request of the Chamber’s Health and Sanitation Committee. The Boy Scout Board of Health was overseen by Ms. Josephine Timberlake, Scoutmaster Robert W. Johnston, and Ms. Eleanor White (a Staunton teacher). Misses Timberlake and White uniquely distinguished themselves in the service of Scouting during its formative years in Staunton even though they were women.
The March 29, 1912 edition of the Staunton Daily Leader reported that on April 1st, the city-wide animal census would commence. Every animal being kept in the city would be inventoried, as well as whether they had adequate shelter and if they were being kept in sanitary conditions. The city-wide survey would also record if property owners were in compliance with the recently enacted fly ordinance by keeping manure in closed or fly proof containers. The Chamber’s Health and Sanitation Committee would then address reported properties lacking proper sanitation.
The Staunton Daily Leader reported on April 19, 1912 that animal census had been completed and seriously unsanitary conditions had been recorded in some parts of the city by the Boy Scout surveyors. The article suggested that a typhoid outbreak in 1911 may have been exacerbated (at least in part) from these conditions which, according to the Staunton Daily Leader, were in opposition to existing health codes in the city. The conditions in the worst areas were noted as, “almost unbelievable”. The Boy Scout report mentioned that “no decent shed or sheltering” was provided for many domestic animals, and cattle, hogs, and chickens had been kept during the preceding winter in porches, cellars, and vacant rooms in occupied buildings.
Places found unhealthy were revisited by Boy Scouts a second time to determine if any actions were taken by property owners to remedy the situations. Ultimately the data compiled by the scouts was provided to the chamber of commerce and the city board of health in order to follow up, including enforcement of existing health codes. The Boy Scouts’ effort was very well received. The April 16, 1912 edition of the Staunton Daily Leader proclaimed that the scouts were most helpful in making Staunton one of the healthiest and sanitary cities in Virginia.
By April 23rd, almost all of the unsanitary conditions that the scouts had documented during their initial survey had been corrected, including several violations at properties of Staunton city officials. The surveys for the animal census determined that a recent fly ordinance passed by city officials was widely misunderstood. The ordinance required that all animal manure be removed from yards and stables every day and sent outside the city limits for disposal every week during the summer months. This was apparently not being done in many places.
Phase two of the Boy Scout effort to promote hygiene in Staunton was the organized campaign to eradicate flies from the city during the early summer. Dr. Herbert S. Beckler served as the campaign commissioner. The campaign was initiated on Friday, May 13th and ended on July 1st. According to the Virginia Department of Health’s Virginia Health Bulletin (June 1912), the fly was pegged as a common carrier of typhoid and infantile diarrhea, and controlling flies was seen as the most effective way to eliminate these diseases. During the summer of 1911, Boy Scouts spearheaded fly eradication campaigns in Weir, Kansas, the District of Columbia, and Wilmington, North Carolina to apparent great success. The approach to killing flies in these localities took on an almost military precision.
In Staunton, Boy Scouts were seen as an ideal army to prosecute the campaign against flies. A total of over 700,000 flies were killed by seventeen scouts, and the final standings were reported in the July 2, 1912 edition of the Staunton Daily Leader. Scout Roy Gouchenor killed a total of 175,782 flies to secure first place and a prize of a $5 gold coin. Alfred Early killed 165,767 flies and was awarded an expense paid trip to scout camp. Edward Fretwell killed 15,067 flies for third place and was awarded a $3 gold coin. Miss Ruth Ellinger (a non-Boy Scout participant) finished in fourth place. Wayman VanPelt won a Scout hat; Winniet Harmon won a Scout uniform shirt; Fred Woodson (the first Eagle Scout in Virginia, see more of his story at: https://historyofscoutingva.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/who-were-virginias-first-eagle-scouts/), Herbert Wolfrey, Sol Weinberg, Hallie Bell, and Shelton Buchanan each won a $1 coin; R.A. McGuffin won a bathing suit; Craig Harris, Ernest Harmon, Al Lewis, Julius Pruffer, and William Miller each won first-aid kits.
By July 16th the excitement over the successful fly eradication campaign had waned. An article in the July 17th edition of the Staunton Daily Leader reported that parts of the city “were practically overrun with those pests.” The fly nuisance, despite the best efforts of the Boy Scouts and city sanitation ordinances, appeared to be growing rather than abated. The media placed most of the blame on city horse owners who failed to properly comply with sanitation ordinances, including the proper disposal of manure from their properties. Livestock owners were also pointed to as failing to comprehend the sanitation ordinances and a source of misinformation of their implementation.
Regardless of the ultimate sanitary success of the Boy Scout fly eradication campaign and animal census, these efforts on behalf of city beautification were not a failure. In fact, this civic service showed the rapid mobilizing ability of the nascent Scouting organization in Staunton (as well as in other cities where Boy Scouts were similarly utilized). Within about five years hence, thorough and effective mobilization of scouts to support the war effort on the homefront would be an important component in canvassing the city during the Liberty Loan bond drives of World War I. The results of the Staunton Boy Scout bond drives would set the pace for the rest of the Commonwealth of Virginia and lead to special recognition by BSA’s national leadership and President Woodrow Wilson.
