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Monday, June 29, 2009 8:09 AM Boy Scouts cataloging history in Eastern N.C. By Janelle Clevinger | Times Staff Writer Eastern North Carolina, and Wilson County in particular, has a long, proud history with the East Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Now, this history is set to be preserved with a compilation, cataloging and writing project spearheaded by Wilson's own Frank L. Eagles. "I have a particular interest in the history of the council because my father, Benjamin Franklin Eagles, was the council's first president back in the 1930s," Eagles said. Eagles, himself a scout, received the Silver Beaver Award in the late 1960s, which is the highest honor a Boy Scout council volunteer can receive. He was asked to lead the history project and its committee by East Carolina council leaders. "This is going to be a challenge," Eagles said. "It is a very big project." Ray Franks, Scout Executive and CEO for the East Carolina Council, said Eagles leading the history project was a natural fit. "We needed someone with leadership ability to keep this train on the track, limit the parameters to keep the project in line and keep the committee moving forward," Franks said. "Dr. Eagles is a member of the council executive board and a past council president and has completed several of his own history compilation projects." The East Carolina Council, which is headquartered in Kinston, decided to take on this history project after reading about a similar one recently finished by Boy Scout council in the Winston-Salem area. "Our council started in 1916 and we lose a few more people every year who have knowledge and history about it," Franks said. "We are now losing people whose parents and grandparents were a part of our council's history." The Boy Scouts of America organization will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2010 and Franks hopes this project will be completed by the end of that year. "We know that this is going to take a minimum of a year to complete," Franks said. The East Carolina Council began as the Tar Heel Council and then merged with the Wilson Area Council in 1916. Council offices were in Wilson until they moved to Kinston in 1975. In the early days of Scouting, councils were organized along railroad lines so that officials in the main Scouting office in New York could travel by rail to the local offices. The committee organizing this gathering of data is looking for historical photographs, photos of any past East Carolina Council events, knowledge of old camp facilities, scout offices and officials. Photos, scans of photos and any information can be given to Ray Franks or Frank Eagles. Franks can be contacted at (304) 416-1777 or rfranks@bsamail.com and Eagles at 230-5449. ON THEMAP runs on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. If you have a story that you want to share, e-mail jclevinger@wilsontimes.com or call 265-7811. If you have an event that you would like to enter on our community calendar, go to www.wilsontimes.com and click on the link for submitting information to the calendar. |
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Michael said...
Great article by a fine reporteer. Good job!
Monday, June 29, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Great article by a fine reporteer. Good job!
Monday, June 29, 2009 at 1:09 PM
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