1946@
Citation: 198.1126.4-5 (Full image size: 125Kb)
Boy Scouts sitting around their campsite at Camp Mitigwa, the Boy Scout camp on the Des Moines River in Boone County, in the summer of 1946 (year is an approximation). A couple of the scouts' tents can be seen. The fence in the background of the photo encloses the camp's swimming pool. (See also: 198.1128.2)
Citation: 198.1127.1 (Full image size: 93Kb)
John Hurst, known to one and all as "Uncle Bade" (the reason is unclear though the Englishman Sir Robert Baden-Powell was the founder of the Boy Scouts), was the naturalist and camp ranger at Camp Mitigwa, a popular Boy Scout camp near the Des Moines River. He is seen here helping some scouts carve arrowheads. Uncle Bade was especially adept at chipping arrowheads, a skill he learned from Sac and Fox Indians. Members of those tribes visited the camp in the 1920s. John Hurst lived between Boone and Camp Mitigwa, near Woodward, Iowa. He worked at Camp Mitigwa from 1922 until his retirement in 1947. He died in September, 1952, and is buried in Sparks Cemetery which is located within a mile of Camp Mitigwa.
Citation: 198.1127.2 (Full image size: 96Kb)
Boys clustering near the canteen at Camp Mitigwa, a popular Boy Scouts camp on the Des Moines River in Boone County, around 1946.
Citation: 198.1127.3-4 (Full image size: 116Kb)
John Hurst, standing in front of his cabin around 1946 at Camp Mitigwa, was the naturalist and camp ranger at the popular Boy Scout camp from 1922 until his retirement in 1947. Camp Mitigwa is located near the Des Moines River in Boone County. Hurst was known to Boy Scouts as "Uncle Bade" and was a wonderful storyteller and instructor in Native American lore. He had spent much of his early life among the Fox and Sac Indians and members of those tribes actually paid visits to Camp Mitigwa in the 1920s. The reason for Hurst's "Uncle Bade" nickname is unclear. However, the Englishman Sir Robert Baden-Powell was the founder of the Boy Scouts; and it may be that Hurst portrayed Baden-Powell in one of his many camp tales. Hurst lived near Woodward. He died in September, 1952, and is buried in Sparks Cemetery which is located within a mile of Camp Mitigwa.
Citation: 198.1127.5 (Full image size: 132Kb)
Naturalist/camp ranger John Hurst (known as "Uncle Bade") sits outside his cabin in Camp Mitigwa, the Boy Scout camp on the Des Moines River in Boone County. In this photo, taken in around 1946, he is demonstrating arrowhead chipping to a group of scouts. (See also: 198.1128.1)
Citation: 198.1128.3 (Full image size: 131Kb)
Camp Mitigwa, the Boy Scout camp on the Des Moines River in Boone County, Iowa, as it appeared around 1946. The area in the photograph shows four of the camp's cabins and the log benches encircling the campfire.
BOY SCOUTS
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Published: 07/06/2011 02:54:08 pm