[at-l] Boy Scout Debate

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 01:24 PM 06/16/2002 -0400, rick boudrie wrote:

>>I wonder why Ed advocated as much as he did for formal recognition.
>>I'm also interested in the content of the letter sent to ATC in 2000. Was 
>>it published, anyone? if so, which issue, I'd like to read
>
>If he was a strong advocate, that isn't so clear from his letter to the ATN:
>
>http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about/pubs/atn/archive/ATN00May.pdf

Interesting.  It certainly doesn't sound like a campaign, just a letter 
suggesting they be included.  The "Paper Trail" article in the March-April 
2001 ATN makes it sound like more, especially the quote on page 8 of Vice 
Chair Brian Fitzgerald saying (in regard to the question of removing the 
names) "I suspect that if the names just 'disappear,' we'll be hearing from 
Mr. Talone again."  That gave me the impression that there had been more 
than just a single letter from him suggesting that the Boy Scouts deserved 
to be listed.

The editors' note et the end of Ed Talone's letter states simply that the 
names were added in response to his letter.  The ATC's argument has been 
all along that "We are just not in a position now to verify claimed 
hikes".  It is quite evident that the ATC simply wishes the whole debate 
would just go away but as I said before, like it or not they put themselves 
in the business of verifying the first thru when they demanded proof from 
Earl.  An editor for the ATC (I assume the author of the article) is said 
to have "investigated" Mr. Gordon's report which came up "when he contacted 
the ATC on another matter".  Evidently he was not even looking to be 
recognized as the first thru-hiker.

Myron Avery is listed as the first 2000 miler but not as a single year 
thru.  There can be little doubt of Avery's 2000 miler status since most of 
the trail was either laid out by him or he walked new sections and approved 
them.  It could easily be argued that no one could have completed the AT 
before him because he created the route.

For any amateur historians or a history major looking for a thesis topic 
there are many missing pieces of information regarding the 1936 Boy Scout 
hike.
    * Did Max tell the ATC editor anything that was not included in the 
article for journalistic reasons (space, boring details that didn't make 
good reading, etc.)  Does the ATC have the editor's notes in their records?
    * There was a rumor heard by one of our listers in 1959 that a group of 
scouts had done it.  Is there a record anywhere in the archives of the Boy 
Scouts to support that?  Rumors tend to grow like the fish that got 
away.  A former scout once saw my 46r patch and asked what it was.  On 
explanation he replied that all the scouts had done that ("climbed all the 
big ones") but he could name only 2-3 or three.  If someone has connections 
to the BSA and the inclination to research it (I have neither at this 
point) it would be a good direction to look.
    * School records have already been mentioned.
    * My own experiences with newspapers in genealogical research don't 
give me much faith in the accuracy of their reporting (nothing personal 
Weary but genealogists consider newspapers their least accurate 
source).  Never the less it could support other more accurate sources.
If the claim was that the Scouts had done it over 2 summers and they were 
only being listed as among the first 2000 milers there would likely be no 
debate but because a thru was regarded as 'impossible' until Earl 
demonstrated otherwise and retroactive application of the 1973 rule 
requiring no verification allowed the Scouts to trump Earl's status without 
proof there is huge debate.  (God, if my HS English teacher saw that run-on 
sentence she'd have a fit)   I doubt we will ever know the truth about the 
Scouts hike but I continue to believe that it should be held to the same 
standard of proof as Earl's hike.

sAunTerer