Scouting, Volume 61, Number [6], September 1973 Page: 54
122, 64 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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In a ceremony melding past, pres-
ent and future on a bright Sep-
tember day, the Boy Scouts of
America paid tribute to its first
Eagle Scout and, indirectly, to the
600,000 others who have followed
him in earning Scouting's highest
award.
The ceremony took place at the
Berlin, N.J., cemetery beside the
grave of Arthur R. Eldred, who re-
ceived his Eagle badge on Labor
Day, 1912. A bronze plaque identi-
fying Mr. Eldred as the first Eagle
Scout in the United States was un-
veiled before a crowd of about 200
persons. Among them, representing
Scouting's past, were several vet-
eran Scouters. A small flight of
Eagles who are still in Scouting had
a part in the ceremony. And, in the
audience were Cub Scouts from
several local packs who symbolized
Scouting's future.
The man they honored was born
in Brooklyn, N.Y., Aug. 16, 1895. His
father died when he was a young
boy, and he was reared by his
mother on a small farm on Long
Island. He became a member of
Troop 1, Rockville Centre, Long
Island, in November, 1910, just
eight months after the incorpora-
tion of the Boy Scouts of America.
Arthur Eldred advanced rapidly
through the ranks, becoming a first
Class Scout by March, 1911, and by
April, 1912, he had completed the
last of the 21 merit badges then
required for Eagle.
To make sure that Arthur Eldred
was worthy of the BSA's first Eagle
badge, he was reviewed not only
by his own troop's board of review
but by a special board composed of
the three major figures in Scouting
—Chief Scout Executive James E.
West, Chief Scout Ernest Thompson
Seton and National Scout Com-
missioner Dan Beard. In a letter
dated Aug. 21, 1912, West formally
notified Eldred that he was the first
Eagle, and it is this date that is
inscribed on the memorial plaque
on his grave. Because the die had
not yet been cut for the Eagle
badge, Arthur Eldred had to wait
until Labor Day to get the emblem
of his honor.
FIRST
SCOUT
When Eldred earned his Eagle,
the fledgling Scout organization had
about 300,000 members. A measure
of his achievement was that by
April, 1912, only 141 merit badges
had been earned by about 50 Scouts
in the whole country. Eldred's hon-
ors in Scouting did not end with
the Eagle. Within weeks, he saved a
15-year-old Scout from drowning
while camping with his troop at
Orange Lake, N.Y. For this, he re-
ceived the Honor Medal for life-
saving from the hands of Chief
Seton.
Eldred studied agriculture at Cor-
nell University, graduating in 1916.
He was on the track and cross-
country teams and was president
of the university's Agricultural
Association. During World War I,
he served as an enlisted man aboard
a U.S. Navy submarine chaser based
at Corfu, Greece.
When he returned to the United
States, Eldred worked for a dairy
company in New Jersey, and in
1921 became county agricultural
agent for Atlantic County, N.J. He
served seven years and was credited
with important achievements on be-
half of the county's farmers, includ-
ing establishment of the Atlantic City
municipal market for farm prod-
ucts. In 1928 he left his county
agent's job to join the Reading Rail-
road as a specialist in promoting
railroad transportation of produce.
As truck transportation became in-
creasingly important in moving
produce from farm to market, he
became manager of the Motor Car-
rier Committee of the Easterly Rail-
road Association, and held that
position until his death in 1951.
Throughout his adult life, Arthur
Eldred continued his interest in
Scouting. While still a county agent,
he was a board of review examiner.
He also served as committee chair-
man of Troop 77 in Clemen ton, N.J.,
and as a member of the Camden
County Council. In civic affairs, his
interest remained with youth. He
served on the Clementon Board of
Education and, at the time of his
death, he was president of the Over-
brook regional school board.
"Here was a life that had meaning
in service to others," said Donald H.
Moore, president of the Camden
County Council. "The Boy Scouts of
America can take pride in its first
Eagle," he told the audience at the
memorial service.
Eldred was also eulogized by
Eagle Scout Scott Anderson, 16, of
Troop 46, Hainesport, N.J.; Zenon
C. R. Hansen, chairman of the Na-
tional Council's Advisory Com-
mittee and board chairman and
president of Mack Trucks, Inc.; and
Congressman John E. Hunt of Pit-
man, N.J. Eagle Scout Ed Hicks, 14,
of Troop 36, Mt. Holly, N.J., un-
veiled the plaque and presented its
cover to Mr. Eldred's widow. Mrs.
Eldred also received a troop flag
from Scoutmaster John Dodd of her
husband's old troop, 77 of Clemen-
ton. Also present were the Eldreds*
two sons, Willard of Kendall Park,
N.J., and Arthur of Vorhees, N.J.
Both are former Scouts, and Wil-
lard received the Eagle award in
1944.
Master of ceremonies was Eagle
Scout Mike Skelly, 18, of Troop 86,
Willingboro, N.J., and commander
of the National Eagle Scout Asso-
ciation unit in Burlington County.
"Taps" was bugled by Junior Assist-
ant Scoutmaster Merlin Riley of
Troop 115, Berlin. ■
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 61, Number [6], September 1973, periodical, September 1973; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353576/m1/54/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.