James L. Jacobs
1052 Darling Street
Ogden, Utah 84403
Senior Citizen Division
Second Place Historical Essay
Boy Scout camping trips were never better than those we Scouts
of Mt. Pleasant enjoyed in the mountains east of town in 1920 and
1922, The five-day trips each August were filled with high adven-
- ture and great scouting activities. Hiking, swimming, fishing,
nature study, games and sports, and practicing Scout lore in a
choice mountain setting were thrilling amd stimulsting.
The first trip included thirty-two Scouts of Troop 1 - the
North Ward boys - and a mumber of men officiating. Soren M.
Nielsen was scoutmaster and Ray Riley was his assistant. Daniel
Rasmussen of the stake presidency, Bishop H. C. Jacobs, and several
other men assisted with the trip.
Teans and wagons to haul us and our gear to canp were furnished
at no cost by Joseph Seely, Daniel Rasmussen and Amasa Scovil.
We rode in the wagons on our bedrolls and tents by way of North
Creek to our camp. We walked up all the steep hills to spare the
horses.
Canp was set up on Hog Flat - a rich mountain meadow surrounded
by a forest of spruce, fir and aspen trees. Tents were pitched
on the fringe of the forest. "Pine bough beds" were made of evergreen
tranches piled deep, with the tender tips up to meke spr'ngy
and fragrant mattresses. Clear spring water, abundant firewood,
colorful wildflowers, fresh mountain air and scenery, lush fordge
for horses, and stately trees made an ideal setting for the camp.
Cleveland Reservoir furnished excellent swimming, a five-mimite
walk away. Log seats were placed around a fireplace circle where
campfire programs were held. The camp was named “Camp Heber J.
- Grant® to honor the Church President.
A bugle call at six each morning summoned everyone to a flagraising
ceremony to start the day's activities. These were carefully
planned to promote scouting principles and provide enjoyment
to all who participated.
On Tuesday a hike was made to the top of Seely Mountain..
re we repeated the scout oath, law, and motto while we viewed
the beauties of the mountains. On Wednesday we visited the Larsen
coal mine and had scouting lessons on the mine dump. Everyone went
fishing on Thursday and caught speckled trout in the mountain streanms.
On Friday we returned home by way of Gooseberry ana Fairview Canyon.
o
Each day we studied hard to learn more about scouting and
qualify for advancement in the scouting program. Twenty-five of
the boys passed tests to make them tenderfoot scouts, and several
achieved second class rank.
Both Troop 1 and Troop 2 from the South Ward participated in
the 1922 trip. Many brought their fathers along, so there were 65
boys and men in the party. J. Seymour Jensen served as camp director,
Harold Oliverson was scoutmaster of Troop 1 With Evan Madsen
as assistant; Calvin Christensen was scoutmaster of Troop 2 with
Marvin Anderson as assistant. Frank Bohne was chief cook, Harry
Ericksen was butcher, and R. W. Weech was photographer, Additional
teams and wagons were furnished by Bruce Seely, Byron Hampshire and 9
Clair Jacobsen.
Some of the boys in the party, identified from a photograph
were; Nelson Aldrich, Ray Aldrich, Waldo Barton, Willie Barton,
Elvin Bills, Ray Bohne, Allie Christensen, Barl Christensen, Theodore
Christensen, Robert Ericksen, Boyd Hafen, Lynn Jensen, Ray
Jorgénsen, James Jacobs, Ralph Jacobsen, Kemnis Johansen, Floyd
Larson, Evan McArthur, Chesley Norman, Arley Munk, Nathan Nielson,
Edgar Olsen, Owen Olsen, Paul Rasmussen, Paul Reynolds, Theodore
Reynolds, William Reynolds, John Rosenberg, Carlton Seely, Ray
Seely, Theron Seely, Clayton Sorenson, Miles Sorenmson, Gordon Staker,
Charles Wall, Wendell Wall, Aristol White and Perry Wright.
We were organized into patrols of eight Scouts each. The
patrols competed with each other in learning scout lore, in passing
advancement tests, in games and sports, and in giving stunts at
the evening campfire programs. The patrols were named for animals
or birds. I was a member of the Beaver patrol, amd we worked like
the beavers we were to be the best patrol in camp.
To qualify for tenderfoot rank the Scouts had to know the
scout law; oath, sign, salute, motto, care and history of the U.S.
flag, and tle nine required knots. When one of the boys learned
to tie the difficult carrick band knot, he danced around the camp
chanting repeatedly, "I can tie the carrick band."
We also learned safety rules, first aid to the injured, signalling
by Morse code, semaphore and wigwag, how to use knife and
axe properly, to cook on a campfire, to read maps and to use a
compass. «
Forest Ranger Merrill Nielson, who was statloned at nearby
Lake Ranger Station, and Deputy Forest Supervisor Serrin Van Boskirk
took us on a nature hike and taught us to identify many native
plants. I still remember the beautiful columbine, bluebell, paintbrush,
elderberry, wild geraniun, niggerhead, and the names of the
trees in the forest. These men also showed us how to fight and
prevent forest fires, and to keep from getting lost in the woods.
Food never tasted so good. Cook Frank Bohne and his helpers
were experts at preparing camp meals. They served mutton we got
from a nearby sheep herd, beans, potatoes, and all the trimmings,
including gallons of dixie molasses we spread on bread for dessert.
We ate each meal like it was to be our last one.
Swinming in Cleveland reservoir was a special delight and we
21l swan every day in our birthday sults. Swimming races were held,
and some of the boys passed tests for advancement, including quali-
. fying for swimming merit badges.
There was one crisis. Senior Patrol Leader Theodore Christensen
supervised the boys while they were swimming. One of the swim-
- mers came running up to Theodore with tears streaming down his cheeks
and cried, “We can't find Paul anywhere. He must have drowned."
There was a frantic, fruitless search for the missing boy, then the
boys were ordered to dress and return to camp. There in his tent,
on his pine bough bed, Paul was found peacefully sleeping.
Foot-races were held daily on the smooth slope of the reservoir
just above the water level, which made an ideal racetrack. A
baseball game was played with the boys against their fathers, and
the boys won by a small margin. We leaped and rolled and tunbled
in a large sawdust pile which had been left by an old sawmill.
After supper each night everyone gathered around the campfire
for a program. There were stories and recitations, appropriate
talks by the leaders, and peppy stunts acted out by the patrols.
But the part T enjoyed most was the lusty singing of songs. We
sang patriotic songs, church hynns, and many of the lively songs
fron the Boy Scout Songbook. We always bellowed forth our favorite
ditty, which ran something like this:
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