E. Urner Goodman
Encyclopedia
Edward Urner Goodman (May 15, 1891 – March 13, 1980) was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America
(BSA) movement for much of the twentieth century. Goodman was the national program director from 1931 until 1951, during the organization's formative years of significant growth when the Cub Scout
ing and Exploring
programs were established. He developed the BSA's national training center in the early 1930s and was responsible for publication of the widely read Boy Scout Handbook
and other Scouting books, writing the Leaders Handbook used by Scout leaders in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, Goodman was Executive Director of Men's Work for the National Council of Churches
in New York City and active in church work.
Goodman is best remembered today for having created the Order of the Arrow
(OA), a popular and highly successful program of the BSA that continues to honor Scouts for their cheerful service. Since its founding in 1915, the Order of the Arrow has grown to become a nationwide program having thousands of members, which recognizes those Scouts who best exemplify the virtues of cheerful service, camping, and leadership by membership in BSA's honor society. As of 2007, the Order of the Arrow has more than 183,000 members.
in early 1895 when Goodman was just three years old. He attended Central High School
, graduating in 1909. He enjoyed writing and began keeping a detailed journal of daily activities during his senior year of high school, expressing his aspirations for the future along with occasional doubts. With several classmates, he began a literary club and published a newsletter, The Inkstand. He also showed interest in music, playing the piano and violin, and composed a song for his high school senior class. When it was not selected by the class officers, he wrote in his journal of his disappointment.
Goodman also took an early interest in church activities as a youth, participating in a boys' brotherhood group and Sunday school and becoming a member of Tioga Presbyterian Church at age 14, an event he described as "the most important step I ever took or ever will take in my life." Just barely out of his teens, Goodman became a popular and highly respected Sunday school teacher and led the Philadelphia chapter of a young men's group called the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip.
Aspiring to a career in education, Goodman enrolled in the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy in 1911. He was selected to be the commencement speaker at his graduation in 1913 and his address was entitled, "The Call to Teach". Goodman then did graduate work in education at Temple University
, while teaching at the Potter School in Philadelphia.
On June 18, 1920, Goodman married Louise Wynkoop Waygood, the daughter of a Presbyterian
minister and a 1918 honors graduate of Swarthmore College
. They had three children: Theodore (born 1921), George (born 1923), and Lydia Ann (born 1927). He was a member of Kiwanis
, Rotary International
, and a Freemason
, joining Robert A. Lamberton Lodge No. 487, Free and Accepted Masons of Philadelphia on March 5, 1918.
While studying for his degree in Education, Goodman first became involved in Boy Scouting in 1911 when only 20 years old, as a volunteer Scoutmaster of Troop 1, the first Scout troop in Philadelphia. In his four years as Scoutmaster, the troop grew to more than 100 Scouts. A contemporary of Goodman described him in 1912 as "well beloved by the boys, enjoys their confidence and is heart and soul in this phase of the work." In later years, he would recall with nostalgia his troop, noting that renowned composer Albert Hay Malotte
was "one of his boys" in Troop 1. In April 1915, he entered full-time professional service in Boy Scouting as a field executive, serving that summer as director of the Philadelphia Scout Council's
summer camp
. He was promoted in December 1917 to Scout executive of the Philadelphia Council.
Goodman's professional Scouting career was interrupted during World War I, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after his promotion to Scout executive. He served in the infantry
as a first lieutenant, but his unit was never sent overseas. In December 1918, he was discharged from the Army and resumed his professional career as Scout executive in Philadelphia. He served as Scout executive there until May 1927, when he was promoted to the larger Chicago Area Council as Scout executive (1927–1931). During his four-year tenure in the "Windy City", he reversed a decline in finances and increased Scout membership from 11,806 to 16,920.
James E. West
to become national program director of the BSA, as part of an organizational restructuring. Goodman was one of four division directors reporting to West (the other divisions were operations, personnel, and business). As national program director, he was responsible for professional and volunteer training, relations with sponsoring organizations, public relations, and program development. The Cub Scout
ing and Exploring
programs were established under his leadership. He greatly expanded BSA training programs for adult leaders, establishing the BSA's highly regarded national training center at Schiff Scout Reservation
in New Jersey in 1932 and, later, the training program at Philmont Scout Ranch
, beginning in 1938. He also oversaw the publication of the Boy Scout Handbook, edited by his good friend and colleague William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, as well as the Handbook for Scoutmasters and the first edition of the widely read Scout Field Book. Goodman also wrote the Leader's Handbook, a key instructional guide for Scout leaders.
In early July 1937, the BSA held its first national Scout jamboree
in Washington, D. C., attended by 25,000 Scouts and Scouters. In addition to overseeing the innovative event itself, Goodman's public relations service did yeoman work to ensure extensive news media coverage. A jamboree press tent accommodated 626 news media reporters, photographers, and broadcasters. Sixty-four news releases were issued and the public relations service assisted in the making of 11 newsreels and 53 magazine articles. The three major U.S. radio networks of the time, NBC
, CBS
and Mutual
, all set up complete broadcasting studios near the jamboree headquarters to produce almost 19 hours of live, on–site jamboree coverage broadcast coast–to–coast. Celebrities also visited the jamboree, including well–known broadcaster Lowell Thomas
and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
. While at the jamboree, Scouts also attended a three-game baseball series between the Washington Senators
and the Boston Red Sox
at Griffith Stadium
, with Goodman arranging for Eagle Scouts
to have a place of honor with President Roosevelt in the stands (pictured).
In his comprehensive biography of E. Urner Goodman, Nelson Block writes that the mutual respect between Goodman and West grew over their 12 years of working together at the national BSA office: "West, the hardworking, detail–oriented executive, came to rely on Goodman and his style of accomplishing big things through diligent organization and planning, executed by carefully recruited staff...".
When the venerable youth leader and longtime National Scout Commissioner Daniel Carter Beard
died shortly before his 91st birthday in June 1941, Goodman was selected to be in charge of the beloved pioneer's funeral in Suffern, New York
. An estimated 2,000 people lined the funeral route to the cemetery in Monsey, New York
, where formed an honor guard and assisted with traffic control.
As war clouds cast an ominous shadow over Europe in the late 1930s amidst the rise of fascism, West, Goodman, and other BSA leaders considered how Scouting might better train youth in democratic principles of government. Referring to the Nazi Kristallnacht
rampage against Jews in 1938, Goodman wrote shortly afterwards: "...the program of persecution has stirred up our hearts and minds as nothing else that has happened before has done. It has furnished the impetus of a wave of resentment against the evil; but more than that, for a surge of satisfaction and thanksgiving concerning our own happier state under a democracy." During World War II, various BSA programs were developed under his leadership in support of the nation's war effort, such as the collection of scrap aluminum, tires, and waste paper for recycling into war material, distribution of war bond
and air raid
posters, assisting Civil Defense
officials, and planting of fruit and vegetable "victory garden
s".
On September 16, 1951, Goodman retired as national program director, ending a professional Scouting career spanning 36 years. He was given the title of National Field Scout Commissioner, to continue his service to Scouting on the national level as a layman.
newly hired field executive in 1915, one of Goodman's assignments was to serve as director of the council's summer camp at Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River
. He believed that the summer camp experience should do more than just teach proficiency in Scoutcraft
skills; rather, the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Scout Law
should become realities in the lives of Scouts. Along with his assistant camp director, Carroll A. Edson
, he started an experimental program to recognize those Scouts best exemplifying those traits as an example to their peers.
Goodman and Edson were strongly influenced by the use of American Indian
culture by Ernest Thompson Seton
in his Woodcraft Indians
program. They decided to create an honor society of their own at camp that summer, in a manner befitting a boy's interest and understanding. Goodman utilized the appeal of Indian lore and recognition by a Scout's peers as motivational tools. He devised a program where troops chose, at the camp's conclusion, those boys from among their number who best exemplified the ideals of Scouting. Those elected were acknowledged as having displayed, in the eyes of their fellow Scouts, a spirit of unselfish service and brotherhood. Edson helped Goodman research the traditions and language of the Lenni Lenape
—also known as the Delaware—who had once inhabited Treasure Island.
The brotherhood of Scout honor campers with its American Indian overtones was a success and was repeated again the following summer at Treasure Island. Those Scouts honored at Treasure Island in 1915 and 1916 would eventually become members of the Order of the Arrow's Unami Lodge
.
By 1921, Goodman had spoken to Scout leaders in surrounding states about the OA, and lodges were established in a score of Scout councils in the northeast
. In October 1921, he convened the first national meeting of what was then called the National Lodge of the Order of the Arrow in Philadelphia, and Goodman was elected Grand Chieftain. Committees were organized to formulate a constitution, refine ceremonial rituals, devise insignia, and plan future development. Reflecting Goodman's ongoing interest in music, he composed the words to the Order of the Arrow's song, "Firm Bound in Brotherhood", set to the stirring melody of a hymn found in the Presbyterian hymnal of the 1920s, "God the Omnipotent" in 11.10.11.9 meter, which was adapted from the Russian national anthem, "God Save the Tsar!
", composed by Alexei Lvov in 1833.
In the early 1920s, many Scout executives were skeptical of what they called "secret camp fraternities". By September 1922, opposition to the Order of the Arrow was such that a formal resolution opposing "camp fraternities" was proposed at a national meeting of Scout executives. Goodman argued against the motion: "Using the Scout ideals as our great objective", he said, a camp activity that will "further the advancement of those ideals" should not be suppressed. The motion was narrowly defeated, and the fledgling Order continued as an experimental program throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Goodman maintained his active support of the OA's National Lodge, as it was then called, during his years as Scout executive in Chicago and then BSA national program director. In observance of the 15th anniversary of the brotherhood's founding, the National Lodge presented Goodman with a medal in 1930 formally recognizing him as founder. In 1940, the National Lodge presented him with the first Distinguished Service Award on the OA's 25th anniversary. The citation said, in part, "As the founder of the Order of the Arrow, through his ability, wisdom, and foresight, his vision of service to others was transformed into a national honor brotherhood which has been a positive influence in the lives of thousands of boys...". When he was first appointed as director in 1931, there were OA lodges in seven percent of BSA councils nationwide. By 1948, about two-thirds of the BSA councils had established OA lodges. In that year, three years before Goodman's retirement from the BSA, his "honor society of Scout camping" innovation was fully integrated as an official part of the Scouting program.. Kenneth Davis, in his book The Brotherhood of Cheerful Service: A History of the Order of the Arrow, concludes that the National Council's approval in 1948 "...was due largely to his [Goodman's] personal efforts and recommendation...".
Over the decades since the Order of the Arrow's founding, more than one million Scouts and Scouters have worn the OA sash on their uniforms, denoting membership in the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service. There are presently 183,000 members of the Order of the Arrow in all but two of BSA councils nationwide. Summarizing what he felt the order signified, E. Urner Goodman wrote in the foreword to the Order of the Arrow Handbook from the perspective of more than a half century after the brotherhood's inception:
(NCC) during 1951–1954 as the NCC's first general director of the United Church Men, a laymen's program he formed to strengthen men's ties to local churches and their communities. Goodman publicly inaugurated the laymen's group on October 7, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the end of 1952, United Church Men departments were formed in more than 24 states, providing financial support to NCC–affiliated colleges and missionary work
. His new post entailed working closely with Eugene Carson Blake
, NCC president (1954–1957), and meeting frequently with officials of the participating denominations in the NCC. Speaking with various men's church groups in the U.S. and abroad was, he believed, a means of promoting brotherhood. Reflecting on his NCC service with these notable church leaders, Goodman said more than a decade later, "Great faith and devoted service, I am very sure, are for ordinary folk as well as for the clergy. ... I have been privileged to know some great clergymen in my day ... but I have also known and loved some truly great laymen, men whose lives and works matched their faith". Goodman retired from his NCC post on September 1, 1954 because of tuberculosis
.
) in the 1960s and 1970s, and three hymns he composed were published: "Christ Calls Men", "As Within the Pillared Temple", and "O God of Love, Who Gavest Life".
In 1965, Goodman wrote The Building of a Life, a collection of reminiscences recounting some of his Scouting experiences and giving advice to young men. Summing up his years in Scouting and church work, he wrote, "In the last analysis, it is the things of the spirit rather than material possessions that count." Later that year, the Goodmans moved to the Penney Retirement Community at Penney Farms, Florida
. Goodman then served as Director of Christian Education at Flagler Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida
.
In retirement, the Goodmans enjoyed a rich family life, visiting often with son Theodore ("Ted") and his wife Carol, and daughter Lydia Ann ("Ann") and son–in–law Bob. To his unabashed delight, Urner and Louise Goodman had nine grandchildren. Their son George was killed in action
in France during World War II, however. Upon hearing the news in December 1944, Goodman was deeply grieved, and Louise, his wife of 60 years, said it was the only time she ever saw him cry.
Although retired, Goodman remained active in Order of the Arrow affairs during the 1960s and 1970s. Acclaimed as an eloquent orator, his keynote addresses at the OA's biennial National Order of the Arrow Conferences reportedly made an unforgettable impression upon his youthful audiences. Nelson Block writes in A Thing of the Spirit, that even in the 1970s the octogenarian founder "crisscrossed the country to attend lodge and section events... surrounded by young Arrowmen...witty and charming, keeping everyone enthralled with his stories." Displaying his self–deprecating humor, Goodman himself was more prosaic about all of the adulation he received at OA gatherings, writing that, "to many of the young men I was a museum piece. In fact I have been informed that there was considerable surprise because I didn't hobble in on a cane and mumble in my dentures." But, he added, "I looked upon them with deep emotion, for there was a spiritual bond".
Reflecting on his career, Goodman said late in life:
He continued speaking with OA members until shortly before his death at age 88, when he succumbed to pneumonia
on March 13, 1980, at Lenox Hill Hospital
in New York City. He was buried at Penney Farms, Florida, on March 29, 1980. At his funeral, held at the Penney Memorial Church in Penney Farms, Goodman was eulogized by Executive Secretary of the Order of the Arrow William F. Downs: "The shake of [his] hand, sincerity of greeting, twinkle in the eye, smile and dignity immediately relayed...the feeling of confidence from the leader, so necessary to build teamwork. Urner made you feel important".
, the first such degree awarded by the college. He was also honored in 1947 when he was made an honorary chief of the Blackfoot Tribe of American Indians
and given the name "Chief Eagle".
In his memory, the BSA confers the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award, recognizing lodges that have excelled in the promotion of camping within their host council. The Founder's Award is given by Order of the Arrow lodges in honor of OA co–founders Goodman and Edson. Up until 2004, the BSA administered the E. Urner Goodman Scholarship Fund program, providing financial grants towards the college education of Arrowmen aspiring to professional Scouting careers.
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
(BSA) movement for much of the twentieth century. Goodman was the national program director from 1931 until 1951, during the organization's formative years of significant growth when the Cub Scout
Cub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
ing and Exploring
Exploring (Learning for Life)
Exploring is a worksite-based program of Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years old...
programs were established. He developed the BSA's national training center in the early 1930s and was responsible for publication of the widely read Boy Scout Handbook
Boy Scout Handbook
The Boy Scout Handbook is the official handbook of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a descendant of Baden-Powell's original handbook, Scouting for Boys, which has been the basis for Scout handbooks in many countries, with some variations to the text of the book depending on each country's codes and...
and other Scouting books, writing the Leaders Handbook used by Scout leaders in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, Goodman was Executive Director of Men's Work for the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
in New York City and active in church work.
Goodman is best remembered today for having created the Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
(OA), a popular and highly successful program of the BSA that continues to honor Scouts for their cheerful service. Since its founding in 1915, the Order of the Arrow has grown to become a nationwide program having thousands of members, which recognizes those Scouts who best exemplify the virtues of cheerful service, camping, and leadership by membership in BSA's honor society. As of 2007, the Order of the Arrow has more than 183,000 members.
Early years and marriage
Goodman was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his father, George, was a printer and real estate agent. His mother, Ella, died of typhoid feverTyphoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in early 1895 when Goodman was just three years old. He attended Central High School
Central High School (Philadelphia)
Central High School is a public secondary school in the Logan section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Central, the second-oldest continuously public high school in the United States , was founded in 1836 and is a four-year university preparatory magnet school...
, graduating in 1909. He enjoyed writing and began keeping a detailed journal of daily activities during his senior year of high school, expressing his aspirations for the future along with occasional doubts. With several classmates, he began a literary club and published a newsletter, The Inkstand. He also showed interest in music, playing the piano and violin, and composed a song for his high school senior class. When it was not selected by the class officers, he wrote in his journal of his disappointment.
Goodman also took an early interest in church activities as a youth, participating in a boys' brotherhood group and Sunday school and becoming a member of Tioga Presbyterian Church at age 14, an event he described as "the most important step I ever took or ever will take in my life." Just barely out of his teens, Goodman became a popular and highly respected Sunday school teacher and led the Philadelphia chapter of a young men's group called the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip.
Aspiring to a career in education, Goodman enrolled in the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy in 1911. He was selected to be the commencement speaker at his graduation in 1913 and his address was entitled, "The Call to Teach". Goodman then did graduate work in education at Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, while teaching at the Potter School in Philadelphia.
On June 18, 1920, Goodman married Louise Wynkoop Waygood, the daughter of a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
minister and a 1918 honors graduate of Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
. They had three children: Theodore (born 1921), George (born 1923), and Lydia Ann (born 1927). He was a member of Kiwanis
Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...
, Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, and a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, joining Robert A. Lamberton Lodge No. 487, Free and Accepted Masons of Philadelphia on March 5, 1918.
As a volunteer and local council leader
Albert Hay Malotte
Albert Hay Malotte was an American pianist, organist, composer and educator.-Biography and career:...
was "one of his boys" in Troop 1. In April 1915, he entered full-time professional service in Boy Scouting as a field executive, serving that summer as director of the Philadelphia Scout Council's
Cradle of Liberty Council
The Cradle of Liberty Council is a Boy Scouts of America council created in 1996 with the merger of the former Philadelphia Council and the former Valley Forge Council .-History:The present council is the result of the 1996 merger of Philadelphia and Valley Forge councils...
summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
. He was promoted in December 1917 to Scout executive of the Philadelphia Council.
Goodman's professional Scouting career was interrupted during World War I, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after his promotion to Scout executive. He served in the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
as a first lieutenant, but his unit was never sent overseas. In December 1918, he was discharged from the Army and resumed his professional career as Scout executive in Philadelphia. He served as Scout executive there until May 1927, when he was promoted to the larger Chicago Area Council as Scout executive (1927–1931). During his four-year tenure in the "Windy City", he reversed a decline in finances and increased Scout membership from 11,806 to 16,920.
As a national leader
On April 1, 1931, Goodman was promoted by Chief Scout ExecutiveChief Scout Executive
The Chief Scout Executive is the top professional of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In most similar non-profit organizations, this is equivalent to the position of executive director....
James E. West
James E. West (Scouting)
Dr. James E. West was a lawyer and an advocate of children's rights, who became the first professional Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America , serving from 1911–1943. Upon his retirement from the BSA, West was given the title of Chief Scout.-Personal life:His father died around the...
to become national program director of the BSA, as part of an organizational restructuring. Goodman was one of four division directors reporting to West (the other divisions were operations, personnel, and business). As national program director, he was responsible for professional and volunteer training, relations with sponsoring organizations, public relations, and program development. The Cub Scout
Cub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
ing and Exploring
Exploring (Learning for Life)
Exploring is a worksite-based program of Learning for Life, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years old...
programs were established under his leadership. He greatly expanded BSA training programs for adult leaders, establishing the BSA's highly regarded national training center at Schiff Scout Reservation
Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation
The Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, located in central New Jersey, was a major Boy Scout training facility for almost 50 years. It was named after Mortimer L. Schiff, the father of John M...
in New Jersey in 1932 and, later, the training program at Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico, covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico...
, beginning in 1938. He also oversaw the publication of the Boy Scout Handbook, edited by his good friend and colleague William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, as well as the Handbook for Scoutmasters and the first edition of the widely read Scout Field Book. Goodman also wrote the Leader's Handbook, a key instructional guide for Scout leaders.
National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America)
The national Scout jamboree is a gathering, or jamboree of thousands of members of the Boy Scouts of America, usually held every four years and organized by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Referred to as "the Jamboree", "Jambo", or NSJ, Scouts from all over the nation and world...
in Washington, D. C., attended by 25,000 Scouts and Scouters. In addition to overseeing the innovative event itself, Goodman's public relations service did yeoman work to ensure extensive news media coverage. A jamboree press tent accommodated 626 news media reporters, photographers, and broadcasters. Sixty-four news releases were issued and the public relations service assisted in the making of 11 newsreels and 53 magazine articles. The three major U.S. radio networks of the time, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Mutual
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
, all set up complete broadcasting studios near the jamboree headquarters to produce almost 19 hours of live, on–site jamboree coverage broadcast coast–to–coast. Celebrities also visited the jamboree, including well–known broadcaster Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. While at the jamboree, Scouts also attended a three-game baseball series between the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
at Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium was a sports stadium that stood in Washington, D.C. from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street, and between W Street and Florida Avenue, NW. An earlier wooden baseball park had been built on the same site in 1891...
, with Goodman arranging for Eagle Scouts
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
to have a place of honor with President Roosevelt in the stands (pictured).
In his comprehensive biography of E. Urner Goodman, Nelson Block writes that the mutual respect between Goodman and West grew over their 12 years of working together at the national BSA office: "West, the hardworking, detail–oriented executive, came to rely on Goodman and his style of accomplishing big things through diligent organization and planning, executed by carefully recruited staff...".
When the venerable youth leader and longtime National Scout Commissioner Daniel Carter Beard
Daniel Carter Beard
Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard was an American illustrator, author, youth leader, and social reformer who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of America .-Early life:...
died shortly before his 91st birthday in June 1941, Goodman was selected to be in charge of the beloved pioneer's funeral in Suffern, New York
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
. An estimated 2,000 people lined the funeral route to the cemetery in Monsey, New York
Monsey, New York
Monsey is a hamlet , in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Airmont and west of Nanuet...
, where formed an honor guard and assisted with traffic control.
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
rampage against Jews in 1938, Goodman wrote shortly afterwards: "...the program of persecution has stirred up our hearts and minds as nothing else that has happened before has done. It has furnished the impetus of a wave of resentment against the evil; but more than that, for a surge of satisfaction and thanksgiving concerning our own happier state under a democracy." During World War II, various BSA programs were developed under his leadership in support of the nation's war effort, such as the collection of scrap aluminum, tires, and waste paper for recycling into war material, distribution of war bond
War bond
War bonds are debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war. War bonds generate capital for the government and make civilians feel involved in their national militaries...
and air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
posters, assisting Civil Defense
Civil defense
Civil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
officials, and planting of fruit and vegetable "victory garden
Victory garden
Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply...
s".
On September 16, 1951, Goodman retired as national program director, ending a professional Scouting career spanning 36 years. He was given the title of National Field Scout Commissioner, to continue his service to Scouting on the national level as a layman.
Founding and development of the Order of the Arrow
As the Philadelphia Council'sCradle of Liberty Council
The Cradle of Liberty Council is a Boy Scouts of America council created in 1996 with the merger of the former Philadelphia Council and the former Valley Forge Council .-History:The present council is the result of the 1996 merger of Philadelphia and Valley Forge councils...
newly hired field executive in 1915, one of Goodman's assignments was to serve as director of the council's summer camp at Treasure Island Scout Reservation on the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. He believed that the summer camp experience should do more than just teach proficiency in Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft is a term used to cover a variety of woodcraft knowledge and skills required by people seeking to venture into wild country and sustain themselves independently. The term has been adopted by Scouting organizations to reflect skills and knowledge which are felt to be a core part of the...
skills; rather, the principles embodied in the Scout Oath and Scout Law
Scout Law
Since the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout Promise or oath to live up to ideals of the movement, and subscribed to a Scout Law...
should become realities in the lives of Scouts. Along with his assistant camp director, Carroll A. Edson
Carroll A. Edson
Carroll Andrew Edson helped to found the Order of the Arrow along with E. Urner Goodman. He was the second recipient of the Vigil Honor...
, he started an experimental program to recognize those Scouts best exemplifying those traits as an example to their peers.
Goodman and Edson were strongly influenced by the use of American Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
culture by Ernest Thompson Seton
Ernest Thompson Seton
Ernest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America . Seton also influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting...
in his Woodcraft Indians
Woodcraft Indians
The League of Woodcraft Indians was an American youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton. Despite the name, it was developed for non-Indian boys. It was later renamed the "Woodcraft League of America", and would also allow girls to join...
program. They decided to create an honor society of their own at camp that summer, in a manner befitting a boy's interest and understanding. Goodman utilized the appeal of Indian lore and recognition by a Scout's peers as motivational tools. He devised a program where troops chose, at the camp's conclusion, those boys from among their number who best exemplified the ideals of Scouting. Those elected were acknowledged as having displayed, in the eyes of their fellow Scouts, a spirit of unselfish service and brotherhood. Edson helped Goodman research the traditions and language of the Lenni Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
—also known as the Delaware—who had once inhabited Treasure Island.
Unami Lodge
Delmont Lodge was the Order of the Arrow Lodge of the Valley Forge Council, Boy Scouts of America . It was the 43rd chartered OA lodge. With the merger of Valley Forge Council and Philadelphia Council in 1996 to form the Cradle of Liberty Council, Delmont Lodge merged with Unami Lodge...
.
By 1921, Goodman had spoken to Scout leaders in surrounding states about the OA, and lodges were established in a score of Scout councils in the northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. In October 1921, he convened the first national meeting of what was then called the National Lodge of the Order of the Arrow in Philadelphia, and Goodman was elected Grand Chieftain. Committees were organized to formulate a constitution, refine ceremonial rituals, devise insignia, and plan future development. Reflecting Goodman's ongoing interest in music, he composed the words to the Order of the Arrow's song, "Firm Bound in Brotherhood", set to the stirring melody of a hymn found in the Presbyterian hymnal of the 1920s, "God the Omnipotent" in 11.10.11.9 meter, which was adapted from the Russian national anthem, "God Save the Tsar!
God Save the Tsar!
"God Save the Tsar!" was the national anthem of the late Russian Empire. The song was chosen from a competition held in 1833. The composer was violinist Alexei Lvov, and the lyrics were by the court poet Vasily Zhukovsky...
", composed by Alexei Lvov in 1833.
In the early 1920s, many Scout executives were skeptical of what they called "secret camp fraternities". By September 1922, opposition to the Order of the Arrow was such that a formal resolution opposing "camp fraternities" was proposed at a national meeting of Scout executives. Goodman argued against the motion: "Using the Scout ideals as our great objective", he said, a camp activity that will "further the advancement of those ideals" should not be suppressed. The motion was narrowly defeated, and the fledgling Order continued as an experimental program throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Goodman maintained his active support of the OA's National Lodge, as it was then called, during his years as Scout executive in Chicago and then BSA national program director. In observance of the 15th anniversary of the brotherhood's founding, the National Lodge presented Goodman with a medal in 1930 formally recognizing him as founder. In 1940, the National Lodge presented him with the first Distinguished Service Award on the OA's 25th anniversary. The citation said, in part, "As the founder of the Order of the Arrow, through his ability, wisdom, and foresight, his vision of service to others was transformed into a national honor brotherhood which has been a positive influence in the lives of thousands of boys...". When he was first appointed as director in 1931, there were OA lodges in seven percent of BSA councils nationwide. By 1948, about two-thirds of the BSA councils had established OA lodges. In that year, three years before Goodman's retirement from the BSA, his "honor society of Scout camping" innovation was fully integrated as an official part of the Scouting program.. Kenneth Davis, in his book The Brotherhood of Cheerful Service: A History of the Order of the Arrow, concludes that the National Council's approval in 1948 "...was due largely to his [Goodman's] personal efforts and recommendation...".
Over the decades since the Order of the Arrow's founding, more than one million Scouts and Scouters have worn the OA sash on their uniforms, denoting membership in the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service. There are presently 183,000 members of the Order of the Arrow in all but two of BSA councils nationwide. Summarizing what he felt the order signified, E. Urner Goodman wrote in the foreword to the Order of the Arrow Handbook from the perspective of more than a half century after the brotherhood's inception:
National Council of Churches leadership
Following his retirement from professional Scouting, Goodman served the National Council of ChurchesNational Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
(NCC) during 1951–1954 as the NCC's first general director of the United Church Men, a laymen's program he formed to strengthen men's ties to local churches and their communities. Goodman publicly inaugurated the laymen's group on October 7, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. By the end of 1952, United Church Men departments were formed in more than 24 states, providing financial support to NCC–affiliated colleges and missionary work
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. His new post entailed working closely with Eugene Carson Blake
Eugene Carson Blake
Eugene Carson Blake was an American Protestant Church leader in the 1950s and 60s, and President of the National Council of Churches in the United States, 1954—1957...
, NCC president (1954–1957), and meeting frequently with officials of the participating denominations in the NCC. Speaking with various men's church groups in the U.S. and abroad was, he believed, a means of promoting brotherhood. Reflecting on his NCC service with these notable church leaders, Goodman said more than a decade later, "Great faith and devoted service, I am very sure, are for ordinary folk as well as for the clergy. ... I have been privileged to know some great clergymen in my day ... but I have also known and loved some truly great laymen, men whose lives and works matched their faith". Goodman retired from his NCC post on September 1, 1954 because of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Later years
Maintaining his lifelong interest in music, Goodman was active in the Hymn Society of America (now the Hymn Society in the United States and CanadaHymn Society in the United States and Canada
The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, founded in 1922 as The Hymn Society of America and renamed in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization for those people who:* believe that congregational song is an integral component of worship...
) in the 1960s and 1970s, and three hymns he composed were published: "Christ Calls Men", "As Within the Pillared Temple", and "O God of Love, Who Gavest Life".
In 1965, Goodman wrote The Building of a Life, a collection of reminiscences recounting some of his Scouting experiences and giving advice to young men. Summing up his years in Scouting and church work, he wrote, "In the last analysis, it is the things of the spirit rather than material possessions that count." Later that year, the Goodmans moved to the Penney Retirement Community at Penney Farms, Florida
Penney Farms, Florida
Penney Farms is a town in Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 580 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 617.- History :...
. Goodman then served as Director of Christian Education at Flagler Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
.
In retirement, the Goodmans enjoyed a rich family life, visiting often with son Theodore ("Ted") and his wife Carol, and daughter Lydia Ann ("Ann") and son–in–law Bob. To his unabashed delight, Urner and Louise Goodman had nine grandchildren. Their son George was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
in France during World War II, however. Upon hearing the news in December 1944, Goodman was deeply grieved, and Louise, his wife of 60 years, said it was the only time she ever saw him cry.
Although retired, Goodman remained active in Order of the Arrow affairs during the 1960s and 1970s. Acclaimed as an eloquent orator, his keynote addresses at the OA's biennial National Order of the Arrow Conferences reportedly made an unforgettable impression upon his youthful audiences. Nelson Block writes in A Thing of the Spirit, that even in the 1970s the octogenarian founder "crisscrossed the country to attend lodge and section events... surrounded by young Arrowmen...witty and charming, keeping everyone enthralled with his stories." Displaying his self–deprecating humor, Goodman himself was more prosaic about all of the adulation he received at OA gatherings, writing that, "to many of the young men I was a museum piece. In fact I have been informed that there was considerable surprise because I didn't hobble in on a cane and mumble in my dentures." But, he added, "I looked upon them with deep emotion, for there was a spiritual bond".
Reflecting on his career, Goodman said late in life:
He continued speaking with OA members until shortly before his death at age 88, when he succumbed to pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on March 13, 1980, at Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital
Lenox Hill Hospital, on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City, is a 652-bed, acute care hospital and a major teaching affiliate of New York University Medical Center. Founded in 1857 as the German Dispensary, today's 10-building Lenox Hill Hospital complex has occupied its present site since...
in New York City. He was buried at Penney Farms, Florida, on March 29, 1980. At his funeral, held at the Penney Memorial Church in Penney Farms, Goodman was eulogized by Executive Secretary of the Order of the Arrow William F. Downs: "The shake of [his] hand, sincerity of greeting, twinkle in the eye, smile and dignity immediately relayed...the feeling of confidence from the leader, so necessary to build teamwork. Urner made you feel important".
Honors and awards
Upon his retirement from full–time professional Scouting in 1951, Goodman was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humanics from Missouri Valley CollegeMissouri Valley College
Missouri Valley College is a private, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . The campus is in Marshall, Missouri.The college was founded in 1889 and supports 27 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,800 students...
, the first such degree awarded by the college. He was also honored in 1947 when he was made an honorary chief of the Blackfoot Tribe of American Indians
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
and given the name "Chief Eagle".
In his memory, the BSA confers the E. Urner Goodman Camping Award, recognizing lodges that have excelled in the promotion of camping within their host council. The Founder's Award is given by Order of the Arrow lodges in honor of OA co–founders Goodman and Edson. Up until 2004, the BSA administered the E. Urner Goodman Scholarship Fund program, providing financial grants towards the college education of Arrowmen aspiring to professional Scouting careers.
See also
- Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of AmericaThe Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
- Boy Scout HandbookBoy Scout HandbookThe Boy Scout Handbook is the official handbook of the Boy Scouts of America. It is a descendant of Baden-Powell's original handbook, Scouting for Boys, which has been the basis for Scout handbooks in many countries, with some variations to the text of the book depending on each country's codes and...
- National Council of ChurchesNational Council of ChurchesThe National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
- Order of the ArrowOrder of the ArrowThe Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...