William Hillcourt interview

[Sentinel947 1205]

http://scoutmastercg.com/a-visit-with-green-bar-bill/

 

Came across this. I know some people here will love it as much as I did!

 

[LeCastor 641]

If you have 45 minutes this is well worth watching!  

[Gone 435]

If you have 45 minutes this is well worth watching!  

 

Then I only have 15 mins of that proverbial "hour a week" to devote to my unit.

[LeCastor 641]

Then I only have 15 mins of that proverbial "hour a week" to devote to my unit.

 

Maybe less if you include the time you spend here!  HEY-oh! 

[skeptic 990]

Interesting piece.  Did not leave much to the imagination as to where he stood.  Was I the only one that picked up on his NOT signing the one leader's books; think it was because he did not write them.  Found the leaders little whine about it to be amusing, but then remembered I may have on occasion felt a bit miffed about something that made little sense to me at the time too.  

 

He mentioned near the end his agenda.  Wonder how much that has had to do with the apparent National distancing.  

 

Thanks for posting the link.

[LeCastor 641]

It's unfortunate that BSA has distanced itself from Hillcourt, for sure.  We Scouters who remember him or know of his influence are pretty much all that's left other than a passing note here and there in the history books.  

 

What I'd really love to see is a collection of Green Bar Bill articles from Boys' Life in one nice volume.  I don't think we'd have to have threads on the Patrol Method for Scouters if Bill were still speaking directly to the Scouts.  

[skeptic 990]

While few scouts follow through after meeting me for the Scouting Heritage MB, I always add Bill to my accepted historical scouters to report on, along with Edgar Robins, and Norman Rockwell.  

 

I have most of the reprints from the thirties and forties, as well as many from the sixties, in my collection.  The earlier ones would easily lend themselves to an actual book.  

 

Maybe our illustrious forum founder, who likely has them all, should consider looking into the possibility of republishing them?

[Gone 435]

It's unfortunate that BSA has distanced itself from Hillcourt, for sure.  We Scouters who remember him or know of his influence are pretty much all that's left other than a passing note here and there in the history books.  

 

What I'd really love to see is a collection of Green Bar Bill articles from Boys' Life in one nice volume.  I don't think we'd have to have threads on the Patrol Method for Scouters if Bill were still speaking directly to the Scouts.  

 

Nope. We have a module in our TLT on the "Luminaries of Scouting". We go through White Stag, BS22 and other things. We do short bios of these men. We wrap up with the show "Scouting for Boys". During our SMCs we ask the boys to name the luminaries of Scouting.

 

At least a few boys in our area will grow up with the names of these men and their contributions etched in their minds.

[LeCastor 641]

During our SMCs we ask the boys to name the luminaries of Scouting.

 

At least a few boys in our area will grow up with the names of these men and their contributions etched in their minds.

 

Good job, buddy! 

[Gone 435]

Good job, buddy!

I'm not your buddy, guy.

 

[apologies to South Park]

 

Edited May 20, 2015 by Bad Wolf

[skeptic 990]

New York Times obit; note the familiar name.  Terry, where might you be on the noted auto-biography?  Will it ever see the light of day?   William Hillcourt, A Boy Scout Writer And Columnist, 92 AP Published: November 14, 1992

 

MANLIUS, N.Y., Nov. 13— William Hillcourt, the principal author of the "Official Boy Scout Handbook" who was known to scouts worldwide as "Green Bar Bill," died Monday in Stockholm. He was 92 years old.

Terry Howerton, a friend who was working as a co-author on Mr. Hillcourt's autobiography, reported his death on Wednesday.

Mr. Hillcourt, who lived in this suburb of Syracuse since 1979, was halfway through a trip around the world when he was stricken. His body will be returned to the United States later this month and buried alongside his wife in Mendham, N.J., where the Hillcourts lived for many years.

Next to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the British general who founded the Boy Scout movement in England in the 1890's, Mr. Hillcourt was the most widely known figure in scouting. He wrote several of the nine editions of the scouting handbook, which has sold more than 33 million copies since its first printing in 1910. Advice for Patrol Leaders

Mr. Hillcourt also influenced generations of boys through the tales he told in the scouting magazine Boys' Life as Green Bar Bill, a name derived from the two horizontal green bars that are the patrol leader's badge.

Mr. Hillcourt, a pharmacist who was born in Denmark, joined the Boy Scouts' national staff in 1929 and then began writing for Boys' Life.

Green Bar Bill passed along his first bit of advice on camping and scouting skills in October 1932. He continued writing as Green Bar Bill until the advice column, which subsequently appeared in comic-strip form, ended in April 1988.

Mr. Hillcourt also wrote "Handbook for Scoutmasters"; the Boy Scout's first "Scout Field Book"; the "Field Book of Nature Activities," a guide to the enjoyment of nature; Baden-Powell's biography, "Baden-Powell: The Two Lives of a Hero," and a 50-year history of scouting in America, "The Golden Book of Scouting."

Because he was a Boy Scout employee, Mr. Hillcourt received no royalties for the handbook. Instead, he received six free copies for every 400,000 books sold.

Photo: William Hillcourt (Boy Scouts of America, 1987)

Edited May 20, 2015 by skeptic

[eagle90 125]

Bill spoke at our Council Annual Banquet about 25 years ago or so.  He led songs, told stories, and had the crowd mesmerized for over an hour.  I'm sure he could have gone for hours more, and we would have listened to every word. 

 

Like Skeptic noted, he signed tons of autographs, but NOT on the handbooks that he did not contribute to.

 

Dale

[LeCastor 641]

 

 

Like Skeptic noted, he signed tons of autographs, but NOT on the handbooks that he did not contribute to.

 

Dale

 

I don't think I would sign a book I didn't write either.  

 

Bill's books are the stuff Scouting is made of, literally.  

[scoutldr 726]

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5057291