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This is a signed photo of Lord Robert
Stephenson Smith Baden-Powell of Gilwell, that hangs in the room where Boy
Scouts are reviewed for rank advancement. This room is called
the Board of Review Room. |
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In the 1890's, Lt. General Robert Baden-Powell commanded British troops in South Africa. Hoping to help his city-bred men to develop outdoor skills, Gen. Baden-Powell wrote a short book which taught tracking, scouting and map-making. By the time the Boer War broke out. Baden-Powell's methods had proven successful in teaching British troops. |
| When the Boer War ended, Baden-Powell emerged with a hero's reputation and a peerage. Load Baden-Powell returned to England and lent his prestige to a new venture. He re-wrote his slender volume on outdoor skills, adapted it for boys, and launched the Boy Scout movement in 1907. Three Years later, on February 8,1910 the Boy Scouts of America came into being when Daniel Carter Beard (1850-1941) started the Program in the United States. |  |
| On June 30,1916 -- a scant six years after Boy Scouting came to the states from England -- the Rev. Otis Tiffany Barnes, Pastor of the Reformed Church of Bronxville, launched the the current Bronxville Troop 1. Rev. Barnes served as the Scoutmaster, three fathers of scouts formed the Troop committee, and there were 26 active scouts. Meetings were held in a barn adjacent to the Reformed Church. |  21 of the original Boys and Otis Tiffany Barnes |
| Here you see Otis Tiffany Barnes on their first hike, in 1916 |  |
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The third happening in that momentous year, 1919, did not involve the scouts directly, but it has had a lasting impression on Bronxville scouting. The Troop 1 meetings had been held in a number of places, beginning with the old barn in 1916. In 1919 interested parents and business leaders raised enough money to begin building a cabin on the present site. This cabin was named in honor of Otis Tiffany Barnes, without whose vision and efforts, there would not have been any scouting in Bronxville. |  |
| By the fall of 1919, the original 26 members had increased to 75 boys. As this was far too many for one troop and one set of leaders, the group was divided into two troops, and the designation of Bronxville Troop 1 was first used. In 1927. this process was repeated. Troop 1 had 60 boys, and Troop 2 another 48. That fall, Troop 3 and Troop 4 were created from the memberships of Troops 1 and 2 . Troop 1 -- the parent of all Bronxville Troops -- continued to thrive despite its continual seeding of new troops. | 
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1929 brought the Great Depression, but Bronxville Troop 1 soldiered on. Two notable events happened in that memorial year.
 S S Samaria |
The first saw several Troop 1 scouts embark on the Steam Ship Samaria for the worldwide Scout Jamboree in Birkenhead, England. As the Cunard liner was about to leave the pier in New York, some 70 youths and leaders of the Communist Young Pioneers marched on the pier with banners proclaiming, "Down with Boy Scouts -- Up With Young Pioneers". A minor brawl ensued, ending with the Scouts under way and the Communists under arrest. The notable event associated with the Jamboree was more than a dockside brawl, however. |  1929 Jamboree |
| While in England, the Bronxville Troop 1 boys laid a wreath on the grave of Lt. Leonard Marange in Shotwick, England. |  |
Lt. Morange was a young man from Bronxville who had served in the RAF (Royal Air Force) during World War I, dying on active service. The Bronxville American Legion Post is named in his honor. |  Post 464 |
The Jamboree was a great success for all the boys. As can be seen in the letters that they wrote home (Follow link to the letters). It was also an even more important event, when Eagle Scout Charles Fischer of Troop 1 met Lord Robert Stephenson Smith Baden-Powell. Another boy from Troop 2 served as Chief Orderly for Dan Beard the man that had brought Scouting to the united states and they even met the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Connaught.
| The second notable event occurred back in Bronxville that November when Bronxville Troop 1 was given permission to wear a special patch on uniforms, a patch unique to Troop 1. Troop 1 adopted the patch depicting a Bucking Bronco, and the accompanying motto, "Bronxville's Bucking Broncos -- The Troop That Can't Be Ridden". It is interesting to note that Troop 1 was the first in the community to use the Bronco Emblem; the Bronxville schools later copied the Bronco from Troop 1. |  |
| Bronxville's Bucking Broncos The Troop That Can't Be Ridden |
| The boys from the Bronxville Cabin attended another World Jamboree in Hungary in the summer of 1933. The photos show boys from each of the troops that attended the Jamboree, including one of our Eagle Scouts Thomas Doyle. |  |
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Troop 1 continued to grow through the Depression years. In 1937 a contingent
of boys attended the 1937 World Jamboree in Vogelenzang, The Netherlands (Click
here to see attached letter and photos). |
In 1938 they spun off yet another troop, Troop 5. World War II came and
went, and Bronxville Troop 1 continued its vitality despite some tough times
with regard to young men to serve as Scoutmaster. As with any activity
like Boy Scouts, success is largely dependant on volunteer leaders -- and
Bronxville Troop 1 has been blessed in its leadership from the very beginning!
Scouting, like many traditional activities, suffered during the sixties and the Vietnam era. Anything of true value tends to endure, and Lord Baden-Powell's vision has continued to grow in the Bronxville community. Troop 1 now celebrates it's 85 continuous year of Boy Scout activities -- and looks forward to many more years ahead.
Bronxville Troop 1 is a successful amalgam of enthusiastic boys, dedicated leaders and supportive parents, With that enduring formula, 85 years is but a beginning -- but what a beginning! The past is but a prelude, and the future lies ahead ... with Bronxville Troop 1 leading the way!
-- Paul Sullivan
Edited: March 2001, by Peter Lenahan