A Look Back

Hurry up with that fire!

by Barry Bauer

With the temperature 20 degrees below freezing and a frigid north wind sweeping through the woods, Boy Scouts who gathered at the city park late on a Saturday afternoon circa 1936 to cook up an outdoor supper, tossed tradition in the breeze and built up a fire just as doggoned fast as possible. Rubbing two sticks together was much too slow, and even the flint and steel idea was quickly discarded. Later they simply grabbed a match and got things going.

The shivering threesome pictured is the Blazing Arrow patrol of Troop 73, Ovid, with Wayne Clark (his nickname, appropriately enough, is “Windy”) flat on the ground blowing the blaze for all he’s worth.

That Saturday was rally day for the Scouts with all troops in the county represented in a big meeting at St. Johns.