Charles Kapner’s photos to become part of museum’s collection
The centennial of the Boy Scouts of America this year is shining a new light on the organization’s past and present, and Delmar resident Charles Kapner is taking part in that revival by sharing his memories of scouting’s fledgling years.
Kapner joined the scouts when he was 10 after moving to Albany from Massachusetts. He and his brother, Arthur, were introduced the then less well-known group by a neighbor, and he spent several summers at scout camps.
Though he didn’t stay involved for life, Kapner, now 92, recalls his scouting days fondly.
I feel that through scouts that I met a lot of nice people, and I had some good friends that I kept up with afterwards, he said. `I felt that it gave me something to do and to be.`
He’s donating his collection of photographs taken during this time to the Twin Rivers Council, headquartered in Albany, which has struck a deal with the New York State Museum for storage of the organization’s extensive collection of memorabilia, and also a display this year to commemorate the BSA centennial.
`We will catalogue them, they are working on putting a display together for us, and they’re going to put it together so it’s a rotating display,` said Steve Silverman, Director of Support Services for the Twin Rivers Council.
Kapner’s photos will be donated to the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas when the display in Albany ends. He also recorded an oral account of his time in the scouts for the museum recently, which will be archived for posterity.
This won’t be the first time Kapner has been involved in a BSA anniversary. In 1931, he and a number of other Eagle Scouts met then Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt to present him with a ceremonial award to commemorate the club’s 21st anniversary.
Kapner attained the rank of Eagle Scout in one and a half years, which is far faster than it takes now. Today, aspiring Eagle Scouts must complete community service projects, among other things.
`I think that’s a great idea, we didn’t have anything like that back then,` Kapner said. `I think that scouting has changed some.`
Kapner said the best memories he has of scouting are summers spent at Pioneer Camp at Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks and Camp Hawley near Kinderhook. He attended Pioneer Camp in 1931 for two weeks at a cost of $7.50 per week.
`It would be great if every scout could go through it,` he said. `The only way we could get to our camp was a 2-mile canoe trip, and we didn’t have any buildings, we slept in tents.`
The scouts spent time clearing trails and performing other outdoors tasks.
Kapner said his scouting experience served him well when he enlisted in the Army in 1943. His three-year service as a radioman took him to Europe to fight in World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge.
`Scouting helped me, I felt it was a big help,` he said. `I had no problem with the drilling and the routines and the disciplines.`
National Scouting Museum Assistant Curator Gail Mayfield has been gathering oral histories`including Kapner’s`from across the country in preparation for the 100th anniversary. She said the response has been so strong she plans to leave the project open so it can continue to grow.
`Initially, the project was basically a local project,` she said. `But I said, we really need to be having stories from scouters all over the United States.`
She plans to put the database of stories online in the future.
`What I’m hoping is that I’m going to be able to have a section on the Web site itself where people can upload the stories as transcribed,` she said.
Mayfield said Kapner’s photo album would be added to the museum’s permanent collection.
For more information on area scouting events during the BSA centennial, visit the Twin Rivers Council at www.bsa.siigroup.com.
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