The Robert A. Josey Boy Scout Lodge: An Investment With Significant Dividends

In the quiet town of Huntsville, Texas, on the warm Sunday afternoon of June 17, 1934, thankful citizens gathered by the thousands, along with Boy Scouts of Walker County and Houston, at a beautiful, newly erected, pioneer style, log lodge, “nestled in a little ravine in the pine woods just south of the city.”[1] They were there to dedicate this great gift to Robert A. Josey, a local self made millionaire and generous philanthropist who donated the lodge and surrounding land to local scouts. His gift, the Robert A. Josey Boy Scout Lodge, gave the Boy Scouts of Walker County and surrounding areas, a place to hold their meetings and practice camping, cooking, construction and other scouting skills. To this day, 75 years later, the Josey Lodge remains a Huntsville landmark, continuing to serve as a cherished meeting house for the Boy Scouts of Walker County.
Although Robert A. Josey was not a member of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as a youth, he certainly held in high value one’s service to their community and country. He contributed much of his time and money to the Boy Scouts, because he agreed with the principles that they taught. He believed that it was necessary to teach leadership skills to the youth, since they would be the future leaders of our nation. And, he was interested in expanding the membership of the Boy Scouts in Huntsville. He made this analogy on the day the building was dedicated to him: “No good banker would knowingly let an ignorant or incompetent person assist in running his bank. Yet in principle, that is just what we do when we fail to see to it that every child in the United States becomes a good citizen-because these children soon will be entitled to assist in running our government.”[2]
In December of 1933, a Scout Committee headed by Tom Ball, (District Chairman for the Huntsville Boy Scouts, a former Huntsville mayor, and prominent local banker), asked Josey to help in a project to construct a building for the Boy Scouts. [3] Josey happily agreed to, and sent Tom Ball and the Scout Committee $5,000 for purchase of the land and construction of the lodge. The material for the construction was donated by J. P. Gibbs of Gibbs Brothers and Co. and included treated logs and stones from local forests and quarries.[4] Lewis. E. Meekins of Austin was hired as contractor to build the log cabin style lodge designed by architect Mike Mebane and based on a scale model made by the Scouts themselves.
The structure was built in 75 days as a Civil Works Administration project with a construction team of about 50 local men and finished in 1934.[5] The CWA provided additional funds for construction of the building, $8,415 for labor costs and $2,100 for materials.[6] The CWA was one of the first New Deal programs to be initiated by President Roosevelt, created in the winter of 1933 under the direction of Harry Hopkins, and ended early in March 1934 due to the expensiveness of the program. Nevertheless, this program employed 4 million people through the hard winter of 1933, in construction jobs improving or constructing buildings or bridges. It set the precedent for future New Deal projects, like the Works Progress Administration.
After the completion of the lodge, Josey donated it along with the land purchased to the Huntsville Boy Scouts. Along with land and lodge, he included a $30,000 trust fund to be used for upkeep of the facilities, and $100 of it to be used annually as an award given to a local scout showing outstanding service in the community, dubbed the Robert A. Josey Award.[7]
Josey was said to be “too modest” as all of Huntsville showed their appreciation for this kind gift. Marcellus E. Foster, founder of the Houston Chronicle, who grew up in Huntsville, showed up to give tribute to Josey, despite a broken vertebra and the hot summer weather. “Now you may suffer from the heat but my friend, Tony, (and he pointed to R. A. Josey, with whom he played on the site as a boy) my friend, Tony, is suffering from embarrassment. He doesn’t like this. He’s too modest… I wish there were more R. A. Joseys in the world. I wish there were more good boys to know their duty to their God, to their country, to their community, for these boys of today will be the R. A. Joseys of the future.”[8]
Josey, a wise businessman, was making an investment in the wellbeing of his community. In a letter he wrote to Tom Ball in 1950 he said, “But I can think of no investment that I have ever made which has given me more satisfaction or paid me greater dividends in happiness than the Boy Scout Lodge of Huntsville and the annual award to the outstanding Boy Scout of the year.”[9] Hubert Harrison, President of The East Texas Chamber of Commerce said this at the dedication ceremony, “This lodge is an investment in human character that will pay eternal dividends. It is dedicated to those principles of righteousness, thrift, reverence and loyalty that have made America great.”[10]
The Josey family is well rooted in Huntsville history. Robert Anthony Josey was born in Huntsville on March 28, 1870. He was the son of Evander T. Josey and Mellissa Jane Cotton. Evander’s father, Theophilus Josey, moved to Huntsville from South Carolina in 1854 with his wife Mary Wilson when Evander was a child. In Huntsville, Theophilus bought a house known as the “Raven” from Gen. Sam Houston. Later, E.T. Josey became a teacher in Huntsville and ran a boarding home. In 1861, he volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army, serving under Company K, Brown’s Regiment for four years, earning many decorations. After the war, he returned to Huntsville and married Mellissa Jane Cotton, with whom he reared seven children. E. T. Josey served as a Walker County Tax Collector and was a deacon for the First Baptist Church in Huntsville for almost 60 years. [11]
Robert A. Josey grew up in Huntsville where he attended primary school and after that Sam Houston Teachers College, graduating in 1890. He also received a degree from Texas A&M University. In 1901 he began his career in the wild oil drilling campaigns of Spindletop field in Beaumont, Texas, and was said to have drilled the second oil well there. He amassed a sizable fortune and founded more wells in Oklahoma. He was a leading figure in the emerging oil business there. In 1930, Josey sold his holdings there to the Texas Company, for a reported $10 million, and moved to Houston. He had also acquired extensive holdings in the East Texas oil fields and held those until his death in 1954.[12]
R.A. Josey’s brother, Col. Jackson E. Josey, was also a major contributor of time and money to the Boy Scouts of Huntsville. He too was a well known philanthropist, most notable for contributions to the Sam Houston Teachers College Vocational Schools, named the Josey Vocational Schools in his honor. He was also known for his renovation of General Sam Houston’s Steamboat House and subsequent donation of the structure to the city of Huntsville. Robert’s sister, Mollye Josey King, was also a contributor to the Boy Scouts organization and was dedicated civic leader in Huntsville.[13]
Even though Robert Josey moved to Houston, he never forgot about his roots in Huntsville. He performed many services and gave much to the town through his philanthropic works. He donated the land used to create Emancipation Park, a treasured site for the local African American community. Josey created a fund to help pay hospital expenses of deserving people in need.[14] He also paid off the debt owed by the First Baptist Church, where his father was a deacon.[15] In 1933, he donated $2,500 for the creation of a new fund to aid students seeking a higher education at Sam Houston State Teachers College. The fund was named “The E.T. and Melissa Josey Loan Fund”, in honor of his mother and father, and appropriately announced on Mother’s Day. Josey was quoted as saying:
“People have been forced by the happenings of the recent past few years to curtail their allowable expenditures for educational purposes. I believe that the maintenance of our civilization and the continued enjoyment of its benefits require educational training It is more than an individual question; it is a social question. I desire some part in encouraging the continued attendance of young people upon our schools and colleges. That the opportunity exists in Huntsville affords me much pleasure.”[16]
Even though the Boy Scouts of America was not formally organized in the United States until February 8, 1910, a troop was formed in Huntsville in 1909, showing anticipation of a scouting organization in the town. “According to a newspaper clipping, Reverend W.T. Ahrenbeck, minister of the Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, organized a troop in 1909. The troop met at the Presbyterian Church. No other mention is found of this early effort.”[17] Nevertheless, scouting has been a long tradition in Huntsville. A picture of this troop was given to the Boy Scouts on the day of the dedication by Mrs. I. B. McFarland, and is there to this day. In the early days of scouting, much enthusiasm was expressed in creating “one strong independent national movement for all regardless of race or creed.”[18] As the United States entered into World War I, Scouts were called upon to serve their country, if not serving in the armed forces, then serving by participating in food drives for soldiers, helping the Red Cross, and selling Liberty Bonds. In the year following the war, the Boy Scouts organization grew in size and value, and became more organized. As the country entered the Great Depression, the Boy Scouts were forced to make sacrifices. However, they handled the crisis with “renewed enthusiasm”, and were always optimistic.[19] Weekly dues were abandoned, scouts were not required to wear uniforms, and activities requiring transportation were limited. One positive thing that came out of the rising unemployment levels was more time for adult volunteers to lead the organization, and those with jobs did their share to assist in any way possible.[20] During these times, Josey’s contribution gave a great boost to the Scouting community and proved to deepen the roots of the organization in Huntsville.
The Josey Boy Scout Lodge is presently located on the corner of 22nd Street and Sam Houston Ave., one mile south of downtown square. In structural design, it remains in the same form as the date of its completion in 1934. The lodge comprises an area of 4,270 square feet divided into five rooms, and the whole plot of land it sits on has an area of about 12 acres.[21] It serves as a meeting place for Huntsville’s three BSA troops, Troop 97, 98 and 114, with a combined estimate of 100 Boy Scouts. It is also the site for various Court of Honors, ceremonies that recognize the achievements of the scouts for things such as merit badges, rank advancements, and community service. It also serves as a venue for Eagle Scout ceremonies, a ceremony presenting the highest rank given in the BSA to a Scout. Another Boy Scout group that meets here is Venture Crew 99, an organization within the Boy Scouts of America including males and females between the ages of 14 and 20 years, developing the youth’s skills in character building, leadership skills, and personal fitness. The lodge is also an important location for various Boy Scout leadership sessions, and has been known to hold “lock-ins” for the Scouts during weekends. A groundskeeper’s house was erected next to the lodge at the end of 1934. In the annex, built in the 1960’s and located in the back of the lodge itself, local Huntsville Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts hold meetings and activities there. Inside is a fully functioning kitchen and restrooms. Although the Robert A. Josey Scout Lodge is strictly for Scouts, it does permit the Huntsville YMCA to hold various summer day camp and afterschool programs in the lodge and the annex.
“It’s very rare for the Boy Scouts to have their own building dedicated solely to the organization, in fact we’re only one in a handful,” said Scout leader Robert Kane of Troop 98.[22] The lodge is home to three troops and all of their equipment, which is stored in three separate basements in the lodge. The lodge has one massive meeting hall with a beautiful fireplace made of petrified wood taken from the nearby Sam Houston National Park, and three separate meeting rooms as well as bathrooms. Two of the rooms have fireplaces, made of stone. Upkeep for the structure is funded by the Robert A. Josey Foundation, which also aids the scouts financially in troop functions and trips. The fund paid for renovations of the lodge in 1987, in which some of the logs and the roof were replaced. By 1987, the Josey Foundations trust had increased from $30,000 to an excess of $200,000, and financed the renovations that cost about $6,000.[23] The land surrounding the lodge also belongs to the Scouts and is used for camping, cooking, construction activities. Located right next to the lodge on the same plot is the Josey Park baseball field, and behind the field is a basketball court, leased to the City of Huntsville. The City of Huntsville maintains the landscape, and mows the grass. The Boy Scouts of America provide the youth of Huntsville with citizenship training and leadership skills, and teach the boys responsibility, self reliance, and character building. Many of the qualities that the Scouts strive to teach are embodied in the Scout Law stating that, “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” The organization has performed many acts of community service in Huntsville such as food and clothing drives for the needy, building dog and cat houses and scratching posts for the Rita B. Huff Animal Shelter, picking up litter and trash around town, building service ramps for people with disabilities, volunteering at soup kitchens for the hungry, and repairing parks and public buildings. They assist the police and fire departments, aid disaster victims, and clean up after storms. The Scouts also participate in local parades and memorial services, like the Veteran’s Day Ceremony at the HEARTS Veterans Museum, paying tribute to the many veterans who have served our country. The organization also teaches the youth many important skills, such as first aid and swimming, and merit badges give them the opportunities to learn skills ranging from archery and horseback riding to engineering and personal finance. Learning how to cook for oneself and tie knots are great ways the scouts learn to be self reliant. The scouts are also very reverent to their environment and practice conservationism and environmentally sound camping techniques, often leaving the site cleaner than it was when they had arrived there.
The big annual event held at the lodge is the Parent and Son Banquet, formerly known as the Father and Son Banquet, where the Josey Award for outstanding community service by a Scout is given. Candidates for the award write an essay to the selection board, and winners are chosen by the Scout’s peers. The award was previously $100, but in recent years has been upped to $500. Several outstanding Scouts from Huntsville have been involved in the Boy Scouts including but not limited to W.E. Lowry, Dr. Ray Black, H.C. Rogers, Jr., A. E. Tampke, Arvin Miller, Dr. Earl Huffer, Herndon Robinson, J. E. Galloway, Clyde I. Hall, Ted Horton, E.V. Gibbs, John McDaniel, C.C. Payne, Bert Smith, A.C. Childs, T.C. Letts, J. Arnold Dyson, M.W. Scholetter, and William A. Johnson.[24] One very notable Eagle Scout from Huntsville is Brigadier General William Ray Lynch, Jr.. He was born in Madisonville, Texas in 1917 and became an Eagle Scout while he was in secondary school. He was the first person to receive the Robert A. Josey Award in 1934, when it came to a tie between him and fellow Scout Robert Bunting, Jr., so the two decided to split the $100 award.[25] He joined the Texas National Guard at only 16 and served his position faithfully for many years including participation in seven campaigns in WWII. Some of the campaigns included amphibious landings at Salerno, Anzio, and the southern coast of France during the assault on the D-Day. In the Korean War, he served in six campaigns against the communist forces of North Korea and China, and remained there until the ceasefire was ordered. In the Vietnam War, he commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Calvary Division (Air Mobile), and spent a year fighting the Viet Cong in the jungles of Vietnam and the Cambodian border. General Lynch was awarded many medals during his 36 years of active duty, including the Silver Star, four Legions of Merit, six awards of the Bronze Star Medal (one with the ‘V’ device for valor), five Air Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart, and two Presidential Unit Citations. His name is also inscribed on a monument dedicated to the 230 soldiers who fought in all WWII, Korea, and Vietnam wars, in the Military Hall of Fame.[26] This exemplary Eagle Scout is a fine example of the Boy Scout’s sense of duty and dedication to their country.
Robert A. Josey was a man of service, “To be happy and successful in this life, one must start with a definite objective at the earliest moment -- and this objective should be – service.”[27] If this is true, then Mr. Josey must have been one of the most happy and successful persons to come out of Huntsville, since he gave so much to the city through his philanthropy. The Josey Boy Scout Lodge is a symbol of the dedication, responsibility, and self-reliance, that the Boy Scouts of America are known to advocate to its youth members. The lodge offers a place for the Scouts to meet and learn trustworthiness, loyalty, leadership skills, and morals, along with countless other useful skills, preparing the Scouts for their future endeavors in the world. The Boy Scouts of Huntsville are grateful for the contributions that Robert A. Josey made, not only to them, but to the city of Huntsville as a whole. At the dedication ceremony on June 17, 1934, Josey stated, “Some of us may think that when we are storing up properties and possessions to hand down to our own children, we are providing future safeguards for them; but when we, at the same time, allow the children of others reared in poverty and ignorance, who are to become our partners and the partners of our own children in governing this great country, we may be sure that we are being indifferent to a condition which will certainly destroy what we are building up.”[28] The message behind this statement of service is embodied by the beautiful gift Josey gave to the Scouts, and the lodge serves not only as a center of community for Huntsville and the Boy Scouts, but as a symbol of service to one’s country and community for which all Americans should strive to achieve.

Footnotes:
[1] Harry McCormick, “Robert A. Josey’s Beautiful Gift to Boy Scouts” The Houston Press, June 18, 1934, Second Section, 1.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Gary Price,Thomas Henry Ball, The Handbook of Texas Online, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles.
[4] Barbara Williams, “Scouts to Celebrate Josey Lodge’s 50th Anniversary”, Huntsville Morning News, May 4, 1984, 6A.
[5] Harry McCormick, “Robert A. Josey’s Beautiful Gift to Boy Scouts” 1.
[6] Executive Meeting of the Huntsville District, January 20, 1934, The Robert A. Josey Lodge Inc. Papers, Kay King Mitchell, Huntsville, Texas.
[7] “Josey’s legacy in scouting lives on”, Huntsville Item, March 18, 1984, Editorial Section, 4A.
[8] Quote from M. E. Foster, “Robert A. Josey’s Beautiful Gift to Boy Scouts” The Houston Press, June 18, 1934, Second Section, 1.
[9] Josey’s legacy in scouting lives on”, Huntsville Item, March 18, 1984, Editorial Section, 4A.
[10] Quote from M. Harrison, “Robert A. Josey’s Beautiful Gift to Boy Scouts” The Houston Press, June 18, 1934, Second Section, 1.
[11] Walker County Genealogical Society and Walker County Historical Commission, Walker County Texas: A History (Dallas, Texas: Curtis Media Corp. 1986), 478.
[12] “Spindletop’s R.A. Josey Dies at 83”, The Houston Post. February 1, 1954, 1.
[13] Walker County Genealogical Society and Walker County Historical Commission, Walker County Texas: A History (Dallas, Texas: Curtis Media Corp. 1986), 478.
[14] Josey’s Legacy in Scouting Lives On”, Huntsville Item, March 18, 1984, Editorial Section.
[15] “Spindletop’s R.A. Josey Dies at 83”, The Houston Post. February 1, 1954, 1.
[16] “ New Loan Fund”, Ex-Student News Letter, July 1933, Vol.7 No.3.
[17] Minor S. Huffman, Sam Houston Scouts: Seventy Five Years of History in the Sam Houston Area Council (Houston: Sam Houston Area Council, 1985) 11.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Ibid. 42.
[20] Ibid. 42.
[21] Debbie DeLoach, “Scout Lodge ‘Logging’ First Major Renovations”, The Huntsville Item. July 26, 1987, 1.
[22] (Robert Kane, pers. comm. Location Josey Scout Lodge November 10, 2009.)
[23] Debbie DeLoach, “Scout Lodge ‘Logging’ First Major Renovations”, The Huntsville Item. July 26, 1987, 1.
[24] Minor S. Huffman, Sam Houston Scouts: Seventy Five Years of History in the Sam Houston Area Council (Houston: Sam Houston Area Council, 1985).
[25] “Huntsville Is Grateful To Houstonian for Its Fine Boy Scout Lodge”, The Houston Post, December 21, 1935.
[26] “Brigadier General William Ray Lynch, Jr., U.S. Army, Retired”, The Huntsville Item, March 1, 1995, 10A.
[27] Harry McCormick, “Robert A. Josey’s Beautiful Gift to Boy Scouts” The Houston Press, June 18, 1934, Second Section, 1.
[28] Ibid.