Ernest Thompson Seton was a world renown author, storyteller, artist-naturalist who created the “Woodcraft Indians” in 1902. It was the first secular youth development program in the US to use outdoor skill building and nature study as character building activities.
In 1910, Seton joined forces with Edgar Robinson, YMCA’s Boys Work Secretary for the International Committee, and others to set up the Boy Scouts of America (now called “Scouting America”). Meanwhile, nearly forty other youth groups were forming to address fears that young men at the time were complacent and listless due to Industrialization.
Julie Seton of the Ernest Thompson Seton Institute will give a talk that will provide a brief overview of Seton’s life, including his relationship with Robinson, and their actions through 1910 to set up the BSA. She will also touch on “The Experimental Camp” that was held the last two weeks of August 1910 at the Silver Bay Conference Center. And will mention how they wooed most other fledgling groups to join the BSA that became the premiere youth organization for the last 115 years.