1915 The First Organizations
Obec Psohlavců ("The Dogheads Community")
Picture from p. 42 1. The participants of the founding council of Obec Psohlavců near Zbiroh, 31.3.1915. ~z~ SI
Picture from p. 42 2. The cover of the magazine Psohlavec 1/1918. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 42 3. The first official article about The Birch Bark Roll by Jan Hořejší with the title "Ernest Thompson-Seton a jeho výchovná soustava dorostu" ("... and the group of youth under his education") for Věstník sokolský XIX, issue no. 12/1915, pp. 313–320. ~z~ SI
Picture from p. 43 4. An article about Obec Psohlavců published in Světozor XV, issue no. 39/1915. ~z~ AA
Picture from p. 43 5. Jan Hořejší camping with Příbram-based Psohlavci at the reservoir Pilský rybník, June 1916. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 43 6. The stamp of Psohlavci in Příbram. ~z~ AA
The mutual cooperation of the high school teachers Hořejší, Müller, Seifert, Maixner and the principal Krs resulted in the founding council in the town of Zbiroh, Bohemia, on Easter 1915. Between March 31 and April 2, the organization Junácká obec Psohlavců ("The Dogheads Scouting Community") was founded, led by the Chief Jan Hořejší. Norbert Pokorný, the agile Head of Administration at the newspaper Národní Politika ("National Politics"), was elected the Executive. Both his sons, Norbert Jr and Jaromír, were the members of the first troop of Psohlavci, at that time led by the young guide Miloslav Roubal. Obec Psohlavců had a common committee of leaders and a common statute, yet it was still a loose association of independent groups. Obec Psohlavců made the Chodovian dog head painted by Mikoláš Aleš their emblem. Back then, the Prague district Skautské odbory had already been using it from 1913. Obec's anthem was "Zelení hájové" ("Green Woods"), a folklore song from the Chodsko region, made famous in 1898 by Karel Kovařovic in his opera Psohlavci performed in the National Theater in Prague. On the Pentecost holiday (10–11 June 1916) the 2nd Council of Obec Psohlavců was held in the forest Obecnice near the town of Příbram. It was accompanied by many contests, a council and a meeting of the various troops' leaders. Psohlavci also operated in the Bohemian towns Jindřichův Hradec and Domažlice. The year 1917 was a year of stagnation for Obec. The bloodshed of war had already taken family members from most families, which was no different among Psohlavci troops. In August 1917, another rally of Obec Psohlavců was held on the hill Městská Hora in Beroun, organized by Miloš Seifert.
The last year of the war was connected with an increase in the activity of Obec Psohlavců who resumed the publishing of their own magazine Psohlavec. Under the protection of Spolek pro opravu školy národní v Praze ("Alliance for the Repair of the National School in Prague"), the troops of the Czech Obec Psohlavců organized "School, scout and Sokol camping" on the football pitch of the club S. K. Union in Žižkov, Prague, on Sunday 2 June.
Woodcraft League of America (WLA)
Picture from p. 44 1. Woodcraft Girls on a promotional postcard, New York 1916. ~a~ PT, ~z~ BM
Picture from p. 44 2. Anya Seton is preparing the seating for a council (computer-colorized), New York 29.1.1916. ~a~ PT, ~z~ AO
Picture from p. 44 3. Seton and the tribe Blackbear before the founding council of WLA (computer-colorized), New York 29.1.1916. ~a~ PT , ~z~ AO
Picture from p. 45 4. The winter council Wabanaki School, Greenwich 1917. ~z~ BM
Picture from p. 45 5. The WLA memo, 1916. ~z~ BM
Picture from p. 45 6. Little woodcrafters in gowns made of blankets, Modern boy activites No 9 – Woodcraft, 1921. ~z~ KO
Although Seton would always say that he had founded an "organization" in April 1902, his proposal of the organization had not, in fact, counted with any such thing in the beginning. Until 1915, he would deal only with the organizational structure of the tribe in the individual issues of The Birch Bark Roll, but he added this to his plans when he saw the reactions to his articles. Although Seton had written about Woodcraft Indians for the first time only in the 5th issue of 1906, he had clarified right in the beginning that the youth itself had considered themselves Seton's Indians – the same youth so proud to identify with the originally scornful name Seton Injuns that journalists had come up with. From the very beginning, Seton had wanted to call them Woodcrafter Indians, but he had without doubt been flattered, so he had not opposed that. In 1912, though, he had understood that this had been a mistake, because it had made the impression to the general public that "his organization" had only consisted of a group of boys from the tribe Sinawa (Cos Cob) before the establishment of BSA. Apawamis (Rye), the first tribe of woodcrafter girls, had been founded in fall 1914, when a group of girls had separated from Camp Fire Girls in Rye. Sam Comly – Little Eagle, the brother of one of the girls, had been the Tally Chief of the tribe Black Bears (Port Chester/Rye) that had existed from 1906 already; its members had belonged to the youngest generation of Woodcraft Indians. In February 1915, the BSA leadership gave Seton an ultimatum about his naturalization. The reaction was the 14th edition of the Roll where a list of 29 members of the National Council appeared. This was the first sign of an independent woodcraft organization being born – for the time being under the name Woodcraft Indians, and consisting only of boys as no woman was on this list yet. In November 1915, however, the invitation to the merging council (21 November 1915), printed on a sheet of official letter paper, already listed 8 women among the 42 members of the national council. The council took place at Little Pequo, and by merging Woodcraft Indians, Woodcraft Girls and the woodcrafter groups of The Boys Scouts of America, a consensus was reached about the establishment of The Woodcraft League of America as of 1 January 1916. WLA was a free organization associating woodcrafter tribes that existed both indepentently and under other organizations or seasonally within summer camps for youth. Tribes regardless of religion (Jewish, Protestant, Catholic as well as secular), age (from 4 to 94 years of age) or sex (boys', girls' and co-educational) were associated.
Family woodcraft
Picture from p. 46 1. Edith and a squirrel, 1917. ~a~ JMH, ~z~ AO
Picture from p. 46 2. The Hoisington family, around 1918. ~z~ FB
Picture from p. 46 3. Edith and Ted are getting ready for a council, 1917. ~a~ JMH, ~z~ AO
Picture from p. 47 4.–6. The covers of L. E. Roy's woodcraft fiction. ~z~ AO
Picture from p. 47 7. Batěk with children, 20. léta. ~z~ FK
Picture from p. 47 8. Psohlavci from Prague on a trip with the section Medvíďata ("Bearcubs"), 1914. ~z~ SI
From the very beginning, entire families have been an important part of the movement. After all, E. T. Seton, the founder himself, his wife Grace and their daughter Ann are an example of this. Another examples are two prominent families who influenced the entire organization in their country in the beginning.
In America, they were the Hoisingtons: Julia May – Atma, Frederick Reed – Alkonda, their children: Fred Jr – Wita-tonkan, Will – Shingebis, Elizabeth – Pah-hlee-oh, Edith – Wabun-annung, Ted. Both daugthers have left behind woodcrafter diaries full of photographs. Atma, the mother, was the co-founder of WLA and provided the author Lillian Elizabeth Roy with materials for a whole series of books about woodcraft activities and her family life.
In the years 1916–1928, Roy wrote seven books in total. The most valuable of these are the first four which Atma had co-authored. She had provided the complete visual contents: dozens of beautiful photos of her children. For Czechs, the Batěk family was of similar significance; Alexandr Sommer Batěk – Heliar had six children in total and formed the Medvědi ("Bears") kin with them. In 1914, the Batěk family became a part of Psohlavci led by Jan Hořejší. In 1919, Batěk even became the Chief of Děti Svobody ("Children of Freedom"). From 1920 they did not belong to any organization anymore, but they stayed in friendly touch with Miloš Seifert, the Chief of LLM, until his death in 1941. Batěk wrote a number of fiction books about his experience with camping in nature, and the handbook Rodinný skauting ("Family scouting") (1920).
Alexander S. Batěk, Jan Hořejší, Elizabeth Hoisington
Picture from p. 48 A. S. Batěk during the war. ~z~ FK
Picture from p. 48 E. Hoisington, 1917. ~z~ BM
Picture from p. 49 J. Hořejší, 1925. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 49 The Hořejší family Christmas with the grandchildren, 1956. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 50 A drawing from the chronicle of Děti Živěny ("Children of Živěna"), 1915–1916. ~z~ LA
- Doc. PhDr. Alexander Sommer Batěk - Heliar
- (* 15. 6. 1874, Prádlo – † 6. 4. 1944, Praha)
Alexander Sommer Batěk studied chemistry and physics at the Faculty of Arts at Charles-Ferdinand University, Prague, and he knew prof. Masaryk in person, who was his supervisor. He was talented, self-made, full of life, of broad horizons and of many fine interests. Soon after he joined the technical school in Pilsen (1903), he would get better and better known to the public. His focus on education (he published various materials on his own costs and later scripts with illustrations and the magazine Zájmy všelidské - "Panhuman Interests") brought him the attention and respect of all those striving for "better people of the future" and self-perfection. He promoted healthy lifestyle, freedom of thought, education system reform, new styles of upbringing as well as the latest findings of science. Gradually he would meet and befriend like-minded people. In 1909 Batěk established Volné sdružení k hájení zájmů všelidských ("Free Association for the Advocacy of Panhuman Interests"), a community of brainworkers around Zájmy všelidské.
In his autobiography he wrote (among others): „I got to know scouting from Svojsík's works, and I met the man himself. Besides this, Dr Hořejší and the current professor Seifert, my acquaintances from Rokycany, would already visit me in Pilsen. I had met and liked them for their efforts towards a beautiful life in nature.” Also a part of Hořejší's troop, the Medvěd section (the Batěk family) would regularly attend the meetings of Psohlavci and come along on trips as well.
In 1919, Batěk was the head of the newly established organization Děti Svobody. After it got merged with Psohlavci, he was not involved with the scouting movement anymore.
- Elizabeth Folwell Hoisington - Pah-hlee-oh
- (* 20. srpna 1900, Sharon Hill, Pensylvánie, USA – † 23. března 1969, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA)
The daughter of Julia May Folwell Hoisington, involved in the founding of WLA in 1916 together with Grace Gallatin Seton. Her entire family was absorbed by woodcraft. There is even an autobiographic book called Woodcraft Boys at Sunset Island about summer 1915, written and published by her mother in cooperation with Lillian Elizabeth Roy in 1919.
Elizabeth was the first woman in the world to obtain the honor Sagamore. Her woodcrafter youth is described quite authentically in books by Lillian E. Roy, where she figures under the name Suzanne Remington-Zan. She was the closest friend and a mentor to Seton's daughter Anya. Her woodcrafter diaries, a valuable testimony about the beginnings of the movement in America, have been preserved.
- Jan Alois Hořejší
- (* 25. července 1885, Vídeň – † 24. února 1957, Praha)
A Czech pioneer of scouting, a teacher, writer and translator.
He was the son of Jan Alois Hořejší (1852–1887), a mechanic, and Marie Strankmüllerová (1856–1938), a seamstress. After his father's early death of tuberculosis, he lived in Klabava near Rokycany with his mother. Very talented, Jan first studied at the secondary school in Rokycany, where Bořivoj Müller was his teacher. Studies at the Faculty of Arts at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague between 1906 and 1912 made it possible for him to meet other people who would influence his life. Apart from professors, this was especially his classmate Miloš Seifert.
Having graduated university, he shortly taught at the secondary school in Rokycany, at the Girls' School of Education in Prague in the years 1913–1914, and at the School of Education in Příbram from 16 September 1914. Already during his studies he had come accross the idea of scouting, which is why he had camped in the surroundings of Tymákov near Rokycany in summer 1913. His troop had begun to call itself Psohlavci ("Dogheads"), and the individual sections had had flags with a black, red and green dog head.
The base of his section had been the Sokol youth (H. had become a member of Sokol in 1906). His disputes with the contemporary heads of Odbor Junáků – Českých skautů ("Czech Scouts District") had led him to establish his own scouting union of Psohlavci under the humanitary organization Záchrana ("Salvage") in fall 1913. Along with him, Bořivoj Müller's and the teacher Emil Pelunka's troops had joined Psohlavci. At the beginning of April 1914, he had begun to issue the magazine Psohlavec, which continued until 1922. In 1915, the friendly scout groups established "Obec Psohlavců".
From 1919, Hořejší taught in Košice, Slovakia, where he was the leader of a scout troop. Upon return to Bohemia, Hořejší and a half of the organization ultimately joined Svaz skautů ("Scouts Association"), whereas Seifert remained loyal to woodcraft and founded "Zálesácká liga" ("Woodmen's League") in spring 1922. Hořejší's idea that his Psohlavci group would play an important role within Svaz turned out to be flawed. Quite early on, it merged with Svojsík's Junáci ("Scouts"), and so the original idea was preserved only with Seifert's woodcrafters.
Hořejší married Marie Hamerská and they had three daughters: Marie, Jana, and Dagmar. For the rest of his life, he was active in both practical and theoretical adult education. Apart from teaching, he worked as an author and a translator. His scientific activity encompassed biology, philosophy, schooling, adult education, and education reform. From 1937 he managed the magazine Osvětová služba ("Education Service").
