1930 Coming Of Age
Influential Slovakia
Picture from p. 106 1. A little warrior with a headdress, 1937. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 106 2. Chief Wapiton admitting a young warrior, Walden 1937. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 106 3. A cover of the magazine Brezový háj ("Birch Wood"), Ranné svitanie 1929. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 106 4. The tribe Ranné svitanie at Rysí skála, Walden 1937. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 106 5. Eagle Feathers Council's stamp, 1936. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 107 6. A page from Ranné svitanie's chronicle, 1937. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 107 7. Monoki and Očko burning out a hollow log for a drum, Walden 1931. ~z~ SI
Picture from p. 107 8. The beginnings of indiancraft in LLM, Wahpeton and Ranné svitanie at Walden in 1937. Mahykan is holding the shield. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 107 9.–10. Covers of the magazine Hlasateľ, 1935–1938. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 107 11. Dancing at Walden, 1937. ~z~ SI
Picture from p. 107 12. Skiers in front of the hut, Walden 1938. ~z~ AW
In the early 1930s, the centerpoint of LČSW gradually shifted to Slovakia where a new generation of woodcrafters was being raised by the so-called Walden School. The campsite under the Kriváň peak was gaining significance especially thanks to the Chief Viliam Valovič – Manoki, but also thanks to the yearly visits by the largest League tribe – Ranné svitanie from the town of Zvolen. Little by little, the chiefs in Slovakia took over all the important positions in LČSW and largely determined the ideological orientation of the entire organization. They took on the path of American woodcraft the priorities of which lie in getting to know the culture of North American Indians. Anyone who disagreed with them either left voluntarily or was expelled. Understandably, this approach weakened the organization substantially, and even Seton's visit in 1936 unfortunately did not improve the situation. Only with the onset of war did things change significantly.
The tribe Bílý Slunovrat ("White Solstice")
Picture from p. 108 1. A header of the magazine Slunovrat ("Solstice") with the tribe emblem, 1932. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 108 2. The tribe Bílý Slunovrat with Segwun, Samechov 1932. ~z~ RT
Picture from p. 108 3. The campfire girls, Samechov 1932. ~z~ RT
Picture from p. 108 4. A cover of the magazine Slunovrat II. roč., č. 1/1932–33. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 108 5. The Slunovrat magazine printing block, 1932. ~z~ LA
Picture from p. 109 6. The camp roll of the tribe Bílý Slunovrat č. 3/ 1933–34. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 109 7. The camp Přátelství ("Friendship") in Nový Hrozenkov, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 109 8. An invitation to a public meeting, 1932. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 109 9. The section Rysové in the valley Prokopské údolí, 28.10.1931. From the left: Kamil Ritzinger, Jan Niebauer - Wo, Vojta Řežábek, Karel Bukovanský - Buk, Josef Žáček - Racek, X, Josef Svoboda - Adyk. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 109 10. An invitation to Bílý Slunovrat's celebration, 1932. ~a~ BK, ~z~ DK
Picture from p. 109 11. A cover of the magazine Slunovrat roč. I, č. 2/1931. ~z~ AW
Kmen Bílého Slunovratu, the woodcrafter "Tribe of White Solstice", was founded and led by Miloslav Vavrda – Minehaha in Prague during the 1930s. The tribe was founded in the clubhouse of the tribe Živěna in Prague on December 18, 1930, and was named Kmen Slunovratu ("Tribe of Solstice"). It was a merger of the Prague-based tribes that had been falling apart: Stříbrná Luna ("Silver Lune", sections Rysi – "Lynxes" and Severka – "Polaris") and a girls' tribe Radostné Mládí ("Joyful Youth", section Vlčí Máky – "Poppies"). Antonie Bukovanská – Šipka was the Fire Warden of the tribe, Br. Josef Svoboda – Adyk was the Tally Chief, and Br Josef Žáček – Racek was the Book-keeper.
They issued the magazine Slunovrat ("Solstice") and the bulletin Svitek březové kůry ("Birch Bark Roll") from February 1931 until the end of 1936.
The group Družstvo Walden
Picture from p. 110 1. The header of Družstvo Walden's official correspondence card, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 110 2. A postcard with an Ujmisko theme, 1933. ~a~ KL, ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 110 3. A postcard with the Nový Hrozenkov camps theme, 1933. ~a~ BK, ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 110 4. A promotional postcard with Družstvo Walden's huts, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 110 5. Shareholders of Družstvo Walden during the final approval of the huts, 1933. From the left: paní Teichmanová, Mirek Teichman - Cvrček, Vojta Trnka - Beejeegash, Jaroslav Hofman - Dreng, Matěj Teichman, Miluše Vavrdová, Antonín Hübner - Balú. Dole: Soňa Retková, nad ní Tonča Bukovanská - Šipka, X, X, X, Alenka Kudělková, Anička Holická, X. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 111 6.–7. The camp Probuzení, Nový Hrozenkov, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 111 8. A promotional poster with the Walden hut, 1933. ~a~ KL, ~z~ LA
Picture from p. 111 9. A promotional leaflet with sport activities in Javorníky, 1945. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 111 10. The Chiefs of the Nový Hrozenkov camp, 1933. From the left: Atahualpa, Segwun. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 111 11. The families of Atahualpa, Segwun and Balú with Družstvo Walden's flag, 1936. ~z~ AW
Walden, a group for the establishment of summer sanatoriums with a campsite and two huts in Nový Hrozenkov. The group functioned from 1933 when the Walden hut had been built at Ujmisko. In summer it served the same purpose as its older sibling in Slovakia, i.e. facilities for the woodcrafters camping there. The summer camps "Probuzení" ("Awakening") took place there only in 1933 and 1934, otherwise Samechov was preferred. The huts Walden and Weekend (built a year later) served, together with the accompanying land, all-year-round as a recreation center for the general public all the way until 1957. The group owned it in 1933–44; then, on 5 September 1944, it was sold to Jaroslav Retka, one of the founders. The contract included a commitment to the group until 1974. However, only a year later Retka was just an administrator of the recreation center which would come under the state's administration. Fortunately, Družstvo managed to have Antonie Bukovanská – Šipka assigned as the National Administrator, and the Retka family could keep running the site without any major problems until 1953 when Družstvo Walden got officially disbanded. In 1957 Retka was forced to sell, and even though he used the commitment towards his friends to defend himself, he was accused of running an unauthorized private business, and got arrested. His ill health took its toll on him only a year later; Jaroslav Retka – Segwun died at the age of 52.
The huts were then acquired by Film Studios Zlín, and have been privately owned since 1990.
Camp Allen
Picture from p. 112 1. A header of an official correspondence card with the logo of Camp Allen, 1935. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 112 2. Writing paper with Camp Allen's header and activities, 1930. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 112 3.–5. A promotional postcard of Camp Allen, 1935. ~z~ JB
The sculptor Karel V. Čejka and his wife Dobroslava Čejková founded Camp Allen in 1929 – a permanent international camp on the bank of the river Želivka near the town Zruč nad Sázavou. The name and idea of the camp was inspired by its Texas-based namesake. One of the preserved promotional postcards reads:
They own a large plot of land in the forested valley on the bank of the river Želivka. They provide the opportunity to live a simple life in nature, putting emphasis on a pure personality, on the care for one's health, and on self-sufficiency. They are a school of leadership. The campers live here with healthy companions under the leadership of good instructors. They learn to love nature, they strengthen their personality and health, and they learn to be self-sufficient, considerate of others, decisive and helpful to their close ones. The program is carefully planned with the participation of all.
The Čejkas maintained friendships with the "Prague school" woodcrafters around Miloslav Vavrda and the Samechov campers. During the renewal of LLM in 1968, the Preparatory Committee's meeting was also attended by Slávka Čejková.
Kmen Ohně ("Tribe of Fire") Husovice
Picture from p. 113 1. The tribe's camp under Templštýn, 1930. ~z~ RD
Picture from p. 113 2. Kmen Ohně at the time of its birth with Rudolf Kychler, 1920. ~z~ RD
Picture from p. 113 3. Kmen Ohně at Kostelík, 1922. ~z~ RD
Picture from p. 113 4. A cover of the tribe magazine Oheň ("Fire") III. roč., č. 6/1926. ~z~ RD
Kmen Ohně ("Tribe of Fire") Husovice was founded by Rudolf Kychler – Jánošík in 1920 as a troop of Socialist Scouts. Two years later, they joined the League, where they functioned until the war under the leadership of Jaroslav Douša – Mauglí. After the war, in 1946, the tribe was renewed by its former member Lesan and young university students from Brno.
Kmen Radosti ("Tribe of Joy") Brno
Picture from p. 114 1. A cover of the magazine Totem č. 2/1931. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 114 2. Hakadah under the totem at Walden, 1931. ~z~ DR
Picture from p. 114 3. Lída Hrazdilová - Duška, 1936. ~z~ RV
Picture from p. 114 4. Jasan and Sylva, 1932. ~z~ DR
Picture from p. 114 5. The tribe Kmen Radosti Brno, 1931, from the left: Josef Dvořáček – Bor, Karel Polák – Bouček, Gustav Peša – Smrk, Zdeněk Švanhal – Chróstek, Karel Ceyp – Modřín, Ladislav Kolář – Jasan, bottom row: Jarka Švanhalová – Didiask and Vladyka Švanhalová – Hakadah. ~z~ DR
Picture from p. 114 6. Chróstek at Walden, 1931. ~z~ SI
Kmen Radosti ("Tribe of Joy") Brno was founded in the 1920s and ceased to exist in 1939. It issued the magazine Totem.
Kmen Slunce ("Tribe of the Sun") Teplice
Picture from p. 115 1. The camp at Nový Hrozenkov, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 115 2.–3. The tribe Kmen Slunce camping in the forest Flájský hvozd, 1933. ~z~ PM
Picture from p. 115 4. Beejeegash as the camp's healer at Ujmisko with Segwun and Karel Kapica, 1933. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 115 5. The registration of Kmen Slunce in LČSW for 1932. ~z~ PM
In 1926, the teacher Vojtěch Trnka – Šíp (Arrow) founded the woodcrafter tribe Kmen Slunce ("Tribe of the Sun") in Teplice-Šanov. Šíp was directly linked to Miloš Seifert and Miloslav Vavrda, and in 1930s he camped in Nový Hrozenkov. The tribe functioned until the annexation of Sudetenland in 1938.
City sections in Prague
Picture from p. 116 1.–2. City sections camping in Klukovice, 1933. ~z~ SI
Picture from p. 116 3. Boys on a timber raft. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 116 4. A cover of Karel Bukovanský's almanac S modrou oblohou... ("With the Blue Sky...")., 1933. ~z~ JB
Picture from p. 116 5. A cover of the magazine Družina, 1935. ~z~ SI
Karel Bukovanský – Buk (Beech)'s single attempt to apply the woodcraft program among children on a large scale outside a woodcrafter organization. After one of the public meetings of the Prague tribes (Slunovrat and Živěna) in 1932, Buk was approached by representatives of Družiny pro školní mládež hl. m. Prahy ("Groups for School Youth of the Capital City od Prague", consisting of 70 organized groups of about 40 children each) to help them implement a new curriculum focused on recreation, life in nature, and handicraft. This was the perfect opportunity to put forest wisdom into practice. Buk used this opportunity after the 1932 forced breakup with the League, and got fully committed to this activity. Although it was not "pure woodcraft" according to the Birch Bark Roll, a worthwhile urban as well as camp program was on offer for thousands of children from Prague in 1930s, which was duly appreciated by E. T. Seton during his visit and the council of the city groups on December 23, 1936.
Seton in Prague
Picture from p. 117 1. Visiting the City groups of the district Prague XII. From the left: Seifert, First, E. T. Seton, Julia Seton, Velinský, Kellerová, 23.12.1936. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 117 2. Seton's portrait photo with an autograph, 1936. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 117 3. Seton with his wife; on the right: Ctirad Švehla – Bobr at an exhibition of woodcrafters' work and parts of costumes, 1936. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 117 4. Stickers with Seton's portrait, 1935. ~z~ AW.
Picture from p. 117 5. Saying good-bye before leaving for Germany, from the left: Jaromír Wolf - Vlk, Jan Niebauer - Wo, E.T.Seton - Black Wolf, Arpád Jávor - Sagaweesi, Viliam Valovič - Manoki, 26. 12. 1936. ~z~ AW
Thanks to Miloslav Vavrda's and Jaroslav Šimsa's activity, Ernest and Julie Setons' visit to Czechoslovakia was successfully arranged for 20–26 December 1936. This event was unforgettable for everyone able to attend it, including the Setons.
Jugoslovanska Gozdovniška Liga (JGL)
Picture from p. 118 1. JGL's emblem. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 118 2.–4. Covers of handbooks and of the magazine of Slovenian woodcrafters. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 118 5. The ZST camp in Vrata, from the left: Črtomir Zorec, Vilko Vezjak and Hinko Pajer, 1926. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 6. The ZST camp (in the middle: Hinko Pajer), Kamniška Bistrica 1925. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 7. The camp in Martuljek, 1929. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 8. The JGL camp at Martuljek, 1935. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 9. A cover of JGL's magazine, 1937. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 10. Woodcrafters-alpinists, from the left: Dušan Vodeb and Miran Cizelj, 1937. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 119 11. Črtomir Zorec's linocut. ~z~ AW
The most populous woodcraft organization in Europe was founded by Hinko Pajer – Rdeči volk in 1925 with the name Zvez slovenskih tabornikov ("Slovenian Campers' Association", ZST) in Ljubljana. Many chiefs studied in Czechoslovakia where they gained experience at LLM camps. In 1929 the organization was renamed JGL. The Slovenians issued the magazines Ogenj ("Fire") and Plamen ("Flame"), the translation of Seton's novel Rolf in the Woods (Slovenian: Rolf gozdovnik, Sled, 1937) and, with the use of the cyclostyle, the handbook Steza orlovich peres ("Eagle Feathers Path"). In 1951, scouts and woodcrafters renewed the organization called Združenje tabornikov Slovenije ("Slovenian Campers' Society") that has been active until today and accepted into the international scouting organization WOSM in 1994.
Viliam Valovič - Manoki, Julia Moses Seton - Woniya
Picture from p. 120 V. Valovič, 1946. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 120 At Walden, 1928, top from the left: Manoki, Owatuna, bottom from the left: Biminiji, Quido. ~z~ AW
Picture from p. 121 Julia Seton. ~z~ WI
Picture from p. 121 The Seton family, 1938. ~z~ FK
Picture from p. 122 The watercolor painting "Camping at Královská", July 1942. ~a~ JW, ~z~ AW
- MUDr. Viliam Valovič - Manoki
- (* 23. února 1908, Hatvan, Maďarsko – † 12. listopadu 1981).
His name also spelled William Valovitch. He had seven siblings. He studied at the university in Bratislava and graduated as a doctor on May 2, 1936.
In 1926, him, Felix Dvořák and Vojtěch Palkovský got to know Seifert's book Přírodou a životem k čistému lidství ("Through nature and life to pure humanhood"). They contacted the author and became members of Liga pro výchovu přírodou – Moudrost lesa ("League for Education by Nature – Forest Wisdom") as the tribe "Deti Slnka" ("Children of the Sun") Bratislava (later: Ojibway). In 1927 they camped with Seifert at Walden in Low Tatras. Their interest in woodcraft deepened to become a life-long one.
In 1931, Manoki became the Chief of Liga československých woodcrafterů and remained so until the country was partitioned in 1938. Although he managed to introduce woodcraft in its original, purely American form, the organization he created was isolated and had no social meaning whatsoever.
According to his own words, he burned the entire historical archive of LČSW (1913–1938) in Bratislava in 1938, which also contained irreplaceable materials by Seifert from the period of woodcraft's beginnings on our lands. From 1943 he was engaged in the guerrilla resistance against the occupant. He received a high state order for war heroism and fighting the occupant.
In 1945–47 he was the Chief of the renewed LČSW; in 1947–51 he was the Head of the Executive Board. In 1947 he received the order Řád Svantovítova Kohouta (Rooster of Svantovit). In 1978 he received an award from the American League's President.
In 1949–52 he was arrested for subversive activity against the republic. In 1952–76 he worked as a doctor.
Viliam Valovič was the author of many samizdat articles and a brochure about E. T. Seton, and also a translator from English and German. He used the abbreviations viva villa to sign his articles.
- Julia Moses Seton - Woniya
- (* 15. května 1889, New York, USA – † 1. dubna 1975, Santa Fe, Nové Mexiko).
She grew up in New York where she studied education and theater studies. After college she shortly taught in Harlem where she met her first husband Ted Buttree. In 1914 she traveled to the south of Georgia with him. However, she got seriously ill there. They had to go back to the Northeast where she would recover at her aunt's in Port Chester. She begun to lead a group of local girls with whom she attended a lecture in 1918. There she met Seton for the first time. His charisma charmed her. Thanks to his influence, she transformed her girls' group into a woodcrafter tribe that joined WLA. At that time, Seton has apparently felt lonely and emotionally unfulfilled for some time. Grace, his first wife, was very socially active, and after her departure for her overseas journey, his loneliness deepened even more. Julia's enthusiasm injected new energy into him. Their mutual sympathy evolved into an intimate relationship; the only obstacle was that they both were committed to other people. Paradoxically, their prudish surroundings considered this more problematic than their partners did. Grace did not want a scandal that would damage the promising development of the woodcraft movement, and Ted Buttree loved Julia so much that he later followed her even to Seton Village. After their relationship went public, they decided to go west. In 1927 they went to New Mexico to look for suitable land for the new center of The Woodcraft League, where they could start their new life. The economic crisis of 1929 complicated their situation, however. Money would lose its value fast, and existential issues caused the interest in studies at their Indian College to be only minimal. The situation improved only in 1934 when they both could finally resolve their personal commitments and get occupied only with their personal lives further on. In 1936, they visited Czechoslovakia together with E. T. Seton. The married couple adopted a girl named Beulah whom they called Dee.
Julia wrote several educational books about the American Indian culture as well as a book of Seton's memories, By a Thousand Fires.
