Goodman Joins Scouting

Dr. Goodman began his Scouting career in 1911 at the age of twenty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two young Scouts, Gil Talmadge and Boyd Johnson, from Troop 1 knocked on his parent's door, and told him they were looking for a Scoutmaster.

In his four years as Scoutmaster, the troop grew to more than 100 Scouts. Goodman’s troop was considered the most exciting to be a part of and he took them camping as their Scoutmaster at Treasure Island.

A contemporary of Goodman described him in 1912 as,

well beloved by the boys, enjoys their confidence and is heart and soul in this phase of the work.

In later years, he would recall with nostalgia his troop, noting that renowned composer Albert Hay Malotte was "one of his boys" in Troop 1.

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Taft Elected President

On March 4, 1909, William Howard Taft was inaugurated as the 27^th President of the United States. President Taft became the first Honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. Every President since Taft has served Scouting in this role. Taft would later become the only president to also serve as a Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

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First Membership Certificate

In 1910, the first year of the Boy Scouts of America the BSA did not “Register” Scouts. Instead each Scout was “Certified.” The early BSA was still using the original British Boy Scout terms and symbols. Instead of receiving a registration card they received a document that certified them as a Scout. The BSA symbol printed on the certificate was the British Scout symbol, not the familiar BSA trefoil. Perhaps most unusual was usage of the British Scout Law. As a result the 1910 Certificate was printed with “The Nine Points of the Scout Law” and not our familiar twelve. Among the original BSA Nine Points of the Scout Law was the Eighth Point, “A Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.”

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