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Monument to a hero stands in Winston-Salem
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Published: October 17, 2009
Happy 275th birthday, Daniel Boone.
It is not so often we get to acknowledge such an occasion. No one lives to enjoy appropriate adulation on a remarkable day like that, of course; but also, the lives of so few people make such an impact that we still recall them and their contributions two-and-three-quarter centuries later. Daniel Boone is certainly one of those noteworthy Americans, and he has a strong connection to North Carolina and to the Piedmont.
Daniel Boone was born in Pennsylvania on Oct. 22 (under the Julian calendar) in 1734. He lived in Colonial North Carolina for 21 years (from 1752 to 1773) and all of that in the region bounded by today's Winston-Salem, Salisbury and Boone. He is one of us and a favorite son of the Piedmont. He lived for 14 years in the Forks of the Yadkin (today's Davie and Yadkin counties); and his parents and brother, Israel, are buried in Mocksville. In 1756, he married Rebecca Bryan at his father Squire's cabin along Bear Creek and they lived many years near today's Farmington. Of course, he hunted often on the Blue Ridge plateau in the vicinity of the town that now bears his name, taking his young sons along on occasion to teach them in the ways of the woodsman's world.
This year is also the 100th year of the Boy Scouts of America, which will celebrate its centennial in February 2010. When the BSA was forming 100 years ago, the largest boy's organization in America was the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone. Built on the legacy of America's pioneer hero and inspiring young boys to emulate the character and to develop the woodsman's skills of Daniel Boone, the society soon folded itself into the fledgling Scouting movement and helped get the Boy Scouts of America off the ground.
As Scouting celebrates its centennial during 2010, one hopes Scouts and Scouters across the country will recall with pride the heritage and legacy of Daniel Boone and renew their commitment to continue leading boys into young manhood along a path of character development that would make Daniel Boone proud.
In Winston-Salem, we have a daily reminder of Daniel Boone's legacy in the arrowhead monument adjacent to Hanes Park. It was dedicated on the night of Oct. 29, 1927, under the auspices of the Boone Trail Highway and Memorial Association.
The director of that organization was Hampton Rich, a Winston-Salem native and graduate of Wake Forest College, then in Wake Forest. As reported in the Winston-Salem Journal, at the monument's dedication, two students from Wiley School delivered orations on the life of Daniel Boone. And in a spontaneous act that would likely challenge the patient demeanor of many teachers today, a band of students arrived at the dedication carrying flaming torches to illuminate the ceremony.
That dedication followed a daylong Boy Scout field event in Hanes Park. Troops from around the city competed in such activities as fire building, tent pitching, semaphore signaling, uniform inspection, first aid and the Paul Revere Race. Though several troops were close in the competition, the event was won in 1927, as it had been the year before, by Troop 11 from the Children's Home. (Notably, the Methodist Children's Home is celebrating this year its own 100th anniversary.)
On any weekday, amidst our too-busy lives, thousands of us rush by the east end of Hanes Park, most never noticing the arrowhead monument that stands in the triangular island where Reynolda Road becomes West End Boulevard.
A lot of history lives there, history that can be remembered and shared and passed along: history about the youth of America becoming better citizens through the efforts of the Boy Scouts of America; history about young people learning about family and how to make their way in the world without the advantage of parents; and history about a young country with opportunity running out before it and people with the character and the will to build a better future.
So, next time you drive down Reynolda Road, give a nod to Daniel Boone. He and that monument are part of our history -- a history worth remembering.
Happy Birthday, Daniel.
Randell Jones is an Eagle Scout and the author of In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone. He lives in Winston-Salem.
The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. You may also mail a typed essay to Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.
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