August 12 - September 5, 1965.
Like many organizations, the Order of the Arrow has a National Conference. 1965 was the 50th anniversary of their founding. Somebody came up with the idea of a bus load of scouts from Oregon going to this Conference. They rented a bus, laid out an itinerary and sent out applications. For $350, you got a 23 day bus trip to the National Conference, at the Indiana University in Bloomington, and as long as we were going all that way, we would stop in Chicago, New York, Washington DC, St. Louis and more. That was a lot more traveling than I had ever done, and I wanted in on it.
As we went along, I kept a little notebook. For some reason I noted that on the day before we left (Aug 11) I weighed 125 pounds, and that I took $29.42 with me.
We left the Scout Center at 7:15, and got to Bend by 10:30. We had developed "clutch trouble" on the bus, but still left Bend (presumably with it repaired) by 11:15. We had lunch at 1:00 by a Historic Monument.
Have played 2 chess games with John Porter. Won one, drew another thru sheer stupidity (his or mine?)
Left Juntura Oregon at 3:30. Left Oregon at 5:30. Ate dinner at Stardust Motel in Boise, Idaho. Stared a Chess Tournament on the bus. 10 cent entrance fee, with a $1.00 first prize, 50 cent second. (So must have been at least 15 kids in the tournament.) My first match is against Jim Strou.
Left Mt. Home at 7:30. Took a picture of where we stayed. (As I remember, we rolled out sleeping bags and slept on the floor of a gym).
Lost my first tournament game to Jim Strou.
Bought a paper at Dinner in Rock Springs.
We were walking around town (and if I remember correctly, we had to be in our Scout uniforms all the time for this whole trip) and some car pulls up and some kids got out and wanted to fight. John and I and the rest of us just walked away. The car pulled a half block in front of us and they were going to get out again when another car pulls alongside them and really told them off. Some local teenagers had taken our side. Good guys here.
Saw some oil drilling rigs today. Took a picture of an oil rig in Kimball, Nebraska.
We'll be camping tonight. Just remembered I forgot my tarp.
Had a little bad luck tonight. While looking for a place to camp and eat, the bus got stuck in the sand near Lake McConaughy (just North of Ogallala). We all had to get out and push. We finally got going and found a place to eat. Most of us went for a night swim. The waves were really high. We slept on the beach.
Next morning we ate and then visited a Sioux Trading Post with an Indian Village. Stopped at Gothenburg to see the original Pony Express station. Stopped at Holiday Inn, Kerney, Nebraska for lunch.
Won chess tournament games against John Porter Next game decides 5th place. Had late dinner (11:00 to 12:00) at Holiday Inn in Des Moines.
Reached the big city at 5:00; have room in Palmer House Hotel with Ash. 1574-W on the West side.
Next day (Aug 17) Went to Round Apt. Buildings, Playboy Club, Museum of Science and Industry, Museum of Natural History (50c). Rained most of the morning.
Left Chicago 8AM. Slept most of the morning on the Indiana Tollway.
I picked up some playing cards and rubber bands at the Palmer House. (As I remember, on our way out, we passed a bunch of small rooms which were set up with card tables and there were playing cards just scattered all over the floor. We guessed it had been a bridge tournament, and they used a new deck for each new hand, just throwing the old decks on the floor. I scooped up a bunch of cards as I walked by. The backs were of different colors, and I spent some time on the bus trying to create complete decks. I got a couple that had complete decks with the same back color, but others just had a mixture of back colors. It was something else to do on the bus besides the chess games.)
Arrived at Buffalo at 8:30; went swimming until 10, then ate dinner. Everyone got in the bus and we went to Niagara Falls and returned about 1:00.
Left Buffalo at 8AM for the Falls again. This time went to the Canadian side. Dave Williamson and I went to the Boy Scouts of Canada office and I bought 2 patches for 80c. Dave and I had to run to get back in time.
Chess tournament ended. Cox in first; Craighill in second. Lost 4c on Craighill. Lost my last chess match to Frank Smith.
Had a good morning with Dr. E. Urner Goodman. My autographed my Order of the Arrow sash.
Slashed Scott Maters finger accidentally this morning. Bandaged it up and took him to two doctors. One said he wouldn't do it; the other that it was too late to stitch it up.
Went thru West Point at 5:00 to 6:00. Arrived in New York at 8:00 -- dinner and bed.
Saturday (Aug 21). Went to the UN building, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building. Had a good time.
Sunday (Aug 22). Went to the New York Worlds Fair with Kent Hickman, etc. and then split up. I went to the Bell Exhibit where they showed the history of communication. DuPont -- wonderful musical about chemicals and demonstrations of chemistry. GE -- Carousel of Progress to dome of lightning and fire to nuclear fission demonstration. IBM building. Johnson's Wax -- got a free shoe shine! Ford -- rode in a Lincoln Continental thru world of yesterday and tomorrow. General Motors -- Futurama ride.
Left New York this mornng and went to the Boy Scout National office (which would have been in North Brunswick, New Jersey).
Ate lunch at Philadelphia. Saw Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
Washington, D.C. After breakfast we went to Arlington National Cemetery and Kennedy's Grave and the Iwo Jima statue. Next to the Lincoln Memorial and then to the Treasury Building and Washington's Monument. 15 minutes to go up 898 steps. Then to the Jefferson Memorial, the Senate side of the Capitol. Saw the Senate in action with Everett Dirksen, Bobby Kennedy. Maurine Neuberger was presiding. The Supreme Court. Library of Congress. Old Senate building. National Archives. Justice Department. National Art Gallery. Natural History Museum. Museum of Technology and History. R.A. Taft Memorial. The Smithsonian.
I waited to go into the White House, but it didn't open because of a Press Conference.
Had wonderful Chinese dinner for $3.35.
Left Washington, went thru Maryland and Pennsylvania and West Virginia to the Lincoln Lodge in Columbus Ohio, and it is a swell place. We played two rounds of putt-putt golf. I got 25 and 34 strokes, 9 holes. Good swimming pool, excellent restaurant, clean rooms.
We leave today for the Area Conference. Thunder storm overhead.
2:30 arrived at the National Conference. Received a folder and a patch and a neckerchief. Room 103 in Magee Hall, Foster Quadrangle. Went for a swim, and then dinner.
(And that's all I wrote. I guess the way back was just anti-climactic!)
