Last week, the new Scouting stamp was unveiled at the 100th Anniversary Boy Scout jamboree. In the Scouting spirit, Postmarks asked readers if they could identify the young man pictured on this magazine cover that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Scouting (see post from July 27) and promised to reveal the answer and tell the story behind the photograph in a later post.
The picture-perfect young Scout was Terry Dozier, the Postmaster of Opelika, Alabama.
We asked Terry to tell us more about the picture, and this is what he said:
That magazine was issued by WestPoint Pepperell Manufacturing Company. The area had a lot of cotton mills and more or less supported all of the people in that area.
The magazine was a product of that company. All of the employees would get one. This was an issue that they had to support 50 years of Scouts. The gentleman on my right was Basil McGinty, who was responsible for bringing Scouting to that area.
The picture was made at the Riverview School. Mr. McGinty came down there. We didn’t know what they were going to do. I was one of the youngest scouts in Riverview, which was where he was from, and that’s why the picture was taken. It wasn't planned at all.
About 10 years ago, my brother purchased the McGinty homeplace, which adjoins my parents’ property. Mr. McGinty's daughter is now in her 80’s. My brother assured her that the house would be restored, not remodeled. It was during the restoration process that my brother ran across this magazine as well as the big glossy original photograph.
Mr. Basil worked for WestPoint Pepperell. He was a very educated man, one of the first ham radio operators, a very community-oriented person.
Postmarks offers a special thank you to Terry for sharing the story, magazine cover, and current photo.
