First Eagle Scout in Seattle

Aldus B. Hoopman “Jr.” was Seattle’s first Eagle Scout on May 20, 1920.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank in Boy Scouts of America’s troop program. BSA formed in 1910, and the Eagle rank was created in 1911. The first Eagle Scout nationally was Arthur Eldred who received the rank in Oceanside, New York in August 1912. Seattle’s first Eagle trailed the rest of the nation by 8 years.

Before our first Eagle Scout

To be clear, there were already Eagles in Seattle. But they earned the rank elsewhere and were mostly adults.

For example, in August 1919, right after the first Camp Parsons season, Eagle Scout Wilden Baldwin moved to Seattle from Toledo, Ohio. He earned his Eagle just two months prior, and reportedly was the youngest Eagle Scout in the nation. He was born in July 1906, so just shy of 14 years old when he received it.

Baldwin must have contributed to the excitement that led the Seattle Council to award roughly an Eagle per month starting in May 1920.

After setting up shop in Seattle, Baldwin started high school at Broadway. He initially joined Troop 284 and then switched to 142 in the University District as senior patrol leader.

Wilden Baldwin, perhaps the first Eagle Scout youth that lived in Seattle — Wilden Baldwin, one of the first Eagle Scouts to live in Seattle, 1919 (9/28/1919 PI)

The first Eagle Scout’s start in Scouting

But, Aldus Hoopman was the first to earn Eagle here (in King or Kitsap and maybe Snohomish counties, at least).

Aldus joined Scouting in about 1914. His first known troop was Troop 21 which met on east Queen Anne Hill. He was part of that troop by 1918. He then joined Troop 19 at West Queen Anne elementary school.

Like other Scouts in Seattle at the time, Hoopman focused more on activity than advancement in his first years. After a year or so as a Scout, He earned Tenderfoot rank in October 1915 just before he turned 13. It was almost four years before he earned the next, Second Class.

Instead, Hoopman focused on being helpful. He participated in every charity fundraising drive in the city, including Red Cross, liberty loans, Christmas seals, war savings stamps, and bond sales. As the highest liberty loan seller in his troop, Hoopman received a German army helmet. They were in U. S. Army possession after the end of World War One and Seattle Council received one helmet for each of the 60 troops.

During the 1910s, Seattle Scouts topped out at the rank of First Class. Anything beyond that required merit badges, which were not easy to get.

Then Camp Parsons happened, and Aldus Hoopman was there at the start. (With Elmer Katayama, who was profiled on this site recently.)

Aldus Hoopman, Seattle's first Eagle Scout — Hoopman headshot (May 16, 1965 Seattle Times)

Fast advancement after Camp Parsons

The official history of Camp Parsons covers many of the 5 Ws: who, what, when, and where. However, it leaves off the “why” camp was ever opened in 1919. That’s not as obvious at it might seem. Indeed, before Parsons, Seattle already had a camp in Seward Park, and many troops had access to remote shacks that they could hike to for camping. So, it’s clear that Seattle Council leaders didn’t simply want a place for lots of boys to camp.

In fact, what the leaders wanted was a place to teach Scout skills and put them to practice. They used Scouting’s advancement structure to guide their program. The idea wasn’t novel. Indeed, it’s what Wilden Baldwin was doing that same summer in Toledo, Ohio. He earned Second Class through Eagle ranks and 24 merit badges all in one, long, intense summer camp.

As Camp Parsons got underway in 1919, the Seattle P-I reported that Seattle’s Scouts were in competition to see who could get Eagle.

“The liveliest kind of contest is going on at Camp Parsons among the first class scouts in camp, each of whom is bound to reach the rank of eagle scout before the camp closes. Tests required for merit badges are being passed at a rate that promise an exciting finish.”
July 27, 1919 Seattle P-I

Many, many merit badges were earned by the 75 Scouts at Camp Parsons in 1919.

“More merit badges were earned by the Boy Scouts at Camp Parsons in the single month the camp was open than in the entire previous six years’ activity of the Seattle council.”
August 17, 1919 Seattle P-I

However, no First Class Scout managed to even earn the next rank, Life Scout (Life and Star were reversed in 1924). Life required five specific merit badges, and all of the Scouts were missing at least one.

Aldus Hoopman earned Second Class in the third week of Camp Parsons, and First Class in the fourth. Then he could start earning merit badges. He completed Life requirements first aid and personal health. He also earned camping, first aid to animals (veterinary care), and civics.

“Tents at Boy Scout camp” c1920 by Kyo Koike (UW Special Collections, Ph Coll 262.B-10)

Finishing off Eagle

In March 1920, Aldus filled more requirements for Life rank by earning public health and life saving merit badges. He also earned woodcraft, pathfinding, automobiling (later automotive safety, which became traffic safety), cycling, firemanship, chemistry, conservation, and scholarship merit badges. At some point he earned the final Life requirement, physical development or athletics merit badges.

Hoopman was simultaneously awarded Life and Star Scout at the end of March. He was a member of troop 19 at the time.

Eagle rank required 21 total merit badges. So he earned at least five other unknown merit badges by May.

In this period, district-wide Courts of Honor occurred monthly or biweekly. Aldus received his eagle at the Thursday, May 20, 1920 Court of Honor at the council office at 8 pm.

By the time he received Eagle, Aldus was a member of Troop 220. He helped found Troop 220 at the Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgetown in early 1920. (Wesleyan was at 6th Ave S and S Snoqualmie, across the street from current Uwajimaya headquarters.) Aldus was the troop’s first senior patrol leader. It’s not immediately clear what led him to form a troop so far from home.

1920s Eagle rank medal (boyscoutcollectibles.com)

Origins

Aldus Biles Hoopman was born in Pennsylvania December 8, 1902, but moved to Seattle when he was 5. His family lived briefly in the Broadway district (Capitol Hill), but for most of his life they were on Queen Anne Hill.

His father, Aldus Arthur Hoopman, was a physician with office downtown. Aldus A., who sometimes went by Arthur, was also a deacon of First Presbyterian Church.

His mother, Louisa Martha (Biles) Hoopman, also devoted time to First Presbyterian Church. Indeed, she received a national award for not missing a Sunday school session. Louisa died in 1921 when Aldus A. misjudged the distance and speed of an oncoming streetcar, and their car was struck by it.

After becoming the first Eagle Scout

Aldus B. Hoopman returned to Camp Parsons for another entire summer in 1920. At the time, Parsons was divided into lettered campsites. Hoopman was the leader of “Tent F”, and the Scouts gave themselves the nickname “Fearless Feeders”.

Towards the end of camp, Hoopman joined an epic adventure over the Olympic Mountains. Two leaders and eight Scouts traversed the Olympics from Brinnon to Quinault, covering 105 miles in five and a half days. They followed the same route that the Mountaineers took a couple weeks before them, but the Scouts carried everything themselves with no pack train for food and gear. The trip included the brand-new Skyline Trail, which today is still one of the most difficult and primitive trails in Olympic National Park. More details about this trip will be included in an upcoming article on this site, either focusing on the trip or as part of the Scouting story of fellow hiker George Nakashima.

Final days of Seattle’s first Eagle Scout

Within a few months of earning his Eagle, Aldus Hoopman started college at Washington State University.

The next year, he helped create Troop 260 at the Bernard Mission House (also called Bernard Mission Center) in 1921. This was a community center in South Seattle serving recent immigrants that was partially run by his church, the First Presbyterian Church. South Seattle was formerly a separate city, and after the Duwamish tidelands were filled the community became trapped between an industrial district and the side of Beacon Hill. The Bernard Mission was at Bayview and 10th, next to the Frye meatpacking plant. Aldus commuted from Queen Anne to the troop, and grew it to 25 Scouts. The Bernard Mission was not far from Wesleyan M.E. Church, and whatever drew him to creating Troop 220 must have led to the creation of Troop 260 as well.

When he reached WSU, Aldus also formed a troop at the First Methodist Church in Pullman and served as Assistant Scoutmaster.

Also while attending WSU, he married Zell Curry in 1922. Aldus graduated from WSU with honors in 1924.

Hoopman died tragically at age 22 in 1925 of testicular cancer after suffering for his final year. He died at home under watch of his father, who signed his death certificate.

Aldus Biles Hoopman’s death was a large event in Scouting: A representative from each of Seattle’s Scout troops attended the funeral of Seattle’s first Eagle Scout.