Arnold Schenk

Arnold Schenk was the camp director at Camp Lowden in 1942 and 1943. Dr. Francis Podbielski and Nicholas J. Barth from the Moqua Foundation (an electronic meeting place for Vigil Brothers of Owasippe Lodge #7) put together the following biography of Mr. Schenk:

Arnold R. Schenk was born on May 23, 1918 at home in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago. His father, Otto H. Schenk (3/16/1888 - 1965), was a native of Bieberich am Rhein, Germany and worked as a Chicago Public School teacher and later the Principal of the Dixon Elementary School. His mother Carolina A. Rieder (3/17/1893 - 11/1971) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a homemaker.

Arn attended the Esmond Grammar School and graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1935. Little did he realize when he joined Troop 655 on May 23, 1930 as a 12 year old boy that Scouting would become his life’s opus. The troop was sponsored by the Morgan Park Congregational Church and led by Scoutmaster Edgar E. Flescher. Working his way through the ranks, Arn served as a patrol leader, senior patrol leader, junior assistant Scoutmaster, and assistant Scoutmaster of the troop. He attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1935, going on to earn a Bronze Palm.

Like so many other Scouts from Chicago, Arn boarded the Pere Marquette at Grand Central Station in the summer of 1932 to attend Camp McDonald (later Camp Stuart) at Owasippe Scout Camp.

His experiences at Owasippe inspired him to become a staff man, serving as the hikemaster of Camp Stuart from 1937-1938. In recognition of his devotion to Scout camping, Arn was inducted into the Garrison Chapter of Owasippe Lodge #7 in July 1933 at Camp Stuart. He took an interest in the Order of the Arrow and remembers well his two years as the chapter chief of Garrison from 1936-1938. For his many contributions to the Order of the Arrow, Arn was inducted into the Vigil Honor on August 1, 1938, being given the name "Achpamsin," translated as "To Walk About" - most fitting for a camp’s hikemaster! In retrospect, Arn looks to his Vigil Honor as an acknowledgement of his work with the Order of the Arrow and Scout camping while the chief of Garrison Chapter.

After high school, Arn attended Morgan Park Junior College and matriculated into the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where he studied liberal arts and majored in history, graduating in June 1939. While at the University of Illinois, Arn met Dora McLean, a native of Sterling Junction, MA, while working in a student group sponsored by the Champaign Congregational Church. They were married on June 14, 1941 and in 2011 celebrated their 70th Anniversary with their four children, Ron, Nancy, Phil, and Barbara.

On graduating from college, Arn spent the summer of 1939 bicycling through pre-World War II Europe with friend Ron MacKenzie. They met another former Owasippe staff man, Angus Theurmer, while in Berlin, Germany. Always entertaining, Angus at that time was working for the United Press as a writer and would go on to become the spokesman for the CIA. As an adult, Arn served as the Scoutmaster of Troop 664 in the Southwest District of Chicago Council. During World War II, he was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy from October 1943 to February 1946.

Arn was inspired to become a professional Scouter by Alfred C. Nichols, Jr. Nichols was a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow, being inducted while a youth member in Philadelphia Council by none other than E. Urner Goodman who was serving as the Scout Executive of that Council. Al’s tenure as the Owasippe Scout Camp Director from 1929-1940 influenced countless numbers of young boys.

Arnold Schenk in 1942, with Governor Lowden

Arn began his career in 1941 as a district executive in the Blackhawk Area Council in Rockford, Illinois, and served as the camp director at Camp Lowden in 1942 and 1943. He became the assistant Scout executive of the Creve Couer Council in Peoria, Illinois, in 1946, then moved to the State Line Council in Beloit, Wisconsin, where he served as its Scout executive from 1949-1954. Arn accepted the challenge of the Piasa Bird Council in Alton, Illinois, and served as its Scout executive from 1954-1959. In 1959, he became the Scout executive of the Four Lakes Council in Madison, Wisconsin, a post he held until 1964. As the Deputy Regional Scout Executive of Region 7, Arn worked out of Oak Brook, Illinois, from 1964-1968. He then became the Deputy Regional Scout Executive of the East Central Region from 1969-1972.

After years of travel and decades of experience, Arn return to his home - Chicago Area Council - in 1972 and served as the council program director until 1977. His final professional posting was as the Assistant Circulation Manager of Boys Life Magazine from 1977-1983. Truly an incredible journey for a 12 year old boy from the south side of Chicago!

Arn did not let his retirement from professional Scouting in 1983 get in his way. He continued his membership in the Rotary Club of Elmhurst, the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, and the Congregational Church. Not surprisingly, he has served as president of each of these groups.

When Arn reflects on his 80 years of Scouting, he hearkens back to his days on camp staff at Owasippe beneath the pine trees along the shore of Crystal Lake. It was this magical experience of youth that impacted his decision to become a professional Scouter to pass along to the next generation what had been given to him.

When asked about his wisdom for those of us that follow, Arn sums it up by saying,

"Follow the ideals of Scouting and train boys in those ideals. Society needs such men of integrity."

Arnold and Dora Schenk in 2011