A Memorial Tribute 77 Years Overdue
Donation protected
This Memorial project is 77 years overdue, and funding has always been the main issue.
We are in the 11th hour of completing this project.
We need to raise an additional $32,000.00 to begin carving this monument.
Here is a link to the project:
http://scoutingmonument.org
This project was to be the final work of Carlo Abate, but he died in 1941. Please read his story in the Burlington Free Press:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/10/14/history-space-barre-sculptor-boy-scout-monument/106641258/
Carlo Abate was proud of Barre, Vermont and also William F. Milne, who brought the scouting concept to America.
In the spring of 1907, stonecutter William Foster Milne immigrated to America from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, arriving with knowledge of the fledgling Scouting movement in England. In Barre, he learned of a Boys’ Brigade. The young members spent much of their time marching and doing drills. Milne offered them the opportunity to learn first aid, new outdoor skills and the philosophy of being helpful to others.
After a trip to Scotland in 1909, returning by way of London, Milne met with Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. He brought back a charter issued by Baden-Powell, a handbook, neckerchiefs, cloth badges and the enthusiasm needed to launch Boy Scouts in Vermont. Troop #1 was founded in summer of 1909. By 1910 Troop #1 became part of the Boy Scouts of America when the United States Congress chartered the organization.
The original troop consisted of roughly a dozen boys who met at the First Baptist Church. Their materials were shipped from England at the request of Milne.
As noted in Vermont Governor Deane C. Davis’ autobiography, Milne taught “the basic principles of good conduct, good citizenship, crafts, the skills of outdoor life and self discipline… he taught the meaning of citizenship, patriotism, moral conduct, and the proper attitude toward others.” Governor Davis was allowed to join in 1909, despite only being 9 years old.
Another was Wallace F. Watt, a WWI veteran, who moved to Lansing, Michigan where he was a scout leader all of his live. He was recognized as the oldest boy scout in America upon receiving his 75 year service pin from the BSA in 1985.
There is a video on Wallace Watt at :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o--us7LEzEc
Thirty years after the Barre Scouting movement began sculptor Carlo Abate was asked to create the focal piece of a monument commemorating the formation of Troop #1, the first Boy Scout troop in America. His statue was to capture the spirit of Scouting and Barre’s contribution to the Scouting movement. Already in poor health, Abate passed away before completing the half-size plaster model of his intended statue. He even expressed on his deathbed his desire to finish the model, which was found on his workbench and has since remained incomplete.
Our vision is to create the monument Abate was never able to complete. To fulfill the desire of a man who dedicated his life to the arts and the community of Barre. The Barre Scouting Monument is to be a testament to Barre’s historic past and the movement that captured a nation — inspiring and shaping our youth as a sculptor shapes a block of stone in to art.
Carlo Abate was born in Milan, Italy in 1860 and began working in a stone carver’s studio at the age of twelve. Soon afterward he became an apprentice, eventually receiving an honorary degree from the Milan School of Fine Arts in 1887. He immigrated to the United States in 1896, eventually settling in Barre, Vermont in 1899.
Abate founded the Barre Evening Drawing School in 1911, notably his greatest contribution to the Barre community. Located in the basement of Mathewson School, the school offered classes four nights a week, teaching students everything from freehand drawing to modeling work and monument drafting. In 1931, 160 students attended classes taught by the Italians who wished to pass on their skills, thereby inspiring Barre’s next generation of artists.
Abate was not only a teacher, but a noted artist in his own right. He carved busts of Thomas Edison and Shirley Temple, the figures at the entrance of Barre’s famous Hope Cemetery and a monument to George Washington that stands in Camden, New Jersey.
We are in the 11th hour of completing this project.
We need to raise an additional $32,000.00 to begin carving this monument.
Here is a link to the project:
http://scoutingmonument.org
This project was to be the final work of Carlo Abate, but he died in 1941. Please read his story in the Burlington Free Press:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/10/14/history-space-barre-sculptor-boy-scout-monument/106641258/
Carlo Abate was proud of Barre, Vermont and also William F. Milne, who brought the scouting concept to America.
In the spring of 1907, stonecutter William Foster Milne immigrated to America from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, arriving with knowledge of the fledgling Scouting movement in England. In Barre, he learned of a Boys’ Brigade. The young members spent much of their time marching and doing drills. Milne offered them the opportunity to learn first aid, new outdoor skills and the philosophy of being helpful to others.
After a trip to Scotland in 1909, returning by way of London, Milne met with Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts. He brought back a charter issued by Baden-Powell, a handbook, neckerchiefs, cloth badges and the enthusiasm needed to launch Boy Scouts in Vermont. Troop #1 was founded in summer of 1909. By 1910 Troop #1 became part of the Boy Scouts of America when the United States Congress chartered the organization.
The original troop consisted of roughly a dozen boys who met at the First Baptist Church. Their materials were shipped from England at the request of Milne.
As noted in Vermont Governor Deane C. Davis’ autobiography, Milne taught “the basic principles of good conduct, good citizenship, crafts, the skills of outdoor life and self discipline… he taught the meaning of citizenship, patriotism, moral conduct, and the proper attitude toward others.” Governor Davis was allowed to join in 1909, despite only being 9 years old.
Another was Wallace F. Watt, a WWI veteran, who moved to Lansing, Michigan where he was a scout leader all of his live. He was recognized as the oldest boy scout in America upon receiving his 75 year service pin from the BSA in 1985.
There is a video on Wallace Watt at :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o--us7LEzEc
Thirty years after the Barre Scouting movement began sculptor Carlo Abate was asked to create the focal piece of a monument commemorating the formation of Troop #1, the first Boy Scout troop in America. His statue was to capture the spirit of Scouting and Barre’s contribution to the Scouting movement. Already in poor health, Abate passed away before completing the half-size plaster model of his intended statue. He even expressed on his deathbed his desire to finish the model, which was found on his workbench and has since remained incomplete.
Our vision is to create the monument Abate was never able to complete. To fulfill the desire of a man who dedicated his life to the arts and the community of Barre. The Barre Scouting Monument is to be a testament to Barre’s historic past and the movement that captured a nation — inspiring and shaping our youth as a sculptor shapes a block of stone in to art.
Carlo Abate was born in Milan, Italy in 1860 and began working in a stone carver’s studio at the age of twelve. Soon afterward he became an apprentice, eventually receiving an honorary degree from the Milan School of Fine Arts in 1887. He immigrated to the United States in 1896, eventually settling in Barre, Vermont in 1899.
Abate founded the Barre Evening Drawing School in 1911, notably his greatest contribution to the Barre community. Located in the basement of Mathewson School, the school offered classes four nights a week, teaching students everything from freehand drawing to modeling work and monument drafting. In 1931, 160 students attended classes taught by the Italians who wished to pass on their skills, thereby inspiring Barre’s next generation of artists.
Abate was not only a teacher, but a noted artist in his own right. He carved busts of Thomas Edison and Shirley Temple, the figures at the entrance of Barre’s famous Hope Cemetery and a monument to George Washington that stands in Camden, New Jersey.
Organizer
Stephen Restelli
Organizer
Barre, VT
