October 7, 2005

Oroville Mercury Register February 16, 1944, 1944

Badges Awarded To Scouts At Final Session Of Their Week
Capt. Scaggs TalksTo Boys On Value Of Scouting; Sharp Takes Part In Program
In a final celebration of 1944 Boy Scout Week, marking the 34th anniversary of scouting, 80 scouts and cubs attended the Oroville District Rally Monday night at Elks Hall. About 30 adults were present for the event. At a Court of Honor during the session, Superior Judge Harry Deirup awarded badges to the following scouts: Troop 29 –star badges-Billie Joe Williams and Jimmie Dietle: first class- Randall Post and Roy Conner; second class- Sidney Tennenbaum, Bob Develter and Leroy Slavicek; Troop 33-tenderfoot- Bob Thomas, Donald Heggin, Laurance Webber, Jimmy Sanborn, and Jack Hansen; second class- Bob Shafer.

Capt. Scaggs Talks Certificates of membership were awarded by Frank Dayton, district commissioner to troops 32 and 33. Principal speaker of the evening was Capt. W. E. Scaggs, Oroville Airdrome surgeon. Centering his talk around the scout motto, “Be Prepared,” Scaggs said that the physical and moral training received by a scout was useful in making him a better citizen. “The extent of preparation,” Scaggs said, “is reflected in the results of co-ordinated efforts of civilian and military personnel. As an example, he cited modern serum used in prevention of infectious diseases. “The person who cultivated the germ the person who made the glass, the one who labeled the bottle, and everyone along the line up to the medical officer who uses the serum plays an important part in the preparation.”

A letter to Daryl Autrey
April 21, 2003
Dear Daryl, Good to hear from you again. Wow! Another twenty years. Pretty soon it’ll sound like we’re getting old! I guess several people have moved back to Oroville since they retired. Linda (Rice) Brown, Robert Smith and several others. Why not, it was a good place to grow up in and it’s a good place to retire to. I think a Veteran’s Memorial is a great idea. A lot of young men sacrificed their lives for this country. They never had the opportunity to have families and grow old with their wives, children and grandchildren. At least we can honor their memories. My Dad died one year after he retired from the Navy from leukemia at 39 years of age. He probably contracted it from being exposed to the atomic bomb tests in the fifties. He did serve aboard the USS Enterprise and was shot down in the Battle of Midway. He did recover and went on to finish twenty years of service. But I did have two neighbors who lived on each side of us on Lincoln Street, who did die in the service of the country. Leroy Slavicek, son of Joe and Edna Slavicek, both deceased now, and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Steed, who lived on the other side of us. That’s the only ones I can remember. I hope that helps.
Sincerely, Mike Phillips.

Stu’s Notes: I wrote a whole article about Pvt. Roy Eldon Steed in April 2003. For all of you who haven’t saved all my stories you can find it on our web site. I knew Mike in High School, class of 1958. I never knew until this letter that his dad was a hero and served his country so well. Leroy Slavicek, I don’t know much about. This young Oroville Boy Scout who “Gave All” for his country in the Korean War. Ernie Reynolds knew him and said his dad was a railroad worker.

About 40 people attended the public meeting about the River front development at the State Theater last week. Fifteen of them were from our Veterans Memorial Committee. Many ideas were brought up. The River Front will be one of Oroville’s Greatest Assets.

“Help those who help us III” will be a spaghetti lunch and a talent show to benefit the Oroville Veteran’s Memorial Park on Saturday, October 15th from 1PM to 3PM. It will be at the Veterans Memorial Hall on Montgomery Street. Patti Myers and John Dee Ree have collected lots of great prizes for this event. Hope to see you all there.