As some of you might know, I'm working on writing up a paper on Byron Clark, which I'm hoping to submit for publication in a scholarly journal. I'm focusing on how Clark's life and activities fit within the Progressive Era (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era) and how he represents the movement in Vermont during this time.

Some notes on my progress here:

Transcriptions: http://jeditrilobite.blogspot.com/2008/01/transcriptions.html

Paper Update: http://jeditrilobite.blogspot.com/2007/12/paper-update.html

Current Writings: http://jeditrilobite.blogspot.com/2007/09/current-writings-byron-clark.h...

I haven't had a whole lot of time to write lately, because I'm working on my master's degree, but what I've found is absolutely facinating, and I've got about 30 or so pages written up thus far of Clark's life.

I don't forsee working on this in the next couple of months, but I am, for my master's planning on spinning off part of this paper into something else - a look at how the Burlington YMCA helped the War effort in the first World War. Clark was heavily involved at this.

Here's the introduction thus far. Keep in mind this is an early draft:

INTRODUCTION

On July 10th, 1901, twenty-three boys and two adults set off from the Burlington YMCA to Cedar Beach in Charlotte, Vermont, packing with them tents, sleeping rolls, food and other pieces of camping equipment. They would be the first of thousands of men and boys to travel off to the Vermont YMCA Camp. Together, they would form the roots of what would become YMCA Camp Abnaki, one of the largest and oldest youth summer camps in the state of Vermont, and one that is still standing after over a century of operations.
The boys were led by Byron Nathaniel Clark, the General Secretary of the Burlington chapter of the Young Man’s Christian Association, and would remain with the State YMCA and with Camp Abnaki (and earlier, variously named predecessors), until his death in 1929. Campers and staff alike are reminded that Clark is still with the camp, for he is buried on camp property in the Chapel, overlooking Lake Champlain. His epitaph in North Hero reads: Here he lies where he longed to be. While Byron Clark, or ‘Dad’ Clark, as he is still affectionately called at YMCA Camp Abnaki, is best remembered for his creation of the camp and with his work in the YMCA, his contributions to Vermont society extend even further into the community through his ties with numerous organizations.
Through these organizations to which Clark belonged, his life can be examined in the context of larger movements in American and Vermont society, primarily, the onset of the Progressive Era. Through his work, Clark can be viewed as a model Progressive during the movement, and he represented a part of that movement in the state of Vermont during this time.
To date, there is little written about Byron Clark. What has been written down has mostly been stored at YMCA Camp Abnaki, fittingly; in the Administrative Building that Clark helped design and build. Many of the sources referenced during the research of this paper come from camp documents, often without credit to the authors. While it is unknown as to when they were written, or by whom, they often support each other and much of the common knowledge of Camp’s history. While there are a number of documents regarding Camp Abnaki, there is little written that ties together the history of Camp and put it in context of larger events.
Clark’s contributions to the social fabric of Vermont through his work with such organizations as the Boy Scouts, the Green Mountain Club, the YMCA and numerous other such civic, scientific, historical and religious groups. There organizations would serve to emphasize Clark’s political and ideological views that were shared with other progressives, such as temperance, a concern for ecology and the environment, as well as numerous social and youth organizations.
It is through the study of Clark’s life and his involvement in the Burlington community that one can take a look at how the Progressive movement existed in Vermont during this time. Clark is an ideal candidate for study during this era, as he was deeply involved in the Vermont community. Clark interacted with Presidents of the country, would serve in the First World War and would be a part of some of the most influential and progressive organizations in the world. And in some cases, his work lives on through two organizations, YMCA Camp Abnaki and the Boy Scouts of America, which are still in operation to this day, affecting thousands of people around the state of Vermont, New England and the entire world.