For nearly sixty years, Ebenezer Baptist Church has been the faithful sponsor of its Scouting program. Boys from the "Old Town" section of central Richmond and Jackson Ward have steadily demonstrated a strong interest in this Boy Scout troop, which was chartered September 24, 1929. The man who organized Troop 78 was Ellsworth "E.R." Storrs.
On Troop 78's application to the Boy Scouts of America to form a new unit, Ebenezer Baptist Sunday School was the sponsoring institution. The pastor of the church at that time was Rev. William H. Stokes. E. R. Storrs was superintendent of the Sunday School and chairman of the troop committee, which also consisted of John H. Braxton and H. P. Daniel; Daniel was institutional representative for the troop. The first Scoutmaster at Ebenezer was Julian Francis Browne. Benjamin Franklin Kersey, Jr., and David Gilpin, Jr., were assistant Scoutmasters. Eleven boys enrolled at the rank of Tenderfoot met on Thursdays at 6:00 P.M. in the Ebenezer Baptist Church building at Judah and Leigh Streets.
According to Richard W. Foster, a Silver Beaver and the retired president of the Virginia Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, Inc., Ellsworth Storrs encouraged ambitious young men to get an education beyond high school in order to become school teachers or to pursue careers in various professions. Storrs worked as a mail carrier with the Post Office, and for a long period of time served as troop committee chairman. Many adults have attributed their successes in life to the inspiration they received as Boy Scouts from Storrs. He believed, like many others, "There is no such thing as a bad boy." Another favorite saying of Ellsworth Storrs was, "Not all great men were Scouts, but most important men were." Richard Foster describes this early adult leader: "E. R. Storrs was a forward mover among young men. He had a lot of initiative and drive, as well as abundant organizational ability. He was extremely active in Scouting and at the Leigh Street YMCA. Storrs was key in getting Scouting started at Ebenezer, and was honored with the Silver Beaver award for his continuous and dynamic leadership."
Troop 78's first institutional representative was also a strong leader. "R. P. Daniel was an outstanding educator," says Foster. "He was then on the faculty of Virginia Union University, and in 1936 became the president of Shaw University. Dr. Daniel later returned to Virginia to become president of Virginia State College. Like Storrs, he was very active in Richmond-area Scouting and at the colored YMCA. In Raleigh, North Carolina, Dr. Daniel became a Silver Beaver," Foster outlines.
John M. Brooks was the first Eagle Scout from Troop 78. As an adult, reports Foster, Brooks was the southern regional voter registration director for the N.A.A.C.P. and a founder of the Richmond and state Crusade For Voters organizations. During the 1930s, Troop 78 had the distinction of advancing three brothers -- Warren, Frederick and Franklin Kersey -- to the rank of Eagle. Warren Kersey was one of the first Negroes with the Richmond city fire department; Frederick Kersey became a college professor of art; Franklin Kersey became the first Negro professional Scouter in Richmond, and retired as a high school teacher.
Christopher J. Foster followed Kersey as Scoutmaster and served until the mid-forties when he became District Chairman and a member of the Council board of directors. He received the Silver Beaver award in 1946. A graduate of Virginia Union University and the University of Michigan, Foster was a teacher at Armstrong High School -- later assistant principal. In 1952, he was appointed principal of the first black junior high school in Richmond -- Benjamin A. Graves. He remained active in Scouting until his death in November 1954.
Click image for large version