Story of Billy Clark

The Story of Billy Clark

E. Urner Goodman told a story from when he was Scoutmaster of Troop 1, Philadelphia, in 1913, two years before he became camp director and started the Order of the Arrow.

Scoutmaster Goodman had taken his troop on a campout. One of the Scouts got sick, perhaps with stomach flu, and was confined to bed. Goodman couldn’t take the troop away from the campsite without someone staying behind with the sick Scout. So he asked for volunteers to set up a rotation. Only Scout Billy Clark volunteered to help. Goodman initially refused, as Billy would have to give up his entire camping trip. But Billy insisted that he wanted to do this. So Goodman relented, and Billy moved his gear into the two-man tent with the sick Scout.

It rained that night. In the morning, the sick scout was unable to get up and thus had to use a bedpan. Billy carried the bedpan to empty it into the latrine. The ground was slippery and full of puddles. Billy slipped and fell, face down. In Goodman’s words, “He took the wrong kind of bath, if you know what I mean”. He lay there for a few seconds in shock, taking stock of his condition.

Scoutmaster Goodman, peeking out of his tent, had seen the whole thing. He told me what he thought, looking at Billy during those few seconds. “This is terrible. Billy is a good Scout. Just doing a good turn. Look what happened to him. So unfair. Of course, he will be angry. Hum. He will likely curse. I know, a Scout is Clean. But if he does, I will pretend I never saw or heard.”

Coming to, Billy Clark raised torso up — and smiled. Billy Clark smiled! In Goodman’s eyes, he was a perfect example of the ability to remain cheerful while doing service to others, even in the most difficult and unfair situations.

Two years later, Goodman remembered Billy’s mishap when he created our Order’s principles. We owe to Billy Clark our Cheerful Service traditions.

Billy never learned his impact. Goodman did not tell the story until the Order was well over 50 years old.  It would not have been appropriate to do so while Billy was around in person. 

Since Billy Clark never made First Class Scout, he was never eligible for OA membership. Like the famous Unknown Scout whose good turn in the London fog brought Scouting to America, Billy never knew the impact of that bedpan incident on Scouting.

Billy’s identity was found and verified through genealogical research. His daughters confirmed it was “just like him”, identified him in a group picture of Goodman’s Troop 1, and he was honored at the 2024 NOAC.

Can we, like Billy Clark himself, find cheer in good deeds that go wrong? Push on when it is not easy? Serve when we are not rewarded?

Many presume that Brotherhood is our key principle.  Others see us as a service organization.  There are lots of organizations calling themselves brotherhoods, sisterhoods, fellowships, and such.  Lots of really great service organizations.  It is Cheerfulness, Billy Clark’s principle, which is the unique aspect of the OA.  We get together to build our attitude toward service, not just to do service.  The BSA council wants to know how many hours of work was done.  Our perspective as an Order is how it changes our lives.

Billy Clark’s experience teaches:

• Real cheerfulness emerges from genuine difficulty
• Joy can be found even in the worst circumstances
• Character is what you do when things go wrong
• Service has meaning even when it brings discomfort
• Your good turns can have impacts far beyond the obvious

Billy Clark, who was never even an Arrowman, is still teaching this principle to us over 100 years later.