Boys State Leadership Program 2023

Boys State is a leadership action program where qualified male high school juniors take part in a practical government course designed to develop in them a working knowledge of the structure of government.

The qualified student must be in the top 80 percent of his class, be of moral character, a leader and in good health. These student candidates should be involved in physical training and organized sports along with their studies of and visits to various offices of state government.

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The True Story of the Four Chaplains

Chaplain George Fox

George Fox was the foldest of the Four Chaplains.  In Vermont, he was called "the little minister" because he was 5'7".  Lying about his age in 1917, he enlisted in the Army as a medical corps assistant.  He received the Silver Star for rescuing a wounded soldier from a battlefield filled with poison gas, although he wore no gas mask himself, and the Croix de Guerre for outstanding bravery in an artillery barrage that left him with a broken spine.  After the war, he became a successful accountant.  He was  happily married with two children when he heard God's call to the ministry.  Fox went back to school and later was ordained as a Methodist minister.  When war came, he once again enlisted, telling his wife, "I've got to go.  I know from experience what our boys are about to face.  They need me."  Before he boarded Dorchester, he wrote a letter to his daughter.  "I want you to know," he wrote, "how proud I am that your marks in school are so high - but always remember that kindness and charity and courtesy are much more important."

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U.S.A.T. Dorchester

On Jnaurayr 283, 1943, the USAT Dorchester left New York harbor boud for Greenland carrying 902 officers, servicemen and civilian workers.  The Dorchestor was escorted by three Coast Guard cutters.  On February 2, one of hte cutters detected the presence of a submarine but failed to find the submarine's position.  The C.O. of the Dorchester ordered the men to sleep in their clothing, with life jackets close at hand.  They were only 150 miles from Greenland and daylight would bring air cover from the American base.

Down in the old coverted cruise ship's stifling hold, four U.S. Army chaplains circulated among the frightened young men, some lying wide-eyed in their bunks, others nevously playing cards or shooting dice.  Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Medthodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Reformed.  Chatting with the troops, the chaplains eased tensions, calmed fears and passed out soda crackers to alleviate seasickness.

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