Burnell Phillips - The Richmond Years

 

In 1937 Burnell took a new career path, becoming an executive in the Boy Scouts organization of Escanaba, Michigan, on the "Upper Peninsula." I wish I knew how that happened; it was certainly not his last unlikely career turn. He spent three years doing Boy Scout work in Escanaba. By 1940 he was doing similar Boy Scout work in Richmond, Indiana and was, by all indications, becoming a well-known and well-respected member of the community, both for his Boy Scout work and his other community activities. That would be a Boy Scout leader's uniform he is wearing in the center-top photo.

 

 

He also took up collecting bells as a hobby in Richmond. Some of the bells were on display in our home in Riverside when I was young; I particularly remember the round bell in the center of the display. I don't know what eventually became of them.

 

 

He was still doing Boy Scout work in the 1944 photo below, to judge from the small poster in this reversed photo, but he had graduated to a rather elegant suit. Around 1944 he made up a resume on three index cards. The image on the right is the back of the first card in the center. I would assume that all salaries mentioned were annual amounts.

 

 

His "Outside Interests" resume card says that the "invention of family games" was a hobby with him. I have to wonder if "Battle Fleet" was one of the games he invented:

 

 

By 1940 events in the larger world were being felt in bucolic Richmond. Registration with Selective Service arrived, not exempting men over 30.

 

 

By late 1943 even a married man with a child was subject to the draft, due to the war's increasing demand for inductees. The actual likelihood that a given married man with a child would be called after 1943 depended upon his county draft board. It is reasonable to conclude that by early 1944 Burnell faced the prospect of induction into military service and sought admission into an Officer Candidate School (OCS) program. His two years of college were a substantial education in 1944 and would have increased his chances of getting into OCS. The three reference letters below were part of his application to Navy OCS; the Navy undoubtedly wanted assurances that a candidate was a gentleman before they made him an officer.

 

 

The most important part of Burnell's life in Richmond, Indiana, is notable by its complete absence from the scrapbooks and photo albums I have. There is nothing concerning his marriage, parenthood or family life. Those photographs and documents must have stayed in the Midwest.

 

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Last revised May 27, 2013