The ninth slide in the series on neckerchief slides once again comes from Ray Gould. Ray advises:
This slide was produced for members of Kamargo #294. While it appears a home made one-of-a-kind example, I am told it was available for purchase by lodge members. I have seen at least 2 other examples in the collections of #294 members (one was spied at this years #219 banquet being worn by a former 1970’s #294 member. In addition, I believe there are two varieties of this item (size of chipmunk?…coloration?…I’ve seen both but do not remember the exact distinction). As a side note, the example I’ve shown is broken…it should have a red arrow behind the chipmunk…groove where the arrow was placed is on back of slide…I’ve witnessed the un-broken examples and can attest to the arrow’s placement on slide.
The slide reminds me of the work of Roland Flora who handcrafted Boy Scout neckerchief slides and bolos from his shop/store on Route 97, The Slide Farm. Roland passed away several years ago, and the TMR Museum was fortuante to be able to display several hundred of the slides Roland made over the years. Roland made slides for dozens of troops, camp staffs and OA Lodges and chapter over the years.
The Roland Flora thought seems reasonable given the explanation I received. These were handmade (in quantity) but not locally. Orders were taken and sent to an outside source.
Ray,
Roland Flora operated the Slide Farm from sometime prior to 1972 (my first visit) to the end of the 1990 Ten Mile River Summer Camp Season. His shop was located a 10-30 minutes drive from TMR (depending on where on the reservation you were) near Narrowsburg, NY. He carved and his wife painted the neckerchief slides and bolos. It was standard practice for the various TMR Camp staffs to have a slide (or bolo) made each year for the staff to wear. Many troops had slides made to commemorate their stay at TMR. He also had a dozen or two stock designs you could buy as a walk-in to the shop.
He also did slides for OA chapter and lodges and other camps and councils.
Several summers back before he passed away (I think in the summer of 2002 the 75th Anniversary of TMR), the TMR Museum was fortunate to be able to display several hundreds of his slides (he kept a sample of each one he made) during that season at camp. One that sticks in my mind was what I believe to be a Tuscaroa Lodge #284 slide.
Unfortunately, this was prior to my maintaining a blog and I did not take any pictures of the display. The TMR Museum has a picture on its website of an article done in the local paper which shows some of the slides he made.
Hi Bill-
The link you provided for the article is no longer active or I’m having technical difficulty accessing it.
-Ray
Ray,
I had the same problem so I adjusted the url. It should work now.
This is great place. I have about a dozen Roland Flora Slides in my posession – including an Eagle Scout Medal / BOLO – that Roland made at one point around 1975 – when I was on Staff at TMR. I have slides from 1972 thru 1980. My two favorites are my Eagle Bolo and the American Indian Headress that he carved.
A question – does any one know if Roland’s wonderful work has been taken on by others? I have looked on the web – and have yet to find anything similar – other than instructions on making your own slide or bolo.
Thanks for bringing back a wonderful memory.