- Max I. Silber
-
Max I. Silber 
Born February 15, 1911 Died June 15, 2004 (aged 93) Awards and Honors Distinguished Eagle Scout Award Silver Buffalo Award Silver Antelope Silver Beaver Vigil Honor Order of the Arrow Max I. Silber (February 15, 1911-June 15, 2004) was an American businessman from New Hampshire who through his philanthropic works became not only a formative figure for Boy Scouting in New Hampshire, but a distinguished citizen of his home state. A devout Jew, Silber was an active supporter of religious Scouting programs, and was distinguished not just by the Jewish Committee of Scouting, but by the Roman Catholic Committee on Scouting as well. Perhaps the most famous endeavor of Silber's was the development of his "friendship gifts" which were most commonly belt buckles made of bronze. These buckles have evolved into popular Scouting collectibles.
Contents
Early life
Max I. Silber was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1911. At the age of 14, he became a member of Boy Scout Troop 1 in Manchester. Silber earned his Eagle Scout in 1936, the Explorer Scout Ranger Award, and was recognized as a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow in 1958.[1]
Personal life
Max married Edith Kamenske in June 1934.[2] Their marriage lasted 65 years until her death in May 2000.[3] One of their children, Allan, succeeded Max as the president of Kamenske & Company, but died after a long battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma in August 2003.[4][5] Silber died on June 15, 2004 in Nashua, New Hampshire.[2] He is buried along with his wife Edith and son Allan at the Temple Beth Abraham Cemetery in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Scouting
After 1929 Max became a Scout leader, eventually becoming a Scoutmaster. During his tenure, Silber influenced the lives of many young adults including future U.S. Senator Warren Rudman. His involvement with Scouting beyond his troop was extensive, holding many positions, including unit commissioner, district commissioner, council commissioner, district chairman and council president.[1] He was a member of the council executive board for 65 years. Silber served as the Region One chairman in 1957 and on regional jamboree committees in 1960, 1964, 1969, 1973, and 1977. He also served on the Jewish Relationships Committee of the BSA National Council and on the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.[6]
In recognition of Silber's service, he was awarded the Silver Beaver,[1] Silver Antelope, and Silver Buffalo[7] awards and the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[8] He was also awarded both the Jewish Shofar award, and the Roman Catholic St. George Award as testament to his hard work to promote Scouting to those of any faith.
Buckles for Friendship
Photo of both posthumously issued Max I. Silber Buckles.
Perhaps the most famous contribution to Scouting that Silber has become known for were his belt buckles. In 1950, Max was chosen to be a Scoutmaster for the National Scout Jamboree. He was in the metal ingot business and had souvenir buckles produced for the event which he gave out as friendship gifts. Over the next half century, he made fifty more buckles for national Scout jamboree, world jamborees, New Hampshire jamborees and other special occasions as well as recognition buckles for significant awards such as Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor, and Wood Badge. His buckles have become world famous and are considered highly prized collectors' items. Amongst collectors, some of the Silber buckles fetch prices in the hundreds of dollars as evidenced on auction sites such as eBay.[9]
The tradition of creating buckles has been carried on by the museum he founded, the Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum, in cooperation with his daughter, Natalie Weil of Southport, North Carolina, and artist Rob Hoitt, formerly of Manchester. To date, they have produced two official "Max" buckles.[10] Since the late 1990s, Silber started the tradition of offering two versions of each buckle. One version is made from white bronze, and is issued as a collector's edition of the buckle. The second, is generally offered in red bronze and is issued as a contingent version of the buckle, which for national and world jamborees are given to the contingent of the Daniel Webster Council, any buckles left over after this are also made available to the public in a limited edition. In 2007, Hoitt proposed a one-time change in the tradition of red bronze buckles to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Scouting's founding. The contingent buckle for the 21st World Scout Jamboree was made of polished naval brass with a royal blue lacquer.
There are also several collectors buckles made to commemorate specific milestones or programs such as the Exploring Division, Region One, Northeast Region, and two Camp Carpenter buckles amongst others. Some of these buckles were released in unlimited editions to act as a constant fundraiser to sustain the Lawrence L. Lee Scout Museum where they are exclusively available.
The buckles
Buckle Year Event/Honor Location (If applicable) Editions† Quantity 2007 21st World Scout Jamboree Brownsea Island, United Kingdom White Bronze Naval Brass
100 150
2005 16th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA White Bronze Red Bronze
100 250
2003 Daniel Webster Council Jamboree Gunstock Mountain Resort, NH White Bronze Red Bronze
100 300
2002, 2003 20th World Scout Jamboree Sattahip, Thailand White Bronze Red Bronze
50 300
2001 15th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 300 
1999 Daniel Webster Council Jamboree Gunstock Mountain Resort, NH White Bronze Red Bronze
125 350
1998, 1999 19th World Scout Jamboree Picarquín, Chile Red Bronze 300 
1997 14th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 300 
1995 Daniel Webster Council Jamboree Sunapee Ski Area, NH White Bronze Red Bronze
50 350
1995 18th World Scout Jamboree Flevoland, Netherlands White Bronze Red Bronze
50 300
1995 Camp Carpenter 50th Anniversary Manchester, NH Red Bronze 500 
1993 13th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 550 
1995 Eagle Scout White Bronze Unlimited 
1992 Silver Beaver Silver Unlimited 
1991 17th World Scout Jamboree Soraksan, South Korea Red Bronze 350 
1991 Commissioner's Buckle (Re-Release) Daniel Webster Council Red Bronze 200 
1989 Museum/Library 20th Anniversary Red Bronze Unlimited 
1989 Vigil Honor Red Bronze Unlimited 
1989 12th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 1300 
1987/88 16th World Scout Jamboree US Contingent Sydney, Australia Red Bronze 500 
1987/88 16th World Scout Jamboree Sydney, Australia Red Bronze 1200 
1988 "Adventure '88" Daniel Webster Council Jamboree
Sunapee Ski Area NH Red Bronze 1000 
1985 Eagle Scout Red Bronze Unlimited 
1985 11th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 1400 
1985 14th Australian National Scout Jamboree Cataract Scout Park Australia Red Bronze 125 
1984 Daniel Webster Council Jamboree Hopkinton Fairgrounds, NH Red Bronze 1200 
1983 15th World Scout Jamboree Calgary, Canada Red Bronze 1100 
1981 10th National Scout Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill, VA Red Bronze 1200 
1981 Commissioner's Buckle Daniel Webster Council Red Bronze 300 
1979 15th World Scout Jamboree Nishapur, Iran Red Bronze 100* 
1979 Exploring Red Bronze 100 
1977 9th National Scout Jamboree Moraine State Park, PA Red Bronze 1450 
1977 All Out for Scouting Red Bronze 400 
1976 Wood Badge White Bronze Red Bronze
68 Unlimited
1976 Northeast Region White Bronze Red Bronze
125 125
1975 14th World Scout Jamboree Lillehammer, Norway Red Bronze 1100 
1974 Silver Buffalo Silver 25 
1973 Lawrence L. Lee Museum Red Bronze Unlimited 
1973 8th National Scout Jamboree Farragut State Park, ID & Red Bronze 2000 
1972 Daniel Webster Council Boypower Red Bronze 350 
1971 13th World Scout Jamboree Fujinomiya, Japan Red Bronze 700 
1970 Camp Carpenter 25th Anniversary Manchester, NH Red Bronze 350 
1969 7th National Scout Jamboree Farragut State Park, ID Red Bronze 1000 
1967 12th World Scout Jamboree Farragut State Park, ID Red Bronze 1000 
1964 6th National Scout Jamboree Valley Forge, PA Red Bronze 1000 
1964 1964 World’s Fair Red Bronze 400 
1960 5th National Scout Jamboree Colorado Springs, CO Red Bronze 800 
1957 4th National Scout Jamboree Valley Forge, PA White Bronze Red Bronze
50 750
1955 Region One Red Bronze 500 
1955 8th World Scout Jamboree Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada Red Bronze 700 
1953 3rd National Scout Jamboree Irvine Ranch, CA Red Bronze 800 
1950 2nd National Scout Jamboree Valley Forge, PA Red Bronze 700 † There may also exist "flat cast" test samples or limited variations in metals used for testing purposes, as these were not considered "official." In the cases of the 1950 and 1953 National Jamborees, there was an initial run in brass as well; which according to folklore was made from the many .22 shells littering the ground in the rifle range at Camp Carpenter. * The 1979 Iran buckles were for the most part melted down. The number reflected is of those that are known to remain.
The Museum & Library
The Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum, established in 1969, was a place for Max to display Scouting Memorabilia that he acquired during his many trips nationally and internationally in the service of Scouting, including many items related to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement, and his wife Lady Olave Baden-Powell, with whom he was personally acquainted. In 1978, a Scouting Library was named for him to honor his contributions to Scouting and the community.[1] The museum has grown through donations from Scouters, families of Scouters and visitors to include one of the largest collections of Scouting memorabilia. The museum has also traditionally hosted a Jamboree on the Air station, as well as hosting the New England Tradeoree each fall.
Professional life
Professionally, Max was the President of Kamenske & Company,[2] a manufacturer of brass and bronze ingots.
Honors
Photo of Max I. Silber's Scouting medals and honors from the Max I. Silber Library in Manchester, NH. Amongst other honors, Max's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Shofar Award, St. George Award, Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope and Silver Buffalo.- Brandeis University in Waltham, MA confers the Max I. Silber Award to the university’s outstanding female student-athlete.[11]
- The United Way of Greater Nashua, NH confers The Max I. Silber Community Service Award to members of the community who exemplify the ideals of community service and volunteerism.[12]
- The National Eagle Scout Association chapter for New Hampshire is named The Max I. Silber Chapter.[13]
- Camp Carpenter in Manchester, NH has a campsite named "Silber" in his honor.[14]
- In 2004, Just after his death, the New Hampshire Scouting Service Club acquired the Amateur Radio Callsign 'N1S' (S being for Silber) for use during its Jamboree On The Air station, and dedicated the event to his memory.[15] The club still uses the call each October to this day.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d "Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum & Max I. Silber Scouting Library". Lee Scouting Museum. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20070705221920/http://www.scoutingmuseum.org/page1.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ a b c "Max I. Silber, Nashua Distinguished scout, citizen of Nashua". Obituaries (Nashua Telegraph). June 17, 2004.
- ^ "Obituary". Obituaries (Nashua Telegraph). May 22, 2000.
- ^ "Obituary". Obituaries (Nashua Telegraph). August 11, 2003.
- ^ "Allan B. Silber.(In Memoriam)". Highbeam.com. June 2004. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118496752.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-15.[dead link]
- ^ 1967 Annual Report. Boy Scouts of America. 1967.
- ^ "2007 Silver Buffalo Awards for Distinguished Service to Youth on a National Level". Scouting. Boy Scouts of America National Council. 2007. http://www.scouting.org/Awards/SilverBuffalo.aspx. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Distinguished Eagle Scouts". Scouting.org. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ silber buckles, Historical Memorabilia, Collectibles items on eBay.com
- ^ "Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum & Max I. Silber Scouting Library". Lee Scouting Museum. 2006. http://www.scoutingmuseum.org/. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ Levin, Adam (May 6, 2007). "2007 Department of Athletics awards announced". Brandeis University. http://my.brandeis.edu/athletics/news-item?group_id=&news_item_id=9302. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Volunteer Dan Ryan Recipient Max I. Silber Award". Newsletter Summer 2003. Marguerite's Place Preschool. 2003. http://margueritesplace.org/media/Newsletter_Summer_2003.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "National Eagle Scout Association Max I. Silber Chapter Daniel Webster Council, BSA". Daniel Webster Council, BSA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930094252/http://dwcbsa.org/program/NESA/EagCtHonr.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Camp Carpenter Cub World" (JPG). Daniel Webster Council, BSA. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930094316/http://www.dwcbsa.org/camps/CampCarpenter/images/map.jpg. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Special Event Station N1S Announced". The Spark Gap. Meridian Amateur Radio Club. 2004. http://www.strato.net/~mcarc/sparkgap/2004news/10.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
- ^ "Search Call Results". National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070828055405/http://www.ncvec.org/search_call_results.php. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
Categories:- 1911 births
- 2004 deaths
- People associated with the Boy Scouts of America
- Distinguished Eagle Scouts
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