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Fran Petersen
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| Fran Peterson in 1970 |
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| Fran sweeping the porch of the administration building at Camp Pico Blanco
during summer camp, 1968. |
| Also About Fran |
Fran Petersen met Béla Bánáthy while both were serving
Scouting. Fran was a Scoutmaster and learned of Béla's interest
in youth leadership development. Fran and Béla, along with Joe St. Clair,
Maury Tripp, Paul Sujan, and later Paul Hood established the White Stag
Program. Fran remained involved off and on for many years.
Fran was known to watch youth staff from the shady side of a redwood tree, observing
quietly. During the summer of 1968, he as Program Director seemed to be
everywhere, moving like a deer through the woods. Fran that he did not like
to walk, but would run, the trails. That is how he taught his sons to
explore the woods.
Fran was both private and generous. In 1974, it rained during nearly every day of summer camp, May staff were unprepared for the rain. Fran unselfishlessly lent his raincoat so one staff member could hike out to Mt. Manual
trail to check on the condition of one of the Troop Leadership Development
crews. He never said a word when the rain coat was ripped to shreds
over the next few days after the staff member was forced to bushwhack through the trails of Pico Blanco
and Mt. Manual.
Fran's mother had been raised by an uncle, as she was illegitimate, but her father
and the family wanted to see that she was nonetheless provided for. The
uncle received money to raise her every month, and he saved the entire
sum for her. She learned of the account upon reaching maturity, but she
saved it. Finally, she went into A. P. Gianni's Bank of America and cashed
out the entire account -- two days before the Crash of '29. She had a
tidy sum and determined that she would build herself a house, which she
proceeded to do, in a tiny town far down the Salinas Valley, a little
town named Chular. This is where her husband made a living as a mechanic.
In 1930 the house she had built had inlaid wood floors, plaster ceilings,
and other amenities usually only afforded by the wealthy. This is the
house that Fran grew up in.
Fran took great pleasure in remembering people's birthdays and other special dates. Many friends were flattered, surprised and delighted when Fran would remember their birthday
with a personal note.
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| Experimental Wood Badge course #25-2. Held at Ft. Ord during January
and February, 1968, it was staffed by (front, L-R) Fran Petersen, Maury Tripp, Joe St.Clair, George Toole, and Bob Bowman; (rear, L-R) Frank Masamori, John Larson, Louis Lang, John Martin, Chet Frisbie (Asst. Council Scout Executive). Every Scoutmaster then brought his troop to White Stag camp the following summer. |
He was usually pretty private, preferring not to give out his phone number
to most people, and even guarding his address. Yet when asked to do something,
he rarely said no, even if it was not convenient. He loved to walk and
hike and would regularly, up until the last months of his life, explore
the trails of Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness. George St. Clair, Joe's
son and one of the original Senior Patrol Leaders, told me that he and
a few friends would regularly invite Fran on hikes, and he rarely said
no, even in the last few months as he grew weaker.
Fran was an inspiration to many in the example he set in serving others
selflessly, in his curiosity, his visionary thoughts, his intellect, his
willingness to go contrary to conventional wisdom and challenge the status
quo. As long as someone is alive in anyone's memory,
he has not passed from this earth. In Fran's case, he shall live for a
great many years more in the spirit of all those who follow the White
Stag.
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