History of Ben Harrison Camp No. 356 - Indianapolis, IN
Note:
The Ben Harrison camp has been in existence, on and off, for over 120 years,
making it the oldest active camp in the Department of Indiana.
The camp history, as detailed below, is all that is currently known.
Unfortunately, most of the camp’s service records have been lost. If you have
any additional historical information about this camp, please contact
the camp Signals Officer at the e-mail address shown at the bottom of this page. We would very much like to hear from you.
The Ben Harrison Camp No. 356 was organized in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 19, 1884 with 46 members. Many of these original members would have certainly been “Real Sons.” The camp was reorganized on March 8, 1897 with 32 members, presumably because the first camp disbanded. Information is sketchy, but it is assumed that the camp was active and continued meeting into the 1940’s. During the 1940’s, the camp was meeting on East Washington Street in Indianapolis. Sometime after this date, the camp was disbanded.
In 1981, the Ben Harrison camp was organized once again and has met continuously since. All the known past Camp Commanders are listed below. The Camp Commanders from the original camp organization date to 1981 are, for the most part, not known.
View the 1928 Ben Harrison Camp By Laws Here (5.88 MB)
View the Auxiliary to the Sons Application Circa 1928 (1.84 MB)
Year Camp Commander
1919 - Rev. Dr. Frank C. Huston
(also PC-in-C)
1981 - Thomas H. Hayes
1982 - Allen W. Moore (also PDC
and PC-in-C)
1983 - Allen W. Moore (also PDC
and PC-in-C)
1984 - Daniel Morris
1985 - Richard Sharp
1986 - Dr. Doyle Manhart
1987 - Unknown
1988 - Unknown
1989 - Dr. Harry G. Becker
1990 - Dr. Harry G. Becker
1991 - Olen Gowens
1992 - Richard L. Listenberger
1993 - Richard L. Listenberger
1994 - Stephen T. Jackson (also PDC)
1995 - Stephen T. Jackson (also PDC)
1996 - Thomas C. Milton
1997 - McClernand B. Crawford
1998 - McClernand B. Crawford
1999 - Carter C. Keith
2000 - Carter C. Keith
2001 - Stephen B. Bauer
2002 - Stephen B. Bauer
2003 - Bruce R. Kolb (also PDC)
2004 - Bruce R. Kolb (also PDC)
2005 - Philip D. McClure
2006 - Philip D. McClure
2007 - Michael W. Beck
2008 - Michael W. Beck
2009 - Timothy J. Beckman
2010 - Timothy J. Beckman
2011 - Garriel R. Walls
New Ben Harrison Camp Commander Installed (12/13/2008)
Left to Right: Past Camp Commander Mike Beck, New Camp Commander
Tim Beckman,
and Past Camp Commander and Past Department Commander Bruce Kolb
2009 Ben Harrison Camp Officers Installed (12/13/2008)
Left to Right: Jerry Thompson (Secretary), Mike Tomey (JVC), Mike Beck
(PCC),
Tim Beckman (CC), Graham Morey (Treasurer), Garry Walls (SVC)
From Left to Right: Newly Elected Camp Commander Mike
Beck,
Department Commander Bruce Kolb and PCC Phil McClure
Picture Taken 1/13/07
***********
Submitted by Tim Beckman with assistance from Steve Jackson, PCC and PDC.
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Please address any web page problems or questions to:
Ben Harrison Camp Web Host and Signals Officer, Tim Beckman
E-mail: timbeckman@gmail.com
This Page Last Updated on 03/16/2011