In October 2007, two of the fathers of the camping experience for many a young man took their places around the eternal campfire in the skies. Though Dick Hacke and Jerry McFarland will be missed by many, their marks on the young men they touched with their guidance and love will carry their impact on for generations to come.

The letter below is a memorial tribute to Dick Hacke and RECBSA.org supports the Dick Hacke Foundation in its mission to keep the Scouting experience available through our camps for future generations. Please make your contributions by following the link enclosed in the letter.

Friends, Scouters, Scallywags and Delightful Idiots,

We invite you to pause quietly for a moment to celebrate with us the life of Dick Hacke, who passed on the morning of 19 October 2007 in Grass Valley, California.

Dick greeted life with unquenchable enthusiasm. For him, four years in the US Navy during World War II was ‘an adventure.’ A troubled kid a ‘challenge and opportunity.’ A crisp Sierra dawn an invitation to stroll across a dewy parking lot in nothing but sloppy sneakers and a smile, rouse the willing for a 6 o’clock swim across Chubb, and, in fairly a shout, sing the beauty of day like a warbler with a megaphone.

Dick was a builder of men. He embodied the best not just of Scouting, his great passion, but of humanity. He set the example for hard work, generosity, decency, fairness, integrity, wisdom, wit and humility. He could out-yodel an Austrian and find fun in a broken septic tank. His life was an act of praise, a study in the standard: ‘Great, not as Caesar, stained with blood, But only great as I am good.’

He changed the world. For five decades he dedicated himself to nurturing, cajoling, rebuking, counseling and mentoring countless boys to manhood, and today these legions have carried his influence across the globe.

Of all the boys making the transition to manhood that passed through his life, Dick chose a bright, troubled kid from Stinson Beach named Dan to be his adopted son. Or rather, they chose each other. Through that happy circumstance we became Dick’s grandsons. He stirred our childhood baths into water fights and later, after Dan’s early death in 1979, sheltered and shepherded us through the storms of adolescence. And so the honor was ours to care for Dick in the final years of his life. Though his memory faded and his body broke down, his spirit ever shined. The gleam never left his eyes until he closed them for the last time.

At Dick’s request, there will be no memorial services. Though that will disappoint many, he was adamant on this point and entrusted us to ensure that his wish be respected. Instead, we have founded The Dick Hacke Foundation, a fully incorporated, nonprofit and tax-exempt entity that will ensure a lasting legacy and carry Dick’s life-work forward in perpetuity. This instrument will benefit the Marin and Redwood Empire Boy Scout Councils exclusively by making grants available for maintaining and enhancing the camps that Dick built for as long as they exist. The Foundation’s website is www.dickhacke.org Within the next day or two, this site will be up and running and will provide information on how to contribute to the endowment. We kindly request that all contributions made in Dick’s name to Scouting be directed to the Foundation. There will also be a facility on the website where tributes may be posted, and we invite and encourage all of you to share your thoughts there.

And, why, by the same token, all that’s left for us to say is Thank You to all of you who shared our love for Dick. He felt privileged to know you all, and into the rich tapestry of a life well lived all your names are written.

Warmly,
Hans and Kurt Shillinger

We hope that you will find this web site friendly to Scouter and non-Scouter alike. It is a resource center for any information that you may need to become involved in Scouting and stay involved in Scouting. Links are always welcomed and can be mailed to the webmaster directly.

If you are here looking for Popcorn sales information, please click this link.

Our Council runs along the coast of California from Petaluma all the way up to the Oregon border. The Council has offices in Santa Rosa, California and Eureka, California. Our Council addresses are here.

  Donate your vehicle to the Redwood Empire Council!