Boy Hangs Self Believing It Was A Requirement Of Joining The Boy Scouts
A tragedy of unimaginable proportions occurred when a naive boy fell victim to a joke by his parents
A common rite of passage for many years has been joining the Boy Scouts. Even in today’s technical age, there’s still much interest in participating in the group that focuses on the outdoors and working with your hands. In the earlier days of the organization, not everyone knew exactly what they were getting into. Sadly, a century ago, a young boy hung himself and died because he had been jokingly told by his parents that he had to go through such an experience to prove he was tough enough to become a Scout.
In 1924, Walter Wessel, Jr. of Jersey City New York was 13 and had looked forward to joining the Boy Scouts for some time. He was known to have saved up pennies over time in order to cover the entry fee that was required.
Unfortunately, when he told his parents how he intended to throw his hat in the ring with the popular group, his father jokingly told him, “You can’t join unless you go through a fierce hanging in your initiation.”
It’s not clear why Wessel, Sr. responded in such a dark tone, but his son clearly was raised to believe what his parents told him. The boy’s once…
