Ellsworth Hunt Augustus - Biography

Biography

He was born on November 23, 1897 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ellsworth, or Gus, as he known to friends and family, was a larger than life character whose golf skills were on par with professionals of his day—once beating the Lengendary Bobby Jones at a charity golf event. He was characterized in a 1920 issue of Vanity Fair magazine as being the country's most powerful driver off the tee, demonstrating his golf swing in a series of time lapse photos.

Gus and his wife, "Betty," went on to have four children, Daneen (Hitchcock), Albert Anthony Augustus II, who has been married to Elizabeth Hurlock Augustus for over sixty years, Elizabeth (Betsy), and Margaret (Peggy). As of this writing (April 2012), all but Betsy are still alive. Among their grandchildren are Daniel Hitchcock, a nuclear physicist, Eric Hitchcock, a Navy Top-Gun pilot was killed in a mid-air collision in 1988, Darcy Hitchcock, Ellsworth Hunt Augustus II, a marine researcher, graphic designer, and author of WWII-based novels, Diane, a homemaker and mother of three adult children, Linda Taft, a Psychological Counselor, as well as a mother of three, and Wendy Augustus, who owns a successful transportation business in Chicago.

He served for four years during World War II on active duty as an officer in the United States Navy Reserve aboard the troop ship, USS West Point, which was converted from the ocean liner America.

In 1950 he was appointed as the Cuyahoga County coordinator of Civil Defense at the request of Cleveland Mayor Thomas A. Burke and the county commissioners. Although Augustus and his staff had little experience with civil defense and limited guidance from the federal government, the civil defense organization soon developed organiza- tional plans for a county-wide program that called for "tens of thousands of volunteers" to be "the county's defense troops."

Augustus hoped to train one member from each family in Cuyahoga County, or 375,000 people, in first aid. Further volunteer opportunities included 30,000 to 40,000 air raid war- dens, 5,000 police auxiliary officers, and 3,000 auxiliary firemen. Local schools also participated in the civil defense program. In February 1951, Cleveland school officials sent a letter to all parents describing the civil de- fense efforts in schools. Some schools taught their students how to protect themselves by ducking under their desks and covering their heads — the well-known "Duck and Cover" technique.

He was elected president of the Boy Scouts of America in 1959 and served for five years until 1964. His service to the Scout movement included participating in the 11th World Scout Jamboree at Marathon, Greece, and 19th World Conference on the Isle of Rhodes. During 1964, he made an official visit to the Far East Council of the Boy Scouts of America with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, and conferred with leaders of Scout associations in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

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