Scout's Honour
Published Tuesday January 13th, 2009
Herb Allen has always been prepared to lead a busy, happy and fulfilling life.
He was born in Fredericton in 1934 at the old Victoria Public Hospital but that's not what his father told him.
"My father told me I was found in a snowbank and I believed him until I was darned near 18."
The family lived in Lincoln near what is now the Fredericton Yacht Club. They kept chickens and a cow to meet their egg and dairy needs. As a boy, he recalls picking strawberries along the railroad tracks which his mother used to make jam. It was a great, simple, wonderful life, he says.
When he was 11, the family moved to Brunswick Street. The next year he joined Scouts. Now, 63 years later, he's still involved.
"It's been an adventure and a lot of fun."
All five of his sons were Scouts. Now his six-year-old grandson has joined Beavers and he couldn't be any happier about the little boy's excitement with the program.
He is equally proud that his daughters went to Girl Guides and that his wife was a Brownie leader. These organizations, he says, teach young people many life lessons and help them become productive members of society.
In 1956 he met Sue Hughes. He worked at NB Power and she was with the provincial department of labour. Both offices were in the same building.
"Every morning I used to see this beautiful lady going down the hallway getting water for the coffee. I'd go out and try to interrupt her walk."
He didn't make any progress. But when he discovered she was a choir member at St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church he got an urge to sing there too.
He worked up the nerve to ask her out. She accepted. They dated for a year and got married in 1958.
They have eight children. Angela, Danny, Andrew, Patrick, Timothy, David, Stephanie and Margo filled their home with lots of laughter and love.
"It was a lot of fun. We formed the Allen Family Club. It was a powerful group. We'd get together on a Sunday evening.
"We'd usually have a little prayer session and then we would decide on things that were important to the kids.
"Like whose turn it was to get a bicycle and major purchases for the home. It prevented a lot of jealousies because they were being taught to share."
By 1965 he realized it was impossible to support everyone on the $4,000 he earned at NB Power.
So he accepted a position with a company in Northern Quebec which raised his income to $10,000. The huge pay increase made things much easier at home.
They never sold their home in this city so when he decided to leave the job after several years and return here they had a place to come home to.
He thought he had a position at the mill in Nackawic. When he arrived on the job site the company told him they had no record of the job offer and the position had already been filled.
He was devastated and worried about supporting his family.
For a while he painted houses until he found a more permanent position with the provincial government's public works department in electrical design.
He remained the the civil service until he retired at 61. The past 14 years have been wonderful, he says. He's had more free time to give to Scouts, the Royal Canadian Legion and to his wife and family.
Three mornings each week he and his wife walk from their home to the UNB pool where they do an hour of water aerobics with the Silver Dolphins. They love to dance on Saturday nights at the legion.
For years he played old-timers hockey. It was one of the most difficult things to give up 11 years ago after he started to have heart trouble.
In March 2007 he underwent triple bypass surgery. He is dealing with some health issues now but he is determined to do everything he loves to do.
Two adorable little girls run into the living room where he sits on a sofa. They jump up and sit beside him.
Ella Sears, who's two, and her four-year-old sister Myra are two of his 12 grandchildren. They come here to spend the day with their grandparents at least once a week.
"Thank God they do. It's just a joy to have them here."
It's so much fun, he says, to play with these busy little girls. He is also a great-grandfather to two. Being a father and grandfather, he says, has been one of the greatest pleasures in his life.
He fondly recalls reading and singing with his kids at bedtime.
His is a very busy life. For many years he ran summer Scout camps. He helped to rebuild the lodge at the Yoho Lake Scout camp after it burned several years ago.
He is the manager of the Yoho Scout camp and he does weekly checks on the buildings to make sure they are secure. He also goes to the Scout office where he does paperwork a couple of mornings each week. He is quarter master for Scouts Canada's Rivorton Area.
He is on the finance committee and he is the provincial representative for the organization's national council.
Allen is a Royal Canadian Legion member and the second vice-president at Branch 4.
Following the flooding of the legion's basement on Queen Street this past spring, he helped to repair the damage.
Recently he was the poppy committee chairman which, he says, is very time-consuming.
He's managed to give so much of his time to others because, he says, his wife and family are so supportive.
"I don't know what I'd have done without them."
His doctors have told him it's time to slow down but he says he wouldn't do everything he does if he didn't enjoy it.
"I like helping at the legion. I like helping out with Scouts. I don't mind being used by those organizations because I've seen the kind of good work they do."
He is also involved in the gathering of pop tabs which are sent to a scrap metal company. The funds Scouts Canada earns from these are used to buy wheelchairs for children.
Allen has been recognized with many certificates of achievement and honours including the city's Distinguished Citizen Award.
He is humbled by it all.
But perhaps more touching are the letters and cards of thanks from people whose lives he's touched through Scouts Canada.
He smiles as he reads a card he received from two brothers who wrote to thank him for helping them become the men they are today.
It reads: You guided us both in the right direction. As our Scout master you set an example that allowed us to be successful throughout the past 40 years.
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