The Life and Contributions of George Louis Meylan, MD to Physical

I 70-19 ,377 WETTAN, Richard Gary, 1944- THE LIFE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF GEORGE LOUIS MEYLAN, M.D. TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND CAMPING. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Education, physical University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE LIFE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF GEORGE LOUIS MEYLAN, M.D. TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND CAMPING DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Richard Gary Wettan, B.A., M.S. ****** The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by Adviser Department of Physical Education DR. ME YLAN IN HIS LATER YEARS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although it would be impossible to make adequate acknowledgment to all the persons who helped me in this effort, special recognition must be accorded to some. In the first place 7. would like to acknowl edge ray advisor, Professor Bruce Bennett of Ohio State University, for his encouragement, criticisms and suggestions. It was Dr. Bennett who first made the history of physical education come alive for me. I would also like to acknowledge the other members of ray reading committee, Dr. Charles Mand and Dr. Willard P. Ashbrook for their interest, criticisms and suggestions. 1 am grateful to George Meylan, Jr. and Mrs. Lucien G. Henderson for their permission to undertake this study of their father and for their aid once the project was undertaken. Special thanks are due to Harry A. Scott and Edward T. Kennedy, former colleagues of Meylan's, for their comments and thoughts on Dr. Meylan. Thanks are also due the many other friends and colleagues of Meylan's with whom 1 corresponded. I am indebted to the various libraries which allowed me to use their facilities. Specifically I would like to thank the following organizations for the use of their libraries: The American Camping Association, The New York Public Library, Springfield College, Columbia University, Oberlin College, Ohio State University, The University of Illinois, and the YMCA National Library. ii Last, but certainly not least, 1 would like to thank my wife Leslie for typing the first draft of this dissertalon and for her patience and support during my years in graduate school. iii VITA. October 22, 1944 Born - Brooklyn, New York January 1966 B*A. Queens College Flushing, New York 1965-1966 Instructor - Walden School New York, New York 1966-1967 Lecturer - Queens College Flushing, New York 1967-1968 Teaching Assistant - Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio June 1968 M.S. - Brooklyn College Brooklyn, New York 1968-1969 Teaching Assistant - Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1969 - Assistant Professor Queens College Flushing, New York Fields of Study Major Field: Physical Education Studies in the History of Physical Education Professor Bruce Bennett Studies in American History Professors Francis P. Weisenburger and Mary Young iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................... il VITA. ......................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES................................................... viii LIST OF PLATES....................................................... ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION................................................. 1 II. A SWISS IMMIGRANT FAMILY.................................... 5 Switzerland and Swiss Education........................ 5 Immigration to America ..... ..................... 10 III. THE Y.M.C.A. BEGINS A CAREER............................... 16 Social Gospel and the Y.M.C.A.......................... 16 Physical Training in the Y.M.C.A. ............... 19 A Career Begins..................................... 23 IV. EDUCATION AND Y.M.C.A. WORK-REACHING FOR THE TOP. 29 Early Y.M.C.A. W o r k ................................... 29 Correspondence Classes and Medical School.............. 32 The Boston Y.M.C.A. ................... 36 Harvard College and the Harvard Sumner School. 40 Fruits of Labor. ..................................... 43 V. COLUMBIA YEARS................................. 46 Call to Columbia....................................... 46 Making Physical Education Academic . ............... 51 v Chapter Page Tests of Physical Proficiency...................... 55 Program Development................. .............. * 59 Athletics at Columbia............................... 66 VI. WORK IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.................... 71 The Growth of Professional Organizations ......... 71 Boston Physical Education Society.................. 74 The American Association for the Advancement of Physical Education............................ - 75 Society of College Gymnasium Directors ........... 80 Other Physical Education Organizations ........... 82 Other Professional Organizations .................. 85 Miscellaneous Societies............................. 89 VII. A PIONEER IN CAMPING........................ 92 History of Camping . ............................. 92 The Good Will Farm Camp and Camp Buena Vista . 94 Camp Philosophy. ........................ 97 Camp P r o g r a m ........................................ 100 The White Mountain Camp for Boya and Camp Arcadia for G i r l s ........................................ 104 Contributions to the Camping Movement............. 107 VIII. A...............MAN OF SERVICE.......................... 113 For the Y.M.C.A. and Les Foyer du S o l d a t ......... 113 Other Service........................................ 119 IX. AN ECLECTIC PHILOSOPHY.................................. 121 The Progressive Era................................. 121 vi Chapter Page Pioneers in Physical Education .................... 123 Meylan's Philosophy................................. 124 X. ADDRESSES AND WRITINGS................................. 133 Athletics........... ............................... 134 Health .... ......... ............. 140 Reports and Presidential Addresses ................ 142 Other W r i t i n g s...................................... 146 XI. HONORS, HOBBIES AND MOMENTOES ......................... 150 H o n o r s ............................................... 150 Hobbies............................................... 157 Mementoes............................................. 159 XII. GEORGE LOUIS MEYLAN: AN APPRAISAL.................... 167 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................ .. 170 v 11 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Effects of Gymnastics and Athletics ...................... 127 2. Positions Held by Meylan in Professional Organisations. 152 viii LIST OF PLATES Plate Page I. Meylan Family Crest ...................................... 161 II. Swiss Cantonal Plate...................................... 161 III. The B o x e r .................................................. 162 IV. The Runner.................................................. 162 V. Swiss Cow Bell............................................. 163 VI. The Meylan Family C l o c k .................................. 163 VII. Portrait of George L. Meylan............................... 164 VIII. Trophies.............. 164 IX. Meylan1 a Arm.............................................. * 165 lx CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This is a biography of Dr. George L. Meylan. It deals with the role of Dr. Meylan in the development of physical education and camping in America. Also included are facts about Dr. Meylan's life and the period in which he lived which are pertinent to the understanding of his professional career. Dr. Meylan was an interesting subject for two reasons. First, he was an intimate friend of pioneers like Dudley Sargent, R. Tait McKenzie, Luther Halsey Gulick, and James Huff McCurdy. By studying Dr. Meylan, one is able to gain insight into the people who guided our field through its infant years. One can also gain insight into the development and organization of the various associations which the pioneers set up to promote health and physical education. Second, in order to develop a philosophy of physical education, it is important to understand how the field has grown and developed. We can not success fully guide the future without evaluating the past. Meylan played a key role in the history of physical education and camping from 1890-1940. Meylan was a stalwart supporter of the educational value of athletics, camping and physical education, and through his writings, speeches, and leadership, he helped to gain a respected place for physical education in the American college curriculum. Soon after arriving in America, Meylan joined the Young Men's 1 2 Christian Association. He quickly rose through the ranks in the YMCA. At the age of eighteen he was hired by the physical department of the Jersey City YMCA and at the age of nineteen he became physical director of the Bangor, Maine YMCA. Meylan left Bangor in 1893 to obtain his medical degree, which he received from New York University in 1896. After finishing medical school he was appointed physical director of the Boston YMCA. While in Boston he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Harvard, and also worked as an instructor in the Sargent Normal School. In 1903 Meylan attended Columbia University where he earned his Master of Arts in 1904. From 1903-1929 he was a professor of physical education and medical director of the Columbia College gymna sium. At Columbia Meylan developed the first achievement tests for college men, and he also instituted the first swimming requirement for college students, lieylan retired in 1929 and devoted his remaining years to camping and scientific

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