Joe Long Day

When Kerry Parker became program director at Parnell in 1993, he brought back family style feeding, which had not been used at Boxwell since 1975. Many Scoutmasters were unhappy about the change because they had to be a watchdog over their Scouts, insuring that manners were actually used and the older boys did not take more than their fair share of the food from the platters. Despite the amount of food being prepared and served being exactly the same as cafeteria style, leaders complained their boys weren’t getting enough food. So when Council Executive Joe Long came to visit Parnell one Monday in 1996, they took the opportunity to complain about their boys being hungry. Not wanting unhappy leaders, Long ordered the food count for Parnell doubled.

The next morning, the amount of food thrown away at every meal was legion. ALL of the slop cans–the metal garbage cans filled with food, not paper–were completely full and overflowing, which was highly unusual. Dutch Mann, a WWII vet who had grown up in the Depression, was aghast at the waste. He dubbed the day “Joe Long Day,” memorializing the waste authorized by the Council Executive. Parker got the food count returned to its regular numbers quickly, but the leaders were satisfied. By the end of the week, even though the amount of food was exactly the same as it had been on Sunday, they now felt like they had enough!

No photos from Joe Long Day exist that we know of, but here is a photo of the back dock at Parnell from a little more than 20 years earlier.

Parnell Dining Hall’s back dock, 1974. Photo by Michael Seay.