Eight short years after the group's beginning, World War II took some of the boys off to war; a few did not return. During this time Buck wrote a poem that has become a clear statement of his life's guiding theme. It has been printed in thousands of Koshare booklets and virtually every book or article written about him. The poem speak of Scoutmaster Burshears' inner motivation better than anything anyone else could write.

His troop, Explorer Post 2230 of the Rocky Mountain Council, has had only one Scoutmaster for the past 44 years (1933 - 1977). It was an Explorer Post before the national BSA organization recognized such a thing and incorporated them in their programs. This one troop has produced over FOUR HUNDRED Eagle Scouts. Buck's troop has awarded as many as 40 Eagle badges at one Court of Honor. Both of these achievements are national records!

From the eastern plains of Colorado, the Koshares have traveled from coast to coast and beyond, from Madison Square Garden in New York City to a U.S. aircraft carrier a hundred miles at sea off San Diego. They have thrilled audiences with their dancing and their costumes in gymnasiums, auditoriums and football fields everywhere. They are considered to be the world's foremost interpreters of Indian dancing.

The objective of all this work? Why, the education of all those boys: "To make them better men..." Buck's program has provided the opportunity for nearly three generations of boys to travel, to learn, to see, and to grow into better men. The dance fees met the expenses of the trips. Dancing feet have paid for -- and worn out -- three buses. After 16 years, Buck designed a magnificent "home" for the Koshares in La Junta. It is the Koshare Kiva, fashioned after the great ceremonial kivas of Chaco Canyon and Aztec, N.M., ruins. Once built, Buck and the boys proceeded to fill it with, literally, a million dollar art collection plus a museum of Indian artifacts, crats, and costumes. Many of their dance programs are presented in this incomparable setting, located on the campus of the Otero Junior College.

...(Continued Page 3) A Man Called Buck
Written by Koshare R. L. Champion in 1977