Follow Me, Boys! (1966)

(The town of Hickory and environs, probably in the sate of Illonis; 1930-1950)
IMDb

I really enjoyed this straight forward Disney fare about the twenty year career of a beloved small town scout master. Fred MacMurray is that scout master, Lemuel Siddons, a veteran of the First World War, college graduate, and saxophonist in a traveling band who aspires to be a lawyer. When his bus stops in the small town of Hickory, Lemuel (or Lem to his friends) decides to put down roots, not least because he has his eye on young bank employee Vera Miles. To impress said young lady, Mr. Sunny Can-do Lem volunteers to take on the job of local scout master when nobody else wants it. Oddly in time this strategy works and the two get married.

The movie is episodic, which is completely appropriate for it. Lem organizes the troop, helps them build a cabin, and mentors troubled young boy "Whitey". When Whitey's well intentioned but alcoholic father dies, the Siddons adopt him, which works out fine because they are unable to have children of their own. As time passes Whitey grows up to be a doctor and serves in the Second World Ward, while Lem stays at home with the scouts. One of the more amusing episodes concerns the scout troop getting mixed up in military war games in 1944, they capture a tank. Towards the end of the film Lem manages to save the scouts unofficial lake front home from a greedy banker, and later a scout camp is built there and named in his honor. This is truly the Mr. Hollands Opus of boy scout movies (are there other boy scout movies?). Pure, Innocent, and very WASPy Disney family fare.