Earl R. Rice was born on August 9, 1888, in Batavia, Illinois, the son of Arthur and Lettie Holderness. He married Ruth Russell on November 1, 1919, in Chicago. He was the executive director and organizer of the Stateline Council of the Boy Scouts of American from 1925 to 1938. Hired to supervise the training of Scout leaders in existing troops and to organize new units, Mr. Rice traveled all over Rock and Walworth counties and into neighboring Illinois. He organized units in Harvard, Freeport, McHenry and Crystal Lake in Illinois and in Orfordville, Brodhead and Shullsburg, Wisconsin. He organized a troop of black youth at the Edgewater apartments north of Waverly Beach. Mr. Rice served in Both World War I and II, retiring with the rank of Major in 1949.

After his retirement from the Military, he was employed as a special agent with the New York Life Insurance Company. He was a member of the First Baptist Church, a life member of the American Legion West-Field Post No. 48 and a member of the Beloit Kiwanis Club. He was honored many times by Kiwanis, American Legion and various other groups for his civic contributions in the name of young people. He was active in the American Red Cross and served on its advisory board. He was a lifesaving and first aid instructor for the American Red Cross and promoted first aid and water safety programs for many years in and out of scouting.

He was active in the old Community Chest, which became the United Givers Fund and in 1963 he was honored as the recipient of the J. Raymond Cox Safety Plaque by the Beloit Safety Council which he helped organize. He was also a member of the Beloit Historical Society. Mr. Rice died at the age of 88 on May 28, 1977. His surviving family included his wife Ruth and daughter Lila.