I did not start out as a believer in co-ed Scouting. For most of the last 35 years I’ve been a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America the status quo worked fine for me, co-ed Scouting was a big unknown, and being unknown it was something to resist. Three Things That Changed My Mind. First – during a week-long international Scouting trip several years ago (and two more since) I watched co-ed Scouting at work....
This Scouting Equipment Catalog from 1925 is a fantastic piece of Scouting history. I’ve scanned all 50 pages and created a PDF document that you can download at the end of this post. On the cover there’s a full color illustration by Benjamin Goodwin Seielstad of Scouts in their campsite with a cowboy in the background. No new-fangled sleeping bags (since there was really no such thing in 1925!) for these fellows, no sir, they have good honest wool blankets ($4....
In 1925 the Columbian Rope Company published a brochure with images of impressive displays of Scouting knots to advertise their tape marked pure manilla rope. Two images feature a large knot board made by Troop 4 of Columbus Ohio. I wonder if that knot board is still around? Artful knot boards pictured in the brochure feature some practical Scouting knots. The brochure unfolds to a center spread of more knot boards made by the Columbian Rope company featuring dozens of knots, bends, splices, and weaves....
21 boys boarded a boat in Poole Harbor… … they had no way of knowing they were pioneering a movement for millions of young people around the world. Several lived well into old age to vividly recount their experiences decades later. Scouting’s pathways are now worn by travel, but each new Scout today has a “Brownsea Island Moment” when they encounter a new and unexplored land, just those boys did over a century ago....
What do you know about Scouting’s founder? February 22nd is founder’s day, the birthday of Scouting’s founder, born in 1857, 159 years ago, in Paddington, London, England World Thinking Day is celebrated annually on 22 February by all Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world. It is a day when they think about their fellow Scouts in all the countries of the world. Listen to a narrative about a visit to the National scouting museum from Craig Dickson, Scoutmaster of troop 682 in Poway CA....
Peace Scouting is nothing new, and it’s very simple… In this podcast I’ll share some thoughts about peace Scouting as described in an address Baden-Powell made to what would later become the World Organization of the Scouting movement in Paris in 1922. Your opportunity as a Scouter is a profound one. Take a moment today and think about that. We join hands with millions of fellow Scouters around the world working for love in the place of fear; and we all still have plenty of work to do....
Podcast Episode (00:25:19): Listen on Apple Podcasts In this encore episode I interview author David C. Scott about his book *The Scouting Party;*a thoroughly researched, unflinching account of the founding and first decade of the BSA focused on the lives of Earnest Thompson Seton, Robert Baden-Powell and Daniel Carter Beard. To my knowledge no one has so thoroughly analyzed the events and personalities involved in the founding of the BSA....
Nineteen year-old Kazik, prisoner 918, in Auschwitz. In Podcast 270 I tell the story of Kazimierz Piechowski, or Kazik, who grew up as a Boy Scout in Tczew on the border of Poland and Germany. When the Nazis invaded in 1939 Kazik learned the true meaning of the Scout motto. British songwriter, Katy Carr, wrote “Kommander’s Car” a song relating the pivotal moments of Kazik’s story. In August 2009 Katy Carr traveled to Poland and recorded her meeting with the then 90 year old Kazik and his wife Iga....
You may have more in common with Kazik than you first suspect! This podcast is one story that I think you’ll find inspiring and significant; a story of Scout spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds. Kazimierz Piechowski, or Kazik, who grew up as a Boy Scout in Tczew on the border of Poland and Germany. When the Nazis invaded in 1939 Kazik learned the true meaning of the Scout motto. Read more about Kazik’s story here...
In Podcast 265-266 I played excerpts of a recording of Green Bar Bill Hillcourt where he mentions his first article in October 1932 issue of Boy’s Life. The “Cover to Cover” section on page 2 introduces Bill; We start off in this issue by roping in Green-Bar Bill to write a monthly page of Scout ideas and suggestions. Take a slant at Green-Bar Bill’s page in this issue, and you’ll see what we mean....
Who was the voice of Scouting? How did a Danish Scout become the voice of Scouting in the United States? He knew the source code! What must we have to have to call what we do “Scouting”? This podcast is the second installment of a great story that ought to inspire us all to think about what we are doing and why. I’ll also answer an email question about parents on camping trips....
*During his lifetime Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the worldwide Scouting movement, wrote many books and articles directed to Scouters.*Each Sunday I’ll publish a selection from his writings in the hope that you’ll draw inspiration and understanding from his timeless ideas. He may have had his faults — the Tsar; he may have been a weak man, but at any rate he was no bloody-minded tyrant. He was merely the representative of a succession of autocratic rulers of Russia....
Whenever two or three Scouters get together talk eventually turns to the relevance of Scouting in ‘modern society’. Some think we’ve diminished the ideals of ‘manliness’ , traditional patriotism, bootstrap initiative, competitiveness and rigor in achievement but have they really examined what those ideas actually mean? Scouting does not consider that these things are scarce, unobtainable qualities, but that each individual Scout has vast potential to develop them . We wrangle and argue over measurements; what is ‘true’ manliness, patriotism, achievement?...
A fascinating video artifact found at author Win Davis’s website In April of 1987, Bill Hillcourt came to Central Florida. He visited for an evening with Scouts and leaders from Boy Scout Troop 46 in Longwood. What he had to say is pretty interesting. The Boy Scouts of America was still recovering from decisions made in the 1970s to modernize the program. The program changes didn’t work and all through the 1980s, Bill worked tirelessly to reinvigorate Scouting....
Win Davis has been a member of the Boy Scouts of America for more than sixty years as a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Scoutmaster, Sea Scout Skipper, Commissioner, Commodore and other positions too numerous to mention. As a professional Scouter Win attended the National Executive Institute at Schiff Scout Reservation in 1970. He was fortunate enough to meet and talk with many notable Scouters and was the personal friend of William L....
35 years ago, Kathy Hall was a single mother of three in search of a male role model for her then 7 year-old son. She decided to enroll him in her neighborhood Boy Scout troop, under the Grand Towers district. When she found out that there were no parents whatsoever involved in the troop, she took it upon herself to carry the gauntlet, and became the den mother to about 15 young cub scouts....
TheScoutingParty.com The Scouting Party available on Amazon You can order David’s “Where Character is Caught” from the Circle Ten Council We are pleased to welcome author David Scott for a discussion of his book ‘The Scouting Party’ to our February ScoutCircle. February marks the anniversary of the founding of the Scouting movement. The official birthday is February 8, and the entire month of February is designated as Anniversary Month....
Paul Siple, a nineteen-year-old Eagle Scout in Erie, Pennsylvania, was one of thousands who applied to join Admiral Byrd’s expedition in 1928. Byrd asked the Boy Scouts of America to help him select one Scout to take on the year and a half exploration of Antarctica. Local committees vetted applications and forwarded 88 to the national office. These 88 were winnowed down to six candidates who would meet with Byrd in New York City....
Podcast Episode (00:49:01): Listen on Apple Podcasts IN THIS PODCASTInterview with author Mike Malone about writing the Eagle Scout book, Four Percent, an engaging, inspiring, history of the award. Read my review of Four Percent Four Percent on Amazon In our interview Mike mentions The Scouting Party | Past editions of the show are available at the PODCAST ARCHIVE |
Julian Kulski was a Polish Scout when the Nazis invaded his nation in 1939. He was only 10 years old when the war began. After the invasion the Nazis directed that all schools be closed and that any patriotic clubs and organizations be disbanded under penalty of death. Concerned about his son’s safety, Kulski’s father urged him to move in with his Scoutmaster, Ludwik Berger, who later revealed the existence of a secret military organization, the Union of Armed Resistance....