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. […]
1925 Scouting Equipment Catalog
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 […]
Impressive Chart of Scouting Knots from 1925
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 […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 321- Brownsea Island Moment
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 […]
Podcast 304 – Founder’s Day
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 […]
Podcast 293 – Peace Scouting
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 […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 275 – The Scouting Party
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 […]
Kazimierz Piechowski – A Scout’s Story of Impossible Odds
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 […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 270 – The Story Of Kazik
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 […]
The First Green Bar Bill Article in Boy’s Life.
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 […]
Podcast 265 – Scouting Source Code 2
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 […]
B.P.’s Blog – The Tsar and Scouts
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 […]
The Relevance of Scouting
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, […]
A Visit with Green Bar Bill
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 […]
Men of Schiff: The Professional Scouters Who Built the B.S.A.
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 […]
35 Years Later Scoutmaster Gets Her Due
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 […]
The Scouting Party | February 2013 ScoutCircle
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 […]
Paul Siple – Eagle Scout
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 […]
Podcast 137 Four Percent, Eagle Scout Book
IN THIS PODCAST Interview 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 Podcast: Play in new window | […]
Polish Scout, Resistance Fighter
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 […]
The Left Handshake
A reader recently inquired to the origins of the left handshake as a greeting for Scouts. After researching the question the short answer is that, while no one can really determine who first started the tradition, the left handshake is a tradition older than Scouting. Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting) may have adopted the left handshake from author, illustrator and co-founder […]
Cubmaster Jack Lemmon and Den Mother Doris Day
‘It Happened to Jane’ (1959) starred Jack Lemmon and Doris Day. It’s an O.K. movie (Ernie Kovaks is the villain). This clip is a little long , but watch the first part. Note the reasonably realistic, chaotic group of Cub Scouts. Doris singing ‘Be Prepared’ as Jack strums the ukulele on backup. As a youngster I would […]
Scoutmaster Podcast 73 – The Boy from Aarhus
From Aarhus, to New York, and beyond … … the remarkable story of how young Vilhelm Hans Bjerregaard Jensen’s encounter with a crate of WWI surplus semaphore flag poles changed the course Scouting in the United States. But I had become a restless dreamer. The two world jamborees had stirred my blood. I had met people from […]
The Scouting Party
I have spent some memorable hours reading an advance copy of David C. Scott and Brendan Murphy’s new 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 […]
