Vol. 2, No. 2

The Boy Scouts of America – one hundred years young and still going strong! Celebrate the adventure and continue the journey as Scouting launches its Centennial year.

IT ALL BEGAN IN A FOG

While walking the misty streets of London in 1909, American businessman William Boyce lost his way. A boy offered to guide him to his destination. Boyce wanted to pay him, but the boy explained that he was a Scout, and that Scouts do not accept money for doing good turns.

Eager to learn more, Mr. Boyce met with Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement in Great Britain. Boyce knew that boys back home would like the idea, so he brought Scouting to the United States. Papers incorporating the Boy Scouts of America were signed on February 8, 1910 – the date celebrated as the official birthday of the BSA.

One hundred years later, many events are marking the Centennial, beginning on New Year’s Day with a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. It featured Scouting’s 100th anniversary theme, “Celebrating the Adventure, Continuing the Journey.”

Councils, districts, and local units are marking the centennial with special events of their own. Many Scouts will worship with their families and friends on Scout Sunday (usually the Sunday before February and Scout Sabbath (usually the Saturday after February 8).

The biggest celebration of all takes place this summer when more than 43,000 Scouts and thousands of visitors gather for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree. To learn more about the Jamboree, go to bsajamboree.org.

Just one of many highlights this year will be the release of a Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Silver Dollar by the U.S. Mint to honor 100 years of Scouting.  The Secretary of the Treasury authorized the issue of up to 350,000 silver dollar coins.
SCOUTING BY THE NUMBERS

The experiences of Scouting’s first century add up to some mighty big numbers, starting with one hundred candles on a cake. Here are some other eye-opening sums:

110 million – People registered by the BSA since 1910

3 million – Youth members currently registered

2.3 million – Merit badges earned each year

2 million – Scouts who have earned the Eagle Scout award

1.1 million – Registered adult leaders

1 – You, the most important Scout today. Learn skills, have fun, work on advancement, and be the best Scout you can. That’s the best birthday gift you can give the BSA.

THE BSA QUIZ OF THE CENTURY

Scouting has prepared millions of youth for a lifetime of achievement. They have been of service to their families, communities, and churches. Some have become famous.

Can you match the following Scouts with their remarkable accomplishments? (Find the answers below.)

Daniel Carter Beard
1. Naturalist and First Chief Scout

2. Woodsman and early Scout Commissioner

3. First Scout Executive

4. First World Scout

5. First American to climb Mt. Everest

6. First man to walk on the Moon

7. First Eagle Scout to be President of the United States

8. First baseball player to break Babe Ruth’s home run record

9. First to fly a balloon around the world solo and non-stop

a. Eagle Scout Neil Armstrong
b. Daniel Carter Beard
c. Eagle Scout Jim Whittaker
d. Ernest Thompson Seton
e. Scout Hank Aaron
f. Eagle Scout Steve Fossett
g. Eagle Scout Gerald Ford
h. James E. West
i. Robert Baden-Powell

Robert Baden-Powell
Quiz Answers: 1.d; 2.b; 3.h; 4.i; 5.c; 6.a; 7.g; 8.e; 9.f
SCOUTING’S CENTENNIAL GIFT TO YOU

For all the attention on big events in Scouting’s big year, the most important moments are your own experiences.

Remember some of your Scouting “firsts”?

• Your first Cub Scout den, Boy Scout patrol, or Venturing crew.
• Your first Scout leader.
• Your first campout.
• Receiving your First Class badge.
• Your first mountaintop experience.

If you haven’t yet felt the excitement of some of those firsts, they’re waiting for you to find them soon.
FLIPPING OVER SCOUTING

Griddle cakes, pancakes, flapjacks–whatever you call them, they’ve been around since the dawn of the BSA. And whether you’re in camp, at a fund-raising breakfast, and cooking at home, it’s tempting to flip them the old-fashioned way.

Practice is the key to success. A cloth pot holder has about the size, weight, and flexibility of a pancake. Lay it in a cold frying pan. Tilt the pan until the pot holder begins sliding away from you. Just as it reaches the far lip of the pan, pull the pan upward and toward you, launching the pot holder a foot or two into the air. It should turn while in flight. Catch it in the pan on its way down.

When you feel confident flipping pot holders, try a real pancake. Pour batter into a lightly-greased pan heating over a stove or campfire. Wait for the batter to form bubbles on top and become dry around the edges, then ease a spatula underneath to loosen the pancake so it slides. Use the same motion you did for flipping the pot holder, and you’ll soon have a new skill–and a hot breakfast – under your belt.

WHERE THE SCOUT LAW CAME FROM

The Scout Law of the BSA is as old as Scouting itself. It is based on the set of nine laws appearing in Baden-Powell’s 1908 book Scouting for Boys that spoke most clearly to Scouts in Great Britain.

Two years later, the Boy Scouts of America published the twelve points of its own Scout Law. Simpler and easier to remember than the Scout Law for British youth, it has given American Boy Scouts guidelines for life that have remained unchanged throughout an entire century.

The vision of the BSA’s Scout Law influenced Baden-Powell, too. In 1911 he added a tenth law to the list for British Scouts: “A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.”

For the Boy Scouts of America, the twelve points of the Scout Law have stood the test of time exactly as they were written. They will continue to be a guiding light for generations of Scouts to come.

READ ALL ABOUT IT! BSA’S LITERATURE OF THE CENTURY

Learn about Scouting’s past and celebrate the future with great BSA literature. Cub Scouts can check out the puzzles, games, crafts, and stickers in 100 Years of Scouting.

For older readers, Boy Scouts of America: A Centennial History provides a detailed account of the BSA’s colorful past. The collector’s edition of the book includes facsimile documents, photographs, and enough other memorabilia to satisfy the most ardent fan of Scouting.

Best of all, The Boy Scout Handbook has a whole new look. The Centennial Edition will guide Scouts well into the 21st Century by building on Scouting’s first hundred years. You’ll find a wealth of skills, history, and adventure in this best-selling guide to Scouting’s past, present, and future.