Then & Now
by Highlands Historian Stella Bailey
SCOUT LAW
A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.
Although February was the official month of the founding of the Boy Scouts (on 2/6/1910) making February their 110th anniversary, February was so crowded with historic events, the Boy Scouts were mostly forgotten.
History tells us that the Scouts incorporator was William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher who took the idea from the English Boy Scout movement, founded in 1908 by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Daniel Carter Beard, the illustrator and naturalist, had earlier founded the Sons of Daniel Boone. A tribute to him can be see at the Bear Mountain Trailside Museum. Ernest Thompson Seton, author and artists, had organized the Woodcraft Indians. Both of these organizations had much the same purposes as the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts became the most popular and successful organization for American boys.
The Internet can give you all the facts you will ever want to know about the Scouts. Here are some of the most interesting ones, perhaps not up-to-date.
• 179 U.S. astronauts were involved with scouting.
• Several members of Congress participated in Scouting
• Many U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Naval Academy cadets were involved with scouting, with many attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.
• Over 60,000 youth have been continuously involved
• Over two million Scouts have earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Locally, Scouts have been involved with many community projects including cleaning local cemeteries, helping with food pantry collection and participating in parades, ceremonies and other local events.
Boy Scouts from over a dozen states and 75 troops annually attend the West Point Camporee — it’s one of the largest annual Scouting events held in the country. The event consists of a weekend camp out on the Academy property with static and active displays, competitions and demonstrations by cadets.
A few famous Scouts: Bill Gates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neil Armstrong, Jon Bon Jovi, Hank Aaron, Jay Leno, Walter Cronkite, Michael Jordan, Michael Bloomberg, Andy Griffith and U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama.
In 2018, the BSA announced that in 2019 its program would be renamed Scouts BSA and would admit girls.
Recently the Scouts faced numerous lawsuits stemming from allegations of sexual abuse by some Scout leaders and the BSA declared bankruptcy. This is a sad and difficult time for the boy Scout organizations and for the whole world
