On this day in 1908

[Bill in Oregon]

I know many have given up on the Scouting movement thanks to the woke agenda stuff, but I haven't and never will. There is still a core of values within Scouting that promotes honesty, loyalty, character and service to others. God bless the memory of Robert Baden-Powell.

HISTORY.com Editors

On January 24, 1908, the Boy Scouts movement begins in England with the publication of the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain.

In 1900, Baden-Powell became a national hero in Britain for his 217-day defense of Mafeking in the South African War. Soon after, Aids to Scouting, a military field manual he had written for British soldiers in 1899, caught on with a younger audience. Boys loved the lessons on tracking and observation and organized elaborate games using the book. Hearing this, Baden-Powell decided to write a nonmilitary field manual for adolescents that would also emphasize the importance of morality and good deeds.

First, however, he decided to try out some of his ideas on an actual group of boys. On July 25, 1907, he took a diverse group of 21 adolescents to Brownsea Island in Dorsetshire where they set up camp for a fortnight. With the aid of other instructors, he taught the boys about camping, observation, deduction, woodcraft, boating, lifesaving, patriotism, and chivalry. Many of these lessons were learned through inventive games that were very popular with the boys. The first Boy Scouts meeting was a great success.

With the success of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell set up a central Boy Scouts office, which registered new Scouts and designed a uniform. By the end of 1908, there were 60,000 Boy Scouts, and troops began springing up in British Commonwealth countries across the globe. In September 1909, the first national Boy Scout meeting was held at the Crystal Palace in London. Ten thousand Scouts showed up, including a group of uniformed girls who called themselves the Girl Scouts. In 1910, Baden-Powell organized the Girl Guides as a separate organization.

The American version of the Boy Scouts has it origins in an event that occurred in London in 1909. According to one version of the story, Chicago publisher William Boyce was lost in the fog when a Boy Scout came to his aid. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired Boyce to organize a national U.S. scouting organization that would merge with several existing regional groups including the Woodcraft Indians and the Sons of Daniel Boone. Incorporated on February 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America soon had chapters throughout the country. In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of America in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1916, Baden-Powell organized the Wolf Cubs, which caught on as the Cub Scouts in the United States, for boys under the age of 11. Four years later, the first international Boy Scout Jamboree was held in London, and Baden-Powell was acclaimed Chief Scout of the world. He died in 1941.

[Ray]

Plum Wodehouse had a bit of a lark with the movement but then the plot hit too close to home in just a few years......

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70 ... mages.html

[Twodot]

Bill,
THANK YOU for not giving up.
..

[JBowen]

Bill, there is still hope for scouting. There is a fairly new organization called Trail Life. It is Christian based for boys only ages 5 through 17. Our First Baptist Church
is sponsoring a troop that we started about 18 months ago. I am helping out as their treasurer and assistant instructor for the Mountain Lions (9-10 yr olds). We are making
an impact on some of these boys that don't have a father figure in their lives and others who are very poor and can't afford much. We raise money to buy uniforms,
books and equipment so we will take them in even if they can't afford the membership fee and uniforms.
We start the weekly meeting off with The Pledge of Allegiance, The Trailman Oath and a prayer. We then go outside and play games and exercise for about 30 minutes to
take some of the spunk out of them and then we have classroom time. They are learning maps, camping, building fires, etc. much like the Boy Scouts. We also give them a little bit of Bible scripture and verses to learn and study. Most of these boys don't go to our Church and a few have start coming to Church. We have also been on several hiking
trips, swimming, canoeing and camping trips.
Last week our Church started organizing Heritage Girls (same organization except for girls). I think they signed up about 18. Very good for our small community.

Anyway, if anybody is interested to learn more, Google Trail Life. There are chapters springing up all across the country. Walk Worthy!

JBowen