In Those Days

Scouting in America has a very lengthy story.  It actually began in South Africa, where a young British army officer was placed in charge of training new soldiers from England in the skills of tracking, trailing, and wilderness living. [Can you imagine such a thing today?]  His efforts led to a series of activities that came to be known as "Scouting".  Robert Baden-Powel was his name, and reaching the rank of "General" he returned to England.  Here he took a group of twenty boys to camp on little Brownsea Island which came to called the first Boy Scout Camp.  In 1908, he published the first Boy Scout Handbook, Scouting for Boys, and the rest is history.  On February 8, 1910, Boy Scouts of America was formally incorporated. [What a deal!]

Some 50 years later, Scouting continued in the heart of the Bluegrass.

The patch above was worn on my first scout uniform.  The "Blue Grass Council" was the name, which was certainly appropriate for the location.  Troop 84 of Winchester, Kentucky was the title.  A Scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.  Wow, what a list.  In 1962, it seemed like a good list to apply to any life.  No one flinched when saying "The Scout Law".  We talked about these things in those days.