Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
104 Years Ago
September 30, 2001
George Denise, Scoutmaster

One hundred and four years ago, a young British officer stationed in India wrote a training manual for military Scouts called Guide to Scouting.

The following year, he was transferred to South Africa, where he distinguished himself in the Boer Wars. He and his guide book became famous.

When Robert Baden-Powell returned to England, he discovered that young British boys were buying up copies of his guide and playing "Scout". Other youth leaders noticed this same phenomenon. They were worried about the overall condition of their British boys, who they described as weak, flat-chested, out of shape, spending too much time smoking and hanging around getting into trouble. Together, they decided to create a boy movement, based on the training in the Guide to Scouting. They called this new organization the Boys Brigade.

The following year, in 1908, the name was changed to the Boy Scouts. The first Boy Scout campout was held in Gilwell Park near London. Twelve Scouts attended that first experimental outing.

It was on the basis of the fame of this military hero, Robert Baden-Powell, the popularity of this guidebook, and this first tiny outing, that the Boy Scouts was founded.

The following year, an American, William Boyce, became lost in a heavy fog while traveling in London. He stopped a young man to ask directions. Instead of giving him directions, however, the young man led him to his destination to make sure he didn't become lost again. When Boyce tried to pay the young man for his assistance, the lad answered, "No, sir, I cannot accept a tip for helping, for I am a Boy Scout." This intrigued Boyce. He wanted to find out more about the Boy Scouts. After his meeting, Boyce searched out the headquarters of the Boy Scouts. He visited Sir Robert Baden-Powell in person and discussed Boy Scouting with him. He liked what he heard, so he borrowed as much material as he could take and bought the program to America. The following year, in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was founded. Three years later, there were over 6,000 troops, with a membership of over 400,000 boys. In 1917, The Boy Scouts of America was chartered by Congress. Today, the Boy Scouts of America is the largest youth organization in America with almost 5,000,000 members, and the largest youth organization in the world, with approximately 28 million members.

In 1922, at the age of twelve, my father became a Boy Scout. In 1929, at the age of nineteen, he became an Assistant Scoutmaster. In 1954 I became a Cub Scout, and in 1958 I became a Boy Scout. In 1960, I attended the fifth national jamboree in Colorado Springs, and my father attended as an assistant Scoutmaster. In 1993, 1997, and now 2001, each of my sons attended a national jamboree, and I was able to attend as an adult leader with them.

In all of that time, from its founding in 1907 to today, the values of Scouting have changed very little. You Scouts in this room, your sons, made me very proud, and you should be proud. I mentioned it in my write-up, but wherever we went, we received compliments on their behavior. They were polite, well-behaved, and put into practice the values of Scouting.

The world is changing. We are entering a new era and who knows what tomorrow will bring. What I do know, is that more than ever, we need to practice the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared. We need to continue to do our best. We need, more than ever, to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally, awake, and morally straight. We need people who are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. We must keep our promise to do our duty to God and our country.

You are boy scouts, learning the skills and the ideals that have protected and advanced civilization down through the ages. Some of you may be leaving the program soon, others will continue in Scouting all of your lives. But none of you will ever forget the skills you learned, and the values you learned in Scouting. None of you will ever forget your trip to the national jamboree. It has changed you permanently. It has changed you for the better. The places we visited, the things we did, were important. But the lessons you learned about being independent, working with a team of brother Scouts, and making your own decisions daily, for almost three weeks, and learning the size and the strength of the world brotherhood of Scouting that you are a part of, that was the important lesson.

For some of you it was difficult at times. For a few, painful. But as the days and weeks go by and you look back on it, you are becoming more and more aware of how much fun you had, and how much you grew.

Take the lessons with you, whether you stay in Scouting or not. Share the lessons you learned with others. When you are an adult, join Scouting with your sons. And the Spirit of Scouting will continue. And the world will be a better place because of it.

Thank you. And God be with you.