Way Back When

September-October 2009

Scouting's Founder Meets Friends and Foes on His First Visit to the United States (November-December 2008)

In 1912, Lord Robert Baden-Powell crossed the Atlantic to inspect and encourage the fledgling Boy Scouts of America while defending it against charges of militarism.

Three Packages (January-February 2008)

For a boy growing up in the 1920's, Scouting provided exciting and rewarding experiences, but he longed to own an official Scout uniform, in order to feel like 'a real Boy Scout.'

Little Sisters of Liberty (October 2007)

To help promote the BSA's 40th anniversary theme of "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty," 200 small versions of the Statue of Liberty were placed in communities across the country in the early 1950's. A recent campaign has helped restore many of these long-neglected statues.

Green Bar Bill's Own Troop (October 2006)

Seventy years ago, a special unit of Boy Scouts was organized in central New Jersey for Scouting legend William (Green Bar Bill) Hillcourt to test his ideas about leadership and Scoutcraft.

Telling the Safe Haven Story (October 2004)

Belonging to a Boy Scout troop or a Cub Scout pack inside a New York State emergency refugee shelter helped young Holocaust survivors learn to become Americans.

The Beginnings of a Partnership (May-June 2004)

Since Scouting's early days, churches and other religious bodies have played a key role in the movement's steady growth.

Baden-Powell's First Scouting Books (March-April 2004)

After learning that boys were using his small military manual, Aids to Scouting, as a guide to outdoor fun, the British war hero decided to write a book with a much greater purpose.

Marching to a Different Drummer (October 2003)

Another youth organization, the Boys' Brigade, was flourishing when the first official troops of the Boy Scouts of America appeared in 1910.

Breaking the 'Death Grip' (May-June 2003)

For years, lifesaving skills included the ability to fight off a panicky would-be drowning victim, until officials studied the reality of water-rescue situations.

A Best Friend in the White House (March-April 2003)

Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential endorsement of the first national Scout jamboree continued his personal history of dedicated support for Scouting.

Evolution of the Eagle Scout Award (November-December 2002)

The highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve began as a sort of "super merit badge" for Scouts who earned 21 other merit badges, five of them required.

From Doughboy Duds to Oscar de la Renta (October 2002)

Over nine decades, the basic Boy Scout uniform has changed with (and reflected) the times..

Where the Past Is Ever Present (September 2002)

The museum at a North Carolina council Scout camp commemorates the Lone Scouts of America.

Looking 'Out There' for Ideas That Work (May-June 2002)

O. W. (Bud) Bennett oversaw the huge influx of Baby Boomers into Cub Scouting in the post-World War II decades and supervised an overhaul of the program in the 1960s.

A Pair of Boy Scouts (January-February 2002)

In the tense months following Pearl Harbor, a Wyoming Scout troop set out to visit another Scout troop—inside the walls of an internment camp for Japanese-Americans.

The Man Who Got Lost in the Fog (October 2001)

Known today mainly as the co-star of the "Unknown Scout" story, William D. Boyce was a world-traveling publisher who incorporated the BSA in 1910 and later founded Lone Scouting.

The 400-Mile Trek (September 2001)

In 1911, a new troop in Minnesota set out on a month-long, 400-mile hike to attend a special Scout encampment at the state fair.

Brownsea as Brigadoon (May-June 2001)

Unlike the mythical Scottish village, said to awaken for one day each century, the 1907 camp at which Baden-Powell tested his Scouting program comes to life every four years at the national Scout jamboree.

America's Best-Known Scouter (January-February 2001)

The boy growing up in Denmark during the last century's first decade seemed an unlikely candidate to become famous to generations of American Scouts as "Green Bar Bill."

The 'Most Wholesome and Best in the American Boy' (October 2000)

When Calvin Coolidge became President in 1923, his two sons became the first Boy Scouts to live in the White House. Then a tragic accident took the life of Calvin Jr.

Camping—By the Book (September 2000)

Knowledge of backwoods campcraft was rare in Scouting's early days, and adult leaders and youth members alike had to resort to on-the-job training.

Scouting in World War II Detention Camps (November-December 1999)

Japanese-American Scouts were fiercely loyal to the U.S.A. despite being forced to live in relocation centers.

The First Scout Camp (September 1999)

In 1907 Robert S. S. Baden-Powell organized a special nine-day outing to test his ideas for training boys. The ideas worked - and the Scouting movement was launched.

First Summer in "The Last West" (November-December 1998)

When the Chief Seattle Council's Camp Parsons opened 80 summers ago, the first campers had to be alert for the presence of cougars roaming too close, fugitive bandits stopping for first aid, and prank-playing staff members.

The BSA's 'forgotten' founding father (October 1998)

Although he didn't carry the title of Chief Scout Executive, a veteran YMCA boys'-work executive named Edgar M. Robinson served as the head of the new Boy Scouts of America during the organization's struggling first year.

The Training of Pioneer Scout Leaders (September 1998)

No formal training courses or official handbooks were available to the first adult leaders of Boy Scout troops, so many looked to their own experiences for program ideas.

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