TDIH: Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts might never have existed in America, but for the fact that a Chicago publisher got lost in a London fog in 1909.
On this day in 1912, Arthur Rose Eldred is notified that he will be the Boy Scouts of America’s first Eagle Scout. Did you know that the Boy Scouts might never have existed in America, but for the fact that a Chicago publisher got lost in a London fog in 1909?
William D. Boyce was looking for a particular address in London when he got caught in a dense fog. He stopped a young man, asking for directions. That boy did more than just give directions. He personally led Boyce to his destination. When Boyce tried to offer him a tip, the boy refused. He was a Scout, he noted, and he believed in doing Good Turns for others.
Boyce had to learn more.
He obtained an introduction to the founder of scouting in Britain. Robert Baden-Powell was a former military man and the author of a manual intended for military use. One day, he discovered that boys in England were interested in his manual.
Let’s just say that these English boys weren’t using his military tricks in the most productive ways.
Baden-Powell decided to capitalize on the boys’ interest, but to redirect their efforts toward more useful ventures. He began working on a second manual, Scouting for Boys, and he tested his ideas with a group of 22 boys at a two-week camp.
The Boy Scouts were born! Well, at least they were in England. The idea would come to America about a year later when the so-called “Unknown Scout” offered his assistance to Boyce on that foggy London day.
Boyce returned home, with the tenets of scouting ringing in his ears. He joined with other like-minded Americans to form a new scouting organization in America, and the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on February 8, 1910.
No one ever discovered the identity of the Unknown Scout, but a monument was later erected in his honor in London. The statue bears an inscription:
To the Unknown Scout whose
Faithfulness in the
Performance of the Daily
Good Turn brought the
Scout Movement to the
United States of America.
We are now living through a new chapter in the history of the Boy Scouts, of course, For instance, just last year, the organization changed its name to Scouting America. Not everyone is thrilled with some of these changes, and they worry that the mission of the organization will be undermined.
What do you think?
Sources can always be found on my website, here.
As an old Boy Scout and Scouter, I am very familiar with the story. Although I did not earn Eagle, my two sons both earned Eagle with proper parental support. As a Scout, I had a blast! As a Scouter, it was great and I worked hard to help so many boys. However, I fear Scouting has been targeted by specific groups which have torn the heart of Scouting out. It is no longer the great organization that it was. The importance of character has been abandoned.
I feel like the Boy Scouts should always be the BOY SCOUTS. I never knew the history of the scouts..I was a “Brownie” back in the 50’s..tradition should be honored..