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Scouting to mark 100 years
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Bill Moss, dressed as Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, poses for a portrait in his museum of Boy Scout memorabilia that was recently completed at Camp Stambaugh.
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD — Even though Boy Scouting will soon be celebrating its 100th anniversary, it shows no signs of aging or slowing down.
A big, colorful sign of that was the recreational vehicle that rolled into the Mahoning Valley this week.
The RV, bearing numerous symbols associated with Scouting, made its presence felt during Thursday’s “A Century of Values” tour at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
The hourlong program, sponsored by the Greater Western Reserve Council, Boy Scouts of America, was part of a nationwide yearlong road tour calling attention to the upcoming 100th anniversary of Scouting in the United States and promoting values associated with it. Those include service, leadership, character development and achievement.
Scouting was founded in 1908 in England by Lt. Gen. Lord Robert Baden-Powell. Feb. 8, 1910, marked the date Scouting was established in this country.
Thursday’s event was set to coincide with the grand opening of a Scouting museum at the camp.
One of those addressing the crowd of a few hundred Cub and Boy Scouts, parents and others was Dale Jones, leader of one of 14 four- to six-member teams touring the country.
The 45,000-mile trip got under way Feb. 8 in Laingsburg, Mich., and is to wrap up in Irving, Texas, on Feb. 8, 2010, which will mark Scouting’s American centennial. A primary goal is to visit the nation’s 304 Boy Scout Council headquarters, Jones noted.
Tammie Bachran, the team’s treasurer, said her group recently picked up the RV in Bloomsburg, Pa., and has traveled more than 2,100 miles through parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Another local stop was in Warren.
The program featured a re- enactment of Baden-Powell by William Moss, a Whispering Pines District committee member.
Dressed in historical attire, Moss entertained his audience by giving it a brief history of what led to the founding of Scouting.
Also part of the event was the unveiling of a mural that resembled a collage of prominent people and symbols related to Scouting. It showed an issue of Boy’s Life magazine, a depiction of the famous painter Norman Rockwell and various badges. Also shown were the faces of President Gerald Ford and baseball legend Hank Aaron, both of whom were Eagle Scouts.
Afterward, dozens of people attended a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony ushering in the official opening of the museum. Several Scouts, including brothers Ben and Ethan Palo, 8 and 9, as well as 8-year-old Daniel Emch, were impressed with what they saw inside.
“I liked all of the old things,” Ethan said.
The three boys, all members of Cub Scout Pack 220 of Lords- town, listed swimming, archery and shooting BB guns as their favorite Scouting activities. Ben and Ethan came with their father, Jason Palo; accompanying Daniel was his father, Milton.
Attendees walked room to room and saw several display cases that housed, among other things, early Scouting books and manuals, awards, merit badges, tools and early photographs of Camp Stambaugh. In one room is a display of decorated Boy and Cub Scout uniforms.
Upon entering, visitors are greeted by several placards of people such as Atty. James E. West, who was appointed in 1911 as the first chief Scout executive of the Boy Scouts of America.
Moss, who was instrumental in getting the museum open, said he received his first donation for the project in 1993.
“The museum was a dream of mine for about 15 years,” he said.