Thursday, October 28, 2010
CANFIELD
Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road, will be the setting for a “Historical Merit Badge Saturday” for Boy Scouts on Nov. 6. All Boy Scouts are invited to participate in the event, which allows members to experience firsthand the heritage of the Boy Scouts of America.
The merit badge program has always been an important element of Scouting. By completing merit badge requirements, generations of Scouts have learned citizenship lessons, personal fitness habits and life skills. The program has helped launch countless careers and lifelong hobbies.
In the past century many changes have occurred in the merit badge offerings. As society has changed, the Boy Scouts of America has adapted by revising requirements, implementing name changes, adding new merit badges, and eliminating some badges altogether.
To allow today’s young members to experience a piece of Scouting’s past, the 2010 Historical Merit Badge Program will bring back four discontinued merit badges (Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signaling and Tracking), which are to be completed by Dec. 31.
The Greater Western Reserve Council will give Scouts an opportunity to work on these badges at Camp Stambaugh during the upcoming “Historical Merit Badge Saturday.” The event will begin with Pathfinder and Tracking from 8 a.m. to noon and will be followed by Signaling and Carpentry from 1 to 5 p.m.
While completing the programs, Scouts will learn what their counterparts in 1910 might have experienced. They will discover why Morse Code was important during a period when most homes had no TV, radio, computer, telephone or electricity. However, the most important aspect of the program is for the young Scouts to understand the changes in 100 years of Scouting.
For more information about the 2010 Historical Merit Badge Program, visit www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx.