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Becoming a Boy Scout |
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Troop 511 Memorial Page |
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Boy Scout Troop 511
Dundee Michigan |
 
memorial on Baden Powell
"As a youth, Robert Baden-Powell greatly enjoyed the outdoors,
learning about nature and how to live in the wilderness. After
returning as a military hero from service in Africa, Baden-Powell
discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and
survival in the wilderness he had written for his military regiment.
Gathering ideas from Ernest Thompson Seton, Daniel Carter Beard, and
others, he rewrote the manual as a nonmilitary nature skill book and
called it Scouting for Boys. To test his ideas, Baden-Powell brought
together 22 boys to camp at Brownsea Island, off the coast of
England. This historic campout was a success and resulted in the
advent of Scouting. Thus, the imagination and inspiration of
Baden-Powell, later proclaimed Chief Scout of the World, brought
Scouting to youth the world over."
This was his last letter to the scouts:
"TO BOY SCOUTS:
Dear Scouts,—If you have ever seen the play Peter Pan you will
remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech
because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to
die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the
same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I
shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting
word of good-bye.
Remember, it is the last you will ever hear from me, so think it
over.
I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have
as happy a life too.
I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and
enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from
being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step
towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you
are a boy, so that you can be useful and so can enjoy life when you
are a man.
Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful
things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with
what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side
of things instead of the gloomy one.
But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to
other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you
found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in
feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done
your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die
happy—stick to your Scout promise always—even after you have ceased
to be a boy—and God help you to do it.
Your Friend,
BADEN-POWELL."
Want to know about more founders?
Ernest Thompson Seton
Born in Scotland, Ernest Thompson Seton
immigrated to America as a youth in the 1880s. His fascination with
the wilderness led him to become a naturalist, an artist, and an
author, and through his works he influenced both youth and adults.
Seton established a youth organization called the Woodcraft Indians,
and his background of outdoor skills and interest in youth made him
a logical choice for the position of first Chief Scout of the BSA in
1910. His many volumes of Scoutcraft became an integral part of
Scouting, and his intelligence and enthusiasm helped turn an idea
into reality.
Daniel Carter Beard
Woodsman, illustrator, and naturalist, Daniel
Carter Beard was a pioneering spirit of the Boy Scouts of America.
Already 60 years old when the Boy Scouts of America was formed, he
became a founder and merged it with his own boys' organization, the
Sons of Daniel Boone. As the first national Scout commissioner,
Beard helped design the original Scout uniform and introduced the
elements of the First Class Scout badge. "Uncle Dan," as he was
known to boys and leaders, will be remembered as a colorful figure
dressed in buckskin who helped form Scouting in the United States.
William D. Boyce
In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce
lost his way in a dense London fog. A boy came to his aid and, after
guiding the man, refused a tip, explaining that as a Scout he would
not take a tip for doing a Good Turn. This gesture by an unknown
Scout inspired a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell, the British
founder of the Boy Scouts. As a result, William Boyce incorporated
the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. He also created the
Lone Scouts, which merged with the Boy Scouts of America in 1924.
James E. West
James E. West was appointed the first Chief
Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. Although
orphaned and physically handicapped, he had the perseverance to
graduate from law school and become a successful attorney. This same
determination provided the impetus to help build Scouting into the
largest and most effective youth organization in the world. When he
retired in 1943, Dr. West was recognized throughout the country as
the true architect of the Boy Scouts of America.
Taken from www.scouting.org
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