Boy Scouts
Still Going Strong at Age 100
It took a London fog to start an American tradition. Late in 1909, Chicago publisher William Boyce was traveling through London when he encountered a thick fog. He became lost and was trying to feel his way when a boy approached and offered to lead him to his destination. After arriving safely, Boyce offered to pay the boy, who refused on the grounds that he was “a Scout” and therefore shouldn’t accept payment for having done a good turn. Boyce asked about “Scouting” and learned of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, a British soldier who had created a new experience for English boys, developing leadership and survival skills via the activities he’d outlined in a book called “Scouting for Boys.” The movement’s popularity had grown in England, where one of the now 10,000 Boy Scouts had just led Boyce through the fog. Boyce decided to meet Baden-Powell to learn more about Scouting, came home with a suitcase full of literature and on February 8, 1910, incorporated the Boy Scouts of America [BSA].
By DAN BAIN 68 | midtownmag.com
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12/22/09 3:48:10 PM