The Beginnings
of the Scouting Movement
Scouting, as known to millions of youth and adults, evolved during the early
1900s through the efforts of several men dedicated to bettering youth. These
pioneers of the program conceived outdoor activities that developed skills in
young boys and gave them a sense of enjoyment, fellowship, and a code of conduct
for everyday living.
In this country and abroad at the turn of the century, it was thought that children
needed certain kinds of education that the schools couldn't or didn't provide.
This led to the formation of a variety of youth groups, many with the word "Scout"
in their names. For example, Ernest Thompson Seton, an American naturalist,
artist, writer, and lecturer, originated a group called the Woodcraft Indians
and in 1902 wrote a guidebook for boys in his organization called the Birch
Bark Roll. Meanwhile in Britain, Robert Baden-Powell, after returning to his
country a hero following military service in Africa, found boys reading the
manual he had written for his regiment on stalking and survival in the wild.
Gathering ideas from Seton, America's Daniel Carter Beard, and other Scoutcraft
experts, Baden-Powell rewrote his manual as a nonmilitary skill book, which
he titled Scouting for Boys. The book rapidly gained a wide readership in England
and soon became popular in the United States. In 1907, when Baden-Powell held
the first campout for Scouts on Brownsea Island off the coast of England, troops
were spontaneously springing up in America.
William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher, incorporated
the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 after meeting with Baden-Powell. (Boyce was
inspired to meet with the British founder by an unknown Scout who led him out
of a dense London fog and refused to take a tip for doing a Good Turn.) Immediately
after its incorporation, the BSA was assisted by officers of the YMCA in organizing
a task force to help community organizations start and maintain a high-quality
Scouting program. Those efforts climaxed in the organization of the nation's
first Scout camp at Lake George, New York, directed by Ernest Thompson Seton.
Beard, who had established another youth group, the Sons of Daniel Boone (which
he later merged with the BSA), provided assistance. Also on hand for this historic
event was James E. West, a lawyer and an advocate of children's rights, who
later would become the first professional Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts
of America. Seton became the first volunteer national Chief Scout, and Beard,
the first national Scout Commissioner. We are PROUD to have our Council named
after W.D. Boyce who is buried in Ottawa, Illinois.
A Cub
Scout should know the:
Cub Scout Promise
I, (name), promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.
Cub Scout Motto
Do Your Best.
Law of the Pack
The Cub Scout follows Akela.
The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
The Cub Scout gives goodwill.
Colors
The Cub Scout colors are blue and gold.
The blue stands for truth and spirituality, steadfast loyalty, and the sky above.
The gold stands for warm sunlight, good cheer, and happiness. Together, they
symbolize what Cub Scouting is all about.