Lamh Foistenach Abu! The Sierra Vista Herald
Scouts’ motto lives on.
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 01:09
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country;
To obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
— Boy Scout motto
On Feb. 8, 1910, the Boys Scouts of America was officially organized.
Chicago publisher William Boyce, on a trip to Europe in 1909, encountered the idea of scouting while on a visit. The legend goes that Boyce got lost in London and was assisted by a Boy Scout who said he was just “doing his duty” in helping Boyce find his way.
From those beginnings, scouting in the U.S. now has more than 4 million members being assisted by nearly 1.1 million volunteers. Records show that more than 100 million young people have participated in the Boy Scouts during its 100 years of existence.
Locally, the history of scouting is rich as well.
As related last month in a story in this newspaper, Cochise District chairman for the Boy Scouts Grant Hays talked about how the BSA was formed in Arizona in 1918
The story goes that “Phoenix was organizing a scout unit, so the national scouting office sent some people from the east to help organize the troop. Somebody in Bisbee found out about this, so when their train came through Douglas, they went onto the train and ‘abducted’ these guys and had them come organize a troop.”
That unit, Troop 401, is still active and today there are about 900 scouts in the county.
This Saturday, the district’s scouts will host an array of activities at Veterans’ Memorial Park in honor of the 100th anniversary.
Besides many displays, scouts will build a catapult and a tower bridge as well as have a Pinewood Derby in which scouts will race their cars. Visitors can drop by the park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to check out the activities, while the Cub Scouts’ Pinewood Derby event kicks off at 11 a.m.
On Feb. 20, the scouts invite the public to a banquet at the Sierra Vista Methodist Church, which will celebrate scouting in our local communities. Tickets for the banquet are on sale at Safeway for $20.
For 100 years, scouting has taught citizenship, character development and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of activities. To everyone who has had a part in scouting now and over the years, we say “thank you” for your service.