There's something in the air; I know! It's National Boy Scout Day! . I can't remember the last time I actually saw cub scouts out and about, it feels like it's been a while. But I'm sure they are out there, helping old ladies cross streets and learning woodcraft like nobody's business. Steve Stuart, aka "Nanook", sent along a photo from November 15, 1961, with him in his magnificent uniform. Notice the patches, which indicate that he is qualified to fly a jet if the pilot happens to be incapacitated. You can eat your delicious airplane food later, Nanook, somebody's got to land this bird!
I had something to contribute for the occasion; my brother gave one of those "digital picture frames" to my mom last year, and it has been a big hit - I've loaded up scans of hundreds of family photos. One of them is from May, 1969... my family lived in Huntington Beach, and my older brother joined the Cub Scouts. I remember being very jealous of his uniform and especially the cool brass kerchief slide with the face of a ferocious wolf cub! Here's my brother (on the right) and a friend in "Indian" headdresses for some reason. My younger brother and sister are to the right, and on the wall is a clock that my grandpa made, which still bongs in my mom's house!
Major-
ReplyDeleteHmmmm..... I almost forgot I sent you this snapshot for posting. I guess I surpassed your brother for 'proper kerchief' display.
I can't remember if my massive overbite, seen here, followed Round One of braces, or pre-dates both "sessions". But finally the braces, headband, rubber bands, retainers and extractions all worked as expected and I now display the smile of a Miss. America winner-!
Thanks [I think] for sharing, Major.
Whoa! No Snoozles! No Blurzles! It's Sunday
ReplyDeleteShow-and-Tell day here on GDB!
Nanook is looking spiffy in his uniform. That looks like a lot of badges and bars. Was this photo taken when you were well into your Cub Scouting career? Or did you earn them all in one year?
Major, I wonder if your brother and his friend made those Indian costumes themselves? Perhaps with the help of a couple of moms. They seem to be made of burlap with some colorful trim. But yeah, why are they dressed as Indians (and Cub Scouts).
Of the five of us kids, Only one of my younger brothers was ever in Scouting. He was a Cub Scout for a year or two, as I recall, but didn't go on to become a Boy Scout. He did eventually join the U.S. Air Force though.
Thanks to Steve S. and Major P. for posting a couple of their family photos.
These are FUN photos! I love seeing our fellow-Jr.-Gorillas [and families] in their youthful, childhood years. I would gladly let every one of these scouts help walk me across a busy street, now, in my old age - even Chief Side-Eye.
ReplyDeleteNanook, in all your photos, you always have a beautiful smile. Thanks for sharing your photo, today.
Thanks, Major.
Happy family day Gorillas. Spiffy fun.
ReplyDeleteMS
Major, thanks for recognizing National Boy Scout Day!
ReplyDeleteI too was a Cub Scout once, but that was as far as my trail led.
My son became a scout, starting at Tiger Cub, he finished as an Eagle Scout with Silver Palm. I was an adult leader in his troop for 14 years. Some of the best times I can remember.
I love the family picture, and Nanook’s uniform was similar to mine around that time. I see he had achieved the rank of Wolf with two arrow points, gold and silver.
Thanks for sharing these.
JG
What treasures these are of our younger days. Major and Nanoonk, thanks for sharing! I was a Cub Scout myself back in Nanoo's time. When I was cleaning out the family home I found, neatly folded, my Cub and Scout shirts with their pins and badges attached. Mom stitched the badges herself. They now are in my bedroom closet. KS
ReplyDeleteNanook, it was (probably) the late 1960s, and my brother had just “dropped acid”, so kerchief display was out the window. I had braces and a retainer myself, boy those were fun!
ReplyDeleteJB, I like to mix things up to keep my readers (viewers?) from getting complacent. Nanook did have a lot of badges, including the coveted badge for watching 100 hours of cartoons. I have no doubt that my mom did all of the work making that headdress and that my brother did nothing. His friend’s headdress looks so similar that the friend’s mom must have worked from the same pattern. I have a friend who was in something called “Indian Guides”, which I know nothing about, was it related to the Scouts? It’s funny, because my friend looks scary (though he is actually a nice guy), and he still talks about the lessons he learned as an Indian Guide.
Lou and Sue, I guess that in the days before modern crosswalks and stoplights, crossing the street could be a dangerous proposition. I admit that there are places near me where I regularly see cars blow through stop signs, I wonder how many pedestrians got squished there. I need a Scout to help me cross!
JG, I admit that it was Nanook’s sharing of his photo that inspired today’s Scout blog. I’m sure that anyone who was a Scout (or Scout leader) has years of great memories. Not sure why my brother didn’t continue with the Scouts, I think we moved to the East Coast and that was that, but he could have used that community and that discipline (without going into details).
KS, the idea of those little cloth badges is ingenious, they are something to strive for, but you have to earn them. How many different badges are there? Dozens? Hundreds? I am not expecting you to do research, I'm just thinking "out loud"!
I had forgotten today was National Boy Scout Day until this morning when my Sunday School teacher posed the question “What national youth organization did William Boyce incorporate on this date in 1910?” Boyce is buried in Ottawa, IL, about 3 hours from where I live. There is a copy of the statue The Ideal Scout at his grave.
ReplyDeleteNanook is committing a minor uniform faux pas by wearing both the Denner (double gold bar) and Assistant Denner (single gold bar) badges on his left sleeve (you are only supposed to wear the badge of office you currently hold), but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve seen much more, er, “creative” deviations from uniforming guidelines than this. He’s wearing the uniform and seems happy about it, and that’s more important.
I wore a hat just like Nanook’s. I joined Cub Scouts in 1977, and by 1978, the 1930-era cap that had been a symbol of Cub Scouts for nearly a half century had been discontinued. It was replaced by this bizarre-looking Frankencapthat had the rounded front, gold piping, and patch of the classic Cub Scout hat and a blue version of the bill and plain, adjustable back of the then-current Boy Scout hat. It was mercifully replaced with a foam front ball cap with the 1980 Oscar de la Renta uniform redesign. While those hats, like all trucker hats, didn’t hold up to heavy use and look dated today, they were at least in style at the time.
Blogger says I’m too verbose today, so I’ll be right back after a word from our sponsor.
There has been some sort of connection between Scouting and Native American imagery since the beginning (an earlier youth organization, the Woodcraft Indians, was folded into the BSA in 1910). There was a Cub Scout elective called “Indians” (completing 10 electives earned you one arrow point, like those seen on Nanook’s uniform). Consulting my dad’s 1948 Bear Cub Scout Book, it was an elective for Bear Cubs (9 year olds in those days), while by the time my 1976 printing of the 1967 requirements rolled off the presses, it had become an elective for Wolf Cubs (8 year olds back then).
ReplyDeleteThe first requirement was “Make one part of an Indian costume (1948) / Make an Indian costume (1967).” The tomahawk can be explained by Requirement 3 for the 1967 curriculum: “Make an Indian tomahawk, spear, bow and arrow, or an Indian shield.” The 1948 rules were a bit more open - “Make an Indian weapon.”
Native American lore continues to be a part of Cub Scout activities, but there has been a concerted effort to get away from the image of “Hollywood Indians” and be more directly connected to authentic Native American practices. There continues to be a Bear Cub “adventure” (which replaced “electives”) called “Beat of the Drum,” and the first requirement is “Learn about the history and culture of American Indians who lived in your area at the time of European colonization.” While I think this is a good thing that dovetails nicely with Scouting’s mission to educate youth, it’s also not a new concept. Requirement 4 of the 1948 version of the elective was “Learn about the tribes of Indians who once lived near you.”
Your friend’s alma mater, the Indian Guides (a program of the YMCA), lives on today after a 2003 rebrand as Adventure Guides.
Thanks, Major and Nanook, and I hope everyone with fond Scouting memories is able to spend a few moments reliving those days in our minds’ eyes.
Major, where were YOU when that picture was taken? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteChuck, you have a Sunday School teacher?? Back in my church-going days, we had the cutest (hottest?) Sunday School teacher, I was a little in love with her. I always looked forward to the point in the service when the kids could leave and go to the little bungalows. I’m glad that Nanook was not wearing the quintuple gold bar that indicated that he was King Denner. I dunno, the Frankencap doesn’t look so bad to me, but I didn’t study in Milan. I like the khaki version too.
ReplyDeleteChuck, ah interesting; I assume my friend could have just told me that the Indian Guides were tied to the YMCA, but I never asked him. He found an old newspaper with a photo of him (maybe 10 or 11 years old) with his Scout Master (or whatever the Indian Guides equivalent was); many years later, the Scout Master’s daughter was my friend’s GF (and they are still friends to this day). I feel like I remember that tomahawk just being around for a while, and I am sure that my mom made it, with little to no input from my brother. I wonder where she got the rock? Interesting the way the requirements for Native American lore changed over the years.
Lou and Sue, no idea! looking at the clock, I see that it is around 8:30 at night, I was probably watching TV.
Yes, I do have a Sunday School teacher. He warms up the class with his own version of Jeopardy!, and there’s always a category called “On This Day.” Those King Denner patches are extremely rare. I have never seen one in real life.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention Milan…a college roommate’s daughter won an Olympic gold medal yesterday in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Congrats to Team USA!