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HISTORY, THE EARLIEST DAYS The Boy Scout movement
was founded by British Lord Robert Baden-Powell.
Scouting's first manual was both written and illustrated
by Baden-Powell in 1908. Baden-Powell was a war hero
because of his conduct at Mafeking, a strategic holding
action during the South African war with the Dutch Boers in
1899.
The early American troops took their cues from
Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys because there was no
semblance of a national movement in the United States. The
YMCA men who started most of the early troops saw Boy
Scouting merely as a promising adjunct to their programs
for boys.
Millionaire Chicago publisher William Dickson Boyce
became involved in Scouting in 1909. He was visiting London
in August of that year. One afternoon, the city was
enshrouded in pea-soup fog. Boyce lost his bearings in the
murk and was approached by a boy of about 12 carrying a
lantern who offered to guide him to the address he was
seeking. When Boyce produced a shilling, the boy replied,
"No, sir, I am a scout. Scouts do not accept tips for Good
Turns."
The Unknown Scout took Boyce to British Scout
headquarters. From that moment forward, Boyce's interest in
Scouting grew. Boyce came home determined to start Boy
Scouting in America. He apparently knew nothing of the
troops already operating or of the YMCA's promotion of
Scouting.
On February 8, 1910, Boyce filed incorporation papers
for the Boy Scouts of America in the District of Columbia
The purpose, he said, "Shall be to promote, through
organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the
ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to
train them in Scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism,
courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the
methods which are in common use by Boy Scouts."
The Story Of A Good Turn
How Scouting Started in the United States
One day in 1909 in London, England, An American
Visitor, William D. Boyce, lost his way in a dense fog.
He stopped under a street lamp and tried to figure out
where he was.
A boy approached him and asked if he could be of help.
"You certainly can," said Boyce. He told the boy that
he wanted to find a certain business office in the center
of the city.
"I'll take you there," said the boy.
When they got to the destination, Mr. Boyce reached
into his pocket for a tip.
But, the boy stopped him. "No thank you, sir. I am a
Scout. I won't take anything for helping."
"A Scout? And what might that be?" asked Boyce.
The boy told the American about himself and about his
brother scouts. Boyce became very interested.
After finishing his errand, he had the boy take him to
the British Scouting office.
At the office, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the
famous British general who had founded the Scouting
movement in Great Britain.
Boyce was so impressed with what he learned that he
decided to bring Scouting home with him.
On February 8, 1910, Boyce and a group of outstanding
leaders founded the Boy Scouts of America. From that day
forth, Scouts have celebrated February 8 as the birthday
of Scouting in the United States.
What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his
way in the fog? No one knows. He had neither asked for
money nor given his name, but he will never be forgotten.
His Good Turn helped bring the scouting movement to our
country. In the British Scout Training Center at Gilwell
Park, England, Scouts from the United States erected a
statue of an American Buffalo in honor of this unknown
scout.
One Good Turn to one man became a Good Turn to
millions of American Boys. Such is the power of a Good
Turn. Hence The Scout Slogan: DO A GOOD TURN DAILY!
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