Category Archives: Scouting

While London Burned: Scout Edward John Cox

EdwardJohnCoxThe February 1944 issue of Boys’ Life carried the stories of a number of British Scouts who had demonstrated bravery during World War II. Shown here is Scout Edward John Cox. During a heavy air raid, he was stationed at his post on the roof of St. George’s-in-the-East Church.

His mother and younger sisters had taken refuge in the crypt under the church. Incendiary bombs crashed around him, and he seized sandbags to quickly extinguish them. But as the raid continued, a big bomb blast into the church belfry, which almost immediately became a roaring mass of flames.

One of the men around him realized that eventually, the belfry would collapse, causing the massive bells to fall through the church and into the crypt. He raced down and gasped out the news to the marshal. Together, they started evacuating the mothers and children. Scout Cox kept going back again and again until all of the children were evacuated.

The last person had just been evacuated when the timbers of the belfry broke through the church and into the crypt.

The UK Scout Association awarded Scout Cox the Silver Cross, an award for acts of bravery in the face of danger where life has been at considerable risk.



1924 Telephone Workers: Risking Life and Limb

1924FebBLA hundred years ago, the telephone had become an essential part of American life, and the public had come to take it for granted as part of their normal business and social lives, as well as relying upon it in emergencies.

But The Telephone Company and its workers didn’t take it for granted. Despite fire or storm or flood, the telephone operator stuck to her switchboard. And the lineman and a quarter million employees risked life, limb, and even health to make sure that messages continued to go through.

All the public had to do for all of this was to pay the moderate cost.

This ad appeared in the February 1924 issue of Boys’ Life.



Wigwag Signaling

1963OctBLSixty years ago this month, the October 1963 issue of Boys’ Life magazine showed Scouts the art of wigwagging, which is the “other” method of sending a message with signal flags. The most common method, semaphore, uses two flags, and each letter is sent by holding the flags in a certain position. Wigwag, on the other hand, uses a single flag, and uses Morse code. For a dot, the flag is waved in a figure eight to the sender’s right. The dash is formed by waving the flag to the sender’s left.

For a break between letters, the flag is held upright. After each word, the flag is held down.



Coke Ad: 1953

1953SepBLSeventy years ago, America’s youth knew how to make a party click, thanks to the spin of a record, the cut of a caper, and, of course, a bottle of Coke.

This ad appeared in the September 1953 issue of Boys’ Life.



1963 Science Fair Ideas

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If Junior is looking for ideas for the science fair, here are some oldies but goodies, from the August 1963 issue of Boys’ Life. Any of these will certainly earn Junior a nice participation ribbon. But if you’re looking for more spectacular ideas, some of which are very easy, and some of which are very complicated, be sure to check out our full category of Science Fair Ideas.



Flag Day 1923

1923Jun14WashTimesToday is Flag Day in the United States, the anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. A hundred years ago today, Flag Day 1923 saw the convening in Washington of the National Flag Conference, an assembly of a number of patriotic organizations, such as the American Legion and the Boy Scouts of America.

As shown by this clipping from that day’s Washington Times, President Warren G. Harding addressed the assembled delegates. The main order of business was the adoption of a code of etiquette surrounding the display of the flag.  That code was ultimately enacted by Congress in 1942 as the U.S. Flag Code.



Kids with Bicycles Wanted for Wartime Deliveries

1943JuneBLThis interesting ad appeared in Boys’ Life magazine eighty years ago this month, June 1943. It encouraged boys and girls to do their part toward the war effort by making themselves and their bicycles available to local retailers for deliveries, since they were “finding difficulty in getting grown men for delivery work.”

For kids who already had a bike, they could start offering their services.  But if they didn’t have one, they could “go to their nearest Roadmaster Bicycle (Cleveland Welding Company) dealer and ask him to help you fill out an application to get a bicycle.”

The application was necessary because bicycles, like many wartime commodities were being rationed, and were available only to those in critical occupations.  Specifically, they were not being made as children’s toys.  But if the kids were willing to be the last mile of the wartime supply chain, then presumably they qualified.

The wartime models were bare bones, without many features.  So the ad encouraged kids to  invest their earnings in war bonds, and buy a post-war model as soon as they became available.



1948: Homemade Mess Kit & Scout Signaling

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Today, if you buy a mess kit like the one shown at left, you can inexpensively take care of your cooking and serving needs for a camping trip of a few days. But if you want to economize even further, you can take advantage of the plans found 75 years ago this month in Boys’ Life magazine, April 1948.

A Scout is Thrifty, and the magazine showed those thrifty scouts how to make a similar mess kit out of old tin cans.  With a few simple hand tools, the cans can be cut to size.  The article showed a technique for smoothing the cut edge with a hammer.  Handles are made with stiff wire.  The author used a fly swatter handle, but a metal coat hanger would work just as well.

The article notes that almost any kind of can may be used, although it warned to never use a paint can.  It warned that since cans back then were neither aluminum nor stainless steel, it was important to dry the items thoroughly after washing.  However, modern cans are probably more forgiving.

1948AprBL2Advanced scouts could construct from a one-gallon can the combination stove/toaster/frying pan shown at left.  It’s pretty self-explanatory–the fire goes inside the inverted can.  The door for putting in the wood fuel serves double duty, as it folds upward to provide a spot to snap a slice of bread in place for toasting.

While the idea seems novel, we suspect the inexpensive camping toaster shown at right is an overall better performer if you’re interested in making toast on a campfire or portable stove.

This issue of the magazine is also useful to scout historians, because it includes a removeable booklet section showing the Tenderfoot-Second Class-First Class requirements which had just been adopted.  Many of our readers, of course, will be interested to know what the signaling requirement was back then.  I recall that about the time I joined in the 1970s, the First Class requirement was that the Scout be able to use Morse Code or semaphore.  I’ve been told, although I haven’t confirmed it, that at one point, Scouts had to know both Morse Code and semaphore.  But in 1948, the requirement was for Morse code only, although it could be done with flags, light, or sound:

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1973 National Scout Jamboree Arts & Sciences Competition

1973MarBLI remember seeing this notice (or possibly one like it from another source) fifty years ago in the March 1973 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.

As an aspiring scientist and Tenderfoot Scout, I was, of course interested in this opportunity to showcase my scientific knowledge before a national audience. The quadrennial National Scout Jamboree was to take place that year, and I was going. Normally, mere 12-year-old Tenderfoots did not participate in this event, but 1973 was an exception. That year, the Jamboree was being held at two separate locations, in Pennsylvania and Idaho. 1973 was the only year it was split that way. And 1973 also had the distinction of being open to regular troops. Normally, individual scouts sign up and are assigned to a provisional Jamboree troop. But in 1973 the BSA made the good decision, never repeated unfortunately, to open it up to all scouts to attend along with their normal troop and leaders. (Among the other events was the “wide game”, about which I’ve previously written.)

By March of that year, we were already signed up, and this announcement showed another opportunity.  The Jamboree was to host an “Arts and Sciences” competition–a science fair combined with an art exposition.  I don’t even remember the art part of the event, but I did sign up right away for the science fair.  My exhibit was Atomic Energy, and I cobbled together a few interesting objects to put on display on my assigned 2-1/2 by 4 foot table.  I remember borrowing a Geiger counter from the county civil defense department, and I had an illustrated brochure from the Monticello nuclear power plant.  It was set up in a tent somewhere on the Jamboree grounds.  After setting it up, I did visit a couple of times, although there wasn’t a lot of traffic.

I didn’t come home with a blue ribbon, but I did earn a red ribbon.  In retrospect, it was probably a participation trophy, but it’s still a prized possession.  Interestingly, this was before I got my ham license, and I never did run into KJ7BSA, the Jamboree’s special event station.



WWV, 1953

1953JanBLSeventy years ago this month, the January 1953 issue of Boys’ Life carried this illustration showing some of the uses to which the signal of WWV could be put.

The railroad and the factory worker were on time thanks to the time broadcasts. The time was announced every five minutes, in both Morse code and voice. The Morse was in GMT, and the voice was Eastern Standard Time. The musician took advantage of the standard 440 Hz tones, which were the A above Middle C.

The code key represents an idea shown by the magazine. For an easy code practice set, you could put the key in line with a pair of headphones and tune into WWV. Then, you could key the tone on and off.

In addition, the station sent radio propagation disturbance warnings, with the Morse W, U, or N. W meant warning, U meant unstable, and N meant normal.