Light the Fire Within

Recently I listened as a young man gave a talk before leaving to serve his Church of two years as a missionary in Canada.  His brother had been murdered over a year before doing the same thing in Virginia.  Both he and his brother had earned both Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting highest ranks of Arrow of Light and Eagle.  The title of his talk was. “You Can’t Burn Out If You’re Not On Fire.”

In 2002 Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics.  The theme was “Light the Fire Within.”  This month gives us a chance to remember the History of Scouting to remind Scouters why they got involved to begin with.  It is a time to light a fire within them.   Let us be On Fire with the Spirit of Scouting. S. J.

Great Salt Lake Council

The Lord said, you’re the salt of the earth. However, he didn’t mean for you to sit in the corner like a lump of salt, waiting for things to happen. So get off your laurels and make them happen.

 “If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves”Thomas Edison

The Acorn that Grew into a Mighty Oak

"Service is planting a tree under which shade you will never sit, or which you fruit you will not enjoy." Scouting is such a tree.

      Though LORD BADEN-POWELL is always credited with having founded the Boy Scout Movement, he tells how, like Topsy, it "just growed."

As a matter of fact I didn't actually start the Boy Scout Movement, because the blooming thing started itself unseen.

     It started in 1908 - but the microbe of Scouting had got me long before that. When I was a boy at Charterhouse I got a lot of fun out of trapping rabbits in woods that were out of bounds. If and when I caught one, which was not often, I skinned him and cooked him and ate him - and lived.

"In doing this I learned to creep silently, to know my way by landmarks, to note tracks and read their meaning, to use dry dead wood off trees and not off the ground for my fire, to make a tiny non-smoky fire such as would not give me away to prying masters; and if these came along I had my sod ready to  extinguish the fire and hide the spot while I shinned up some ivy- clad tree where I could nestle unobserved above the line of sight of the average searcher.

     Somewhere about 1893 I started teaching Scouting to young soldiers in my regiment. When these young fellows joined the Army they had learned reading, writing, and arithmetic in school but as a rule not much else. They were nice lads and made very good parade soldiers, obeyed orders, kept themselves clean and smart and all that, but they had never been taught to be men, how to look after themselves, was shot they were as helpless as a flock of sheep. Tell one of them to ride out alone with a message on a dark night and ten to one he would lose his way.

     I wanted to make them feel that they were a match for any enemy, able to find their way by the stars or map, accustomed to notice all tracks and signs and to read their meaning, and able to fend for themselves away from regimental cooks and barracks. I wanted them to have courage, from confidence in themselves and from a sense of duty; I wanted them to have knowledge of how to cook their own grub; in short, I wanted each man to be an efficient, all-round, reliable individual.

     The scheme worked.

     The men loved the training and Scouting became very popular in the regiment.

      In 1899  I wrote a little book called 'Aids to Scouting' for soldiers. It taught them observation, or how to track, and it taught them deduction, or how to read the information given by tracks.

     Then in 1907 I, as a General, was inspecting 7,000 of the Boys' Brigade at Glasgow on its twentieth anniversary, and the founder, Sir William Smith, was very pleased because the total strength of his movement was 54,000. I agreed that it was a big number but added that if the training really appealed to boys there ought to be ten times that number. "How would you make it young fellows in the Cavalry, how they enjoy the game of Scouting, which makes them into real men and good soldiers." "Could you re-write 'Aids to Scouting'," he wondered, "so that it would appeal to boys instead of to soldiers and make them into real men and good citizens?" So I did that.

     But before writing the book I planned out the idea and then tested it. I got together some twenty boys of all sorts, some from Eton and Harrow, some from the East End of London, some country lads and some shop-lads, and I mixed them up like plums in a pudding to live together in camp. I wanted to see how far the idea would interest the different kinds of lads.

I told a friend what I was doing, and said that I wanted a quiet place, out of Press reporters and inquisitive people, where I could try the experiment; she offered me the use of her property - Brownsea Island in Dorsetshire. And there we set up camp for a fortnight. I had the late Major Maclaren and the present Sir Percy Everett to help me and we taught the boys camping, cooking, observation, deduction, woodcraft, chivalry, boatmanship, lifesaving, health, patriotism, and such things.

     The results upon the boys in that short space of time taught me the possibilities which Scout training held for boys. So I at once set to work and wrote the handbook, Scouting for Boys, intending it to be useful to the existing boys' organisations such as Boys' Brigade, the Church Lads' Brigade, the Y.M.C.A., and others. 

     The book came out in fortnightly parts at 4d. a copy. Before many of the parts had been published I began to get letters from boys who had taken up the game for themselves, boys not belonging to the Boys' Brigade or any other association.    

All the following year boys were writing to me telling me how they had started Patrols and Troops and had got men to come and act as their Scoutmasters. So we had to start a Headquarters office in a tiny room to deal with correspondence and supply equipment. I remember my Secretary wondering whether, if we laid in a stock of twelve Scout hats, we should be able to sell them all!

"BE PREPARED" ,  An Interview with Baden-Powell by the Listener Magazine in 1937.

This was the acorn that became the mighty oak of Scouting.

 Oak trees can start producing acorns when they are 20 years old, but sometimes can go all the way to 50 years for the first production. By the time the tree is 70 to 80 years old it will produce thousands of acorns.

Like the thousands of acorns produced by a hundred year-old, oak, Scouting has and is now producing millions of acorns benefiting the world.

So you've just become a Scouter
And you've got a gang of boys,
And you wonder; "Will the trail ahead
Be filled with cares or joys?"

So you've studied up your handbook
And you've learned about each test,
And you've read a bunch of books that tell
Of Scouting at it's best.

You're full of plans on ways and means
To build a top-notch troop,
And you're searching conscientiously
For leaders in your group.

There's that skinny lad with the missing tooth
And the kid with the squeaky voice,
Or that freckled, chubby guy with the grin,
All regular, fun-loving boys.

Well, at last you've found the leaders,
Red-haired Tim with the crippled hand,
Eager Eric who talks with an accent
He was a Scout in his native land.

Soon at camps and hikes and meetings
High adventures you have shared,
And you've walked the trail together
Learning skills to "Be Prepared."

There were times you felt like quitting,
When some fellows let you down,
But the stuff you saw in others
Made you smile instead of frown.

And you watched them grow to manhood,
Others came and took their places,
Yet somehow you found among them
All the old familiar faces.

And a stranger's friendly greeting
Often made you wonder "Why?"
Till he chuckled, "I am Peanuts!"
And you talked of days gone by.

"Skinny is now a policeman
And Freckles an engineer,
Eric has become a doctor,
Tim sell autos here.

Smoky is now a minister
And Slugger owns a store.
But Chips, who played his guitar at camp
Didn't come back from the war."

So you've grown old as a Scouter
With memories that you treasure,
And if anyone asks, "Was it worth it?"
You'll say, "In the fullest measure!"

Of any one hundred boys who become Scouts, it must be confessed that thirty will drop out in their first year. Perhaps this may be regarded as a failure, but later in life, all of these will remember that they had been in Scouting and will speak well of the program.

Of the one hundred, only rarely will one ever appear before a juvenile court judge. Twelve of the one hundred will be from families that belong to no church. Through Scouting, these twelve and many of their families will be brought into contact with a church and will continue to be active all their lives. Six of the one hundred will become pastors.

Each of the one hundred will learn something from Scouting, and all will develop hobbies that will add interest throughout the rest of their lives. Approximately one-half will serve in the military, and in varying degrees, profit from their Scout training. At least one will use it to save another person's life, and many may credit it for saving their own.

Four of the one hundred will reach Eagle rank, and at least one will later say that he valued his Eagle above his college degree. Many will find their future vocation through merit badge work and Scouting contacts. Seventeen of the one hundred boys will become adult leaders and will give leadership to thousands of additional boys.

One in four boys in America will become Scouts, but it is interesting to know that of the leaders of this nation in business, religion and politics, three out of four were Scouts.

This story will never end. Like the 'Golden Pebble' of service dropped into the human sea, it will continue to radiate in ever-widening circles, influencing the characters of men through unending time."

Many great men have earned Scouting's highest rank.

Some of those are listed below:

Henry Aaron - Baseball player, home run king - the Mobile Press Register quoted Henry as saying that the greatest positive influence in his life was his involvement in Scouting

Lamar Alexander - Lawyer, Governor of Tennessee, Secretary of Education, presidential candidate

Neil Armstrong - astronaut, first man on moon, from Wapakoneta, OH

Willie Banks - Olympic & world record holding track star

Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. - Treasury Secretary & U.S. Representative from Texas

Bill Bradley - Pro basketball star and U.S. Senator from NJ

Gerald Ford - U.S. President (1st Eagle to be President

James Lovell - Navy pilot and astronaut, President of National Eagle Scout Association. Flew on Gemini 7, 12 & Apollo 8, 13 At one time had seen more sunrises than any other human being

Richard Lugar - Senator from Indiana (presidential candidate 1996)

J. Willard Marriott, Jr. - President, Marriott Corp.

Ellison Onizuka - Astronaut aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger

Steve Oswald - Astronaut, Navy Rear Admiral

Mitchell Paige - walked 200 miles to enlist in Marines on his 18th birthday in 1936, retired as a Colonel, Medal of honor.  Presented his eagle award in 2003 after it was verified that he'd not received it in 1936 because he'd joined the Marines.

H. Ross Perot - Self-made billionaire and presidential candidate

Frederick Reines - Nobel Prize winner in Physics

Gary Rogers - Chairman and CEO of Dreyer's Ice Cream

Jim Rogers - CEO of Kampgrounds of America (KOA)

Steven Spielberg - Movie producer, from Scottsdale, AZ, made a movie of his troop while getting Photography MB. Helped to design requirements for the cinematography MB.

Wallace Stegner - Writer and college professor, won Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for "Angle of Repose"

John Tesh - TV celebrity and pianist

Sam Walton - Founder, Wal-Mart

This is a short list of some of the fruit produced by Scouting. It cannot be known how many mighty men there are still growing as boys under the shade and protection of Scouting today.  As a Leader, help Scouting to continue to row and make men of boys for hundreds of years to come.

Quotations

Quotations contain the wisdom of the ages, and are a great source of inspiration for Cubmaster’s minutes, material for an advancement ceremony or an insightful addition to a Pack Meeting program cover.

If you walk by fear, you will only see the problem.

If you walk by faith, you will see the solution.

Anon

 “In all of this, it is the spirit that matters. Our Scout law and Promise, when we really put them into practice, take away all occasion for wars and strife among nations.”  Sir Robert Baden-Powell

“A Scout smiles and whistles under all circumstances.”  Sir Robert Baden-Powell

"Following the Scout Law sounds like a game plan that would give us all a better chance for success in life—and I mean every area of life." Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker

"The Boy Scouts of America has something going for it that all the government welfare programs in America can't match: success. Besides families and religion, Scouting is probably this country's single best program for building character in boys, and has been for nearly a century."  The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

"The Boy Scouts of America stands for a set of principles. These principles have a lot of staying power. The values you learn as a Scout are like a compass. They can help you find your way through difficult and sometimes unchartered terrain. The principles of Scouting give you a sense of what's important. I feel I owe the Boy Scouts a great deal, both personally and professionally."  Bill Bradley, former U.S. senator, New Jersey

"Scouting is an enormously important and useful discipline for young people, particularly young boys. It can build character and can awaken an appetite for learning." Raul Yzaguirre, president, National Council of La Raza

"I admire the Boy Scouts of America because the BSA has meant finding real solutions to some of the problems plaguing our country and has kept the faith in what America is and must mean to the world. You show that character comes from one small act at a time, caring for each child as if he or she were our own."  George Bush, former president of the United States of America

"I think the character that you learn in Scouting—working together, being honest with each other, being close knit ... and depending on one another, on our camping trips and doing things—all these things build character in a young man that he takes with him into adulthood and makes him a much better citizen. And that's why Scouting to me has always been an organization I've always wanted to help. I think it's one of the best youth organizations that we ... have in this country."  James A. Lovell Jr., President, Lovell Communications, and mission astronaut, Apollo 13

"Scouting exposes young men to people and experiences that encourage and nurture positive moral values. But we mustn't take Scouting for granted. You can do nothing more important for young people today than to continue, or begin, your support of Scouting. I have never met anyone with devoted Scouting experience who was not a solid citizen, a loyal friend, and a patriot. We need more of them."  Wallace G. Wilkinson, former governor of Kentucky

Boys will be boys...and so will a lot of middle-aged men. Kin Hubbard

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a Professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter. Author Unknown

If you want to touch the past, touch a stone; if you want to touch the present, touch a rose; if you want to touch the future, touch a child. Author Unknown

It's better to build boys than mend men. Author Unknown

No man stands taller than when he stoops to help a boy. -- Inscription on City Jail, Brigham City, Utah

One hundred years from now it will not matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove; but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child. Author Unknown

Sometimes it takes looking through the haze of campfire smoke to see the world clearly. Author Unknown

There's only one thing wrong with Boy Scouts...there aren't enough of 'em. --
Will Rogers