Scouting, Volume 68, Number 6, November-December 1980 Page: 8
58, [20] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Great Expectations
I have some-
times been asked
how Scouting,
now in its seven-
tieth year, man-
ages to keep its
vitality when oth-
er organizations
of that vintage
have lost theirs.
One answer, I
believe, can be
found in this story
handed on by
Amos Shields, who served as Scout Ex-
ecutive of Detroit many years ago.
One day he was roving the Michigan
woods looking for a campsite when a
country boy recognized Amos's Scouter
uniform and couldn't resist greeting him.
"Hi. I'm a Scout, too," the boy said.
"How do you like it?" Amos asked.
"It's great. We take hikes and go
camping and cook our own meals. Our
Scoutmaster is a great guy. I'm in the Fox
Patrol, and we're all going to be Eagles."
"That's just fine, son. How long have
you been a Scout?"
"Oh," he said, "I joined last night."
To you Scout leaders who have served
for even a short time, such incidents are
commonplace. Always there is just one
more eager recruit full of expectations.
And always there is the Scoutmaster or
Cubmaster or den leader who cannot
resist the appeal and stays on for a "a few
more months" that lengthen into years.
From the time Scouting began in the
United States, 30 million of these young-
sters have joined our ranks, and their
numbers continue to
grow. Yet the magnitude
of your service to them
and to our nation can
never be adequately
measured or fully appre-
ciated. You have been
more than the caretak-
ers of history; you have
made history and shaped
the future.
Recently actor James
Stewart, recalling his
early days in Troop 3 in
Indiana, Pa., had this to say: "Any boy
who promises on his honor to obey the
Scout Law will do so as a Scout, as a
grown-up, as a husband, father, worker,
no matter how far he gets from his neck-
erchief. Obeying the Scout Law isn't some-
thing we hang up when we graduate."
Remembering the impact of the Scout
Oath on his own life, he added: "Duty to
God is a lifetime thank-you note our
hearts send out in appreciation for the life
that has been loaned to us here on earth."
Because of your continuing help and
faith in our movement, our members will
gain a strength of character that will
sustain them throughout their lives. And,
because of men and women like you, they
will be guided by ideals of love and
brotherhood that the world so desperate-
ly needs.
In the spirit of the coming holidays, I
wish you joy and peace, and ask God's
blessing on you, your families, and all of
those who are dear to you.
J.L. Tarr
Chief Scout Executive
November/December 1980 Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 68, Number 6, November-December 1980, periodical, November 1980; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353610/m1/8/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.