Scouting, Volume 60, Number 1, January-February 1972 Page: 46
68, [20] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
If
Two jamborees for the price of one!" was a Scout's
reaction to interruption caused by typhoon.
rained out but no one was worried
because the Jamboree was just be-
ginning and we all saw the Scouts in
the wings, waiting in exciting cos-
tumes . . . waiting . . . waiting . . .
until the mist turned to rain and the
show had to be postponed. Everyone
was disappointed, but we'd see it
later, we thought. Then the rains
really began.
Typhoon! There were hints a week
before in Kyoto when we had 4
days of rain during our pre-Jamboree
tour. We remembered hearing that it
was part of a typhoon. Now, rumors
flew about another typhoon.
Thirty-six hours later it was upon
us in sheets of water. More than 16
inches of rain and still coming, spray-
ing tents like showers of rice, bbs and
pebbles, by the barrelful. Things grew
serious and finally the jamboree
seemed doomed. We were sloshing
through a foot of mud in most places,
with water up to 2-foot lakes in many
campsites and rapid, wide running
water making roadways difficult to
cross. The fateful announcement
came over the loudspeakers as night
fell: "Evacuate camp." And the buses
began to roll.
Within hours, almost 20,000 Scouts
and Scouters were in gymnasiums,
shrines, schools and makeshift shel-
ters in 30 different locations . . . and,
ironically, the weather was good
where they were, even while it was
still typhooning back on Ashigiri
Heights.
While everyone was poised, reluc-
tant to give up even though we knew
it was hopeless, the word came: "The
rain has stopped and you'll never
believe it, but the ground is beginning
to dry out." So, we went back in again
to salvage our gear and to see what
could be done about salvaging our
Jamboree.
Thursday and Friday were part of
the past; Saturday was drying out
day and the day Crown Prince Akihito
and Princess Michiko visited the
Jamboree site to cheer the assembled
Scouts and to praise their choice
of a theme for the jamboree.
Astronaut Neil Armstrong and his
son made two visits, one during the
typhoon itself to encourage the
Scouts. His second visit was at the
Sunday night arena show, for by Sun-
day things were swinging again.
There were many theories about
the cause of the meteorological may-
hem. Some blamed it on the fact that
there were 13 letters in World Jam-
boree and this was the 13th Jam-
boree. But the most popular explana-
tion cited the performance of a group
of U. S. Scouts who had staged an
Indian Rain Dance at the skill-o-rama
the day before. A few remembered
that there was a slight water shortage
when we arrived and that some of
their leaders had facetiously sug-
gested the chaplains assemble for
a meeting to pray for rain.
The Jamboree swung back into
being. "Two Jamborees for the price
of one," a Scout exulted. Boys set-
tled down to make up for the fun they
missed. The skill-o-ramas drew thou-
sands of Japanese visitors from great
distances . . . hundreds of busloads
of Cub Scouts with parents, pretty
girls who posed for pictures with
American Scouts, sightseers out for
a holiday . . . and every day was a
holiday.
"A Scout is friendly," but we found
we had no monopoly on friendliness.
The Japanese were smiling, gracious,
concerned and eager to welcome
their foreign guests.
Very tiny, doll-like girls, you
wouldn't think they could even walk
yet, came up to Scouts with pad and
pencil and a timid, "Sign this please."
Their parents stood behind and
beamed at the attention the children
received. Scouts took hundreds of
pictures of cute little girls and cute
older girls.
The parents often sought out
Scouters who had given their chil-
dren some souvenir, sometimes hours
later, to bestow some gift from them-
selves, a bag of fruit, an unusual tie
clip, a Japanese wooden doll . . .
something to express their own idea
of "For Understanding."
The typhoon left its mark in unhap-
piness for a few, but for most it was
part of an unforgettable experience
that they were not unhappy to have
gone through . . . now that the rain
was over. As one Japanese leader
told his boys, "You can't buy a storm.
This was a great opportunity for
training to cope with natural ele-
ments." And, after all, remember our
motto!
So, came the last day and the final
spree of "trading." Boys who had
agreed with much gesticulation and
elementary phrases to swap uniforms
from socks, pants, belt and on up,
met "on this spot" as agreed, to com-
plete the deal. Thus, you had the
strange spectacle, later in Tokyo, of
not being sure exactly what country
a Scout was from when you saw him
near the Boy Scout trading post at
Matsuya's Department Store, or at
(of all things) the MacDonald's Ham-
burger haven in the Ginza. Because,
there would be a boy who had a
French shirt, Finnish hat, Japanese
shorts and who turned out to be an
Australian.
The one thing you could be sure of
was that a boy in kilts was a Scot—
no inducements I ever heard could
make one of them part with his lower,
outer garment.
On the final night at Asigiri Heights,
with Fuji still hiding its head high
above the clouds, the rededication of
the Scout Oath closed the last cere-
monies, followed by the singing of
"Auld Lang Syne." Then, the lyasaka
yell and the XIII World Jamboree was
history. 23,000 Scouts and Scouters
were then on their way home to wait
for XIV and Norway.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 60, Number 1, January-February 1972, periodical, January 1972; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353658/m1/76/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.