Scouting, Volume 67, Number 5, October 1979 Page: 56
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Star Wars (from page 54)
'Moonball Bombardment,' it too will be
refereed and scored by adult Scouters."
It seems to work. That afternoon the
game field swarms with activity. Scout-
vaders in each of the four starships apply
their leadership training and Scoutcraft
skills to complete "primary and secondary
corridor assignments." By the end of the
afternoon Jim Hardin's vision is fast
becoming a reality. Red Starship II has its
wing command station (a four-tripod
tower) in place. Blue Starship I is finishing
a void assault bridge (simple lock bridge)
and is almost ready to raise a 20-foot-tall
command signal bridge (conventional
tower). Meanwhile Red Starship I is busy
securing a void line bridger (monkey
bridge) and Blue Starship II is completing
a corridor claim maneuver (flagpole
raising).
Despite the futuristic terminology, it's a
sight that would make Scouting's founder
Lord Baden-Powell beam with pride, an
impressive demonstration of basic Scout-
craft.
As afternoon fades into evening, activity
shifts to the campsites. From a distance it
has a familiar jamboree appearance.
Clusters of bright green, orange, blue, and
yellow tents spread across the ground like
patchwork on a quilt. The colorful hodge-
podge is occasionally accented by a stark,
white Indian tepee. Smoke from dinner
fires drifts upward. Parents and neighbors,
many with young children, wander
through the maze of tents. Almost every
troop has guests visiting under a dining
fly-
Troop 190 is polishing off the last of the
evening meal. A group of Cub Scouts
scamper around the tents nearby playing
their own version of "Moonball Bom-
bardment." Crouched beside a bed of
dying charcoal embers, Scoutmaster Ron
Weber reaches inside a Dutch oven with a
spoon to scrape out a last serving of cherry
cobbler for assistant Scoutmaster Don
Franklin.
Pointing to the Cub Scouts, Don says,
"We've sort of adopted them for the rest of
the day. They had originally planned to
visit only for the afternoon, but they had
car trouble so they're going to stay for the
fireworks tonight. They've just had dinner
with us, Sloppy Joes and cobbler."
What does he notice most about the
jamboree? "Participation," Don says. "In-
volvement by the boys. Sometimes you
have a camporee or something like it and
you'll have a group of kids off to the side
playing their own little games, not doing
what was plannedYor them. But basically,
56
from 8:00 this morning until dinner time
about an hour ago those kids have been
out there on that field. They've been
involved in it because it's been a physical
activity, and they've been caught in the
excitement of the 'Star Wars' theme.
"A lot of our council's adult leaders are
'doers' on a national level and their think-
ing was that just because it's not a national
Evening fireworks
and entertainment
climax the end of
a fun and exciting day.
jamboree doesn't mean we can't have the
excitement and feeling of a national jam-
boree. Take the opening ceremony for
example, with the music, dignitaries,
21-gun salute, and parade of Scouts, you
couldn't ask for a more impressive cere-
mony. It sent chills up and down my spine.
It's been a beautiful day; a lot of seeds for
better Scouting have been planted."
For Scoutmaster Ron Weber, the ques-
tion of success is measured in terms of how
much the program helps Scouts. "When
boys can do it themselves, and they can
physically see what they've done without a
Scoutmaster, without an adult—it gives
them a sense of accomplishment that lifts
them about six feet off the ground. I saw it
at our Brownsea training camp, and I see it
out here today. At Brownsea the boys
matured to young adults in a week. You
could actually see it. And you'll probably
be able to see it somewhat with the boys
that are here today. Even though it's just a
two-day activity, fires have been lit."
But no matter how constructive the fires
lit by the jamboree so far, their sensible
flame will appear pale when compared to
the dramatic bonfire "Breeze" Brezovar,
chairman of the arena show, plans to light
that evening. The show is an eclectic mix
that includes a hard-driving Navy rock
band called "Atlantis," The Nashville
Brass, the Nashville Symphony, an
Academy Awards-type presentation of
awards for the winners of the jamboree
field events, a special guest appearance by
"Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, author of The
Official Boy Scout Handbook, and for the
grand finale—Tchaikovsky's "1812 Over-
ture" complete with cannon fire and
fireworks.
"We've put together a city," says
Brezovar, "that houses 3,000 people for
one day. It has all the ingredients of a
national jamboree and it's all been
crammed into one day. Believe me, these
kids are going to be psyched up on Scout-
ing. They're going to be talking about this
for a lot of months to come."
A couple of hours later during the clos-
ing moments of the "1812 Overture" when
a final salvo of rockets explodes in a great
burst of flame, light, and color—Scouts
aren't talking; they're on their feet cheer-
ing!
The "Star Wars" are over. The Middle
Tennessee 1979 Jamboree is ending. But
the enthusiasm it generated and the op-
portunity for new experiences it provided
will be remembered long after the final
rocket flickers and fades into darkness. ■
Mmmmi
/
'Stay down low so the fish won't be able to see us.'
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 67, Number 5, October 1979, periodical, October 1979; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353681/m1/56/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.