MB #47 - Scouting Heritage
This Merit Badge is one of the newest. It was released in April of 2010 for the centennial celebration but it is here to stay (for now). I'm glad they made this MB. It was really fun learning about the history of scouting in the world, nation, my area, and a few people.
My troop, 1181, was originally chartered in 1995. it was part of the Timpanogos District until the Battle Creek District was created in 2003. There are currently 27 Eagle Scouts in troop 1181 and my brother is the most recent. Caleb Lind has the most Merit Badges (for now). Kevin Schade was the youngest Eagle Scout.
I wrote to the National Scouting Museum near Dallas, TX and they sent me an informational packet with a cool patch inside:
The three people I interviewed were my two grandfathers and Patriarch Dougherty. It's interesting because they all commented about hiking and the other activities of scouting.
1. Grandpa Edward Thomas (88) - Remembered vividly his 50 mile bike ride (before they made bikes with gears). He also talked about camping a ton. He then talked about being a scouter dad and helping his two sons with scouting. His oldest son, Bruce, lived in Portugal while scouting age and grandpa took him camping throughout Europe. He also helped dad earn his Eagle project by suggesting a cleanup of a cemetery in a rural Arizona town.
2. Grandpa Nolan Squire (70) - He loved his once-in-a-lifetime adventure of hiking the Grand Canyon. His scouting experiences helped him to be a great father, grandfather and religious leader. He remembered his 50 mile hike from Cedar City, UT to St. George, UT down the Old Spanish Trail. They slept two nights out under the stars. The first night they came to a watermelon and cantaloupe patch. They first thought about jumping the fence to spend the night in the watermelon patch but then they remembered "a scout is honest." So, they knocked on the door and asked permission to sleep in the yard. The people welcomed them to sleep in the soft hay and brought them watermelon and cantaloupe! That taught them how honesty pays. The next night they slept in an old house then worked their way to St. George where the boys passed off their Swimming MB (one I still have to do).
3. Patriarch Mike Dougherty (82) - He remembers hiking Timpanogos mountain and going inside Timpanogos Cave. He slid down the Glacier on the way down (it was much bigger then)He believes scouting made him a better person who is honest and loves God.
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| Patriarch Dougherty |
