How Scouting Came to America

  The way in which the Boy Scout movement came to America is one of the best examples of how it isn't the size of a Good Turn that counts, it's the doing of it, whether large or small.

  It happened one day in  the fall of 1909 in London, England. An American visitor, William D. Boyce, lost his way in the dense fog that had shrouded the city. He stopped under a street lamp and tried to figure out where he was. A boy approached him out of the gloom and asked if he could be of help.

  "You certainly can," said Boyce. He told the boy that he was trying to find a certain business office in the center of the city.

  "I'll take you there," said the boy, and led him to Boyce's destination.

  When they got there, Mr. Boyce reached into his pocket for a tip. But the boy stopped  him.

  "No thank you, sir. I am a Scout, and a Scout does not take anything for helping someone."

"A Scout? And what might that be?" asked Boyce.

"Haven't you heard of the Baden-Powell Boy Scouts, sir?" said the boy.

Boyce hadn't. "Tell me about them," he said.

  The boy told the American about himself and his brother Scouts. Boyce was very interested in learning more about this new group.  After finishing his errand, he had the boy take him to the headquarters of  the British Boy Scouts. There the boy left him and went on his way.

  At the headquarters, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the famous British general who had founded  the Scouting movement 2 years before. Boyce was so impressed with what he learned about Scouting that he decided to bring it home with him.

  On February 8, 1910, in Washington, D.C., Boyce and a group of other outstanding leaders founded the Boy Scouts of  America. Ever since then, this day has been celebrated as the birthday of American Scouting.

  What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his way in the fog? No one knows. He had not given his name, and he was never heard from again. But he will never be forgotten. His Good Turn helped bring the Scouting movement to our country.

  In the British Scout Training Center at Gilwell Park, England, there stands a statue of an American buffalo- a large scale representation of the Silver Buffalo Award of the Boy Scouts of America. The inscription at the base reads:

"To the Unknown Scout Whose Faithfulness in the Performance of the Daily Good Turn Brought the Scouting Movement to the United States of America."

One Good Turn to one  man became a Good Turn to millions of American boys. Such is the power of a Good Turn.
 
 

If you would like to know more about the history of the
Scouting movement, please check the Links page.

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