Great Lakes Council, BSA Centennial Celebration Travel Bug #7 -- Troop 1627 Patch

PRIMARY GOAL

My goal is to travel the country and have my photo taken with Boy Scout Troop, Cub Scout Pack, or Venturing Crew unit numbers and Council Shoulder Patches.

SECONDARY GOAL

I would also like to have my picture taken with current and former Boy Scouts as I travel.  Uniforms would be cool but are not required.  Be sure to share your Troop/Pack/Crew number and location when you post your picture. 

For those of you geocachers that are current or former Scouts, we would enjoy hearing stories of your fond Scouting memories and encourage you to share them with us when posting your log below.

On September 24, 2010, the 100th birthday of the Great Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America, this travel bug was released by Boy Scout Troop 1627, chartered to the Keller Elementary School PTA in Royal Oak, Michigan, as part of the Centennial Rendezvous Celebration held at Willow Metropark in New Boston, Michigan.

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over four million youth members in its age-related divisions. Since its founding in 1910 as part of the international Scout Movement, more than 110 million Americans have been members of the BSA

Click here to follow Boy Scout Troop 1627 on facebook

HOW SCOUTING CAME TO AMERICA

The Story of a Good Turn, Boy Scout Handbook, Tenth Edition, Chapter 26, Boy Scouts of America

How good must a Good Turn be to be good? The answer is best given by telling you the story of how Scouting came to America. It shows that it isn't the size of a Good Turn that counts. What is important is the spirit with which a Scout does a Good Turn.

"Do a Good Turn Daily" is the Scout Slogan.
One Day in 1909 in London, England, an American visitor, William D. Boyce, lost his way in a dense fog. He Stopped under a street lamp and tried to figure out where he was. A boy approached him and asked if he could be of help.

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

"I'll take you there," said the boy.

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

"No thank you, sir. I am a Scout. I won't take anything for helping."

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

The boy told the American about himself and his brother Scouts. Boyce became very interested. After finishing his errand, he had the boy take him to the British Scouting office.

At the office, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the famous British general who had founded the Scouting movement in Great Britain. Boyce was so impressed with what he learned that he decided to bring Scouting home with him.

On February 8, 1910, Boyce and a group of outstanding leaders founded the Boy Scouts of America. From that day forth, Scouts have celebrated February 8 as the birthday of Scouting in the United States.

What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his way in the fog? No one knows. He had neither asked for money nor given his name, 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, Scouts from the United States erected a statue of an American buffalo in honor of this unknown Scout. One Good Turn to one man became a Good Turn to millions of American boys. Such is the power of a Good Turn.