Camp Flying Eagle Turns 90 As BSA Program Invites Girls
WORDS: Lela Rast Hartsaw
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Recently in a television interview, Mike Rowe, popular
actor, narrator, and spokesman of Discovery Channel’s
Dirty Jobs fame, made the following statement: “I feel
America needs the Scouts, as well as Future Farmers of America,
SkillsUSA, and 4-H desperately, now more than ever, because
I believe character development and leadership development
are more important today, than ever.”
He’s right. Mike Rowe is a Distinguished Eagle Scout, so he
should know.
While change is inevitable, luckily one thing remains the same
– scouting. Both Boy Scouts of America, and Girl Scouts of
America, continue to teach boys and girls how to grow to be their
best selves, while preparing tomorrow’s leaders, and building
skills and friendships that will last a lifetime.
Sir Robert Baden-Powell saw the need for a boys’ organization
in his homeland of England in the early 20th century. Combining
his military background with a desire to guide young men and
boys to be successful model citizens, Baden-Powell literally wrote
the book (Scouting for Boys published in 1908) and created the
movement known as Boy Scouts.
The boys were learning life skills and survival skills and spending
inordinate amounts of time in the great outdoors. There were
military-style uniforms, ranks, achievements, and rules - all of
which the boys loved. Girls, it turned out, loved it, too. Soon, girls
were sneaking into camp or asking to sign up.
So, Baden-Powell enlisted the help of his sister, Olave Baden-
Powell, and their friend, Juliette Gordon Low to create a similar
program for girls called Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Boy Scouting
in America took off immediately in 1910. Girl Scouting was just
behind, in 1912. And the two have co-existed beautifully for over
100 years.
Despite what is being shared in the media, the organization name
will remain Boy Scouts of America. Beginning February 2019,
the Boy Scout program name will change to “Scouts BSA” and
will begin serving girls, as well as boys. Under the new name of
“Scouts BSA,” that program, which is the same iconic program it
has always been, will continue to offer Scouting in single-gender
troops, through which Scouts (ages 11 through 17) can work to
earn the Eagle Scout rank.
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