Scouting, Volume 61, Number 8, November-December 1973 Page: 24
52, [12] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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ranged from real crises to
"homesick" parents ("Our
son hasn't phoned us since
noon") to an orthodontist
("Tell Johnny not to wear
rubber bands with his braces
anymore").
The jamboree spirit was
notable for its friendliness.
Strangers invariably ex-
changed a hearty "Hi!" or
"Howdy!" and more often
than not it was followed by
the question, "Where are
you from?" The answer
might be any of the 50 states
or one of 20 foreign nations.
What brings Scouts to a
national jamboree? The an-
swers are as varied as the
72,000 participants.
Greg Pratt of Las Vegas,
Nev., for instance, said, "I
want to see some of the
country besides the desert."
Jay Fraser of Lake City,
Fla., said, "I just like camp-
ing out, mostly, and swim-
ming. But here you can just
sit in camp and rest if you
want."
Robert Busby, Fresno,
Calif., went to the jamboree
"just to have lots of fun, and
I'm having it." ("That's in-
teresting," said one of his
leaders. "We just got our
tents set up and haven't
been out of camp yet.")
Dr. Paul Brown, a Scout-
master from Burley, Idaho,
was there with his three
sons. "How do you beat an
experience like this," he
asked, "especially when you
can do it with your family?"
Bob Jordan, Fort Payne,
Ala., said, "The guys from up
north sure talk weird, but I
guess they probably think
the same about me."
Several Scouts from Troop
233 in Uvalde, Tex., had oth-
er reasons for jamboreeing
— "getting away from my
sister, seeing new scenery,
trading patches, doing new
stuff we can't do at home."
Don Taylor of Burnaby,
Canada, most enjoyed
"meeting all you Yankee
Scouts."
The opening-night arena
shows were harbingers of
things to come — plenty of
noise, color, entertainment,
music and fireworks. Bob
Hope wowed them at jambo-
1973NATIONAL
SCOUT JAMBOREE
west, and Danny Thomas did
the same at jambo-east.
Flashbulbs flickered like
fireflies as Scouts tried to re-
cord the celebrities on film.
There were other visitors,
including Astronaut Eugene
Cernan, Col. Harland Sand-
ers of fried chicken fame,
and U.S. Secretary of the
Navy, John Warner. Vonda
Van Dyke, former Miss
America, was there, too, and
everybody thought she
looked terrific in one of the
new red Scout berets.
Scouting notables were
introduced — men like Arch
Monson, Jr., the overall jam-
boree chairman; Vittz-James
Ramsdell, jambo-west chair-
man; and William Jackson,
jambo-east chairman. Rob-
ert Reneker, BSA president,
and Alden Barber, Chief
Scout Executive, were there,
backed up by another 6,000
or so volunteer and profes-
sional leaders working on
the jamboree staff.
There were many program
firsts at the jamboree, but
two that got a lot of traffic
were the Merit Badge Mid-
way and the Arts and
Sciences Expo. In the Mid-
way, businesses and individ-
uals from all over America
set up special demonstra-
tions for most of the 119
Scout merit badges. The
Expo gave Scouts chances
to show off in art, music,
photography and crafts.
Skill-O-Rama probably of-
fered the greatest variety at
the jamboree as most troops
pitched in with their spe-
cialties: Indian dancing by
Kansas Scouts, salmon bar-
becueing from Oregon, gold
panning from South Dakota,
realistic first aid from New
Hampshire, origami (paper
folding) from the Boy Scouts
of Japan, miniature rocket
launches, snowshoe races
(in August yet!) and dozens
of other activities. Most
Scouts needed an extra
pack to lug all their free
samples home.
Along with Skill-O-Rama
were lots of helicopters and
some of the world's greatest
parachutists — the U.S.
Army Golden Knights at both
jamboree sites and the
Navy's Seal Parachute Team
at jamboree-east. An extra
bonanza for the Scouts were
the Air Force Thunderbird jet
flyers at jambo-west. Jambo-
ree-east also got to see the
Skytypers, who fly propeller-
driven airplanes that elec-
tronically puff out smoke to
form huge letters and words
in the sky. Scout verdict:
Tops!
Idaho was having its driest
summer in 40 years, so it was
extra hot there. After pre-
jamboree rains, Penn-
sylvania turned hot and
humid. The boys got so
thirsty that they drank more
than one million cans of
soda pop. By the way, the
empty cans at jamboree-
west, all aluminum, were
crushed in a recycling ma-
chine right on the site. The
steel cans at jamboree-east
were collected for later recy-
cling at nearby steel mills.
Naturally, with all that
heat, swimming was the
most popular activity. Ca-
noeing (can you imagine an
armada of 350 canoes in one
spot?) wasn't far behind.
Scouts also rowed, sailed,
hiked, scaled obstacle
courses, took part in sports
contests and mountain
climbing demonstrations. At
the large conservation
areas, the Scouts learned
about endangered birds and
animals, and were encour-
aged to join the Johnny Ho-
rizon '76 cleanup campaign.
The trading posts did a
booming business, too, with
everybody stocking up on
jamboree souvenirs for the
folks back home.
The Scouts were reminded
each day that Scouting is
fun — and something more.
Tribute was paid every day
to one of the Seven Banners
of Freedom — the Declara-
tion of Independence, the
Constitution, All Faiths, the
Bill of Rights, Representa-
tive Government, Respect
for the Law and Citizenship.
Each jamboree site also
had a wide game in which
each Scout was given a card
with a big letter on it. Indi-
viduals teamed up until they
spelled out "GROWING TO-
GETHER," the jamboree
theme. Continuing a tradi-
tion established at the 1969
jamboree, boys gathered at
Forum campfires to discuss
what they believed in and
were concerned about.
Ideas from their rap sessions
were eventually boiled down
to a formal Forum Statement.
On the sabbath there were
religious services for just
about every faith represent-
ed in the BSA membership,
with nationally-known
clergymen on hand to help.
Some of the services at-
tracted several thousand
Scouts and leaders.
Finally came the part of
the jamboree that most of
the Scouts found hardest to
forget — the arena show on
the last night. A few candles
were lit throughout the vast
audience, and the arena
lights turned out. Then, each
Scout lit his own candle from
a buddy's. Eventually this
light, symbolic of the Scout-
ing spirit that binds together
Scouts from everywhere,
brightened the entire arena
with thousands of flickering
flames. It was a rare sight,
one to be remembered.
Jamboree Chairman Arch
Monson reminded Scout-
masters and other leaders
before the jamboree even
began that "We are jambo-
reeing in order that thou-
sands of boys may return
home with the spirit, inspira-
tion and Scouting know-how
of the jamboree — not for
themselves alone, but for the
millions more with whom
they will associate." After a
fun-filled, inspirational and,
yes, even fatiguing week at
the 1973 National Scout
Jamboree, it was very evi-
dent that the 72,000 Scouts
and Scouters felt the same
way. (continued on page 51)
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 61, Number 8, November-December 1973, periodical, November 1973; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353646/m1/24/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.