Figure 1.--These boys at the 1937 National Jamboree mostly wear the short pants uniform, but one boy wears long pants. The "Smokey Bear" hat is still the standard Scout headgear.

American scouting: American Scouts began Cubbing in 1930. The local BSA councils in 1931 presented the first Silver Beaver awards presented by local councils. The Roman Catholic Church in 1931 established the first religious award. The Mortimer L. Schiff Memorial Scout Reservation presented to the BSA in 1932. The BSA in 1933 established the Schiff Scout Reservation. The BSA in 1933 authorized the Exploring and Rovering programs. BSA in 1934 approved the Order of the Arrow. Scouts in 1934 answered President Franklin Roosevelt's request to collect food and clothing for the needy and there were many as the Great Depression ravaged the country. Scouts throughout America in 1935 celebrated the Silver Jubilee (25 years) of American Scouting. The planned first National Jamboree in 1935 was cancelled due to epidemic of infantile paralysis. American Scouting membership in 1935 again passes 1 million. The BSA in 1935 introduced Senior Scouting for older boys. The BSA in 1936 held the first Wood Badge courses following the English syllabus. The BSA in 1936 published a new Handbook For Scoutmasters. Some major events were held during 1937. Scouts held the Scout O-Rama in New York City's Madison Square Garden during March 1936. It looks to have been quite a major event, although we have few details. One of the major events in American Scouting was the National Jamboree. The much anticipated 1st National Jamboree was held in 1937, approrpriately at the national capital in Washington, DC. Waite Phillips in 1938 gave the BSA 36,000 acres in New Mexico for Philburn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp. The Philburn Camp and it opens in 1939. The BSA added Air Scouting in 1939. The World's Fair was held in New York in 1939. The Boy Scouts assisted with the Fair in a variety of ways. AxService Camp was set up for the Scouts assisting at the Fair which was called the Service Camp. A special patch was issued for the participating Scouts. We note both Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts participating.

1930

American scouting: American Scouts began Cubbing in 1930. The BSA had been studying Cubbing for many yeas. Major figures in American Scouting had opposed adding the Cubbing program, despite the success of Cubbing in Britain and mny other countries. After a successful trial program, the BSA fornally established American Cubbing.

1931

The local BSA councils in 1931 presented the first Silver Beaver awards presented by local councils. The Roman Catholic Church in 1931 established the first religious award. We notice Vice-President Curtis helping the Boy Scouts to publicize the nut-gathering projrct on George Washington's Mount Vernon estate during 1931. They are trying to increase the number of nut trees planted throughout the United States.

1932

The Mortimer L. Schiff Memorial Scout Reservation presented to the BSA in 1932.

1933

The BSA in 1933 established the Schiff Scout Reservation. The BSA in 1933 authorized the Exploring and Rovering programs .

1934

BSA in 1934 approved the Order of the Arrow. Scouts in 1934 answered President Franklin Roosevelt's request to collect food and clothing for the needy and there were many as the Great Depression ravaged the country.

1935

Scouts throughout America in 1935 celebrated the Silver Jubilee (25 years) of American Scouting. The planned first National Jamboree in 1935 was cancelled due to epidemic of infantile paralysis. American Scouting membership in 1935 again passes 1 million. The BSA in 1935 introduced Senior Scouting for older boys--Explorer Scouting. The new program was the result of years of experimentation in the West, mainly in Utah, Washington, and Oregon. These trials begn in 1922. Explorer Scouts was approved by the National Committee in 1933 and became one part of the Senior Scout program in 1935. It a kind of 'land based', high adventure/advanced camping version of Sea Scouting. When it was launche, there was considerable differences among planners as to the direction of the program. Initially, they didn't have a true advancement program or distinct uniform. Much of that came later. Very little information exists on the first units and their activities. The first Explorer Scouts were orgamnized within Boy Scout Troops, which organized into Explorer Scout Patrols. At first, Explorer Scout units were called Troops. It was only later on, probably around 1944 that the term "Post" was used for Explorer Scout units.

1936

The BSA in 1936 held the first Wood Badge courses following the English syllabus. The BSA in 1936 published a new Handbook For Scoutmasters. Some major events were held during 1937. Scouts held the Scout O-Rama in New York City's Madison Square Garden during March 1936. It looks to have been quite a major event, although we have few details.

1937

One of the major events in American Scouting was the National Jamboree. This was a major step for the BSA. Jamborees were common in Europe, but were not organized in America for many years.The much anticipated 1st National Jamboree was held in 1937, approrpriately at the national capital in Washington, DC. Attendanceexceeded 27,000. We have not yet collected information on the event.

1938

We note a patriotic event in New York City honoring Geore Washington on his birthday. Such events were common on important national holidays. Waite Phillips in 1938 gave the BSA 36,000 acres in New Mexico for Philburn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp. A Tex Ritter film was released. "Tex rides with the Boy Scouts (1938). A reviewer writes, "The story line was pretty lame. The acting was fairly poor. But the Scout uniforms and activities were awesome to see if you are an avid Scouter." While the Explorer program was approved in 1933 and run as an experimental program in years prior, the first 'official' manual for the program did not appear until 1938!

Figure 2.-- The Boy Scouts assisted with the 1939 New York World's Fair in a variety of ways. A Service Camp was set up for the Scouts assisting at the Fair which was called the Service Camp.

1939

The United States had a long history of summer camping. The Philburn Rocky Mountain Scout Camp opened (1939). It becamne the most important camp in the BSA system. It was for advanced Scout camping. The BSA added Air Scouting to its specialized divisions (1939). Scouts participated in the Golden Gate Exposition in San Franciso. The World's Fair opened in New York during 1939. The Boy Scouts assisted with the Fair in a variety of ways. A Service Camp was set up for the Scouts assisting at the Fair which was called the Service Camp. A Fair Guidebook sescribes the Camp. "At the North end of the Fair grounds, adjacent to the Federal Building, the camp comprises 83,096 square feet of space and is arranged to accommodate four troops, each with 33 Scouts and three Scout Leaders. According to a prearranged program, one third of the Scouts are sight-seeing, one third are on duty at the camp, and one third are related to the World's Fair management on scout service, such as aides and guards of honor for distinguished guests, assistants at various public ceremonies, and special orderlies to fair officials." A session of the 29th annual meeting was held at the New York World's Fair for a citizenship ceremony when a group of former Scouts who had just turned 21 were formally received into citizenship by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts. A special patch was issued for the participating Scouts. We note both Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts participating. On Scout Day, attendees were addressed by Dan Beard (Uncle Dan) who play an important role in founding the american Scouting mobvement. A honor guard of Scouts escorted him. A session of the 29th BSA annual meeting was held at the Fair for a special citizenship ceremony. A group of former Scouts who had just become 21 years old were formally received into citizenship by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts. The 10th International Scout Conference was held in Edinburgh, Scotland just before the outbreak of World War II. The War would bring many challenges to Scouts around the world, but America would not be directly involved for another 2 years. The Seventh National Training Conference for Scout Executives was held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The Boy Scouts of America was represented at the White House Conference on Youth in a Democracy by the Chief Scout Executive. Special experimental work with Scouting in less-chance areas was carried on through the Irving Berlin Fund. The membership by the end of the year was 1.4 million and the total number of Scouts since inception 9.0 million. In contrast the Hitler Youth movement in 1939 alone had 7.7 million members, who had been given varying levels of military training. .