  
Scouting continued to emphasize
community service in the post-war era. The Boy Scouts of America held its first national
"get-out-the-vote"
campaign in 1952. Scouts have supported civilian
defense awareness, fundraising for the Community
Chest, and served as ushers at Cornhusker football games.
Source: Door hanger loaned
by Rick Wolzen, Lincoln; posters loaned by Cornhusker Council,
Boy Scouts of America
Lincoln scouts distributed bags to collect used clothing for
Goodwill
Industries.
Source: Loaned by Cornhusker
Council, Boy Scouts of America
Scorecards,
progress reports, and certificates documented scouts' fulfillment
of the requirements to advance in rank or qualify for merit badges,
awards, and honor societies. These are from the 1960s.
Source: 111546-32,29,26,31,
Troop 68, RLDS Church, Lincoln, courtesy of Shawn Bachman, Lincoln
This poster
from 1981-82 provides a way to record each troop member's progress
through the Boy Scout ranks and the dates they received different
awards.
Source: 11546-55, Troop 68,
RLDS Church, Lincoln, courtesy of Shawn Bachman, Lincoln
Philip Kelly of Lincoln pursued a scouting career that took him
from Cub Scout through Explorer Scout. His Cub
Scout uniform includes bear, wolf, and lion pack patches,
with arrow points signifying various accomplishments. A beanie
was the typical Cub Scout headgear until it was replaced by a
baseball-style cap in the early 1980s.
Source: 11291-54, 55, 35,
Philip Kelly, Emporia, Kansas; 11640-415, Mike Brownson, Falls
City, courtesy of Deb Brownson, Falls City
Philip Kelly's Boy
Scout uniform includes the Webelos (or "Arrow of Light")
patch on the left breast pocket, the top Cub Scout rank earned
before graduating to a Boy Scout troop. Beginning in 1943 Boy
Scouts could wear the "overseas-style" cap in lieu
of the campaign or "Smokey Bear" hat. Kelly signaled
his attendance at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico by wearing
the distinctive white Philmont neckerchief and slide. Oklahoma
oilman Waite Phillips donated the ranch to the Boy Scouts of
America in 1938.
Source: 11291-56, 57, 58,
Philip Kelly, Emporia, Kansas
Webelos
neckerchief and Webelos ribbon with activity badges. Cub Scouting
expanded the Webelos rank in 1977, available during the year
prior to becoming a Boy Scout. "Webelos" is the mythical
tribe to which all Cub Scouts belong and stands for "We'll
Be Loyal Scouts." The ribbon was worn
on the right sleeve of the Cub Scout uniform. The distinctive
neckerchief includes the Webelos symbol, a modified fleur-de-lis.
Source: Loaned by Jan Salber,
Lincoln
The Boy Scouts of America created a Senior Scouting program in
1935, which was renamed Exploring in 1949. Philip Kelly's Explorer
uniform is a typical forest green example from the 1950s.
It includes the Eagle Scout medal, the God and Country medal,
and the Explorer silver award medal. Kelly and seven other members
of Lincoln Troop 46 received the Eagle award on May 14, 1956.
(Key
to Kelly's merit badges)
Exploring was restructured in 1998
to encompass Venturing (high adventure and sports-based activities)
and Learning for Life (career education).
Source: 11291-46, 47, 48,
49, 60, Philip Kelly, Emporia, Kansas
"I don't know if this continues
to be a record, but eight members of Troop 46 at the Grace Methodist
Church received the Eagle award that night. . . . I have lost
contact with all of the other Eagles, but I do remember that
Mike Drake died shortly after that ceremony and his badge was
buried with him." -Philip
Kelly, 1991.
Philip Kelly received this congratulatory
letter from the chief scout executive of the Boy Scouts of
America.
Source: 11291-72, Philip
Kelly, Emporia, Kansas
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Explorer Scouts had their own manual,
this one published in 1955.
Source: 11291-1, Philip Kelly,
Emporia, Kansas.
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Nearly three thousand persons attended the first night of the
Cornhusker Council's Boy Scout and Cub Scout Merit Badge Exposition
at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on November 8-9, 1946. Seventy-three
exhibits showcased scout specialties. Popular exhibits included
a model railroad, Indian lore and handicrafts, and a demonstration
of canoe-making. An exhibit by Troop 43 showing flags, telephone
equipment, and other signaling methods can be seen in the foreground.
Source: RG2183 PH:1946-11-09:2
 
Beginning in 1931 the Cornhusker Council sponsored
a "Scout
Circus" at the University of Nebraska Coliseum to showcase
the "benefits of character-building and citizenship training."
The circus was still being held in 1950 when this photograph
of a flag
ceremony was made.
Source: Program loaned by
Russ Votava, Lincoln; RG2182 PH:1950-11-24:1
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NSHS
Home
Exhibits
Introduction
The Founders
Early
Decades
Service
and Sacrifice
William E. Green
Post-War Scouting
Philip Kelly
Honor
Societies
Camps,
Camping
"New
Look"
Scouts
Build Canoes
Pinewood
Derby
Scouting
Memorabilia
 
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