Item Didn’t Get Missed Department – Philmont version

Posted on May 13th, 2013 in Hobby Trends,Philmont by ramore

From time to time in our eBay searches we see an item and wonder if collectors will pick up on it. One such item surfaced in the spring, a vintage Philmont Ranger back pack with the bear claw patch still on it. Really is one of the trick items in Philmont collecting. Very few are in collectors’ hands.

Well it did get found as it closed at $3,627. Probably not the highest price the item could bring but very respectable for something just tossed out there wondering if two someones would catch it. I’m sure its got a good home now.

 

Of Camp Patches and Demographics

Posted on May 7th, 2013 in Camps,Hobby Trends by ramore

Texas friend Roger S., knowing I like vintage camp patches, shared a link for a felt 1946 Camp Lowden patch from Blackhawk Area Council listed on eBay.

Its being offered at $9.99 by a knowledgeable seller. It might go for that. It might get into the $25 range. It won’t get into the $100 range. Why? Here’s what I told Roger:

this is an example where the council was much larger and active in the 1940s than in the 2010s. TX is the reverse- 1940s TX was a MUCH smaller place. So camp patches from there are much scarcer to begin with and more natural demand today. Other places like this are Washington, DC, California and the Pacific Northwest. Conversely NY is relatively flat from a camp patch perspective even though there is a lot of population there, Scouting was so active in the early years that the patches are available even if scarce.

Demographics come into play in many areas of Scouting collectibles. This is one of them. There are others.

For more on Demographics and collecting see 50′s is the new 30′s where I observe

We will be collectors for much longer than we might realize. We will have a much longer period to pursue our hobbies. We will have more extended retirement period than our parents or grandparents and thus more free time to pursue our hobbies.

Wonderful Broad Creek Camp Patch Reference site

Posted on February 24th, 2013 in Camps,Hobby Trends by ramore

Camp Broad Creek 1969 neckerchief slideOur hobby is naturally a social hobby. We enjoy getting together and sharing our collections, meeting with others that have our crazy obsession, learning about what we did not know, making new discoveries, making new finds. So its natural that we build a community using the social media tools out there.

These thoughts come to mind as collector Shaun Woolmer posted on the Facebook group page Scout Patch Collectors a picture of his Baltimore Area Council Broad Creek camp patch collection. I thanked him for sharing but also asked him about close-ups of some of the patches and a question about one of the segments. Collector Dave Scocca then posted a link to his web-site where he gives close-ups and pictures of the patches. This all happened in less than a day. In the era of mail trading, if this occurred it would have taken weeks and likely would not have occurred as we would not have had digital pictures or even good copiers.

It starts with the passion of a collector. That collector building and displaying his collection and now its easier than ever before to share that. That builds our knowledge. That builds our fellowship. That builds our hobby. All of which speak well to our hobby’s future.

 

Collectibles Crazes That Were A Waste of Money

Posted on December 27th, 2012 in Hobby Trends by ramore

A business news syndication website, Business Insider, has an interesting article on collectibles crazes that were a waste of money. On their list are things like:

Beanie Babies

Baseball Cards

Hummel Figurines

Animation Art cells

Fortunately Scout patches are not on this list although I’ve previously written about being near a tipping point. I’ve long contended that Scouting memorabilia is a solid collectible because the items were made to be used as part of the program. The more our collectibles become like these, mass-produced, fad-based the less they will be collectibles. Read the above links for the epitaphs, and wasted money, on what were once “hot” collectibles. I was going to write “Lets hope this doesn’t happen to Scout patches.” Well it has happened but what this means, like the discussion in baseball cards above, there was a period where our patches were true collectibles and those will be the ones in the future most likely to hold value.

 

Remembrances from Camp Tulakes

Posted on December 7th, 2012 in BSA Info,Camps by ramore

Several years ago I blogged about the now California Inland Empire Council Camp Tulakes. A Scouter shared recently some of his memories of that camp and Scouting in CA from the 1940s. Enjoy! I did.

 

Hi Roy

You are bringing back a lot of good memories to this 79 year old ex-scout.

I was a member of troop 12 at first.  There was a log cabin type building constructed at the rear of Washington elementary School (located on San Antonio Ave. in Pomona).  It was strictly for our scout meetings.  We were sponsored by the local VFW.  Our scoutmaster at the time was “Uncle Earl” Lawliss and we would practice camping at the rear of his apple orchard on Garey Street in South Pomona..

The day WW II ended we troop 12 scouts (in our uniforms) rode in the back of a one ton open truck and put up all the American flags (hundreds) all along second street in downtown Pomona.  I remember the flags at that time were each mounted on a (6 ft?) wooden pole which would be stuck in a small hole in the sidewalk spaced about 10 feet apart.   It was a crazy day with people yelling, kissing and going totally bananas.  Every time one of us would hop out of the truck with an American flag the place would erupt with cheers.  It was really something to remember for a 12-13 year old kid.

We were definitely  part of “Old Baldy Council” which, if I remember correctly, had its offices on San Jose St. in Claremont.

The second troop I belonged to was troop 14 located at and sponsored by the Church of Christ Church on Garey Avenue and 7th St. near what was then Fremont Jr. High School.
Also part of the same “Old  Baldy” Council.

In regards to Camp Tulakes here is what I think I remember.  I think I was there for 2 weeks each year I went, but it might have been just a week

We were divided into small “patrol” sized groups of perhaps 10 or so and each group located their own campsite out on the perimeter of the main part of the camp and we set it up with “army cots” grouped together under the trees and the stars.  We were encouraged to make our campsite neat and tidy.  I remember outlining the area with rocks, sweeping the pine needles, etc.  We got judged for the best looking campsite.  I don’t remember what the award was.

There was what I would call a “chow hall” building in the main camp for hot meals and I seem to remember the food was pretty good Their were daily organized  activities.  I do remember swimming and canoeing at the lake.  And I have a hazy memory of some kind of a treausre hunt kind of activiy where we had to use our compass and go out in the woods and find things.

During each 1 or 2 week stay two days were reserved for the big hike.  We hiked up to “Dollar Lake” where we all spent the night and those that felt up to it went on to the top of “Old Greyback” the next morning.

The reason I remember the girl scout camp being something other than “Tulakes”  because every evening at the big campfire at an exact scheduled time we would all together yell something like “hello camp gummygatchy”, then listen quitely to hear “hello camp tulakes” coming back at us from the distance through the forest.

I also remember the ghost stories the camp leaders would tell at the campfire.  Afterward we had to walk with our flashlights through the dark woods to our own camp site.  I remember it being really scary in the dark.   Ghosts behind every tree! :)

Another thing I recall was, while it was strictly “against the rules”, some of the boys after dark would sneak over to the girl scout camp and creep up on a tent and make nnoises to scare the girls just to hear them scream..

Hey, boys will be boys!  :)

My scout experiences were a wonderful time in my life that I value to this day!  I think we all learned a lot toward helping us become independent self relient responsable citizens.

Still have a real soft spot toward the BSA.

It is a shame so many parents today don’t understand the value of having their boys belong.

Phil

Southern New Jersey Council merging into Burlington

Posted on November 24th, 2012 in BSA Info,Hobby News,OA,Shoulder Wear by ramore

From long time collector Ted Packer, also former Council President for Burlington County Council:

Southern New Jersey council has merged into Burlington County Council. The vote by both councils was on the 19th. It will be effective on 1/1/2013. We will be choosing a new name in the near future & the OA Lodges will be combining by the end of 2013.

Walter Head Acorn Award Info circa 1936

Posted on October 24th, 2012 in BSA Info,Insignia by ramore

Boy Scout Walter Head Acorn Award Pin

From time to time we get one of these pins in from the 1930s. This is the called the President Walter Head Acorn Award named after the BSA National President of the time.

 

Membership recruitment programs are not new to Scouts. We have been doing them since the founding. Although the pin pops up from time to time, what does not turn up is the documentation about the program. Until a recent estate. Here’s the cover of the brochure explaining the program. The name of the award is about turning an acorn into a might oak. Or for Scouts developing our youth into leading citizens. Neat piece of nostalgia.

 

Here’s the back page showing the requirements for the pin.

 

Here’s the inside back showing the requirement for the troop plaque. I’ve had a few of these. They’re not really collected but again a nice piece of history.

Special Vintage NJ Pieces Can Bring Special Prices

Posted on October 1st, 2012 in Jamborees by ramore

We just auctioned off an interesting 1937 National Jamboree poster. Why we’re bringing attention to it is that here we have a legitimate, vintage piece of nostalgia that tells a story that got respected by the hobby based upon the price realized. By “vintage nostalgia”, I mean it was not a manufactured rarity like most modern Jamboree items. It was not made to be collected. It was probably used in council offices to promote the jamboree. The pictures show CSE James West, members of the National Executive Board, multi-racial groups of workers helping to build the site and more.

Its now 75 years old. That it has even survived is pretty amazing. It may be one of the only known examples left to survive.

From our description:

National Jamboree 1937 Building Site Poster First one of these we’ve ever seen, really a fantastic piece. Measures about 24×30 inches. In really solid shape, has some wear at the creases but is still all in once piece. Needs to be framed and preserved, Gives all kinds of information about the build

Price realized: $761.

Some close-ups:

We’ve come a long away – Region 7 circa 1939

Posted on September 28th, 2012 in BSA Info,Regions by ramore
Recently got an estate from a former pro’s son. Amongst his items was the Region 7 1940 Annual Meeting report covering 1939. Thought you might enjoy it. The image links to a PDF of the full-report.
Some things that caught my eye:
- It was the year Scenic Trails was organized.
- Region 7 was the largest region with 166,397 Scouts and Cubs.
- 19 councils in the region had boy membership > 2,000 including: Detroit, Battle Creek (next in size in MI), Tall Pine, Grand Valley, Berrien-Cass, Chief Okemos. (Think how things have changed in 70 years. Think how much they will change in the next 70).
- Detroit had 5 Sea Scout ships. Clinton Valley – 6, Berrien-Cass – 10.
- Michigan had a council called “Copper Country”
- Arthur Schuck was Regional Director. He went on to be Chief Scout Executive.
There’s also nice information about the other regions and information on the other three states that make up Region 7.

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