Last night we were hit with a half-dozen or so of spoof eBay e-mails titled:  Payment request from

We recorded a payment request from “eBay” to enable the charge of $666.10 on your account.

The payment is pending for the moment.

If you made this transaction or if you just authorize this payment, please ignore or remove this email message. The transaction will be shown on your monthly statement as “eBay”.

If you didn’t make this payment and would like to decline it, please download and install the transaction inspector module (attached to this letter).

These are a scam. DO NOT DOWNLOAD and INSTALL the “transaction inspector module.” We forward these e-mails to spoof@ebay.com so they can track them down and stop it.

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Last week I was at my Scout office for a meeting and stopped by the trading post. They have the new boy rank patches out commerating the 100th anniversary year of the BSA. I think these are neat but the quality control is poor. There are at least three major varieties in this group alone. Some appear to have been made by the BSA. Others have ‘Made in China’ stickers on the back. The latter is a separate sore point but we’ll leave that for another blog. Anyway, variety collectors are going to have a field day figuring these out. I’m told there’s an Eagle patch as well but I’ve not seen it. I’ve also been told that Scout shops are to have returned their inventory of the regular items so as to be replaced with these 2010 pieces.

Then Destry and I went to the Indy TOR this past weekend. Their hospitality was great as always (except for the 9″ of snow.) Several councils now have out 2010 patches. That got me asking around how many items do you think we’ll have for the 100th anniversary? By “items” I mean regular issue pieces - CSPs, JSPs, OA items. I’m figuring it will be up to 5,000. Could be more. And this is not counting camp and camporee items or Jamboree staff items. One could spend a lifetime just to collect this year. Also, I was hearing quotes for “rare, limited edition” varieties at huge prices. Councils and lodges could kill a good thing. If you know of some egregious abuses, please pass on the comment. Thanks.

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Sort of in a punchy mood from sleep deprivation and patch overload. Just received several consignments of all different types of items. Now we measure them by the hand truck load. We’ll have items on our preview page but I’m blogging here first because even for us this will take a day or two to work up. Collectors, and non-collectors, often ask where we get so many different patches. And that is part of the answer. We’ve been the largest dealer of Scouting memorabilia for nearly two decades. At TORs other dealers come to us for information and pricing data. We ‘pay for ourselves’ because we know what we’re looking at, how to describe it and who might be interested in it. Also, having our own office, warehouse, and all that goes with it (such as full dealer insurance covering consignments), we like to think we’re the place to handle significant Boy Scout collections.

New Scout Patch Auction consignments

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Heard from the folks at Scouts on Stamps Society International (SOSSI) that the design for the Celebrate Scouting Stamp will be unveiled November 12, 2009 at the Smithsonian Postal Museum. We’ll get it posted here after its released. I figured, and am glad, that this is in progress for Scouting’s 100th anniversary in this country.

New Scouting stamp

Frankly, now that the design is out my first reaction is - this is pathetic. Have we become so “politically correct” in this country that we can not salute the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America? The above stamp design does not give me the sense of recognition of this achievement. Here’s the link to the formal press release from the USPS.

There is nothing on the stamp that says we’re celebrating Scouting. There is nothing on the stamp that says we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the BSA. There’s nothing on the stamp that talks about the contributions of Scouting to this country. The BSA professional leadership is doing a ‘make nice’, IMHO, but if they’re satisfied with this, then I hope the Executive Board pulls them aside and replaces them. I can’t quite get to the point that this is a slap in the face but that’s the first thought that comes to mind. I’ll see if I can post what has been done in the past when we got some respect.

The first day of issue will be at the 2010 Jamboree. Forget about it.

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From Kurt Hansen out of Wisconsin. Tony was one of the mainstays of Wisconsin collectors. He was a regular at the US Grant Pilgrimages and Calumet TOR as well as Milwaukee and Tichora TORs. He will be missed.

Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness that I write to let you know that our friend Tony
Lazewski has passed away. Tony was diagnosed with brain cancer last year and
underwent treatment. Unfortunately, it recurred this summer. He died
peacefully at Hospice with his family at his bedside.

Tony’s contribution to Scouting (despite having two daughters) was great. He
worked with a local troop for many years. He served as the Lodge Advisor for
Tichora Lodge for 8 years and was a key advisor when Chemokomen and Tichora
Lodges merged to form Takoda. He was, of course, a Silver Beaver recipient.

Tony was born in Antigo, Wisconsin, and grew up in Samoset Council and Tom
Kita Chara Lodge. He was an Eagle Scout and camp staffer at Camp Tesomas in
his youth. He attended 48 consecutive Fall Conferences for Tom Kita Chara
Lodge only missing his first one this year when he was too ill to travel. He
also loved the OA Section conclaves and attended enumerable of those
conferences.

Tony was an avid Scout historian and patch collector. He started collecting
patches in 1960. His knowledge of Scouting and Scout camps in Wisconsin was
unsurpassed. He was always willing to share his knowledge and was the OA
editor for the Scouting Collectors Quarterly. He researched and co-authored
“The First 90 Years”, the history of Four Lakes Council with myself and
others.

Although we all remember Tony as a Scouter and patch collector, his family
always came first. He was a terrific husband, father, and son. He leaves
behind his wife Barbara, daughters Lisa and Laura, and father Barnie.

His daughter sent out the information below about his funeral. If you can’t
attend I know that his family would enjoy hearing from you, and I have
included their address as well. I find myself in Europe at this sad time and
do not anticipate making it back in time for the funeral. Tony and I spent
countless hours together talking patches during the past decade and
especially during the last year. The personal loss that I feel is more than
I can express here. He was a close friend and I already miss him.

Kurt

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I’ve been meaning to post this for a while. I’ve confirmed that Gary Gole of the Central Region and Kelly Williams, James Arriola, and Steve Gaines of the Western Region will be awarded the Silver Antelope at the upcoming BSA National Meeting. Congratulations to all! Some times collectors have taken a “bad rap” within Scouting. Some times there have been some bad experiences but the vast majority of collectors are passionate about their collecting but are also passionate and active in Scouting.

Gary goes back to the Dave Leubitz days, see earlier blogs, of Ohio/Region 4 collectors that actively traveled the country in pursuit of their hobby. But, Gary’s being recognized for his service within and outside of the Order of the Arrow on a Section and Area basis. He has served on National Jamboree staffs and other national and regional events.

Kelly came out of California and served as Lodge and Section advisor. He moved his business to Colorado, an early adopter of leaving California taxes and regulations to Californians. He served as Council President for Pike’s Peak Council and still serves on its Board as VP of Endowment. He serves on the Regional Commitee as an Area Vice President.

James was a former Section Chief and has served on the various OA committees. He is currently the Curator at the Las Vegas International Scouting Museum.

I don’t know much of Steve’s background but I worked with him at the 2006 NOAC where he was in charge of the Museum exhibit, one of the most popular programs at NOAC.

Again, congratulations to these men. I’ll have to get pictures up here for all. One nice thing I’m hearing is that the regional luncheons are being split over two days. Historically all four were on the same day. That made it hard to get to see one’s friends from different regions who were receiving awards. This will be a little bit easier but then again, BSA has schedule the meeting going into Memorial Day weekend and I can’t miss the Calumet Council TOR (see our calendar for time and location).

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Just got this note from Al Hoogeveen that Bob Sleeper died recently. Bob was at the Dallas TOR and was a long time, active collector of CSPs.

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We just had a visitor in that passed on some interesting “news.” I’m calling it that until I get confirmation. It seems incredibly dumb but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. The news is that after 2010 the next jamboree is now set for 2015. The reason for the change either from 2014 or even 2013 that I’ve heard was the Scouts’ need for a new jamboree site. The reason this is dumb is that’s the 100th anniversary of the OA.

The short list of sites are ending up with a target location of the mid-Atlantic region. This makes a lot of sense. It is closest to the population centers. There will remain the substantial side tour potentials that don’t exist in other parts of the country. That is, contingents can plan tours to Civil War battlegrounds, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, historical sites in New York and the New England area, sites in Virginia. The list goes on and on. There had been some speculation that the new jamboree site could be in Texas. I’m sure the state has land and that the Scouts have benefactors to support it but it would be out of the way. But, as one Scout Exec. from Houston pointed out to me at a Philmont training session, “Who wants to camp in Texas in the summer?”

Anyone else able to refute this news or confirm? Inquiring minds want to know.

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We heard from Ray Czech that Dave Leubitz passed away the morning of September 9th.

Here’s Dave at the 1993 Rochester, IN TOR. This was after he sold his collection. The storage boxes next to him contain approximately 150 patches each and there are over 100 of them. These were just his DUPES!

I first met, and traded with, Dave at the 1973 Jamboree. It was a one for one CSP trade. I was just amazed at a guy having a suitcase crammed full of patches on both sides. Later, after being out of collecting for a while, I ran into Dave at a Pittsburgh TOR. He had a lodge 206 issue I needed and we again traded one-for-one from my dupes. I’m sure what he got from me was a dupe for him, a 101 blue twill flap, but he made a trade to help me out.

Most collectors never knew the breadth of Dave’s collecting. He collected everything Scouting related. In part it was to have trading stock so if a cross trade need came up he could cover but it was also just how passionate he was for Scouting memorabilia. Most know of the OA but he also had CSPs, RWS, merit badges, merit badge books, handbooks, national jamborees, world jamborees, insignia, camps (and not just one per camp but every camp patch). His mind for patches was incredible. Having tens of thousands of patches in his collection he could remember what he needed as to what he already had.

Dave told me once that he and his trading friend, Tom Baskay, hit 13 weekends in a row going to TORs or conclaves to trade. He brought along many of the Ohio patch gang like Warren Kuhfeld, Ray Czech and Gary Gold. It was not uncommon for Dave to call them up and say “Lets go to a TOR this weekend.” They’d say, “Sure. Where?” And Dave would reply, “Florida.” Fourteen hours later, after stopping at every council headquarters possible getting what ever that could be gotten to trade, they’d be set-up their patch blankets and trade away all weekend long. Dave created many new collectors as he shared his passion.

I called Paul Myers to pass on the news of Dave’s passing. We discussed some of the contributions he made to the hobby. He was an editor of the Trader magazine. Certainly at the time, it was the most influential hobbyist newsletter. Actually some think we probably need something like that again even in the age of e-mail and the internet. Dave also resurrected Forest Reynold’s Blue Book of OA issues. This listed what issues lodges had but we only had the detail of twill (F) vs. solid (S) flaps or odd-shapes, pies and arrowheads. We didn’t have the detail as to border color, edge, background, etc.. Still it was better than anything else out there. Later it was Dave’s collection that was the basis for Arapaho II that Al Hoogeveen compiled. This was the OA images before there was oaimages.com. EVERY serious collector had a copy of Arapaho II just to be able to identify issues and know what you had. If it wasn’t for Dave’s collection, we wouldn’t have had the book that moved this hobby to a whole new level.

We handled the sale of Dave’s collection after he made his original transaction with Dr. Horne and Bill Topkis. Dr. Morley at the time observed that he thought Dave had the best middle-issue collection ever put together. It still took us years to work through its sale given its size. Just amazing. Its probably fair to say that most collections these days have a piece that came through Dave’s hand.

Dave’s later years were very hard. He commented how his father passed away at an early age, 52 I believe. This, combined with very bad health side effects due to diabetes, lead to a certain fatalistic view. It was sad. He’s hopefully in a better place now. I miss him.

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