Exhibit to Showcase History of Boy Scouts
By Karen Magradey
One of the highlights of Boy Scout life is the skills learned at camp. Among numerous photographs and artifacts in the South Carolina State Museum’s new exhibit is this shot of Scouts learning archery at camp. (Photo courtesy Boy Scouts of America/S.C. State Museum)
The Boy Scouts of America turns 100 years old this year, and the South Carolina State Museum will help celebrate that illustrious mark with the exhibit The Centennial History of the Boy Scouts of America, which opens Jan. 29.
The exhibit, to be seen in the museum’s lobby, will feature photographs and artifacts which illustrate the organization’s progress and the contributions it has made to communities all across South Carolina.
“Many influential leaders learned positive, community-building skills and traits from their experience in Boy Scouts,” said Chief Curator of History Fritz Hamer. “The list is long, and includes presidents, industrialists, philanthropists, sports coaches, scientists and astronauts, among many others.”
Museum guests will see approximately 20 historic photographs, which will include Camp Barstow, which was originally established in 1930 on the site of what is now Fort Jackson.
Among the more than two dozen artifacts are an early Boy Scout uniform c. 1915; a scout pack with an image of mountains painted on it from c. 1937; and, of course, one of the organization’s most recognizable icons, the Boy Scout knife.
The South Carolina State Museum’s new exhibit, The Centennial History of the Boy Scouts of America, features both historic and modern artifacts and photographs of the organization, such as this photo of Scouts collecting for Hurricane Katrina relief. (Photo courtesy Boy Scouts of America/S.C. State Museum)
“The exhibit also will include information on the Order of the Arrow, an elite group within scouting, a history of scouting in South Carolina and on some of the earliest councils, and information about early scout executive Bill Czarnizki, who was instrumental to the organization of the Midlands Council (now the Indian Waters Council) in its formative years,” said Hamer.
In addition, visitors will get a look at contributions that scouting has made to South Carolina communities over the years, from scrap and bond drives in World War II to raising money for New Orleans refugees in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“I hope people will get an idea of the scope of scouting over the last century, its positive influence on boys and how it has contributed to the state in many ways,” said the curator.
The Centennial History of the Boy Scouts of America is presented in conjunction with the scouts of South Carolina, particularly the Indian Waters Council, which operates in the Midlands.
The exhibit can be seen through June 20.
For more information on the exhibit, contact Fritz Hamer at (803) 898-4921 or visit www.southcarolinastatemuseum.org.
