The Huntsville Item, Huntsville, TX

Local News

Discussion

February 4, 2010

Activities set to celebrate Boy Scouts anniversary

By Will Oliver

The Huntsville Boy Scouts kick off two days of events Saturday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America.

The Huntsville Scouts have scheduled a variety of activities Saturday and will have the grand opening of the 100 Years of Boy Scout Memorabilia Exhibit in the Walker Education Center on 19th Street at 6 p.m. Monday — the 100th birthday of Scouting in the United States

Huntsville residents are invited to share in this biggest of birthday parties.

Huntsville Boy Scouts came into existence in 1909 and the Boy Scouts of America followed on Feb. 8, 1910.

A Boy Scout parade will open the celebration at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The Boy Scouts will proceed from the First United Methodist Church at the corner of 11th Street and Sam Houston Avenue south on Sam Houston to the Josey Boy Scout Lodge.

There will be a variety of old cars and fire trucks in the parade and Mayor J. Turner will be in the lead fire truck.

Boy Scout Troops, 97, 98 and 114 will be marching along with Venturing Crew 99 and Cub Scout Packs 96 and 98.

After arriving at the Josey Boy Scout Lodge, at 10 a.m. there will be a rededication of the Lodge, honoring its 75 years of service to the Boy Scouts of Huntsville.

Following the flag ceremony, there will be a number of guest speakers, including U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, Mayor J. Turner, Councilman Mac Woodward, and Kay Mitchell, chair of the Josey Board.

The Scouts will also acknowledge Robert A. Josey and his original dedication speech, which will be followed by an invitation to the fun and games planned immediately following the rededication and running until 3 p.m.

The Boy Scouts invite the public to Josey Park to visit the Josey Boy Scout Lodge and tour the building.

There will be a geocache course, a monkey bridge, tomahawks to throw, a climbing wall sponsored by the Sam Houston State University ROTC, an old ambulance, rides in the old fire trucks, an old-fashioned campsite, a survival demonstration, box hockey, the Texas Army, wilderness survival display, Mr. G’s crazy animals, bottle rockets, the HEARTS Veterans Museum of Texas, Dutch oven cooking, rope making, face painting, a rain gutter regatta race, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens, Texas Forest Service, hot air balloons, and silk screening of T-shirts.

Also available for a small fee are commemorative patches honoring the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts and the 75th anniversary of the Josey Boy Scout Lodge.

In addition, the same design of the patch will be silk screened onto T-shirts, and T-shirts may be purchased on site for a nominal fee and refreshments will be for sale.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, a 100th anniversary celebration banquet will be held in the Sam Houston State University Ballroom and the event is a sellout with 350 people expected to attend.

The event will include a buffet dinner, three birthday cakes, four guest speakers and the awarding of the Josey Award to a Boy Scout.

Guest speakers include Eagle Scouts Mac Woodward, his son Wilbourn Woodward, Samuel Unge and Stephen Rosenberger.

They are among Eagle Scouts included in a wall display of the memorabilia exhibit at the Walker center.

The exhibit opens at 6 p.m. Monday with a grand opening ceremony and continues through Feb. 28 in the Exhibit Gallery.

For more information, contact committee chair Will Oliver at (936) 294-4173 or woliver@shsu.edu

Text Only
Local News