10 Things About The Boy Scouts You Didn’t Know

Southern West Virginia recently got some great news for anyone planning a visit with kids:  The Boy Scouts of America are going to be building their newest High Adventure Base Camp right here in the mountains.

We’re all really excited to have the scouts come and explore the New River Gorge, and make it their new home.

How much do you know about the Boy Scouts?

-The Scouts were incorporated February 1910 in the District of Columbia (Hey, that’s exactly 100 years ago!)  The first annual meeting was held at the White House.

-Scouts go to space.  179 astronauts were in the scouts, and 39 of those were Eagle Scouts.

-With the new facility here in West Virginia, there will be a total of 4 High Adventure Bases in the United States.  Last year, more than 1 million scouts visited the first 3 Bases.

-The scouts have a (kind of) secret handshake.  In 1923, the left handclasp was adopted as a good way to say Hi.

-The Boy Scouts  were recruited in both world war I and II to by the U.S. Government to help with the war effort.  They helped with selling war bonds, and driving fuel and food conservation projects.

-The scouts are on their own stamp.  The first one was issued in 1950 and was worth 20 cents.  Today, it’s worth double that (though there’s probably a lot more sentimental value).

-The first female scouts joined the Explorers program in 1969.

-The 100 millionth youth member joined the scouts in 2000.  It was a kid named Mario Castro, a 12 year old Mexican immigrant from Brooklyn.

-The National Scout Jamboree is a gathering of tens of thousands of scouts from all over the country every three to five years.  It used to be held at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia (last one at this location being held July 2010).  From now on, they’ll be… you guessed it… here in southern West Virginia.

-There are almost 3 million scouts and more than 1 million scout volunteers active today.