Weatherford Democrat
WEATHERFORD — Judy Sheridan
jsheridan@weatherforddemocrat.com
Values, leadership, challenge, adventure ... Boy Scouts of America celebrates its centennial this year, and troops in Parker County and across the nation are celebrating with activities and events designed to educate and engage the Scouting “family” as well as the general public.
At the Doss Heritage and Culture Center in Weatherford, Darrel Clark and other adult volunteers involved in Scouting have worked with Exhibits Coordinator C.B. Williams to create a display which will guide visitors along the trail of the program’s remarkable history. It is one that includes camp craft and pioneering projects as well as a sampler of the many different programs within Scouting, such as the Order of the Arrow, Venture Scouts and Sea Scouts.
Visitors enter through a tall, rustic wood gateway decked with colorful bandanas and boots and constructed to look similar to those found at the entrance to many Boy Scout camps. Explorers can test their knowledge of camping practices by examining a mock campsite for safety glitches or marvel at the precarious functionality of a “monkey bridge” made of ropes.
The select mix of memorabilia also includes a campfire cape emblazoned with badges from Boy Scout troops in 69 countries, uniforms dating back to 1913 from the Worth Ranch Museum, and a 1930s-era Braille Boy Scout manual, perhaps the most unusual item in the display.
“The collection is eclectic, and a lot of us learned a lot of things we didn’t know,” Clark, initiator of the exhibit, said, “but we are very pleased with the result.”
On Feb. 8, the day Boy Scouts was incorporated in America, exhibitors staged a movie night with Boy Scout films and newsreels from the 1930s and 1940s.
The exhibit was rushed to completion in time to celebrate Scout Sunday on the first Sunday in February, but was available even earlier to accommodate hundreds of scouts who attended an annual merit badge college at Weatherford College in January.
Officially, the exhibit opened Feb. 4 at a reception featuring former Speaker of the House Jim Wright. Wright, a long time Parker County resident, was the first Scoutmaster of Weatherford Troop 76.
Boy Scouts who visit the exhibit in uniform will receive a special badge with the windmill logo that represents the Doss Heritage and Culture Center. The display continues through March 6.
