What do the following people have in common?

 Gerald R. Ford Jr., 38th President of the United States

Neil Armstrong, Astronaut & First Man On The Moon

Michael Bloomberg, former NYC mayor

Harrison Ford, Actor

Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft

Jim Morrison, Rock Legend

Nolan Ryan, Pro Baseball Player

Steven Spielberg, Film Director/Producer

Sir Paul McCartney, Songwriter and Musician

 They all were part of Scouting!!

                    Scouting's history goes back to the turn of the 20th century to a British Army officer, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell.  Since he felt his men lacked the basic outdoor skills, he wrote a book called “aid to scouting”.    Baden-Powell witnessed young boys playing the game "scouts". In response, he wrote“scouting for boys”;hence,  the development of boy scouts in England.

                Forward a few years, an American businessman and publisher, William D. Boyce, experienced first hand the strength, values, and good deeds boy scouts perform. He was groping his way through the fog when a boy appeared and offered to take him to his destination. When they arrived, Boyce tried to tip the boy, but the boy refused and courteously explained that he was a Scout and could not accept payment for a Good Turn. Boyce learned more about Scouting, met with Baden-Powell, and became captured by the idea of Scouting. Boyce returned to the United States, and on February 8, 1910, Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.  The "unknown Scout" who helped him in the fog was never heard from again, but he will never be forgotten. His Good Turn is what brought Scouting to our country.

          The Inception of Cub Scouting

        Back in England, younger boys were eager to become Boy Scouts. In 1914, Baden-Powell began implementing a program for younger boys that was based on Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book. In America, hundreds of Cub Scout-age boys and their families were clamoring for a program of their own. It wasn’t until 1930 that Cub Scouting was formally launched in the United States. 

       Cub Scouting is centered in the home and neighborhood. With the encouragement of family and leaders, boys enjoy a program that covers a wide variety of interesting things. These activities are particularly suited to boys of Cub Scout age and are different from those they will encounter in Boy Scouting.

            A strong influence from Kipling's Jungle Book remains today. The terms "Law of the Pack," "Akela," "Wolf Cub," "grand howl," "den," and "pack" all come from the Jungle Book. At the same time, the Gold and Silver Arrow Points, Webelos emblem, and Arrow of Light emblem are taken from our American Indian heritage.