Counselors Needed for Vintage Merit Badges

It is hard to believe that just one hundred years ago, when a Scout earned the Signaling merit badge, that Scout most likely lived in a home with no telephone and probably no electricity. It was a time when there were no power tools, no Home Depots to shop, no TV, no radio, and no cell phones. Scouts of that period were very likely taught to be self-sufficient and were able to build their own furniture, which was actually used. Their neighborhoods were different, too. Everyone knew one another. There were few gas stations, and instead of mega grocery stores, there were only locally run grocery stores, pharmacies, and general stores.

One hundred years later, our world is quite different. And our council now offers four vintage merit badges to help a Scout understand how these two worlds are different but, in many ways, the same. The 2010 Historical Merit Badge program offers Signaling (introduced in 1910), Carpentry (introduced in 1911), Pathfinding (introduced in 1911), and Tracking (Stalking; introduced in 1911). Scouts of 2010 may earn these badges during 2010 using the same requirements as in 1910 and 1911. Original merit badge pamphlets may be found at www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx, along with interesting narratives about each historical merit badge and that explain the language used in 1910 and how it can be translated into today’s terms.

But like all merit badges, we must have REGISTERED merit badge counselors for these four special badges. If you feel you are qualified, or if you know a scouter who is, please contact your Scoutmaster or District Merit Badge Dean to add these badges to the approved list, so we can get the word out to the Scoutmasters quickly. These badges may only be earned between April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010.

Existing counselors can add these badges by sending in a Merit Badge Counselor Information Form which tells us the merit badges you would like to counsel and your qualifications. [pdf] [doc]