Local Scouts head to National Jamboree

SALT LAKE CITY — It was 1935 and Boy Scouts from across the country were preparing to gather in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the organization's silver anniversary.

No one showed. A polio outbreak forced the cancellation of the maiden Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree. Scouts would have to wait another two years for a Jamboree to be held on the National Mall under the shadow of the Washington Monument.

No such trouble is expected this Monday, as more than 45,000 Scouts and their leaders will gather for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. The event will mark Scouting's 100th birthday.

Counted among this year's jamboreers will be more than 1,000 Utah Scouts and scores of their leaders. Rick Barnes, CEO of the BSA's Great Salt Lake Council, said Scouting's 17th National Jamboree will again be a memorable opportunity for young men from diverse races, locales and religious backgrounds to spend a week together in muggy Fort A.P. Hill, making new friends and memories.

"The National Jamboree becomes a great brotherhood where we all share in the Scout Law and Scout Oath together," he said.

The 2010 National Scout Jamboree will be marked by 10 days of Scout-related fun and adventure. Beyond the fellowshipping, participants will swap Scout patches (a revered Jamboree tradition), participate in massive arena shows, work on merit badges at the site's merit badge alley and enjoy a variety of outdoor events including archery, shot gun shooting, obstacle courses and aquatic activities.

Several Utahns will also be staffing exhibits and merit badge tents. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will host a large display and sponsor the Genealogy and Family Life merit badges tents.

"(Sabbath) Church services for each of the different faiths is also a Jamboree tradition," said Barnes.

Elder Robert D. Hales of the LDS Church Quorum of the Twelve is expected to preside at an outdoor Aug. 1 sacrament meeting for the more than 5,000 Mormon Scouts expected to attend the Jamboree.

Barnes said the National Jamboree will function as an apt celebration of Scouting's first 100 years. "It's a great reminder of the legacy of the Boy Scouts of America in our country."

Some 115 million Americans have been registered as Scouts since the first troop was organized in 1910.

Utah Scouts not at Fort A.P. Hill this week will still have an opportunity to experience the spirit of the National Jamboree. The event's July 31 centennial celebration show "A Shining Light Across America," will be broadcast at the Rio Tinto Stadium, at 5:30 p.m. A ticket to the evening's Real Salt Lake soccer game vs. D.C. United will get Scouts into the closed-circuit broadcast.

e-mail: jswensen@desnews.com