WRITE TEAM: The ‘Boy Scout Handbook’

Book suggesting that a boy can just by himself do noble things really spoke to me

Sometime back I tried to come up with the Top 10 books that have influenced my life. Try this sometime. You might just be surprised.

I thought about it hard and I realized that one of these major book influencers was the “Boy Scout Handbook!” I was a Boy Scout of course. But the scout handbook that mattered most was published way back in 1945!

This was my dad’s copy of the Boy Scout Handbook. His parents farmed outside of Wenona, and during weekend visits to the farm, I ran into the book. It was immediately fascinating, with its Norman Rockwell cover.

Beautiful line drawings by Enos Comstock illustrated the book. His spidery black ink lines showed scouts being VERY active and doing all kinds of adventures. Heck yeah!

The book begins with “The Scouting Trail,” a short poem by Berton Braley.

“This is the trail that the Scout shall know

Where knightly qualities thrive and grow

The trail of honor and truth and worth

And the strength that springs from the good brown earth.

The trail that Scouts, in the seeking blaze,

Through the toughest tangle, the deepest maze,

Till out of Boyhood the Scout comes straight

To Manhood’s splendid and high estate!”

In the Handbook, you learn about ropes and knots, practical first aid, cooking, camping, map skills, healthy exercise, personal health and hygiene. You learn all kinds of handicraft, even how to make your own archery bow.

You learn about the greatness of our country’s history and its ideals. You find out about trees and tree repair, different kinds of natural lands and their plants and animals, soil and water conservation, the constellations in the sky.

Most importantly, you find out about the Scout Oath: “On my honor, I will do my best: to do my duty to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

And the Scout Law. “A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.”

The high-minded text suggesting that a boy can just by himself do noble things really spoke to me and made a deep impression.

Boys take strongly to heroic, idealistic accomplishment. This is a secret known to Baden Powell, the founder of scouting. He knew that for a span of just a few years before adulthood, boys could be inspired to achieve great good things and could follow a path toward being a strong adult.

The 1945 edition of the Scout Handbook was my father’s scout handbook. The son of a farmer, he didn’t last too long in the organization. It was just too tough for a farm kid to get to town for the weekly meetings. He also was just beginning his lifelong, deep love of the sport and science of baseball.

I became a scout due to this edition. I was motivated to become a scout because of the great idealism that this old edition of the Boy Scout Handbook evokes. And because of the great outdoor adventuring. It’s a thin and indefinite word – empowering – and I never know what to make of it when I hear it and I try to figure out from the context what the speaker means ... but to me, scouting was empowering. I could stand on my own two feet, make my own decisions and become confident that I can do a fantastic range of things.

The man who brought scouting to America was W. D. Boyce of Ottawa. There’s a fine monument to his memory in Ottawa Avenue Cemetery, which is located at the end of Boyce Memorial Drive in Ottawa. My scout background moved me to advance the idea of doing a long street tree planting along Boyce Drive as part of the scout centennial in 2010. It’s nice to see them grow.

I like to think it’s my scout background that made me not hesitate to help a policeman pull an unconscious woman from her smoking, burning house late one night. And be a community volunteer. And even help move me to simple courtesies such as opening doors for ladies.

• Todd Volker lives in Ottawa with his wife and son, and they enjoy reading, kayaking, hiking, tennis and camping. He’s a lifelong learner with books in his hands. He can be reached at tsloup@shawmedia.com.