The Story Of A Good Turn: How Scouting Started in the United Stated
One day in 1909 in London, England, An American Visitor, William D. Boyce,
lost his way in a dense fog. He stopped under a street lamp and tried to
figure out where he was. A boy approached him and asked if he could be of
help.
"You certainly can," said Boyce. He told the boy that he wanted
to find a certain business office in the center of the city.
"I'll take you there," said the boy.
When they got to the destination, Mr. Boyce reached into his pocket for
a tip. But the boy stopped him.
"No thank you, sir. I am a Scout. I won't take anything for helping."
"A Scout? And what might that be?" asked Boyce.
The boy told the American about himself and about his brother scouts. Boyce
became very interested. After finishing his errand, he had the boy take
him to the British Scouting office.
At the office, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the famous British general
who had founded the Scouting movement in Great Britain. Boyce was so impressed
with what he learned that he decided to bring Scouting home with him.
On February 8, 1910, Boyce and a group of outstanding leaders founded the
Boy Scouts of America. From that day forth, Scouts have celebrated February
8th as the birthday of Scouting in the United States.
What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his way in the fog? No
one knows. He had neither asked for money nor given his name, but he will
never be forgotten. His Good Turn helped bring the scouting movement to
our country.
In the British Scout Training Center at Gilwell Park, England, Scouts from
the United States erected a statue of an American Buffalo in honor of this
unknown scout. One Good Turn to one man became a Good Turn to millions of
American Boys. Such is the power of a Good Turn.
Hence The Scout Slogan: Do A Good Turn Daily
