Re: I used to be question
George Crowl (WILLIAMM@ZIAVMS.ENMU.EDU)
Thu, 22 Feb 1996 09:33:37 -0700
Carol, Mike, Larry, and others:
This is the ultimate in Wood Badge trivia, but let me add, follow
up and consolidate:
>From the beginning until 1973:
National Scout courses: Starting with 1 in 1948 and going to
about 430 in about 1973. Often did not have a letter prefix, but
are often referred to as WB-318 or similar. See the patrol and
troop flags at the Wood Badge camp at Zastro, Philmont. These
were Scout trainer courses. Never saw Mike's NA- prefix, but
someone may use it. Individuals got a individual sequence
(registration) number (mine was 16623) which apparently went back
to course #1.
National Explorer courses: Starting with 1 about 1950 and ending
about 35 in the late 50s. Clearly marked "EWB-33" on flags at
Zastro. These were Explorer trainer courses.
Regional courses: Starting in the early 50s, ending by 1972.
The region number, followed by the sequence number, i.e. R9-27
was Region 9's 27th course, R4-14 was Region 4's 14th course.
These were Scoutmaster courses (though others went).
Local council courses: Starting in the early 50's (see the
History of Wood Badge" book which I do not have at hand, and
ending in 1972, local council courses started with the council
number, followed by a sequence number, i.e. 573-1 for the first
course offered by Yucca Council, or 802-12 for the 12th (and last
under that system) course offered by Transatlantic Council.
These were Scoutmaster courses. The "History" has the different
ticket questions for Trainer, Explorer, and Scoutmaster courses.
Beginning in 1973: Leadership Development replaced the earlier
syllabi for Boy Scout Leader courses.
Boy Scout Leader Course numbers were assigned by regions, and
every region did it somewhat differently, as follows:
Northeast Region: NE-III-33 means NE region, Area III, 33rd
course in that area since 1973. I believe that is still current.
South Central, South East, East Central: SC-364 means the 364th
course scheduled in the South Central Region. I believe it is
the same system for SE and EC.
North Central: They started out like SC, but before they reached
100 they moved to a system with the first number indicating the
area, i.e. NC-121 was in Area 1, etc.
Western: Western has been pretty consistent since 1972. The
current system is as follows: W = Western Region. E = Weekend
(weeklong have no symbol). V = Varsity (a variation of Wood
Badge in Western Region, Scout courses have no symbol). M =
Metro (that is a division like an area for the largest councils)
OR 5 = Area V. 413 = the council number. -2- = the second
course given by that council that year. 96 = the year of the
course. So -- WEV5-413-3-96 would be the third course given by
council 413 in 1996, and would be a Varsity course. As I once
said, an administrator's dream and a participant's nightmare!
Southern Region: They are just like SC and SE before them, SR-10
is the 10th course scheduled.
Central Region: I have only one example of this number, C-11L-
94, which was a weeklong course in 1994. Therefore, I deduce,
that Central uses a sequence number, L for weeklong, and the
year.
Cub Scouting: The first (national) Cub trainers' course was 900-
1 in 1976. The next year the courses were sponsored by the
regions. Most are identified by the region, CS and number, as in
NE-CS-28 or SC-CS-9. The first two SC region courses were
numbered CSC-1 and CSC-2.
Personal (or registration) numbers: Beginning at least in 1973,
the registration number became the course number followed by the
individual number (normally in Wood Badge patrol and alphabetical
order) on the course roster.
I am not aware of any Explorer courses after those in the 50's.
If there are, it would be nice to know specifics.
Walking Wood Badge had their real course numbers, but also called
themselves WWB-1 through WWB-20 for the years it ran.
My authorities for this information are a listing of every course
number represented on the walls at Zastro, a listing with the
course number of every Wood Badger who has passed through
Conquistador Council, a friend who attended WB-3, and Wood Badge
experience in R12, R9, SC, NE, and W regions. However, like all
things in Scouting, there are many variations and much still to
be learned.
In Scouting,
__
____'/____ George Crowl
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