Re: Neckerchiefs
(no name) ((no email))
Tue, 2 Jul 1996 10:10:59 -0500
I am blue-green colorblind, so I can symphaze with your plight,
Chuck! *laughter*
Chuck asked:
>We're trying to get our troop started again and I am trying to get
>the troop to gain an identity. We have created a troop logo that
>we will be putting on our troop equipment. I would like to put
>the logo on neckerchiefs for each Scout as well, since nobody
>in the troop wears one, until now.
>
>I have need for any advice, suggestions, or general help
>regarding neckerchiefs. What colors work well, what don't?
Dark colors work the best with the present khakitan uniform
shirts. My personal favorite is the neckerchief I wear presently
with my uniforms. It requries a brief story as to its history.
When I was a undergraduate at Eastern Kentucky, a group of
eight of us formed a Scouting club (which became the prototype
of the BSA's College Scouter Exploring experiment!).
One of the first things which was decided was what would be
our "uniform". There were some, like Jacob Boals and myself
that wanted us to wear the traditional kelly green Explorer shirts
with bluejeans. Others, like Paula Ward and Douglas Foster
wanted to wear the present tan uniform shirts. We couldn't
come to a consensus, and as we argued over what "looked the
coolest" for us to wear, a Girl Scouter named Kerry Pence asked
"how about if we wore a neckerchief no matter what uniform we
have? I have a Cadette uniform and I don't want to give it up,
but I'll wear a neckerchief."
Paula Ward and Kerry Pence were chosen to see about getting
neckerchiefs. Paula asked me where the "tradition" of
neckerchiefs came from, and I showed her the story of the
"Unknown Scout", to which the first American reference to the
neckerchief was found. Kerry called the Council office and got
a Supply catalog which illustrated all of the pre-designed
neckerchiefs.
We met two weeks later in the same area in the University Center's
Grill area, and the two explained what they found out. So, we
would get them from England. What color? Maroon and white,
the colors of the University. While we were talking, someone came
into the Grill holding their graduation robes inclosed in a clear
plastic bag as they made their way toward the food court area.
"What about the colors black and white?", I asked. "It would make
a strong constrast to the shirt and there's some symbolism there.",
I said, pointing to the guy holding the nylon robe as he ordered his
food.
Everyone except Paula agreed. "I wanted to order them from
England. That REALLY would make a statement!" So we agreed
to order the black and white neckerchiefs from England.
Because I "knew someone" there, I was placed in charge of getting
the neckerchiefs. I called the Scout Shoppe in London and got
Clive on the phone. Clive explained how much the neckerchiefs
would cost, including VAT (value added taxes) which must be
charged. It was still 40 cents cheaper than the cheapest one-color
BSA neckerchief, and it didn't have the BSA's logo on the back.
We ordered 40 of them, and recieved them a month later, during the
summer semester. In the fall, I gave them out to each person that
purchased one, and the results were impressive (IMHO).
Little did we all know what the significance of those black and white
neckerchiefs would be until a new "generation" of College Scouters
found out. During the Wizard Safari in 91, a group of us from EKU
went to serve alongside several Alpha Phi Omega members on the
staff of that Council's camp. The distinguished visitor was the
grandson of Baden-Powell. As we made our way through the
official recieving line, he stopped me and Adrian Grisanti and asked
if this was our "Troop necker". We explained briefly that it was part
of our Explorer Post identity, and he responded by telling everyone
present "This is indeed a small world. These are the colors of *my*
Troop when I was a Boy Scout!" This statement, by the grandson of
Baden-Powell, made our trip to Pennsylvania well worth the expense!
Talk about swelled heads!?!? Ol' Paulie Ward, whom NEVER has
been a Boy nor Girl Scout before, really knew how to pick things!!
She had no idea that the "cloth which would later serve as a source
of pride in your education and participation" had a historical
background to it!!
Before I left EKU, I bought three more neckerchiefs and make it a
point to give them out to Scouts as recognition presents. As soon
as I can, I am putting in a personal order for 40 more of those black
and white neckerchiefs "to be placed in a box and given out" when
I want to.
The neckerchiefs are made in England and each comes with a tag
attached stating so. The cotton neckerchief is all black with a
white one-half inch border on the two sides, which when tied,
creates a black/white/black pattern which, when worn with the
khakitan shirts and the red shoulder loops, really looks nice!
If you don't want to go with black, go with any dark color
which will contrast the light tan shirts: green, red, maroon, blue,
dark brown all work well with the shirts. Lighter colors tend to
"fade" at a distance into the shirts.
One of the things I love about neckerchiefs is the fact that from
a distance, you can see which Scouts are yours and which aren't.
Of course, if they're not wearing a neckerchief, you have no way
of knowing!!
Great question, Chuck!
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
co-Owner, Blackeagle Services of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
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