Re: History of Silver Beaver Award
(no name) ((no email))
Fri, 22 Jan 1999 02:59:52 -0600
Chris Ambra <amarook@JUNO.COM> asked a while back:
>Does anyone know where the Silver Beaver award came from and how
>they picked it to be the beaver. And for that matter-How did they
>come up with the Silver Antelope and Silver Buffalo?
And the Silver Fawn?? Where did they come from??
The BSA's adult service awards all came from the mind of naturalist
and BSA legend Thomas Seton.
The Silver Buffalo came first, in 1926. The Silver Buffalo is a
small reproduction of the Silver Buffalo presented to the Prince of
Wales for Gilwell Park, in memory of the "unknown Scout" that
brought Scouting to the United Stated by way of his Good Turn to
W.D. Boyce.
The Silver Beaver came next, in 1931. It was rumored that Seton
chose the Beaver for its industrous nature, for it's building of
structures that enabled waters to pool together and grow over a
period of time.
The Silver Antelope came next, in 1943. Before his death, Seton
frequently painted outdoor scenes including antelope. No other
explaination was given.
The Silver Fawn was last, and was created in 1966 and lasted until
1974. The Fawn was presented to females at the same level as the
Beaver was presented to males. In 1974, the BSA discontinued the
Silver Fawn and those whom wished to do so, could get a Silver
Beaver to wear instead. Many women opted to keep the older (and
now rarer) award instead. There's very little written about the
Silver Fawn (although it's on my white board as a future idea for a
story for _Scouter_: "Where Did All the Fawns Go?"
Hope this all helps out...
Settummanque!
(c) 1999 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3068
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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