Photos of President Ford as a Scout

[Beavah 205]

Just found these two photos of Eagle Scout and former President Gerald Ford from his days as a scout in Michigan:

 

http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/hseries/h24-2b.gif

 

http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/hseries/h54-1b.gif

 

Uniform historians may chime in, but it seems like young Gerald Ford is wearing a non-standard "uniform" shirt in both of the photos. Also a shirt that is remarkably "understated" in terms of badges, patches, and awards.

 

Perhaps a lesson to us all in our application of the Uniform Method.

 

[John-in-KC 311]

Welcome to dye lot quality control in the 1920s and 30s.

 

May we also note there was much less ornamentation on uniforms of yore than there is today.

[jr56 92]

Thanks for sharing the photos.

[oldsm 10]

I wonder how many of the leaders in those photos imagined at the time - even a teeny bit - that they were helping to mold a young man who would one day be President of the United States.

 

How many of our own young men are destined for greatness?

[Jeffrey H 25]

Nice photos. I like the full-looking neckerchiefs. Regarding Fords shirt color, I suspect its a variation in dye color. Even today, my 100% cotton shirt is a darker shade of Khaki that my cotton/poly shirt.

 

Yes, there is too much ornamentation on todays uniforms, but thats another topic.

 

[local1400 10]

Too much ornamentation? I look at my uniform and think "Wheres the color?" Its like a few years back when Pepsi made clear soda! I have to really look at ranks today-used to be easy to tell star from tenderfoot! Or POR patches with silver and gold bands- now you have to READ them.

[oldsm 10]

Last night I passed out copies of the two photos to each of the patrols and asked them during the evening to see if they could identify who was in the pictures. No other info provided.

 

In the closing circle, I asked them if they figured it out. Two boys volunteered that Gerald Ford was in the picture, but weren't sure which one he was ("I don't know what he looked like as an adult..."). I guess those two were at least aware of the "news" of the last week and put two and two together.

 

Anyway, for my SM minute, I set the stage for the political sense at the time (Agnew/Nixon, Vietnam War, dissension, etc.), then read some of the news reports that I found on the web that pertained specifically to how scouting's values influenced Ford his entire life. I especially liked one statement to the effect that when Ford was criticized for acting too much like a Boy Scout, his ready reply was that "more people should act like Boy Scouts."

 

The minute was a bit longer than usual, but this was an exceptional "teaching moment" and I chose to seize it.