mrkstvns Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) For some reason, the BSA decided that the National Jamboree would be split into 2 different sites in 1973: one in Pennsylvania, the other in Idaho. Why on earth would they want to do this? Did it have any benefits, or only serve to confuse and confound scouts and scouters alike? Edited February 26, 2019 by RememberSchiff Let OP decide on the title. Moderator previously changed title to prevent confusion with previous locked topic of same title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland Rocks Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 According to a New York Times story in 1973: "Scout officials felt that travel time to a single national jamboree was too long for many scouts and their families. And, in past years, some scouts were turned away from jamborees because the sites were full." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jameson76 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 1 hour ago, mrkstvns said: For some reason, the BSA decided that the National Jamboree would be split into 2 different sites in 1973: one in Pennsylvania, the other in Idaho. Why on earth would they want to do this? Did it have any benefits, or only serve to confuse and confound scouts and scouters alike? The BSA did many many strange and odd things in the 70's Berets Improved Scouting program Skill awards BoyPower Manpower (let's get 1/3 of eligible Boys registered even if we have to fake the numbers) Not having to camp to attain Eagle Scout Really ugly Eagle Scout badge Don't try to make sense of it all...many of us are glad we made it through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Cleveland Rocks said: According to a New York Times story in 1973: "Scout officials felt that travel time to a single national jamboree was too long for many scouts and their families. And, in past years, some scouts were turned away from jamborees because the sites were full." As I recall these were reasons - space and travel distance. Edited February 26, 2019 by RememberSchiff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeS72 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 17 minutes ago, Jameson76 said: The BSA did many many strange and odd things in the 70's Berets Improved Scouting program Skill awards BoyPower Manpower (let's get 1/3 of eligible Boys registered even if we have to fake the numbers) Not having to camp to attain Eagle Scout Really ugly Eagle Scout badge Don't try to make sense of it all...many of us are glad we made it through I will agree with several items on that list. The ISP, skill awards, and that period where camping and cooking were no longer required MB's. I earned Eagle in 1971, prior to those changes taking effect. Swimming and Lifesaving were the last two merit badges I needed, and were last for a reason. I did not live anywhere where learning to swim was feasible, for years the closest pool was 100 miles away. If swimming had not been required for First Class, and the 2 MB's required for Eagle, I doubt I would have ever learned. As I have stated several times in response to the many on here who seem to have disliked the berets intensly, I loved them, still have one, and will on occasion wear it with one of my 60's/70's era uniforms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jameson76 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 2 hours ago, mrkstvns said: For some reason, the BSA decided that the National Jamboree would be split into 2 different sites in 1973: one in Pennsylvania, the other in Idaho. Why on earth would they want to do this? Did it have any benefits, or only serve to confuse and confound scouts and scouters alike? Was it the energy crisis that drove this? The oil embargo of 73 would not have been part of the reasoning as the planning was well ahead of this, but there was the general peak of oil production in the US and the concerns for pricing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattR Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 For those of us that live in the West and really don't want to fly to the Bechtel Thingy, it would be great to have two jamboree sites. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jameson76 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 18 minutes ago, MattR said: For those of us that live in the West and really don't want to fly to the Bechtel Thingy, it would be great to have two jamboree sites. But but Bechtel is the end all be all to all things Scouting!! All the "Scout Me In" crowd are heading there with the cool kids. The BSA invested 3/4 of a bazillion dollars there to make it the bestest and Scoutiest place on Earth. You gotta get on board with the plan and embrace all that Bechtel is, the Disneyesque Scouting vision. I hear there's a zip line. On a serious note I would agree that a jamboree out west would be good, the wide open spaces for those from the forested east is a refreshing change of pace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkstvns Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 There was a fairly long period when all the Jamborees were being held at Fort AP Hill in Virginia. That's a huge facility and beautiful country....it would be nice to find a similarly spacious piece of land out west to do a Jamboree now and then. I think West Virginia is a beautiful state.....but variety is still the spice of life, and there are plenty of other places in the U.S. that are also quite majestic. I'm with Jameson76....a change of pace from the forested east might be nice once in a while. A fun Jambo could be done out in the hot brown sand of the west... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walk in the woods Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) Private passenger train service collapsed prior to the 70s, Amtrak was fledgling in 73, and airline fares were still fully regulated (meaning no cheap southwest flights). Edited February 26, 2019 by walk in the woods Note, just my guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jameson76 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 6 hours ago, mrkstvns said: I'm with Jameson76....a change of pace from the forested east might be nice once in a while. A fun Jambo could be done out in the hot brown sand of the west... Wide open Sandy plains. Call it Burning Baden and end by igniting a giant campaign hat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 The practice isn't that unusual. Music festivals have also done split locations when demand was high. There's a bit of fun-with-electronic-telecommunications to have. Why not continue? It seems that scouts want to meet scouts from different parts of the country. Why not rotate? Logistics. And, more western troops wanted to come east with a chance to visit DC than want to go west with a chance to visit monuments there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSScout Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Scouts Canada sometimes holds regional Jamborees, and one national Jamboree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrkstvns Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Regional Jamborees sounds like a great concept. I enjoy scouting events of all types and really enjoy meeting my fellow scouters from other troops, towns, states etc. We've got a lot of excellent people in this organization! Wish I had a chance to shake hands with all of 'em... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wearrepair Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I'm quite late to respond but I thought that it was logistics. 50,000+ in and out of one spot was no easy task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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