Happy Birthday Scouting America! February 8 is the traditional birthday of the iconic American organization that has served millions of youth since 1910 — it’s the day the Boy Scouts of America (now Scouting America) was incorporated. Some quick math will tell you that 2025 marks 115 years for Scouting America — an achievement worth noting by Scouts and the communities that have supported them for so many years.

Technically speaking, Scouting was born in England a few years before it reached American shores. In 1907, British military hero Robert Baden-Powell organized an experimental camp on Brownsea Island to test some of his ideas about a new organization for boys. The following year he published “Scouting for Boys,” launching a movement that has spread to more than 200 countries around the globe.

Legend has it that William D. Boyce, a newspaper publisher living in Ottawa, IL, brought Scouting to America after a chance encounter with a Scout on the streets of London. There are different versions of the story and embellishments that make the event more dramatic than it was, but the fact is that Boyce was so impressed with the ideals of Baden-Powell’s Scouts that he incorporated the Boy Scouts of America (now Scouting America) on Feb. 8, 1910. On June 15, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill granting federal incorporation.

Ottawa, where Boyce once lived and is buried, is in the northern region of our local council, so the council bears his name and the slogan, Home of the Founder. His vision for an American version of Scouting has grown and changed and left an indelible mark on generations of young people. 

Cub Scouts typically hold their annual Blue and Gold Banquet in February to mark the birthday of Scouting. Scouts of all ages also participate in Scout Sunday (officially Scouting Anniversary Day) services at places of worship on the Sunday before February 8 (this year, that’s February 2). 

The birthday of Scouting is an excellent reason to visit the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum at 1100 Canal St. in Ottawa (https://ottawahistoricalscoutingmuseum.org) in February. There you will find an extensive collection of memorabilia that tells the colorful and compelling story of Scouting over the past 115 years, including the critical role of W. D. Boyce.

If you care to take it one step further, visit Boyce’s grave at the Ottawa Avenue Cemetery, 1601 Ottawa Ave. And you don’t have to be a Scout to hike all or part of the historic W. D. Boyce Trail from Starved Rock State Park to the founder’s gravesite in Ottawa (or the other direction). Maps are available at the museum.

I know from experience that age is just a number — the more you dwell on it, the more likely you are to become it. But in the case of this iconic American organization, the number of years is a testament to its solid ideals and methods for building character and shaping the future leaders in our communities.

The W. D. Boyce Council will be celebrating this landmark birthday and the official name change to Scouting America with a “grand-reopening” and ribbon cutting at the Scout Service Center 614 NE Madison Ave., Peoria, on Friday, February 7, 10am. Past, present, and future Scouts and supporters are invited to join us in a round of “Happy Birthday to You.” As we always tell the Scouts, you don’t have to sing well, just loud! You will be in very good company.

Scout On!

Scott Fishel wears several hats in Scouting, including a longtime association with Troop 178 and Troop 1178 in Morton. You can contact him at [email protected]. Find a Scout unit in your community at beascout.org.