Boy Scouts getting ready for Centennial Celebration

What do Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron, former presidents Taft, both Roosevelts, Kennedy, Ford, George W. Bush and Clinton, singer Jimmy Buffett, actor Harrison Ford, news legend Walter Cronkite, and 9-year-old Bryan Loyd of Bedford County have in common?

They all have been (or still are, in Bryan's case) Scouts. In fact, Taft and Teddy Roosevelt were two of the seven men who founded the organization when it was incorporated on Feb. 8, 1910, in Washington D.C. All across America, troops, packs, dens, and Scout alumni will be gathering for Centennial Celebrations and Bedford County is no exception.

"We are going to have our big celebration Feb. 6 at the National Guard Armory," said Michael Sharp, Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 390 here in Shelbyville.

The celebration, set from 2 to 4 p.m., isn't just for his Cubs, either. All of the Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops in the county have been invited, and all but one have promised to attend.

"We'll have one big flag ceremony, with one boy carrying the United States flag," Sharp told the Scouts at the Tuesday night meeting at First Christian Church. "Every unit that has its own flag will carry it. Everyone will have a booth or area where they can display their crafts or projects and if you have any memorabilia when your parents or grandparents were in Scouting, you can bring that in, too."

In fact -- you can bring the parents and grandparents, too. The event is open to all, and everyone who has ever had any connection whatsoever to Scouting, whether a former Scout or den leader, or the family member of a Scout or leader, is invited.

"If you've ever been involved in Scouting -- even if you were only a Tiger Cub for a month -- you're welcome. They can even wear their old uniforms if they want to," Sharp said, laughing. "If they can still fit in them. If not, they can bring them on hangers. The Scouts love looking at the older stuff."

Cub cakes

Pack 390 has another tradition they are throwing open to the other packs and troops for this celebration. Every year, the Cubs and their parents have a cake baking contest.

"It started out as a Father-Son Bake-Off," said Sharp. "But times have changed, families have changed."

The bake-off had been discontinued for many years and he revived it when he took over as Cubmaster five years ago. It's been a big hit, too, even though it means baking the cake from scratch -- and Mom or Dad can't do more work on the cake than the Scout does.

"Last year, the winning cake was a replica of Neyland Stadium. The year before that, it was an exact copy of the Boy Scout logo. We've had dragons, a treasure chest, trains and rockets," he said. "This year, the cakes should have some Cub Scout, Boy Scout or 100th Anniversary theme. We'll have special guests to judge them."

This year, cakes will be accepted for the contest from anyone currently involved in local scouting and will be judged at the 100th anniversary celebration next Saturday. And eaten there, too.

"We need a lot of birthday cake," he said.

Derby days

Even the Pinewood Derby -- which is to Cub Scouts what cookies are to Girl Scouts-- reflects the celebration this year. Scouts can actually enter two cars in the competition this time, one for the race and one for design -- as long as the design is all about the organization's 100 years. But the winner of the decorating contest may have to give his car up forever.

"If you win the theme car contest, we'll send it over to Tullahoma for the district competition," said Sharp. "Whoever wins out of district -- their cars become travel bugs."

Travel bugs are used in geocaching, an activity in which people use GPS navigation to "treasure hunt." Bell Buckle hosted GeoWoodstock VII this year, an international convention of the treasure hunters that saw thousands of visitors finding caches throughout Middle Tennessee.

In some of the caches, people leave "travel bugs," which can have destination addresses on them. The geocacher takes the bug, records it on the cache log site, as well as on the internet site, then carries it to another cache closer to its ultimate destination, where he leaves it for another cacher.

The ultimate destination for all of these winning Pinewood Derby cars?

"They're going to the National Jamboree in Virginia," said Travis Spivey, a parent volunteer with the pack. "They'll be judged again -- and then they'll go around the world."

Since many international Scouts attend the Jamboree, the organization hopes to send the Centennial editions of the tiny race cars back home with them to share with Scouts overseas, yet another celebration of Scouting around the world.

Scouts' shout-out

Why have the Boy Scouts of America lasted so long? Ask the Scouts themselves.

"It's fun," said Loyd. "You do a lot of fun activities and games. We go camping and I like the popcorn sales."

"You ought to, you won," said a fellow cub, William Smith, also 9.

"I like everything," said Isaac Williams, another 9-year-old Cub Scout.

His Scouting adventures come with a bonus, too. His father, Jamie, is the den leader.

"I was not a Scout," he said. "My dad was, but I never seemed to fund the time. Isaac wanted to be in Scouting, and them my wife volunteered me to be a den leader ...

"I don't regret it a bit. I've had a lot of fun."

Isaac plans to stay in Scouting, with one eye already on that ultimate goal of Eagle Scout, but right now, he's more concerned about his Centennial Pinewood Derby Car.

"I've got plans," he nodded firmly.

If you go

The Boy Scouts of America 100th anniversary celebration will be from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 at the National Guard Armory, 2009 S. Cannon. All who have had any connection with Scouting are encouraged to attend.