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The
History of the Boy Scouts of America
The Story of a Good Turn
Taken from the Boy Scout Handbook
One day in 1909 in London, England,
an American visitor, William D. Boyce, lost his way in a dense fog. He
stopped under a street lamp and tried to figure out where he was. A boy
approached him and asked if he could be of help.
"You certainly can," said Boyce. He told the boy that he wanted
to find a certain business office in the center of the city.
"I'll take you there," said the boy.
When they got to the destination, Mr. Boyce reached into his pocket for a
tip. But the boy stopped him.
"No thank you, sir. I am a Scout. I won't take anything for
helping."
"A Scout? And what might that be?" asked Boyce.
The boy told the American about himself and his brother Scouts. Boyce
became very interested. After finishing his errand, he had the boy take him
to the British Scouting office.
At the office, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the famous British
general who had founded the Scouting movement in Great Britain. Boyce was so
impressed with what he learned that he decided to bring Scouting home with him.
On February 8, 1910, Boyce and a group of outstanding leaders founded the
Boy Scouts of America. From that day forth, Scouts have celebrated February 8
as the birthday of Scouting in the United States.
What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his way in the fog? No
one knows. He had neither asked for money nor given his name, but he will
never be forgotten. His Good Turn helped bring the Scouting movement to our
country.
In the British Scout Training Center at Gilwell Park, England, Scouts from
the United States erected a statue of an American buffalo in honor of this
unknown Scout. One Good Turn to one man became a Good Turn to millions of
American boys. Such is the power of a Good Turn.
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