Niagara Scouting Museum on the move

New home will be at military museum

In the summer of 1955, 17-yearold Tony Roberts was among 11,000 Scouts from 71 countries who converged on Niagara-onthe-Lake for the eighth World Jamboree.

It marked the first time a World Jamboree had been held outside of Europe.

“We ended up being five times the size of the old town’s population at the time,” Roberts recalled. “It was an amazing experience.”

Members of the local Scouting movement collected a variety of memorabilia from the event, much of which is on display at the Niagara Scouting Museum on Third Avenue.

The museum opened in 1986 after Scout leader Hugh Detlor decided he wanted to frame some badges and put them on display.

“He asked people if the would donate anything they didn’t want to keep,” said Roberts, the museum’s co-ordinator. “And, to this day, it has not stopped.”

Over the years, the collection continues to grow and includes uniforms, event crests, handbooks and hundreds of badges.

“I received something yesterday,” said Bob Prentice, Scouts area commissioner.

The oldest items actually predate the official formation of the Scouts movement.

Now, work is underway to relocate the collection to a room at the Niagara Military Museum on Victoria Avenue.

“It’s advantageous to us,” Prentice said of the move. “Scouting grew out of the military, so those interested in the military will also see the value in coming to see the Scout items.”

Prentice hopes the Scouts room at the museum will be open to the public within the next few months.

Current information on Scouting will also be available for anyone who is interested in signing up as a member or as an adult volunteer.

The scouting movement was founded in England in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell, then a lieutenant-general in the British army.

Scouting came to Canada in early 1908 with three troops established almost simultaneously in St. Catharines and Merrickville, Ont. and Port Morien, NS.

Scouts Canada offers five programs: Beavers, for children ages five to seven; Cubs, for ages eight to 10; Scouts, for ages 11 to 14; Venturers, for ages 14 to 17; and, Rovers, for ages 17 to 26.

The organization currently has more than 100,000 members nation-wide.

For more information, visit www.scouts.ca.

BOB TYMCZYSZYN THE ST. CATHARINES STANDARD Tony Roberts and Bob Prentice look over some of the memorabilia on display at the Scouting Museum in Niagara Falls. The museum is in the process of relocating to the Niagara Military Museum.