Jamboree tribute: A milestone 'For Friendship'

By DEVIN HEILMAN

Staff Writer

FARRAGUT STATE PARK — Fifty years ago this week, 12,000 Boy Scouts took over Farragut State Park.

Dave Childs was one of them. He was a 15-year-old from Minnesota, and he’ll never forget his time at the 12th World Scout Jamboree in 1967.

"What I remember is it was dusty,” Childs said, surveying the Farragut grounds in the heat of the Tuesday afternoon.

"We walked everywhere. If you think about 12,000 folks going through all this, eventually the grass is gone and it’s just dust," he said. "We marched to the programs and marched to the beach. It was just dusty. I think they were worried about a big fire coming too. It was a lot like this, it was hot and dry."

He recalls the excitement of meeting then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who made an appearance at the Jamboree.

"He stayed for several hours," Childs said. "That was really neat because he stood in line and shook the hand of anybody that wanted to come talk to him."

And he remembers making friends from all over the globe.

"The campsite next door was from New Zealand," he said. "They were Maori Scouts who had the skirts and they did the Maori dance, and that was really cool."

A group of about 50 gathered in the shade of a willowy tree near the Friendship Tower on the north side of the park to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the World Jamboree at Farragut. Many attendees were former Scouts who attended the Jamboree as lads, and several of them were international Scouts from countries such as Chile and the Netherlands.

The Friendship Tower, made of 12 60-foot poles representing the 12 Jamborees, was erected that year and labeled with the words "For Friendship" in three languages to reflect the theme of the Jamboree. Its metal bands represent the bonds of friendship the American Boy Scouts hoped to forge with the international Scouts who hailed from about 100 different countries.

During the Jamboree, a "torch of freedom" burned at the tower's base. It was lit by a Umatilla Tribe member and Scout Charles Van Pelt of Avery, Idaho. The flame was brought from Marathon, Greece, where the ’63 World Jamboree was held.

Penn Baluyut is an architect and contractor from New York City who had not returned to Farragut since he attended the Jamboree with a Boy Scouts of the Philippines contingent when he was 15. He smiled as he talked about his success in life thanks to being a Scout, and how he pays it forward by dropping coins into parking meters that are about to expire to save a stranger the grief of a parking ticket. The "For Friendship" concept really stuck with him.

"We all live by the Scout Oath, and we never forget our lives getting better," he said with a big smile. "Live by the Scout Oath and Law and our lives will never go wrong."

The idea of the World Jamboree coming to North Idaho was dreamed up before Farragut was officially a state park. Local historian and Jamboree reunion co-organizer Ken Conger said it started as a scheme to bring money and tourism to Idaho, and the Girl Scout Senior Roundup was held at Farragut prior to the Jamboree to prove the location was worthy of such a gathering.

"The Girl Scouts had a wonderful two weeks in 1965," Conger said. "Representatives of national and international Boy Scouts saw they did a good deal and tapped the newly minted Farragut State Park to host the 1967 12th World Jamboree."

The Jamboree included lots of things to do, from camp crafts, water activities and hiking to games, arena shows and opportunities to show off Scouting skills.

It took place from Aug. 1 to Aug. 9 and cost $50 to attend, which is $366 in today's dollars, Conger said. More than 500 of the Scouts were Eagle Scouts and were bilingual.

"At the time of the 12th World Jamboree there was 10 and a quarter million active Scouts," Conger said. "5.8 million of those were in the United States."

Many of the reunion attendees toured the park after the gathering under the tree and some visited the Museum at the Brig to see the Boy Scout memorabilia on display.

Scouts Dylan Shepler, 13; and Ethan Stein, 14, of Coeur d'Alene, handed out pages of commemorative 12th World Jamboree stamps Ethan's grandmother had saved from when her son, Ethan's dad, and his brothers were young Scouts.

"These were just there and my dad last night gave them to me," Ethan said. "He said, ‘I found these at Grandma’s house, you need to hand these out to people that will appreciate them.'"

The younger Scouts said they really enjoyed being at the reunion event to learn about Farragut's Scout history and to imagine what it was like for boys their age to have that experience all those years ago.

“It’s really cool to see the past of Scouting and how many people will come together from however far they are to be a part of it again," Dylan said.