Weston United Methodist Church, meeting place of Troop/Pack 249.
SCOUTING HISTORY, WESTON MISSOURI
The history of scouting, oddly enough, began in South Africa during the
Boer Wars in the late 1890's. Col. Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, a British
Army officer, found it necessary to train his subordinates in the skills of
scouting, tracking and survival in the back country. After the war ended he
returned to England and began teaching these skills to young boys from the
streets ofLondon to better prepare them for service. The British island
Brownsea became the training grounds for the Boy Scouts in the summer of
1907.
In the fall of 1909 a Chicago Businessman, visiting London became lost one
evening in dense fog. Seeing a young man standing near a street light, he
asked the boy ifhe knew the location. The boy answered, "I'll take you
there." Upon reaching their destination, William D. Boyce thanked and
attempted to reward the boy, who replied, "I can not accept a reward, for 1
am a Boy Scout and must do a good tum daily." Mr. Boyce was so moved
by the young man's cheerful and direct reply he requested more information
about Boy Scouting. The scout directed him to Col. Robert Baden-Powell.
Upon returning to The United States, Mr. Boyce, along with James E. West,
first Scout Executive, Ernest T. Seaton, and Daniel C. Beard, first National
Commissioner, formed The Boy Scouts ofAmerica on February 8,1910.
This date is recognized as the birthday of scouting, which became official
when Congress granted a National charter on June 16, 1916.
Scouting arrived in Weston about 1918 as Troop 316. With the beginning
World War I, the great depression, and severe droughts of the 1930's,
Weston Scouts had much to over-come. In September 1928 a cabin at the
comer of Washington and Spring streets, was dedicated by Scout Executive
H. Roe Bartle. The loss of their cabin and meeting place by a fire in the late
1930's all but finished scouting here.
In November 1940 a new charter was given to the Parent Teachers
Association then in 1946 to The Weston Business Men's Club (Rotary Club)
for Scout Troop 249. There were eight registered leaders and twenty-three
registered scouts in the original Troop. Today the Troop is composed of
some fifty registered scouts and leaders.