Dexter scouts participate in Boy Scout Jamboree

Gary Exelby photo - Thirteen-year-old Life Scouts Landon Hall, left, and Greg Ulm, both of Dexter, both participated in the worldwide Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Va from July 25-Aug.3. The event featured 40,000 Scouts from all over the world, plus one President. The Jamboree enabled the pair to earn merit badges for Scouting -- featured just below their right shoulders and right breast pockets -- they could not earn anywhere else. A larger image of each badge, plus other badges the scouts trade3d with other scouts, may be seen on page 12 of our Thursday, August 18th print edition.

For two Dexter boys, the worldwide Boy Scout Jamboree was probably the event of a lifetime.

Landon Hall and Greg Ulm, both 13 and both of Troop 200, attended the event at Fort A.P. Hill, Va. from July 25-Aug. 3.

Along with about 40,000 other scouts, that is. "There were scouts from all over the world joined in one place," said Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Ulm said he made friends with a scout from London, as well as one from California. Hall said he had made friends with one from Galveston, Texas. "And I have relatives that live there," he said.

Ulm said while there were 40,000-plus scouts at the Jamboree, there were a lot more people than that in attendance. "There were about 75,000 people all together," he said. "The rest were families, staff and people like that."

Highlights of the Jamboree, according to both Hall and Ulm, was a visit to the nation's capital. "We went to the Smithsonian," Hall said, "and saw the Spirit of St. Louis."

Ulm added they had gotten to visit the Lincoln memorial as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

Both Hall and Ulm received the Chief Executive Award -- out of six total in their Jamboree troop -- for best living up to the Scout Law: " A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent," according to the webpage http://usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/bsl...

The Jamboree itself featured one visitor the two boys may not have expected: President George W. Bush. In a speech to the Jamboree, the president hailed Scouting for its past service and challenged the current attendees to grow into tomorrow's leaders.

Hall, at least, was by no means overawed. "It was just one of his usual speeches," he said.

Hall added the purpose of the Jamboree was "to have fun" by participating in various scouting activities. Among the most enjoyable of those activities, Ulm said, were scuba diving, shotgun shooting -- "12-gauge," said Hall -- rappelling and a bike-athlon. "That was a course you had to go down on a bicycle," Hall said, " and shoot at targets with an air rifle."

The course was timed, with seconds being added for missing targets. Both Hall and Ulm said successful completion of at least a majority of the nine activities offered were necessary to receive the merit badge associated with attending the Jamboree.

And both said that badge was an important prerequisite for the next step in the progression of each in Scouting. The last one, actually:

Both Hall and Ulm, as Life Scouts now, are preparing for their Eagle Scout projects. Both have been in Scouting since first grade, starting as Tiger Scouts. The pair said their respective Eagle Scout projects, completion of which would entitle each to be declared Eagle Scout, had to benefit the community or a group, but could not benefit scouts or Scouting.

"It has to help others," Ulm said. His project, already approved by the district Eagle Scout Board, is to replace the roof on the concession stand at Grant Street Park, across from the library in Dexter.

Hall said he has not yet decided on his Eagle Scout project.

But then it's not as if there is a huge rush: both boys said the project had to be completed by the time the undertaking Scout had reached 18 years of age.

xlb@dailystatesman.com