Jamboree positive for local Scouts

Spokane Boy Scout Dale Knudsen described the congregation of 40,000 fellow Scouts at the National Jamboree like this: “It’s like New York, but the people are nicer.”

Continuing with the analogy, he explained the effect of the deaths of four scoutmasters who were electrocuted Monday while setting up a large tent that hit power lines: “It’s like being in New York City and having someone you might know of, but not personally know, pass away.

“It’s extremely sad.”

Knudsen, 16, is among 36 area Scouts who are attending the 10-day event at Fort A.P. Hill, near Fredericksburg, Va., which he described as the capstone of his Scouting experience. He attended a memorial service for the men who died. “For some it was especially hard,” he said, recalling a woman from Alaska, who knew some of the men and said they were wonderful people.

But, like in any city, life goes on.

The boys still stood in line for hours, waiting to pass through metal detectors and hear a speech by the president. That event got canceled because of thunderstorms, but President Bush may still make an appearance at the event before it ends Thursday.

The boys still had the opportunity to earn merit badges while interacting with experts in various fields – they could learn about dentistry from people in the American Dental Association; about aviation from people in the Air Force; and about chemistry from university professors.

The boys still traded patches, a quintessential Boy Scout activity. “I don’t know if you know Boy Scouts,” Knudsen said, “but we like our patches.” They’re traded on the bus, in the bathroom, while waiting in line.

So it was only appropriate that the Scouts donated patches to the Alaska troop that lost some of its leaders. The rare patches will be sold on eBay and the money donated to the families of the victims, Knudsen said – patches like one from the last Jamboree four years ago, which go for about $400.

The Boy Scouts is a “giant brotherhood,” said Mike Saralecos, a scoutmaster for the Inland Northwest contingent. “So even if we don’t know them, we’re willing to help.”

Saralecos said the incident made him and other leaders reflect on what they would want to happen if they had been the victims. “There isn’t a scoutmaster here who wouldn’t want the boys to continue to have a Jamboree experience, even after a tragedy like that,” Saralecos said. “There’s no better way to celebrate a Scouter’s life than to do Scouting.”