Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 5, 1993 TAG: 9308050268
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BOWLING GREEN LENGTH: Medium
"I would have got them all except it's been so long a since I shot," the 13-year-old from Bellevue, Wash., told friends as they walked away.
Amos hit two out of the five clay targets launched by adult volunteers at the Boy Scout Jamboree. That was the same record posted by novice shooter Brad Hixson, 14, from Fort Collins, Colo.
"I didn't do too well," Brad said, grinning.
But no matter. Brad and the other boys came away from the target range with something far more valuable to the more than 30,000 participants at the Boy Scout Jamboree.
The boys got to keep shotgun shells, specially printed with the Jamboree logo. After shooting, the boys happily pinned the shells on their baseball caps, alongside the uncounted pins, patches and badges that are the currency of the Jamboree.
As the 13th Jamboree officially began Wednesday, Boy Scouts from every state and more than 50 countries traded those trinkets along roadsides, in tents and in line for the dozens of activities set up for Jamboree participants.
The weeklong Jamboree is the ultimate Boy Scout camping trip, complete with camp stoves and bug spray. The Jamboree is held every four years, and is being held for the fourth time at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.
Trading patches and pins is a major occupation, sometimes eclipsing the scheduled activities such as rappelling, fishing and scuba diving. Because of a growing market in Boy Scout paraphernalia, boys may only trade with one another. If an adult is caught trading, the adult will be asked to leave, said Boy Scout spokesman Smokey Bassett.
"There were only 250 of these printed, period," said Casey Klofsted, proudly displaying a handsome woven patch.
Asked if his limited-edition Wisconsin patch was a hot seller among other Scouts, the 16-year-old from Wausau, Wisc., displayed an excellent command of the law of supply and demand.
"It depends on what they want of yours and what they have to trade," he said.
Jamboree participants are selected by their home Boy Scout organizations. Several boys from one region will camp together as a troop.
"It's really a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Bassett said. "Most boys will only have the opportunity to attend one of these, just because of the spacing of time."
Boys must be between 12 and 17 to attend.
Once at the Jamboree, the boys live in vast tent cities that are organized by regions of the country. Each state tries to outdo the others by building elaborate entrances to their camp areas. This year's unofficial favorites were a plywood Graceland mansion from Tennessee and large wooden dinosaur models from Utah.
Many of the boys raise the money themselves to attend. That can be thousands of dollars for boys who travel long distances, especially if the trip is combined with stops at other tourist areas.
Steve Riggs, 14, was on the road for nearly a week before he and other campers from Pullman, Wash., reached the Jamboree.
They visited New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other spots before coming to Virginia. Asked his favorite activity at the Jamboree so far, Steve answered, "Sleep."
Mohammed Farman, 15, and a group of fellow Boy Scouts from Kuwait were among the campers who traveled farthest. Mohammed pretended to fire a rifle when asked his favorite activity so far.
Shooting at clay targets was the first experience any of the Kuwaiti boys ever had with a gun.
"We say the targets, they are Iraqis," Mohammed said.
by CNB