Scouting Hot Finds Boy Scout Memorabilia

I caught up with Hank Birdsong a long time collector in the hobby at the Charlotte Trade-O-Ree.  After basically finishing his core OA section flap collection - Hank came up with a very original idea for a new pursuit.  He went back to his roots from his first NOAC and started collecting OA names and numbers.  While this might be a familiar collection target for many - he came up with his very own unique rules and parameters as to what he puts in.  Listen to the rules he has created and how it's an almost never ending process of upgrading the issues in his collection.  To see the collection in person is also a nice bonus as it's all layed out in Best Hobby Pages.

Have you ever looked at your Boy Scout collection and struggled to figure out what the small differences among common rank and position patches mean? In this episode of the show we go into a deep dive on how to identify and sort your BSA rank patches using the leading reference books in the hobby. It’s a fun rabbit hold collection that almost every Scout or Scouters can start today.

This episode is packed with knowledge and an awesome unboxing. Ryan Losonsky returns for the final installment in my interview with him. This time we are talking about nuts and bolts….literally! Ryan has created a 90+ panel traveling Scout museum and in this video we are going to talk shop. The big unboxing for this week is a truly live box that came in this week from California featuring an outstanding OA collection with some killer (not exaggerating) flaps. The giveaway returns as well to don’t forget to sign up to get your name in the virtual hat for that prize. If you want to find that original video that we referenced in the link is https://youtu.be/yUQTMi9Al8c.

In this episode you will see how Ryan Losonsky has developed his model for a traveling Boy Scout history display that is adaptable to the audience. He also shares ideas for how you can get invited to display which in some ways is a challenge as well. We also discuss the notion that perfection can be the enemy of getting started as you don't need to have 100% of the items.During the show you will also get to see three unboxings including one that is very timely for me. Oh and of course a giveaway! These are in every episode of the show. You can put your name in for the prize at www.scoutpatchcollectors.com/prize

OK spoiler alert! Today I'm telling the whole story of how I came to work with a Hollywood Costumer named Danielle to help outfit the actors in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. I took my family to see the movie on Thanksgiving Day. I had really been hesitant to do a video about my involvement until I saw the final cut. You never know how things are going to turn out and I wasn't sure if they would have made changes since my involvement was more than a year ago. But the uniforms were awesome, the portrayal of Sammy Fabelman's time in Scouts was awesome (can you tell I am a child of the 80s?) and I loved the movie. The overall arc of the story line is heavily focused on the family dynamics. But the the parts in the beginning of the movie with his patrol and troop were just plain fun to watch. Of course in this episode I'll have a giveaway and an unboxing! Oh and if you've read this far down I have an Easter Egg surprise for you. Something that I just found this morning when I was doing my homework for this epi

In this episode of the show I am back with some great content. The highlight is an interview with Russell Smart at the Charlotte Trade-O-Ree. He came to the event with an amazing display of Scouting history. His focus was the 20 plus iterations of which merit badges were required for the rank of Eagle Scout. So in each frame he has the patch, medal and merit badge patches from every time the BSA changed the requirements for its highest rank. You can also see a series of small Boy Scout collection unboxings where I did a marathon run. I hope you appreciate the Scobby Doo time effect to speed up the transition. You can also watch to see the winner of the giveaway last week of the 1937 National Scout Jamboree patch. Of course I have another giveaway this week. All you have to do is put in your name and email at www.scoutpatchcollectors.com/prize.

Patch Trading at the Jamboree! Listen in to Scouting Hot Finds Live to get the story on visitors and patch trading at the Jamboree from Tico Perez. This episode includes a new giveaway (and the live picking of last week's winner!). You can also catch a number of unboxings. In this episode I try to also pivot towards a focus on newer collectors by calling out the opportunity to fellowship, learn and build your collection at Trade-O-Rees. Please leave comments and feedback as I love to see where everyone would like to see me focus the content.

In this episode of the show you can here more from the 2023 National Jamboree Chairman Tico Perez. In this segment Tico discusses innovative ways the BSA has thrown out the old rule book about how a Jamboree is run. This includes the opportunity for ANY Scouter to attend with a troop or on staff. He shares that in this new model a leader can attend with their Scout and live the adventure. They are also looking to add another 1,000 staff members and shares how for younger staff members there is a generous discount.During the show there will also be an unboxing of a Boy Scout collection that I got in. I will also premiere a special video that I recorded for my Patreon Group. The video is called the Inside the Warehouse feature and shows my sorting project in action.You can enter the giveaway mentioned in this episode by going to http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com/prize. The drawing will stay open for one week following the video.

If you are a Scouting memorabilia collector this is the show for you! This is the first episode of my new weekly show Scouting Hot Finds Live. You will not want to miss everything I have packed into a 30-minute livestream including an unboxing, cool giveaway, interview with the 2023 National Scout Jamboree Chairman Tico Perez and a Trade-O-Ree update. The link to participate in the giveaway and get a chance to win the signed sash by the founder of the OA is http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com/p... This format will be interactive to join live so you can leave comments and be part of the fun.

Chris Jensen is once again hosting the Pre-NOAC Trade-O-Ree and in this interview he shares all the details of the event coming up July 23-25 in Knoxville, TN. The TOR runs Saturday - Monday which means the last day is when all the contingents show up. In the podcast we talk about this bi-annual gathering of the hobby and why this is a don't miss event for any Scouting memorabilia collector. You can get a copy of the flyer and see what other TORs are happening around the country on my website at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com. You can find Chris Jensen's website at http://www.Streamwood.net which includes additional information about the event.

Version III of the Camp Book II has been published and my guest is Bob Sherman who is the lead author on the project along with Dave Minnihan and Kevin Doyle. This latest version now tops out at 1600 pages identifying each known Boy Scout camp by alpha, state and council. In the interview Bob shares all the research that has been added in this edition including whether camps are known to have issued a patch.The book is available as a digital download or you can buy the whole 1600+ page printed copy at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Order of the Arrow cataloging going back 50 years is the topic of this month’s Scouting Hot Finds Insiders Round Table. Bill Mulrenin served as the New York State Editor on the Blue Book project for the last 3 editions. So in the discussion we take it all the way back to Bill Price books of the 1970s to describe how far this has come. The next big leap forward that we cover is the 1979 publication of the Arapaho book which really helped the hobby. The key feature here was adding high quality images to help with the identification. We didn’t mention it (sounds like a topic for another Round Table) but there is also tons of great historical data in the Arapaho uncovered from National BSA records. Finally we single out multiple ways that the Blue Book published in 1996 really improved OA cataloging. Over the six editions of the Blue Book things such as chronological listing, decimal numbering, as well as including neckerchiefs, chapter issues and event issues were big improvements. If you are a Boy Scout patch c

Wiatt Williamson has cracked the code on how to write a Scouting memorabilia guide book. In his years in the hobby he has written over a dozen guides for Order of the Arrow lodges, councils and camps. In this interview he shares the blueprint and makes an offer to share his easy to use template with everyone out there. I think that his idea can be a powerful positive force for the hobby. Imagine if in your state there was a free PDF for all the CSPs (David McIntyre) or for the camps that have been part of your council's legacy through mergers. If you write it they will collect it to borrow a twist a line from a classic movie.

Mitch Reis has just published the 5th Edition of A Guide To Dating And Identifying Boy Scouts Of America Badges, Uniform, & Insignia. This book is one of the reference "bibles" that all Scouting memorabilia collectors should have on their shelf. There is hardly a topic that is not covered if it was worn on a uniform. In this interview Mitch goes all the way back to his earliest efforts on this project. We hear how catching up since the last edition in 2009 was such a challenge. But in the end he has crafted a reference book that will be such a vital piece to feed collectors with new rabbit holes to go down. I was reading the book myself and spent way too much time looking at the Cub Scout listing. Now I'm going to put together a Cub display as I just finished 5 years of being a den leader.If you enjoy this content please consider helping me fund this podcast by joining my Patreon Group called the Scouting Hot Finds Insiders. For as little as $1 per episode you can join and make sure that the podcast rema

Perhaps the first podcast I ever listened to back in 2006 was an ambitious project that was launched by some guys out of Coosa Lodge 50 in Alabama. Clothtalk was their idea for an audio podcast that would focus on the hobby of collecting Scouting memorabilia. For 29 episodes these guys brought on guests for interviews, had a Trade-O-Ree correspondent, and asked their guests "what's your favorite patch?" Chris Brightwell was part of that original team although he was more of the engineer making the magic happen. In this interview Chris goes back to 2005-2006 and shared where the idea was born, who made it happen, and reminisces about how this podcast was maybe ahead of it's time. I say right from the beginning in the intro that their podcast was the inspiration for me to pick up a microphone and start SHF Radio back in 2011. You can find the show notes page at http://www.Scoutpatchcollectors.com. Be sure to go there to find a link to the original Clothtalk episodes that Chris was able to resurrect inclu

For about 15 years Bill Mulrenin has been a constant on the Internet for the Boy Scout memorabilia collecting hobby. His website at www.NYOATRADER.com is the prototype for what a niche blog site in our hobby should be. As the New York OA Blue Book Editor he created the site to help share knowledge and also to keep up with new Order of the Arrow issues from the Empire State. In this interview we go all the way back to the beginning of this idea. We also talk about his work on the board of the Ten Mile River Scout Museum. Going forward Bill has used some of the down time during the 2020-21 pandemic to work on the site and has plans to improve it going forward.If you enjoyed this content please consider joining my Patreon Group called the Scouting Hot Finds Insiders. My backers in this group specifically help me hire an audio and video editor to bring this podcast to life along with my series of unboxing videos. You can find out more and access exclusive content (including my After the Interview segment w

A decade ago Bill Chadek took a gamble on a Boy Scout pocket knife.  He cleaned up a beat up old knife and brought it back to life with elbow grease, sandpaper, and lots of polishing.  This was the beginning of a side business refurbishing vintage BSA pocket knives, sheath knives and hand axes. Today his completed projects sell at auction for as much as $400 on eBay.  Over the last decade of honing his craft Bill has experimented with different woods, learned how to forge a much improved leather sheath, and mastered polishing metal. In the interview we talk in depth about one of his most well known projects - recreating the "Kit Carson" style combo with sheath knife with a hand axe mated together.When I came across Bill promoting his projects on Facebook I quickly became a fan.  While connecting on this interview Bill actually agreed to repair the sheath for my favorite Western BSA knife.  I came away really impressed by his craftsmanship. I love how he is taking something old and recycling it to make it a pr

For several decades Russell Smart was on a mission. He came up with a simple enough goal. Can I get the first patch issued by the oldest lodge in every state? That rabbit hole of collecting led him to add other needs to the list but eventually he was able to get that impossible collection about 93% complete. In our interview we go back in time to talk about Order of the Arrow insignia before the flap. Russell did a lot of research during his quest to build this collection and he shares some incredible stories that all Scouting memorabilia collectors will want to hear. We talk about the Wabaningo book in 1952 that kinda set the early collecting community ablaze. However, the reason for the timing of this interview is that he is now in the process of divesting the collection and finding new homes for the great pieces in the collection. You can find his initial sale of the 100 best pieces here https://bit.ly/LegacyOAcollection. During 2021 my goal is to publish bi-weekly with new interviews focused on th

At the 2019 World Scout Jamboree held in the United States Doug Schwab helped to staff the Spirit of Jamboree Museum. In this interview we talk about his experience and the book he published that documented the once in a lifetime display of Scouting memorabilia from the World Scout Jamboree. The book is a beautiful full color hard back with professional quality pictures of all the displays including the text which tells the story. During the interview Doug shares how the museum project came about with Russell Smart and Rick Bragga leading the charge. During the the interview he thanks many more members of the staff such as Sam Fairchild, Dave Miura, Bob Hannah and more (complete list on the Author's Note page of the book). The effort to assemble this museum onsite was monumental and completely lead by a team of dedicated volunteer Scouters and collectors including several from other countries making it a truly international effort. If you would like to reach out to Doug he shares in the podcast that you