Scouting Hot Finds Boy Scout Memorabilia

The first episode of the Scouting Hot Finds Radio in almost a year should be the launching pad for a real rebirth of the podcast. I know I am guilty of saying that a few times over the last couple of years but I'm laying down roots to make this podcast sustainable. In this episode you will hear about 3 topics that I think fit with the theme of roots. The first of those is my plans for where I'm going with the Scouting Hot Finds Radio Podcast. It first rolled out in 2011 and so I'm going into year 10 of the podcast with only 89 episodes under my belt. I have figured out a way to make the podcast sustainable on a bi-weekly basis. But that commitment opens the door to part 2 of the podcast where I announce the opening of the Scouting Hot Finds Insiders group on Patreon http://www.scoutinghotfinds.com I have been putting out free content for the Scouting collecting community for more than a decade. Every newsletter, every podcast, every video is totally free. But to make better content on a consistent bas

Rick Stewart has been writing a quarterly article for the ISCA Journal on the topic of Scouting museums going on four years now. During a 20+ career as a professional Scouter and more as a volunteer he can also claim to have visited the National Scout Museum at all 4 of its locations over the last several decades of moving. In this wide ranging interview we go in depth on what make a Scout museum great and how a council might go about setting one up. I have a special take on this as there are no Scout museums in my home state of South Carolina and I'd love to see that change in the next few years. You can find all the archived episodes of Scouting Hot Finds Radio on my website at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

John Smilek says this will be the year. On the 100th anniversary of the first Boy Scouts of America merit badge pamphlet being published he and other collaborators will publish a full reference guide for collecting this niche in the hobby. The guide will include thousands of pictures and a complete explanation of the different types and sub-types issued through the years. In this interview John explains the history of these utilitarian books including the answer to a good trivia question. For what merit badge was the first ever pamphlet published in 1919? The answer will surprise you. There is also a companion video of this interview located on my website at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

John Athayde and his collaborators on Patchvault.org are ready to turn back control of Order of the Arrow memorabilia listing to the people. With a background in software and a core group of collectors supporting the effort they have expanded the site from it's roots as Virginia OA specific to now include about 70 lodges. What sets this site apart is the quality of the work. Their guiding rule is that a picture is the best representation of a patch. In this interview John gives the history of the project and invites others to jump in.

http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com Mike Clinch is a great example of a Scouter and collector who is willing to invest hundreds of hours of his own time into building something for others. A few years ago he published an amazing two volume set of books detailing in color the merger history of all Boy Scout councils and OA lodges. Teaming up with the likes of Bill Topkis, Jeff Morley, Bob Sherman and others he is now helping to expand that work to include camps. By allowing us to visually understand the sometimes complicated merger history of BSA councils his work is like somebody sharing the answers to the homework problem. Only with his skill as a geographer the maps and charts he makes are so much better than anything I've even. Add to the mix OA section mergers and his project keeps growing. Best of all he is not profiting from any of this but rather proceeds of the printed books are donated back to Scouting. As you can tell I'm a huge fan and glad to have him on the show and let him share and get a

Scouting collectors who have spent time learning about Scouting history have an obvious way to give back to the program. Collections merit badge allows a Scout to take a patch collection and with the right coaching fulfill the requirements. Scouting Heritage teaches Scouts about our movements history while also getting them to take an active role documenting their own troop and local history. Stuart Tucker of the Mecklenburg County Council is a regular merit badge counselor for both of these badges. For going on three years now he has also used a Boy Scout Trade-O-Ree as a useful backdrop to teach these merit badges. In this interview Stuart explains how he has incorporated merit badge instruction into the Charlotte Trade-O-Ree held in April. You can also find the resource material that he shares on the show notes page at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

The National Scouting Historian Summit will take place June 9-15, 2019 at the Philmont Training Center.  This week long course will teach over 100 Scouts and Scouters the rules, tools and strategies needed to preserve and share Scouting history in your troop, lodge, council and community.  In this interview the two co-leads Bill Topkis and Jeff Morley share the details of this first of it's kind event.  We also chat about how this unique course came to develop including the work over the course of a decade or more with the musuem at the National Order of the Arrow Conferences. Bill and Jeff also share a few examples of the things participants will learn.  Do you love to share the history of Scouting with others and want to be equipped with expert level advice on how to do it successfully?  Do you dream of having a Scout museum or historical society in your council?  Do you want to become part of a network of experienced and dedicated Scout historians that you can then call on for advice?  Then the National Sc

Andrew Silverstone could teach us all a thing or two about the Scout Oath and Law.  When he heard that some Scouts had lost their patches at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree he sprang into action organizing rescue boxes.  Using social media he gathered donations and made sure that these Scouts first experience with trading patches wasn't a disappointment.  In my interview Andrew tells the story of how it all happened.  He also shares why this was so meaningful for him as he was a victim of this mishap himself back at the 1985 Jamboree. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Scott Wheeler is a Boy Scout memorabilia collector who has a collection with over 100,000 unique items.  The only way he can keep track of all these items is by creating checklists.  That has led him to create the best 2017 National Jamboree checklist of council issued items.  By Scott's estimation there are around 2000 items issued for this Jamboree including some amazing sets.  In our interview we talk about how Scott got started in collecting and as you might guess it goes right back to a Jamboree. We also go off down many other topics is a fun and lively interview with one of the good guys in the hobby. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Nick Wolf, the Patch King, has a Top 10 list just for folks headed to the Jamboree.  As a veteran trader of several Jambos now Nick has come up with ten important tips he shares with the listeners.  I was able to sprinkle in some stories and commentary on Nick's list to give you some good examples.  The bottom line is that anybody going to the 2017 National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve would get something helpful from his tips. Certainly his list is not all inclusive and so if you have some you'd like to share please leave them as a comment.  Likewise if you have questions regarding patch trading at the Jamboree please reach out to me. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

In getting ready to host a Boy Scout memorabilia show (we like to call them Trade-O-Rees) I was asked by the troop committee chairman to come give a patch trading class to the Scouts of Troop 33.  Episode 79 is the audio of that patch collecting talk that I gave to about two-dozen Scouts ranging from fresh Tenderfoots to high school aged Eagles.  I know that many other people have been in this situation.  Tasked with creating a 30-40 minute talk on a hobby that not that easy to translate.  After getting some advice from others my spin was to focus more on the "why" rather than the "how".  I tried to make connections with the Scouts through their participation in the program and show how easy it was to use the memorabilia to walk back in time.  I would appreciate any feedback and likewise feel free to take what I've shared and use it if you are ever in that situation.  I discovered that anyone born after 1996 is referred to as Generation Z so my goal was to try and speak on their level and not make it a pro-le

Becky Byrns was the first collector to host a national Girl Scout collectors show back in the 1990s.  Now with 15 shows under her belt and another coming up in a few weeks she is my guest on Scouting Hot Finds Radio.  Becky and I talk about the unique points of Girl Scout memorabilia including badges, dolls, jewelry and more.  Since I've been collecting Girl Scout stuff for about four years I've enjoyed leaning on her as a resource and was excited to get her on the show to share that with everyone.  We also try and compare and contrast how Boy Scout collecting is different from Girl Scouts. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Today on the podcast I welcome Nick Wolf who many of you know as the "Patch King".  After using some customized patch trading blankets at the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference Nick set about seeing if he could design and produce a patch trading blanket for the hobby.  After six months of developement he released his blanket which features room for up to 30 different flap/CSP shaped patches along with a zipper system to keep them in place.  Since then Nick has also released a matching blanket that is the perfect size for OA two-piece sets and is about to come out with one madef or neckerchiefs and jacket patches. In this interview Nick shares the story of how he got inspired to make the patch blanket and we talk about the process of getting it to production.  The hope is that many Scouts and Scouters attending the 2017 National Scout Jamboree will put these to good use.  Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Join me as Russell Smart shares details on this summer's Boy Scout National Jamboree. As the Program Chairman he has spent many hours planning since the 2013 National Jamboree to iron out the wrinkles and make this summer's event amazing.  During July 2017 over 40,000 Scouts and Scouters will descend on the Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve in West Virginia.  As the Summit is the world's premier high adventure base the memories that will be made will last a lifetime. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Listen in to hear the wisdom of Uncle Nick.  My interview with Nick Loesch will trace his history in the hobby and get his impressions on how it's changed over the years.  Nick attened the 1964 Jamboree as a boy and caught the patch collecting pretty hard.  It was at the 1965 NOAC that he burned a Blue Heron Lodge flap to make a point about boys ripping off each other while trading.  After taking a break from the hobby to raise kids Nick jumped back in the late 1990s and never looked back.  He started on eBay in 2001 and has been a regular on the TOR circuit for years. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

Everyone interested in selling on eBay needs to pay attention to the fees that are going to take a hard bit out of your bottom line.  In today's episode of Scouting Hot Finds Radio we are taking a hard look at what it costs to sell on eBay and look at some strategies that might help you take advantage of the quirks of selling on eBay including whether or not you should have an eBay store. Find more Scouting memorabilia content and all of my podcasts at http://www.scoutpatchcollectors.com.

The collectibles category lives on eBay.  Amazon? Forget about it!  Try doing it yourself with your own website?  Good luck!  So when eBay updates their fees and policies twice a year buyers and especially sellers need to pay attention.  In this episode of Scouting Hot Finds Radio I am going to break down the changes eBay is rolling out to the marketplace on May 1, 2015.  For the most part it's a story of carrots and sticks.  Some of the changers are meant to entice sellers to behave in a way that eBay sees as healthy for the site.  Other changes are meant to rap you over the knuckles if you go against the tide especially if relaunching the same auctions a dozen times was your game. Today's episode is just shy of thirty minutes long and in it I will cover the A-Z of the update.  I will really focus on how this impacts buyers/sellers in the collectibles category where Scouting memorabilia has a home.  At the conclusion I will also share how I think this affects me as an eBay Powerseller with an Anchor level st

I met Mary Lou Schwarzer at the recent Easley, South Carolina Trade-O-Ree sponsored by Chris Jensen.  What makes his encounter interesting is that she drove down from the Blue Ridge Mountains Council in Virginia (http://www.bsa-brmc.org) to unload a lot of her council's old inventory including camp patches, OA and special issue CSPs.  In talking with here I also learned that she has an official BSA council account on eBay and regularly sells items on that marketplace as well.  Mary Lou graciously agreed to let me interview her to find out her impressions of the TOR and tips on how it works for a non-profit to sell on eBay. The interview runs about fifteen minutes and I think it really should give Boy Scout councils and other non-profits some ideas for how to leverage the millions of potential customers on eBay.  What if you could sell on eBay with no listing or final value fees and get reduced shipping costs?  Listen in while she also explains how sellers can use the service to donate money directly from thei

I decided to record this episode of the podcast when I got a message from a Facebook friend.  Krishna Palani asked, "Can you please offer me some resources and tips for trading patches at NOAC? I'm relatively new to trading and I'm going to NOAC this year." I started to fire off a message back when I realized that this was probably a topic that a lot of Arrowmen were curious about.  I'm estimating that only 1/5 youth at the 2015 NOAC will be veterans of the last conference in 2012.  So very few of them have had any experience going to a NOAC and might be curious for some tips just like Krishna.I spent some time writing an outline and just hit record.  I talked for almost 45 minutes straight through without taking a break or hitting the edit button.  This might be the first time in years that I've just recorded my stream of thought and never edited a single word in post-production.  However, I'm extremely happy with the result.  I think the content in this show will be very valuable for any Arrowmen (youth or

The last several episodes of Scouting Hot Finds Radio have focused on unique strategies that people in the hobby of collecting Boy Scout memorabilia have used to feed their habit. Today's episode of the podcast takes the question to one of the young guns in the hobby Nick Wolf of the Connecticut Yankee Council and Owaneco Lodge 313. Nicknamed the "Patch King" by his own lodge brothers because at such a young age he seemed to be loaded with tons of cloth, Nick has developed a unique social media strategy to turnover his inventory.I have been buying/selling for a long time and I got lots of great ideas from listening to Nick share his strategy. In many ways it runs counter to what the typical trader in this hobby would think. Nick would rather sell 100 $1 patches than 1 $100 patch.Many people on Facebook and especially in the Scout Patch Collectors Facebook Group will know Nick from his Cyber Monday Deal sheet. He just wrapped up his 3rd annual sale and was able to surpass what he sold from the first and second