Source of Camping and Back-country Survival Info

zzyzzogeton

zzyzzogeton

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Feb 17, 2013
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While looking for info about a knife I am researching, I ran across this link to old issues of Boy's Life magazine, the original Boy Scout infomercial publication.

https://books.google.com/books?id=oPgDAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_slider_gbs_user_shelves_1004_homepage

The digital issues go back to the 1st issue in March 1911. Some of the early issues are missing, but overall, there are tons of articles on camping/survival/hunting/fishing/etc "how-to"s. The early issues even had "knot-of-the-issue" articles. Obviously, no pictures or ads for Becker knives in them, as even Uncle E hasn't been around that long :D

A short perusal shows how, in some ways, things never change, they just improve (camping equipment, fire making, camp lanterns and stoves) while other have morphed considerably (1911 article describing how a local (PA) Boy Scout troop was literally deputized by the police to assist in crime fighting.

I think the smaller Beckers (11,13,14,24,15,16,17) would have fit in well for individual use with in the Boy Scouts and the rest would have been great "Troop Assets".
 
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Yes the link doesn't work. If you go to books.google.com and enter boys life you will find the back issues.
I really like looking at the old ads towards the back- they bring back fond memories of longing for the generic knives, like the "sportsmans lockback knife" and "swiss army type knife". When I was a kid I had a subscription and that was one of my favorite parts of the magazine lol. "Garners pranks and magic" and the "Sales leader ship club"... one of the prizes to earn for selling was "Original Swiss Army Knife - sell 10 items". I had done the sales leadership club a couple of times and always ended up opting to take the cash :)
 
Scouting literature has always been a reliable source for good outdoors information. I've been a volunteer scout leader for going on 7 years now.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
I think the smaller Beckers (11,13,14,24,15,16,17) would have fit in well for individual use with in the Boy Scouts and the rest would have been great "Troop Assets".
Click to expand...
:thumbup:

Way back when, I had a Western BSA fixed (5"?) that I carried on Boy Scout camping trips. Maybe that's where my fondness of the 15 comes from.

WesternBoyScoutSmallHunter.jpg
 
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TravisH said:
:thumbup:

Way back when, I had a Western BSA fixed (5"?) that I carried on Boy Scout camping trips. Maybe that's where my fondness of the 15 comes from.

WesternBoyScoutSmallHunter.jpg
Click to expand...

That was the BSA version of the L48A. The BSA Westerns did not have a model number, just the BSA logo and/or the words OFFICIAL over BOY SCOUTS over OF AMERICA on the mark side and some variation of the Western marks on the pile side.

I have seen Western BSAs in L48A, L48B, L46-5, and L66 patterns.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
That was the BSA version of the L48A. The BSA Westerns did not have a model number, just the BSA logo and/or the words OFFICIAL over BOY SCOUTS over OF AMERICA on the mark side and some variation of the Western marks on the pile side.

I have seen Western BSAs in L48A, L48B, L46-5, and L66 patterns.
Click to expand...
THX!

But now ya got me itching for one! ;)
 
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