The 1989 Boy Scout National Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill in northern Virginia PA. Page 1
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The 1989 Jamboree returned to Ft. AP Hill, eighty five miles south
of Washington D.C. The site had proven to be perfect for a Jamboree.
Close enough to the historic sites in the nations capitol and on a
military base with the US Army providing security. The official
attendance is reported at 32,717 which was almost the same as 1985.
The Jamboree had two themes, Adventure Begins with America’s Youth
for Scouts and Adventure Begins Exploring the Wonderful World for
Explorers. Although patches and neckerchiefs were made, the Explorer
portion of the Jamboree ran into difficulties. In the final analysis
although Explorers attended, there was no separate program. As in years past most contingents visited Washington DC, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington’s home at Mt Vernon, and many of the government offices in DC. Visiting the historic sights was an important aspect of the Jamboree, it was believed that it helped make Scouts better citizens. George Bush was President, he visited and spoke at the Jamboree. For the first time female Explorers attended the Jamboree as full participants. |
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| Scouts received two embroidered badges and neckerchiefs. There were official I D cards and luggage/baggage tags. Each Scout was given a guide book that has valuable information about the Jamboree. |
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| For 1989 the back/jacket patch was remarkably larger than in previous years. There had been complains about the small size of back/jacket patches at earlier Jamborees. |
  There was no participation segment for 1989. The “wide Game” happened with cards for famous Astronauts, but a participation segment was not awarded. I have made numerous inquiries as to why but never received an answer. |
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| Leather Name Tags had been used by Trading Post Staff for many years. In 1985 plastic name tags were developed and widely used by the staff, but optional for units. Although, a high percentage of units used them. By 1989 the name tag was becoming a standard part of the Jamboree uniform, but still optional. |
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ADDITION JULY 2022 1989 Pocket Patch |
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| The fully embroidered issue is close to the official issue. The obvious difference being plain versus plastic back. At this point it’s unknown if it’s a prototype or a private issue. Thanks Jeff Jones. |
| 1989 Back/Jacket Patch |
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reproduction to the left) - Sunbursts instead of thin crosses. The
green continents above the fleur de Leis is different.There are other differences, the wing is into the 8. The repo has smaller lettering and it does not come down as far as the authentic. Varieties in “official” patches were usually discovered by collectors who were on Trading Post Staff. Handling hundreds of patches they were on the lookout for differences. With reproductions of official Jamboree patches being made by unofficial sources, collectors will have to decide what they want. Unauthorized issues were probably made in small quantities and can be scarce. Thanks Jeff Jones. |
| The Jamboree patches and neckerchief were made in huge quantities, but there ae no known varieties. There are no known prototypes, which seems odd, but if there are, they are unknown to me. If anyone has information on varieties or prototypes, I will be happy to show them. |
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| Pins were popular. Some are official, sold at the Trading Post, although I have been told by people that arrived at the Jamboree early that most pins were already sold out. Most are probably unofficial, made independently and brought to the Jamboree to trade. The Garfield and Snoopy pins are official, the BSA had a license agreement with Jim Davis. (Thanks Trey Walls) |
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| As in previous Jamboree’s, patches were developed by individuals that had nothing to do with the Jamboree. These are a few examples, and there are others. It’s believed that the Cub Scout, I Visited patches came from and Illinois embroidery company that was set up in the parking lot making and selling patches. The Junk Food Junkie is a spoof, it was popular because with so much to do at the Jamboree quite a few Scouts would skip lunch in the troop site and eat at the Trading Post snack bars. |
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| Scout Shops around the country made a patch that looked similar to the 1989 Jamboree patch. I don’t believe anyone could confuse them with the Jamboree patch, but I’m showing a few here. Many Scouts visited the Washington DC, Scout Shop, it also had a neckerchief. |
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 The Patch Police is another spoof patch it was developed after the
Jamboree in reaction to the enforcement policy at the 1989 Jamboree
of
no adult trading with youth. It was made with blue, silver mylar and
gold mylar borders. This was a common theme with staff patches at
the Jamboree. Different border colors that basically meant nothing
except some were made in more limited quantities.The no trading rule was probably enacted because some adult traders flooded the Jamboree just to trade patches. Adult staff who took two weeks off to volunteer were lumped into this undesirable group. To compound matters many of the staff enforcing the rules were youth. I saw a youth security staff member hassling an adult national level Scouter (gold epaulets) with four rows of knots. Military Police were also involved. In the final analysis it’s big brother trying to arbitrarily enforce right from wrong without recognizing there is a very big gray area in-between. It was OK for adult leaders to spend every Monday night with the Scouts, take them on monthly camp-outs and to the Jamboree, but the Jamboree policy was that all adults cheat youth, when trading patches. Needless to say it caused a lot of hard feelings. |
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| Paul Myers Goshen,
Indiana gimogash@comcast.net |