The 1993 Boy Scout National Jamboree Fort A.P. Hill in northern Virginia PA. Page 2
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| Scouts were challenged by the obstacle course, climbing and moto-cross. They had fun and cooled down at the Aquatic activities. It seems that more press coverage was given in the Jamboree Today to the activities. Every issue had lots of images of Scouts having fun and participating in all the events at the Jamboree. |
 The
“I Survived” doesn’t mention the rain, but it’s interesting what
modern Scouts missed at the Jambo. Video Games, the Mall, MTV,
parents, pizza, girls.A rainstorm occurred on August 6, the third day of the Jamboree, causing flooding throughout the Jamboree. Activities for the afternoon were cancelled. The storm deposited over three inches of rain in a thirteen hour period. An I Survived tee shirt was popular but didn’t mention the rain, just the things Scouts did without at the Jamboree. |
  The Woodbadge Reunion honored Bill Hillcourt, there was a article in the Jamboree Today. Bill passed away in 1992. The Overseas Arrowman’s Association held their reunion. The Jamboree is a perfect setting for allied Scouting groups to get-together. The OAA is still active, Bob Cylkowski, a well known collector and dedicated Scouter is the current President (2022).  |
 The OA had been providing cheerful service at previous Jamborees. In 1993 there was more recognition for their service and the OA took on additional responsibilities. The Jamboree Today had several articles about the OA. |
 Scouts of the Jewish faith could earn a special patch by completing a series of fun-filled activities focusing on their Jewish heritage. They ranged from visiting the Jewish Relationship exhibit at Boys Life and attending at least one of the many Jewish services scheduled throughout the Jamboree. The Jewish Committee for Scouting would use this theme at later Jamborees. |
 1993 was the 80th Anniversary of Scouting in the LDS Church. A service was held at the Jamboree. A coin was available for the Anniversary. |
 This picture is one of my favorites from all of the Jamborees. It speaks to what we’re trying to do in Scouting and at Jamborees. Give Scouts activities and adventure through an outdoor program, making it exciting and fun while trying to instill Citizenship and Character Building. Using the Patrol Method with a youth run program. The result are smiling faces and memories that last a lifetime. |
| Counterfit Patches |
  It’s believed that this 1989 backpatch was made by Welsh Industries. The article states that Welsh had $2500 of counterfeit 1993 Jamboree badges. Although it’s unknown what those patches were. At a couple dollars apiece that’s 1,000+ badges. Previously, Howard Ang had been selling unauthorized Jamboree patches, but selling them from a van in the Jamboree parking lot might have crossed an unwritten “line”. Editorial It seems to me there is nothing nefarious about a collector owning an embroidery company. Kelly Williams of California and later Colorado operated the Krelman Company for years. There was never a hint of impropriety; no sending “sample” patches that were later labeled prototypes, no purposely changing colors on one order to have varieties in a single loom, no making more patches than ordered and selling them later. Some embroidery companies were more aggressive than others and if the things listed above did happen, at least the buyer got the best price. It’s easy to blame a single individual but in many cases most councils and lodges having patches made, knew what they were dealing with. After the bad publicity of the Jamboree, Welsh Industries continued making Scout patches. |
| Shoulder Patches |
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| JSP’s (Jamboree Shoulder Patches) were again popular. In 1993 it’s reported that there were over 361 issues As in the past there were different border colors, some with troop numerals, some for staff, restricted and trader issues. With many council having multiple issues that still left about a hundred councils not using JSP’s. For the average scout trader a $100. in patches, JSP’s or OA’s would get a handful of patches for trading. The enjoyment you got trading ultimately seems worth the price. If they didn’t appreciate in value, so what. |
 Although
pins were in decline there were still pins for many of the JSP
patches. |
 In 1998, John Hice of Ohio published a compilation of Jamboree Shoulder Patches (JSP’s) in color. There had never been an attempt to catalog JSP’s and John’s booklet is a classic. John has passed away and the book is out of print, but Chris Jensen has the book on his Streamwood.net website as a free download Thanks Chris for preserving this. Some have said that it’s not 100% complete, although that probably could be said of almost any collecting booklet. John was one of the major JSP collectors and he credits Bob Purdy, Dr. Tom Jones, Kelly Williams and Wes Schmidt for collaborating. These five men were the most knowledgeable JSP collectors at the time. |
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| Paul Myers Goshen,
Indiana gimogash@comcast.net |