Scouts adjust for jamboree, Event patch loses reference to Fort A.P. Hill
BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jun 07, 2003
News of the move comes as the Scouts' local Robert E. Lee Council searches for a new name in what the council says is an effort to improve recruiting in urban areas.
National Scout officials said yesterday they are not succumbing to political correctness by choosing not to mention Fort A.P. Hill, which is named for a Confederate lieutenant general and has served as the site of the quadrennial National Scout Jamboree since 1981.
The 2005 patch will instead mention Caroline County.
"It's a recognition of the support we've received the past two decades from the people of Caroline County," said Gregg Shields, a national Scout spokesman.
Shields noted the 2001 patch did not mention any location, although an official Scout souvenir patch did cite Fort A.P. Hill. The 1997 patch did not mention a locality, he said, and he recalled a 1981 patch merely cited Virginia.
"There's no real tradition," he said, adding that the jamboree's leadership team had made the decision within the past couple of months.
Caroline County Administrator Percy Ashcraft said county officials had been hoping that Scout officials might find a way to more closely identify the jamboree with Caroline. In the past, Ashcraft said, the event has sometimes been described as being near Fredericksburg, much to the county's dismay.
"We would certainly appreciate that," Ashcraft said of greater recognition for Caroline.
The Scouts' Internet site for the next jamboree also mentions Caroline County in the heading, although Fort A.P. Hill is mentioned in the accompanying description.
The 2005 National Scout Jamboree is scheduled for July 25 through Aug. 3, 2005 at the Army installation. During the 2001 event, an estimated 40,000 Scouts and adult leaders from around the nation and the world came to Fort A.P. Hill and tackled activities ranging from mountain biking to snorkeling to rappelling.
Contact Kiran Krishnamurthy at (540) 371-4792 or [email protected]
TimesDispatch.com - Richmond Times Dispatch
Caroline Co.
Fort A.P. Hill