Scout Jamboree hosts 50-year reunion

World Boy Scouts are returning to Farragut State Park Aug. 1. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the XII World Jamboree, alumni of the 1967 gathering will once again come together “in friendship.” Former Scouts from several countries and the United States will reunite at the Friendship Tower in Farragut State Park to re-dedicate this monument.

The public is invited to the ceremony which will take place Tuesday, Aug. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Friendship Tower located north of Smylie Boulevard and can be accessed via Monaghan Avenue inside the Park. Those wishing to attend the festivities will need to have an Idaho State Park Pass or purchase a $5 per vehicle day pass at the park headquarters just inside the main entrance. A short presentation on park history, improvements that occurred because of the Jamboree and how the park has changed over the past 50 years will be made by park staff and local historian and reunion co-organizer Ken Conger of Sandpoint. A flag presentation by local Boy Scouts and words from returning Jamboree alumni will also take place.

The Friendship Tower is a collection of 12 60-foot poles representing the 12 World Jamborees. Metal bands encircle the poles and read “For Friendship” in three languages. During the Jamboree a “Torch of Friendship” burned at the structure’s base. This torch was lit by Umatilla Tribe member and Scout Charles Van Pelt of Avery. The flame had been brought from Marathon Greece, the site of the 1963 World Jamboree by the Greek contingent. The structure was the symbol of the Jamboree and served as a central meeting point throughout the nine-day event.

Approximately 12,000 Scouts and leaders from over 100 countries took part in the Jamboree held at the newly created Farragut State Park Aug. 1-9, 1967. This 5,000-acre park is situated on the southern shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Over 87,000 people visited the Jamboree. Among these were Lady Baden-Powell (widow of the founder of the Boy Scout movement), actor Jimmy Stewart (from “It’s A Wonderful Life”) and astronaut Scott Carpenter (one of the original seven NASA astronauts). Also making a last-minute appearance was Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. The vice president and his wife Muriel made a six-our stopover at the Jamboree and spoke at all ten sub-camps on the second to the last night of the Jamboree. He told stories of him being a Scoutmaster for Troop 6 in Huron, S.D., and having only reached the rank of Life Scout (Scouting’s second highest rank.)

During the Jamboree, Scouts participated in camp crafts, skits, hiking, cooking, swimming, boating, fishing, conservation education, trading mementos and making friendships and memories. The world was a turbulent place in 1967 but Scouts came together in a tranquil mountain meadow in Northern Idaho and demonstrated the theme of the Jamboree, “For Friendship.” The people of Idaho and nearby Washington state really did roll out the welcome mat and said, “howdy.” The Coeur d’Alene BPOE (Elks) put on a rodeo and service groups hosted a chuckwagon dinner of beef, buffalo and salmon.

Farragut State Park boasts several permanent improvements that were built for the 1967 Jamboree. Among these are the park headquarters building, bath houses and docks at Buttonhook and Beaver bays, a permanent water system and a 60,000-person amphitheater. A total of $729,425 ($5.3 million in 2017 dollars) of federal and state of Idaho funds went into these and other amenities.

All of those who attended, worked at or visited the Jamboree are invited to attend. Surplus donations from the reunion will fund a permanent historical marker in the park and help the United Way of North Idaho childhood literacy program, Reading Rig and Book Bank. Anyone who would like to share photographs or stories of either the 1967 World or 1969 National Jamborees is asked to contact Ken Conger at 208-263-1060.