Northwest suburbs a stop on centennial Boy Scout tour

Camping vehicles regularly stop by the Northwest Suburban Boy Scout Council in Mount Prospect, but not like the one that pulled up there last week.

An RV detailed with a giant mural depicting some of the central figures in scouting's 100-year history arrived for a short visit, during its 45,000-mile tour across the country.

Teams of drivers - all veteran scouters - are stopping by some 300 councils, promoting scouting and its long history of nurturing leadership and values in boys, leading up to the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouting, in February.

At last week's visit, the team of drivers came from the Detroit Boy Scout council, yet they said they felt like they were meeting family all along the way.

"We're meeting people who have the same passion as we do, who are immersed in making the next generation of boys very special people," said crew chief Clyde Davis, a Scout leader for 35 years. "It's like going to a family reunion, every stop we make."

Their "Century of Values" tour aims to promote Boy Scouting and its role in building character, while also thanking local leaders for their service.

"This is a very special day," said Northwest Suburban Council President Jim Tierney. "It reminds me of what it must be like when the Olympic torch comes through town."

He said the cross-country caravan is the perfect metaphor for the Boy Scouts' national emblem, which celebrates the adventure and the journey for scouts.

"Boy Scouts prepares solid citizens and good adults. It's a journey, and there are no shortcuts. And that's what I like about it," Tierney said.

During the visit, the Scouters presented council officials with a framed replica of the centennial mural featured on the RV. It was created by professional illustrator and Eagle Scout Bill Morrison, whose work ranges from Disney animation to the Simpsons.

But in this piece, he took a more serious tone as he tried to capture some of the individuals - both famous and unsung - who've advanced the mission of Boy Scouting.

Prominent among them is Lt. Gen. Robert Baden-Powell, feature in the top left corner, a British Army officer whose early Scout troops and manuals in England figured into the movement in this country.

Others include Ed Whitehead, who at 104 years old, was the oldest registered Boy Scout when he passed away just three weeks ago.

Near the center of the mural is artist Norman Rockwell, who illustrated the Boy Scout calendar for 50 years, from 1925 to 1976.

Both the RV and its rotating team of drivers will wind up at the Boy Scout of America's national headquarters in Irvine, Tex., for the 100th anniversary celebration, before the mural is presented to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.