Sandy Tallman's patch blankets

Another of Sandy Tallman's patch blankets. He used a curved upholsterer's needle to make the stitches. When you see his blankets in person, you will observe that the stitching is not very precise. The reason is that Sandy made these toward the end of his life when his hands were afflicted with arthritis.

Russell Tetley footlocker

This footlocker belonged to Russell Tetley, a lifelong Scout and Scouter. He and his brothers became Scouts in the 1910s in Red Bank, NJ. His footlocker displays three stickers from the 1937 National Jamboree. Mr. Tetley was the contingent leader to that Jamboree. He also led the council contingent to the 1939-40 World's Fair and to Philmont in 1947 and attended other Jamborees. The inside lid of the footlocker is inscribed with these accomplishments.

Among the items his wife, Grace, donated was a 1932 Boy Scout diary. Amusingly, the diary was hers, not his! The couple was still courting that year. A few entries from her diary:
(Fri. Jan. 11) "Boy Scout Banquet Berkley Carteret [Hotel]. Had a swell time."
(Sat. April 30) "Home tonight. R to B.S. Rally - came over later."
(Sun. Aug. 7) "Russell went to Camp. Came home at 2:30, went for a ride."
Clearly, the relationships of dedicated Scouters have not changed much in 70 years.

1939 Monmouth Council Sea Scout Flag

A Council Flagship flag for the 1939 Monmouth Council Sea Scouts flagship. A "Ship" in Sea Scouting is the term for the Sea Scout unit (like a Pack or Troop). The Council Flagship would be the highest-performing Ship in the council.

A similar 1940 Council Flagship flag is also on display.

1911 Boy Scout uniform

This is the same type of uniform, but with extensive awards. Metal "5" pins on the collar indicate that he was a member of Troop 5. The right sleeve displays twenty-four merit badges (three others have been lost). Some of these are so-called "teens varieties," meaning that the design was issued for only a few years in the beginning of the movement before the embroidery design was reworked. The Star and Life ranks are above his left pocket. On the left sleeve is an Assistant Scoutmaster patch. The earliest adult position patches like this one borrowed the design of the First Class rank, but they were made slightly larger. Each position was denoted by a specific color combination.

1929 World Jamboree Sigmund Eisner Photo Album

This photo album tells the story of the 1929 World Jamboree at Arrowe Park in England through hundreds of photographs. Judging by the quality and subjects of the photos, it appears that they were taken by the BSA's official photographers. Many of the photos feature BSA officials like James West, "Uncle Dan" Beard, etc. as well as B-P himself.

The album is marked "Property of Sigmund Eisner Company". This company was the BSA's National Outfitter from 1910 to 1932. Eisner was an immigrant from Europe who built a very successful clothing and uniform business in Red Bank, NJ.

The origin of this album is something of a mystery. We do not know if Eisner had it assembled and bound using photos obtained from the BSA, or if the BSA made and presented it to Eisner. As far as we can determine, none of the Eisner family members are pictured in the album, so we do not know if any of them even attended the Jamboree.

This album has been digitally scanned, and a CD-ROM with all the photos is available for purchase from the Museum Store.