1937 National Jamboree – Opening Flag Ceremony at the National Mall, Washington, D. C.
Jamboree Then and Now
The 20th BSA National Jamboree is in the history books as of July 28th, 2023. But, it is also the first National Jamboree… since girls joined the Scouts BSA ranks. So, now is a good time to look back at the very first National Jamboree and explore what has changed and what has not.
The first BSA National Scout Jamboree was planned for 1935 to celebrate Scouting’s silver jubilee (25 years), but the Polio epidemic of the time necessitated it be postponed. It wasn’t until 2 years later in July of 1937 that the first National Jamboree was finally kicked off in Washington, DC. The Scout encampment of 27,000 attendees was on the lawn surrounding the Washington Monument and along the tidal basin.
Fast forward 86 years later… the 2oth National Scout Jamboree was scheduled for 2021 but it too was delayed, this time because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Again, it was 2 years before it was held at Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, also over 10 days in July 2023 with over 15000 in attendance.
The first Jamboree also marked the first time a sitting President of the United States attended the BSA National Jamboree. While we like to think it is a tradition for the President to attend Jamboree, the tradition is really for us (BSA) to extend an invitation to the President. To date, 8 sitting Presidents have attended Jamboree including: Franklin D. Roosevelt (1937), Harry S. Truman (1950), Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953, 1960), Lyndon B. Johnson (1964), George H. W. Bush (1989), William J. Clinton (1997), George W. Bush (2005), and Donald J. Trump (2017).
Honorable Mentions: Richard M. Nixon attended National Jamboree twice as Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower and both George W. Bush and Barack Obama both recorded an address to Scouts which was played at Jamboree. First Lady Nancy Reagan attended the 1985 Jamboree for her husband, President Ronald R. Reagan, who was recovering from cancer surgery.
The 1937 National Jamboree was very different from all subsequent Jamborees. Being in the nations capital, the opportunities for high adventure were few. White water rafting and rock climbing were nowhere to be seen. Tours of historic sites and monuments were on the schedule. Congressmen held receptions for their Scout constituents, even a tour of FBI headquarters led by J. Edgar Hoover himself, not to mention catching a major league baseball game with the President of the United States. Sea Scouts took a cruise to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD and had lunch with the midshipmen. Scouts laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In contrast, this year’s Jamboree had a lot of hands-on activities. Several Scouts used Jamboree to complete the remaining merit badges they needed to complete all 138. White water rafting… of course! US Navy Seals were there with state-of-the-art VR training. And much, much more.
So, whether it was the very first Jamboree set in our nation’s capital with all of the doors to our country’s institutions swung wide open, or the first fully diverse Jamboree welcoming boys, girls, LGBTQ+, and people of all faiths, shapes, and colors with cutting edge technology, high adventure, and high opportunities, Jamboree is always a magical experience and life-long memory.
