pre-OA camp honor society????

 

Picture at this address also my patch site!

 

From a friend of a friend!!!

 

Hello all,

 

A patch dealer apparently dug out of Baltimore an old neckerchief with the Greek letters PGT on it. I have a scan of the neckerchief if anyone wants to see it (it’s big, like 3 mb). That raised speculation that the nc is from a pre-OA camp honor society that existed in a number of councils around the US. I would be very surprised to find that this group existed in Baltimore, especially prior to 1922 when Nentico was founded. I would also be surprised to learn that such a group existed alongside Nentico. It is certainly possible that the nc came from somewhere else and the owner just ended up in Baltimore. Or it could be that the nc has nothing to do with Scouting.

 

Anyway a friend here in the Chicago area now owns the nc and is seeking info on it. If anyone can tell me anything to pass on, I would appreciate it.

 

 

Attached files

 

 

 

 

Comments

I doubt very much that it is from the pre-1922 period, in Baltimore or anywhere. First, I have rarely if ever seen customized (silk-screened or otherwise printed) neckerchiefs from that era. They just don’t seem to have been made, or if made they don’t seem to have survived. In fact, this 1927 piece suggests that neckerchiefs became popular “within the last five years” (which would start in 1922). And that’s just neckerchiefs in general–customization likely came behind that.

Further, early neckerchiefs were usually full squares, and this is clearly a triangular neckerchief–the points can be seen in the lower right corner.

So it’s almost certainly not early enough to be “pre-OA” in Baltimore. I think it more likely that it’s from another PGT program (and ended up in Baltimore collection) than that there was an otherwise undocumented PGT program existing in Baltimore along with the OA. There are enough camp brochures in circulation from the 1920s-1940s that an undocumented program is not likely.

By Tegularius on December 8th, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Pathfinders of the Golden Trail (PGT) is indeed a pre-OA society from Lancaster County Council in Pennsylvania. I recall an article about it in the American Scouting Traders Association Report several years ago. In addition to the n/c, there is also a lapel pin similar to a fraternity pin. For more info, check out http://usscouts.org/honorsociety/pathfinders.asp. Nice find!

By ISCA87L on December 8th, 2009 at 8:38 pm

Thanks my friend will be happy!

By redneck_patch_trader on December 9th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
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