Scout Patch Collectors

Friday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter April 15, 2022

It’s not often that you get to go on a pick in your home council territory. Yesterday I spent the day in Florence, SC on a massive pick to help an old Scouting friend that some of you know (Julian Fowler) clean out his upstairs office. Julian is a collector and some of you will remember him from the 1990s and early 2000s as the Axeman. Yes! he still actively collects Boy Scout and Girl Scout axes. But he also had just tons of accumulation of old books, hats, tshirts, uniforms, equipment that he wanted to get rid of to make space. So I spent the day with him and worked out a deal to take home all the other “stuff” that he accumulated. (pictures below)

As I unpack today I know there are at least three needs in there for my lodge t-shirt collection (Oh yes there is such a thing!). But perhaps the thing that I will find most useful is he had over 90 Boxware frames that I also got. Now the bulk of those were empty as he had sold off the major items in his collection a decade ago. But with my collection display system I use Boxware frames that that was the best deal I ever got on buying them in bulk.

I have 261 live auctions on eBay with many of those being interesting CSPs and some square merit badges ending Sunday. eBay actually reached out to me to see if I would get on a Zoom with their eBay stores product development team next week. Seems they have some new features they are developing and want some user feedback. I’ve never been approached like that before so I’m interested to look behind the curtain!

So for most of the day today I will be in “triage” mode. As I unload the van I have to bring order to the chaos before it can go into the warehouse. I have to sort out all the uniforms and tshirt (what needs to be washed, what doesn’t). Then I have to strip the patches out of the Boxware and find a place to store that many frames. But for me the fact that so much of this is local stuff will actually make it a joy to go through.

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE APRIL 15, 2022 ISSUE OF THE SCOUTING HOT FINDS NEWSLETTER