Tuesday Scouting Hot Finds Newsletter September 13, 2022
Tonight I am making an almost 2.5 hour drive to southeastern North Carolina to donate some items to the Cape Fear Council Historical Association. I have been in touch with Bob Walton and Jonathan Widmark regarding Sea Scout memorabilia that I dug out of Lumberton when I lived there over 15 years ago. Previously I’ve donated some items but after some conversation I’ve decided to give them the jewels for safekeeping.
Lumberton, NC was home to the Sea Scout Ship Lumbee from 1933 through the early 1960s. Led by Skipper C.D. Brothers this ship was famous for their annual long cruise that put in the Lumber River in downtown and floated all the way to Georgetown in the span of a week. I was able to attain the 1940 log book and eventually a Sea Explorer uniform with full insignia including a wool Eagle Scout patch. The final piece that fell into my hands was C.D. Brothers own personal merit badge sash.
Bob has been kind enough to share details and founding documents of the council’s historical association. I have planted the seed in the Indian Waters Council that this is something folks should consider. The CFCHA has a wonderful museum at Camp Bowers that was built into their Training Center. The Historical Association is a committee of the council with board approval. Some other councils in NC have this model which was pioneered by the Old Hickory Council.
I have
212 live auctions up on eBay. My plan to run trail patches at auction was a winner on Sunday night. One of the trail patches that I had no clue about sold for over $200 in competitive bidding. For the seller the eBay auction format is a great way to test the waters and see if something is unique. It’s impossible to be knowledgeable about everything in this hobby and it’s too time consuming to research each piece.
Donating these items back to the council where they will be housed in a climate controlled building and potentially displayed is the right thing to do. If something happened to me I’m sure my family will gladly sell off my stuff to the highest bidder and then these would be lost. So for some items that have a great value in terms of local history I feel good about handing them off to the Historical Association for them to share and preserve.
Camp Director, Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor Member and past Chief, lifelong Scouter and patch collector.
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