The International Scouting Collectors Association (ISCA) was established in 2001 as a non-profit group interested in furthering the education of scouting through the trade and display of memorabilia and history of the BSA and Scouting. The ISCA states that [their] "primary purpose is to educate the membership and others regarding Scouting memorabilia and promotion of the ISCA Ethics." [1]
The history of the ISCA originated with the American Scouting Traders Association (ASTA) and the National Scouting Collectors Society (NSCS) organizations who worked together to help further the knowledge of scouting memorabilia, and thus the history of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development. At a 1953 National Jamboree, a group of scouts organized a newsletter called The Trader. Mike Diamond became the first editor, and volunteers help ensure the integrity of scouting memorabilia with its publications.
In 1978 The Trader joined forces with Scouting Collectors Quarterly, and through the years produced several publications of various names, and eventually became known as the National Scouting Collectors Society (NSCS).
On the west coast of the United States, a group of traders established the California Traders Association (CTA) to further promote the collaboration between traders and collectors during a 12-D conference [lower-alpha 1] . The CTA went through several name changes and incarnations through the early and mid 1970s, before becoming known as the American Scouting Traders Association (ASTA) in 1985. The ASTA began attending the National Order of the Arrow Conferences [lower-alpha 2] in 1990, and by 1994 they boasted over 1000 strong in membership.
Now that the ASTA and NSCS have merged to form the ISCA they have over 1500 members, and a presence in all 50 states, as well as 11 countries worldwide. [2]
The ISCA publishes a quarterly journal, the ISCA Journal, [1] ISCA's quarterly publication featuring ISCA functions, Trade-O-Ree information, history of Scouting memorabilia, news of new patches issued, reports on TOR's, Letters to the Editor and lots more. [2]
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, about 110 million Americans have participated in BSA programs. BSA is part of the international Scout Movement and became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.
The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the assistance of Carroll A. Edson, in 1915 as a means of reinforcing the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. It uses imagery commonly associated with American Indian cultures for its self-invented ceremonies. These ceremonies are usually for recognition of leadership qualities, camping skills, and other scouting ideals as exemplified by their elected peers.
Edward Urner Goodman was an influential leader in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) movement for much of the twentieth century. Goodman was the national program director from 1931 until 1951, during the organization's formative years of significant growth when the Cub Scouting and Exploring programs were established. He developed the BSA's national training center in the early 1930s and was responsible for publication of the widely read Boy Scout Handbook and other Scouting books, writing the Leaders Handbook used by Scout leaders in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, Goodman was Executive Director of Men's Work for the National Council of Churches in New York City and active in church work.
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a major international membership organization for academics in the field, offering regional and national conferences and refereed publications. It has numerous membership divisions, interest groups, publications and websites.
There have been American Scouts overseas since almost the inception of the movement, often for similar reasons as the present day. Within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), these expatriate Scouts are now served by two overseas Councils and the Direct Service program. Within the Girl Scouts of the USA, the USAGSO serves such a purpose.
The history of merit badges in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has been tracked by categorizing them into a series of merit badge types. In addition to the Boy Scouts of America, many other Scouting and Scouting-like organizations around the world, such as Pathfinders, Baden-Powell Scouts and Royal Rangers, issue merit badges or their equivalent; though they are sometimes called honors or proficiency badges. Other organizations, such as fire brigades, issue badges or awards that they refer to as merit badges, but that are in some respects different from the badges awarded by the BSA.
Scouting memorabilia collecting is the hobby and study of preserving and cataloging Boy Scouting and Girl Guiding items for their historic, aesthetic and monetary value. Since collecting depends on the interests of the individual collector, the depth and breadth of each collection varies. Some collectors choose to focus on a specific subtopic within their area of general interest, for example insignia issued prior to the 1970s Boy Scouts of America requirement that all insignia have either the fleur-de-lis or the acronym BSA; or only the highest ranks issued by each nation. Others prefer to keep a more general collection, accumulating any or all Scouting merchandise, or Scouting stamps from around the world.
Lone Scouts of America (LSA) was a Scouting organization for American boys that operated from 1915 until it merged with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1924. The LSA was founded by W. D. Boyce, publisher of the Chicago Ledger and the Saturday Blade and one of the founders of the BSA. Boyce felt that the program of the BSA did not help the rural boy who could not find enough other boys to form a troop or a patrol. James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive of the BSA, disagreed with Boyce's concept, believing that the 4-H program was fulfilling the role. After Boyce left the BSA, he started the Lone Scouts of America and incorporated it on January 9, 1915. Boyce became the executive officer or Chief Totem and Frank Allan Morgan became the editor of The Lone Scout. In October 1915, Boyce appointed all of his paperboys as members of the LSA and published the first issue of The Lone Scout magazine.
Scouting in the United States is dominated by the 1.2 million-member Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA and other associations that are recognized by one of the international Scouting organizations. There are also a few smaller, independent groups that are considered to be "Scout-like" or otherwise Scouting related.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on The Boy Scouts Association, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1910. In the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA.
Religion in Scouting and Guiding is an aspect of the Scout method that has been practiced differently and given different interpretations in different parts of the world over the years.
Scouting has sometimes become entangled in social controversies such as in nationalist resistance movements in India. Scouting was introduced to Africa by British officials as an instrument of colonial authority but became a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of British imperialism as Scouting fostered solidarity amongst African Scouts. There are also controversies and challenges within the Scout Movement itself such as current efforts to turn Scouts Canada into a democratic organization.
Max I. Silber was an American businessman from New Hampshire who through his philanthropic works became not only a formative figure for Boy Scouting in New Hampshire, but a distinguished citizen of his home state. A devout Jew, Silber was an active supporter of religious Scouting programs, and was distinguished not just by the Jewish Committee of Scouting, but by the Roman Catholic Committee on Scouting as well. Perhaps the most famous endeavor of Silber's was the development of his "friendship gifts" which were most commonly belt buckles made of bronze. These buckles have evolved into popular Scouting collectibles.
The 'Unknown Scout' was an anonymous member of The Boy Scout Association in the United Kingdom whose good turn inspired William D. Boyce to form the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
High Adventure Bases of the Boy Scouts of America are outdoor recreation facilities located in several locales in North America operated by the Boy Scouts of America at the organization's national level. Each facility offers wilderness programs and training that could include wilderness canoeing, wilderness backpacking trips, or sailing, and provide opportunities for Scouts to earn the 50-Miler Award. These bases are administered by the High Adventure Division of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Edward Leslie Rowan is a retired psychiatrist, sex therapist, active author, and Scouting leader from Exeter, New Hampshire. He has been associated with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for over 50 years and is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) from the BSA in 1992.
Terry L. Grove was the past chairman of the International Scouting Collectors Association (ISCA). Grove was also a retired United Church of Christ minister and Scouter. He served on the executive board of the Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
A commodity trading advisor (CTA) is US financial regulatory term for an individual or organization who is retained by a fund or individual client to provide advice and services related to trading in futures contracts, commodity options and/or swaps. They are responsible for the trading within managed futures accounts. The definition of CTA may also apply to investment advisors for hedge funds and private funds including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in certain cases. CTAs are generally regulated by the United States federal government through registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and membership of the National Futures Association (NFA).
The Train Collectors Association (TCA) is an international non-profit organization of people who operate and collect toy trains, toy train accessories, toy train books, toy train paper, and anything else rail transport related. TCA was founded in October 1954 in Yardley, Pennsylvania and is currently headquartered in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. The National Toy Train Museum affiliated with TCA is included in the "List of museums in Pennsylvania".
