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May 1937. "Boy Scout Jamboree. Boy Scouts sightseeing on Capitol Transit buses." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
a few months later, in summer time the 5th World Jamboree was held in the Netherlands.
By Redraw of logo of 5th World Scout Jamboree, Public Domain, Link
In the Wikipedia article you may find a link to a b/w silent movie of the event, you may attend the five o'clock tea of the U.S. delegation at 5:18.On YouTube you may also find a Color movie.
This Jamboree is remembered more particularly as the last Jamboree B-P. was able to attend before his death in January 1941. Queen Wilhelmina opened the Jamboree and in front of her were assembled 27,000 Scouts from 51 countries - including 8,000 from the British Commonwealth. B-P. was 81 when he attended the Jamboree and in his message to Scouts of the world, he said:
I ... am nearing the end of my life. Most of you are at the beginning, and I want your lives to be happy and successful. You can make them so by doing your best to carry out the Scout Law all your days, whatever your station and wherever you are ... Now goodbye. God bless you all! God bless you!
It was as though he knew he would not be able to attend another Jamboree and was giving his blessing to the Scouts of all nations.
This cannot be on the D.C. side, but still could be the Long Bridge. If that is in fact the Navy-Marine Memorial behind the bus, this has to be the Virginia side along what is now the GW Parkway. The memorial is only about 30 yards off the river on the Virginia side.
If you look down the line of buses, over the sixth and seventh buses, you can see the formation of a flock of sculpted seagulls that composes the top of the Navy-Marine Memorial, which was dedicated in 1934. It is in Virginia on the George Washington Parkway, in what we now call Lady Bird Johnson Park. It is a really cool monument, one of my favorites.
I see that some of the more rebelious scouts would roll their socks down or even roll their shorts up! Non-conformists, obviously.
observes that no one has a canteen. Must be plenty of water available on that sightseeing trip.
The 1937 US national jamboree was the first to be held; the first scheduled was for 1935 but it was cancelled due to polio concerns.
The jamboree headquarters was at the foot of the Washington Monument and camps were spread over the Tidal Basin area and the nearby shores of the Potomac. 25,000 Scouts attended.
If I'm not mistaken, this picture is taken on DC side of the 14th Street Bridge, with the old Long Bridge in the background.
The original Long Bridge was built in 1809. A more recent truss bridge was built on the same site for the railroads in 1903.In 1943, a replacement to the railroad bridge (keeping the old 1903 draw span) was opened.This still stands today.
Wow, single digit troop numbers is something you do not see every day.
And if you look at the short Scout in the middle of the street, he is carrying what seems to be a Brownie #2 box camera. The 2 Scouts behind him also have more recent cameras in hand, the first one appears to be a Brownie Chiquita (smaller and made of bakelite), and the second has a fancy folding bellows camera. The Scout on the far right is also carrying a Brownie box camera.
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