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American Boy Scouts in England
August 3, 2012
By Alex Cabrero
LONDON — One thing that a lot of people don't know about England is that it is the birthplace of the Boy Scouts, and one troop from Logan, Utah came here to see some of the sites of England.
The scouts got to see the sights, sounds and play some of the games. While in London the Boy Scouts of America were hosted by counterparts from Great Brittain, and had the chance to spend time together.
They played a sport that each team was familiar with. The American Boy Scouts did well playing football but their British counterparts got revenge playing cricket.
Ryan Martin is one of 11 Boy Scouts from Logan who visited Europe, stayed with host families, and spent time with Boy Scouts in England, but wasn't a big fan of cricket.
"Not the greatest," Martin said. "It's much different than baseball."
The trip was to show them different cultures and different ways of doing things.
"This is a life changing event," said Tom Hogan, who is Scoutmaster of Troop 1. "This is one of those things that they get off the ranch and discover that the world is really just that big."
Of course, they did more than play sports. They saw the Olympic Torch as it went through London.
"So cool," Hogan said. "It's just… no words to describe it. It's the Olympics. Been around since forever."
The trip also included a visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Stonehenge in England, and Normandy, France.
"Not a lot of people get to be here in real life and get to see it live," Hogan said. "It's like, wow, I get to see this and I'll probably never be here again."
Unless he comes in 3 years. You see, this trip is a tradition for these two troops. They've been visiting each other for almost 20 years.
"We learned a different type of English over in Utah, which was good fun," said David Breeching, a scout leader for the Ashford District in England. "And just the size of the place. Around here it's really flat. We love the mountains and love the fresh air. We didn't life the grizzly bears quite so much, or the bugs. The bugs were bigger as well."
Bugs and bears in Utah is all part of getting to know each other.
"We're in England." Hogan said. "I mean how many troops get to go to England?"
Next year the troop from England will head over to Logan to enjoy some of the sites of Utah. Then there is a year off, and three years from now the troop from Logan will be here in England.
Alex Cabrero has been reporting for KSL TV-5 since 2004. During his time in Salt Lake City, he has covered several high-profile stories, including the St. George floods, the Crandall Canyon mine collapse, and the Trolley Square shootings.
