Boy Scout Pioneering Patch from the Past
Just beginning to scheme ideas patches about place, perhaps a Scout patch series about the desert, and found this boy scout patch for pioneering on an internet website for memorabilia from a long time ago. It looks like building a bridge in the desert! The boy scouts and girl scouts were all about nature, survival skills, and embracing a sense of robust individualism in the face of rapid urbanization. Families were leaving the land and heading for factories in cities, and knowledge was being lost as the landscape changed, as was a sense of being American. The initial purpose of the Boy Scouts was to teach [boys] patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values, from 1910.
Katie Bachler was our first HDTS Scout, and was in residence from 2012-2013.
The HDTS Scout Residency is dedicated to learning more about the people and places that make up our diverse and ever evolving community.
During Katie’s residency, visitors were invited to drop into the HDTS HQ, the Scout’s home base, to meet Katie, who could be found making maps, hosting conversations, and baking bread – in between her off-site adventures around town and out in the field.
Katie had a lot in store during her time here, including:
- a series of talks featuring local experts
- joining together to create a web of knowledge
- a research library and archive documenting the many spaces, places, plants, and people that make up this special region
- casual conversations with drop in visitors over tea
- site visits and field trips around town
Katie engaged the community by instigating map-making and rag-rug braiding workshops, the Scout’s Book Club, Art in the Environment classes for desert kids, casual conversations, site visits and field trips—all shared in her Scout’s blog, which serves as the foundation for her book.
