World Boy Scout Jamboree to hold 50-year reunion

It has been 50 years since 12,000 Boy Scouts and leaders from more than 100 countries gathered at Farragut State Park for the XXII World Jamboree.

Alumni of the 1967 gathering will come together again Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the park in Athol to rededicate the Friendship Tower, a monument in place during the first Jamboree and still standing today.

The public is invited to the ceremony, which will take place at 1 p.m. at the Friendship Tower located north of Smylie Boulevard and accessed via Monaghan Avenue inside the park.

Those wishing to attend the festivities will need to have an Idaho State Park Pass or purchase a $5 per vehicle day pass at the Park Headquarters just inside the main entrance.

A short presentation on park history, improvements that occurred because of the Jamboree and how the park has changed over the past 50 years will be made by park staff and local historian and reunion co-organizer Ken Conger of Sandpoint. A flag presentation by local Boy Scouts and words from returning Jamboree alumni will also take place.

The Friendship Tower is a collection of 12 60-foot poles representing the 12 World Jamborees. Metal bands encircle the poles and read “For Friendship” in three languages.

The structure was the symbol of the Jamboree and served as a central meeting point throughout the nine-day event.

During the Jamboree a “Torch of Friendship” burned at the structure’s base. This torch was lit by Umatilla Tribe member and Scout Charles Van Pelt of Avery, Idaho. The flame had been brought from Marathon, Greece, the site of the 1963 World Jamboree.

More than 87,000 people visited the Jamboree. Among them was Lady Baden-Powell, widow of the founder of the Boy Scout movement; Hollywood actor Jimmy Stewart; and astronaut Scott Carpenter. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, with his wife, Muriel, made a six-hour stop at the Jamboree. Humphrey spoke to the scouts and told stories of having been a Scoutmaster in South Dakota. He told them he reached the rank of Life Scout, scouting’s second highest rank.

All of those who attended, worked at or visited the Jamboree are invited to attend. Surplus donations from the reunion will fund a permanent historical marker in the park and help the United Way of North Idaho’s childhood literacy program, reading rig and book bank.

Anyone who would like to share photographs or stories of either the 1967 World or 1969 National Jamborees is asked to contact Ken Conger at (208) 263-1060.