Honduran Boy Scout seeks old friends
Courtesy photo A copy of a souvenir edition of the Coeur d’Alene Press commemorating the Boy Scout World Jamboree held in the area in 1967. Gilberto Lagos, of Honduras, was at the event and kept the publication.
COURTESY PHOTOGilberto Lagos was 15 when he led a group of Boy Scouts from Honduras to Coeur d'Alene to participate in the Wolrd Jamboree in North Idaho. Lagos recently reached out to The Press for assistance in locating several of the host families, as well as former members of the troop who were adopted by American families.
COEUR d’ALENE — A Honduran man who had a transformative experience while visiting the Coeur d’Alene area with his Boy Scout troop is reaching out to the community for assistance almost 50 years after the trip.
Gilberto Lagos, 65, recently contacted The Press about a trip he had to the area in 1967 for a Boy Scout World Jamboree event, and included a screenshot of a souvenir edition of The Press commemorating the event he has kept ever since. As August approaches, so too does the 50th anniversary of the trip, which Lagos said they hope to celebrate by reconnecting with several host families and former members of his troop.
“It was my first time in the USA and, according to my father, it was a country to respect and admire for many reasons. The people from Coeur d’Alene were great,” Lagos wrote in an email. “All the families there made us feel at home.”
Lagos has been attempting to locate some of the families he and his peers stayed with near Fernan Lake after the event. He provided the following list of names to The Press:
- James Whaley
- Robert Moute
- Frank Andrews
- Warren Spaulding
“To be grateful is one of the principles in the scout movement and I will be grateful to these families forever,” Lagos said. “Perhaps some of them have passed away, but their memory is still present with me.”
Three members of the troop, according to Lagos, were adopted by American families shortly after the trip. Lagos said those families were able to visit the boys for the first time during the World Jamboree, but is unaware of whether the families were from the area.
Records of the boys’ membership in the Honduran Boy Scouts were lost in a hurricane, Lagos said, so he isn’t entirely certain of their last names. However, Lagos provided what he believes are the names of the boys in hopes of locating them — Juan Martinez, Freddy Pavon and Roger Castro.
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Press reporter Keith Cousins can be contacted at kcousins@cdapress.com, or (208) 664-8176.