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About Wally
Wally Spiers was born January of 1952, in Wellsville, Mo., in the worst blizzard of the season. His mother was unable to get to the hospital, and he was born in a local doctor's office. He attempted to come out sideways, and has been similarly confused since. He came to the News-Democrat in 1987, and started his column in 1990.
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closeFeb. 8 will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, but the national scout executive doesn't want local scout councils necessarily dwelling only on the past.
Recognize the good work, sure, but move on and do more and better good work, said Bob Mazzuca, head of Boy Scouts of America.
He was in O'Fallon on Thursday night at the Regency Conference Center to talk to leaders and board members of the Lewis & Clark Council and civic and community leaders and get them enthused about celebrating the upcoming anniversary.
"One-hundred years is just around the corner," Mazucca said. "But I want us to decide it just isn't about the past. It's also about the future. Where do we go from here?"
The Lewis & Clark Council -- the combination of the old Trails West and Okaw Valley councils -- which reaches its first anniversary in February, sponsored a private reception to kick off planning for the 100th anniversary celebration.
On hand to set the mood was Wilbur Williamson, a private collector from Bloomington who brought along a lot of his collection of scout memorabilia.
Mannequins displayed uniforms such as the powder blue one of the old Air Explorers from the early 1950s. One collection box had 16 Boy Scout manuals, one of each edition published.
"This all started as an effort to collect all the handbooks," Williamson said.
He also has a large collection of membership cards and cases, and cases of badges, pins and other stuff.
Alicia Lifrak, scout director of Lewis and Clark, said there are some camporees planned, including a big one in the summer in the St. Louis area, but other events will be announced as plans are finalized.
Mazzuca, an Eagle Scout himself, took the top office in 2007. One of his priorities has been promoting the upcoming 100th anniversary as a way to further expand scouting.
He said there are 3 million youths and 1.1 million volunteers working in scouting, and still people ask him if the scouts are still around.
"This is our time and place in history to stand up and proclaim what we're really about, what we do for kids," he said. "Seize the day. Don't stop here."
Have a column idea? Call Wally Spiers at 239-2506 or 800-642-3878; or e-mail: wspiers@bnd.com.
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