60 years ago on July 6, 1957, two Winner boy scouts left on a trip to the Boy Scout National Jamboree at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where 52,580 scouts would gather. Boy scout Steven Flora and Explorer Boy Scout Ronald Schulz boarded a train full of boy scouts in Brookings, S. D. on July 7, 1957. The boy scouts began a 17 day journey with many stops along the way. They switched trains in Chicago and headed east to New York City with stops at Detroit and Niagra Falls. In Detroit, they toured Greenfield Village, the Ford Rotunda and a Ford Motor plant where cars were assembled. In New York City, they took a boat ride around Manhattan and viewed the Statue of Liberty, visited the Empire State Building observation deck and rode a subway to Coney Island.
The next stop was Philadelphia where they would spend 9 days camping at Valley Forge. Vice-president Richard Nixon was the opening ceremony speaker.
During the jamboree, the scouts went to Philadelphia and toured Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross House, Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite, toured a submarine and saw a Cubs Phillies baseball game. At Valley Forge, they participated in many scouting activities. They learned the history of General George Washington and the Continenatal Army’s Valley Forge Encampment during the 1777 – 1778 winter. There were many sights to see at the Historical Park such as Washington’s Headquarters, replica cabins, the many cannons and commerative statues.
On departing Valley Forge, the boy scouts did their final tour to the Washington D.C. area. They viewed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. They climbed to the top of the Washington Monument and visited all of the memorials around the Washington mall area, the White House and Capitol Building.
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