Back in 53 (I was being conceived) when Disneyland was just an orange grove & Hoover dam was completed for the rising of Vegas; there was a place called Irvine ranch in Orange County, California. The Boy Scouts would hold their only West coast California National Jamboree there in the summer. Railroad companies built a spur (rail line) to/near the site so that all the "boys" from back east would come by train. Several (about a dozen) young scouts from the Sacramento area were able to attend. They went a couple of weeks early for set-up & stayed a couple for the tear-down. Needless to say they had a great time!
Time passes...
photo from the Kotowski collection
some scout memorabilia donated by local Adrian Nestor of Greenhorn Creek
Now, this summer, the Boy Scouts will open a new east coast permanent site, funded mostly by a west coast San Francisco man, Summit Bechtel Reserve a 10,600-acre site. (a story in itself). Eagle scout Stephen D. Bechtel's Jr. foundation gave $50 million toward the project, the largest donation in Boy Scout history.
One of those scouts from Sacramento, who attended the 53 Jamboree, now a grampa, is helping fund one of his grandsons to go on this costly adventure. More than 50,000 boy scouts are expected to visit the reserve annually. Economic development agencies have estimated that anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 visitors could visit the reserve through the ten-day Jamboree period.
Remember Scout Sunday Feb 3rd & the Boy Scout birthday Feb 8th.