Venture scouting before 1998

[k9medic]

Hello all. Last night I pulled out my BSA uniform to prove to my wife that it still fits 17 years later. I was telling her about all of the patches, and she asked about my venture patch. I told her about the program, and went on the internet this morning to see what had changed. There sure were a lot of changes!

 

I did find something odd though. It said that Venture scouting started in 1998. This can't be true. I left scouting in 1993 and we had a venture program for the older scouts for at least 2 years prior to that. Some of us in the troop wore a small patch on our sleeve that said "venture."

 

Any ideas? Thanks!

[nolesrule]

What you remember were venture patrols within a troop. The newer Venturing unit you have discovered, which is something else entirely, is called a crew and it is an entire program on its own (the same way Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts are separate programs), with its own unit structure and recognitions. Boy scouts who meet the joining requirements for a Venturing Crew can be registered in both a crew and a troop simultaneously.

 

There are many on the boards who are much more involved in Venturing who can give a more thorough explanation.

[BDPT00]

By the way, that Venture patch doesn't belong on the sleeve. It goes over the right pocket.

The choice of "Venture" and "Venturing" is unfortunate. It will take some time to figure out the differences. Many people use the terms interchangably, but they are certainly not the same.

BDPT00

[Oak Tree]

Venturing started in 1998, but it was really an extension of the old Exploring program. They split Exploring into two pieces - the high-adventure piece became Venturing, and the career-related units stayed as Exploring Posts, but became part of Learning for Life, a BSA subsidiary that does not use a uniform or a duty to God. My belief is that the primary reason for this split was to allow government units (especially police and fire departments) to continue to sponsor units. Why they chose the name Venturing is beyond me - as the primary result appears to be non-stop confusion among the casual observers.

[Eagle92]

K9

Welcome back to scouting and welcome to the forums

 

Yep the VENTURE CREW that was part of a troop is now called the VENTURE PATROL. As mentioned VENTURING was split from Exploring in 1998 and they degintated their units as CREWS.

 

Why did they chose VENTURING, b/c most other associations call their upper levels Venturing.

[Eagle92]

Been thinking about the Venture strip on the sleeve. Venture Crews replaced the Leadership Corps in 1989 if memory serves. My troop had a stash of the original trapezoidal patches and newer round LC patches, so we continued to call the older scout patrol the LC, and when we finally went with Venture Crew, it was operated as the LC still.

 

Anyway, the LC had a patch that was worn on the right sleeve, and I remember a few folks putting the VENTURE strip patch on the sleeve by mistake.

 

EDITED: 1990 was when Leadership Corps was replaced by VENTURE CREWs. August 1, 1998 was when VENTURE CREWS were renamed VENTURE PATROLS and VENTURING CREWS split from EXPLORING.(This message has been edited by Eagle92)

[k9medic]

Thank you all for the information. I am really enjoyed the trip down memory lane, and my 3 year old and 5 year old are now asking me a lot of questions about scouting.

 

Within our troop, our patrol was indeed the more active. Rappelling, scuba diving and hicking were all things we took part in on a regular basis.

 

Eagle92, you referenced the change from the Leadership Corp. I recall that this was about the time that there were changes in the leader patches as well. I have a new style patrol leader patch on my uniform, but wore the older green one for quite some time.

[emb021]

If you want the history of Venture (please don't call it "venture scouting"), Leadership Corps, and Venturing, check out my website at www.seniorscoutinghistory.org

 

As noted, Venture Crews were established in 1989, replacing Leadership Corps. The LC was established in 1972, and the round patch was rolled out in 1987.

 

 

[Eagle92]

Thanks for the link Emb!

 

K9 if you ever want to know ANYTHING about ANY older scout programs in the BSA, EMB is da man!

 

Yep 89 or so is when they switch to, INHO, the ugly tan background patches for both rank and POR. Glad the OA, District committee, and Cub Scout POR patches have a colored background.

[qwazse]

I graduated from my troop before the venture patrols started rolling out. I liked the leadership corps emblem. When my oldest son joined the troop, venture patrols were losing favor. His troop never bothered with the concept. It was taken for granted that the older boys would sign up for more challenging activities -- no patch required.

 

Pulling those old scouting treasures from the attic and showing them to your kids when they are little is a great way to recruit them into the program. I remember doing that with all three of mine, and they all are involved one way or another.

 

As for names, you're not alone in the confusion. Ever since her officer's briefing, my daughter complained that "VenturING Crew" just doesn't roll off the tongue very well. I tried to explain the concept of name regognition. But she didn't buy it.

 

A week ago, I was listening to youth from the National Venturing Cabinet try to figure out a new name for their area meetings. The term "Summit", which they started to use last year, is now supposed to refer to the location of the Jamboree.

 

It just doesn't stop.

[Eagle92]

Qwaz,

I and the 30 others in my break out class on Venturing at PDL-1 said the name and the unit designation would cause confusion, and it has. Heck I saw a Venture patrol, using the Venturing Logo on their patrol flag, and a Venturing Crew put "Venture crew #*!" on their crew t-shirts.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

[qwazse]

E-92,

 

I came back to the program when my son was in tiger cubs, and remember making conversation with a camp staff about exploring, and she proudly corrected me, saying she was a "venturer". Even though the program was not a year old the name was sticking -- at least with the youth who were "in." I felt a bit of "Rip Van-Winkle" syndrome.

 

And yes, our crew's prototype t-shirt says "Venture Crew". Would have never noticed if I didn't wear it when assisting with VLST!

 

Confusing or not, folks are generally happy to sleep in this bed now that it's made!