Boys' Life

[Eamonn]

Many years back when I was a young boy in London the high point of the week was the day the comics arrived with the daily newspaper.

Comics are almost like a kids newspaper only most of the stories are told in drawings with captions in balloons. In my day there was The Beno which had the Bash Street Kids, the Dandy with Kory The Cat then there were the older boy comics Valiant and Hotspur which told tales of soldiers and heroism.

While I have nothing to back it up, I kind of think that these comics were mostly a very British thing. I have often wondered if when Scouting For Boys arrived in its bi-weekly format if the kids/boys looked forward to it in the same way as I did to our weekly comics.

A few weeks back my son informed me that he no longer wanted to get Boys' Life Magazine. I was shocked. My heart missed a few beats !! In fact I was flabbergasted - How could I live without Boys' Life? For almost ten years it has arrived in my mail box. I read it from cover to cover - Even the classified ads.I retell the jokes break the puzzles. I would be lost.

The past few issues have had a new feel to them the colors are brighter and there is a lot more non-Scout stuff in there which is OK, it is after all a magazine not just for Scouts but for boys. We as a family have never been that big on video games in fact we never went any further then Nintendo 64, still I read about all the games for Play station and X-Box I think because it is there.

I have seen that subscriptions for the magazine are down by almost four and a half percent which is about the same number as the Cub Scout section is down. I have no idea what the sales figures for other magazines are but I tend to think that with sales of over 1,250,000 our magazine is doing OK.

When I'm done with our copy I leave it in our Doctors office.

I spoke with OJ's Scoutmaster, he informed me that the troop is a 100% Boys' Life troop so I didn't have to worry. I sleep a lot better.

Eamonn

[evmori]

I, too, love this mag! When my son turned 18 & no longer received it, one of the Scouts in my Troop started giving me his when he finished reading them. They are a month late & beat up but I enjoy the reading. I still get them! Great stories, great articles, great stuff!

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10(This message has been edited by evmori)

[Fuzzy Bear]

My brother received BL before I started Cub Scouting. They were large, colorful, had pictures, games, and comics; I was fascinated. I began my subscription as soon as I could. As I got older, I read it from cover to cover. I sent off for the things in the back. I started my first Indian costume from Gray Owl, a distributor of Indian goods. I carved neckerchief slides with Whittlin' Jim. I read Pee-Wee Harris. I followed Green Bar Bill, Pedro, Think and Grin. I always wanted to send in a joke to get a Scout Handbook.

 

Several years ago, I began collecting BL. What I found is that the ones that hold my interest are the ones of my youth. The earlier ones and the later ones don't appeal to me as much. I like them but there is just something mysterious about those large colorful books of my earlier days.

 

FB

 

[ScouterPaul]

We proudly receive two issues each month. My boys compete with each other at the dinner table telling the jokes. I was lucky to pick up several issues from the mid 60's at an auction (50 cents each).

 

Paul

[Fat Old Guy]

"We proudly receive two issues each month."

 

If they are identical issues, you can stop one subscription and your troop will still be credited as 100% Boys Life.

[Shell in WA- USA]

I always thought this was a great magazine too! My brother was a Boy Scout of the late 70's/ early 80's and I read them ever as much as he did. (Even if I could do those things - I'm a Girl Scout! Another story!) Then when my own boys, his nephews, started joining scouts, he handed them all down to us. They were of great help to my dens as I was planning the meetings and activites. And my boys loved showing up with "new" things for their buddies to do.

 

The new ones are okay, but I don't think they get into the scouting "stuff" as much as the old ones. What's old is new again, right!?!?

 

BTW, I have three boys and I get a subscription for each of them. I'm sure they will be treasured as much as my brother treasured his for years after scouting (if there is such a thing!). This way they can each have their own in their household.

[Shell in WA- USA]

I always thought this was a great magazine too! My brother was a Boy Scout of the late 70's/ early 80's and I read them ever as much as he did. (Even if I could do those things - I'm a Girl Scout! Another story!) Then when my own boys, his nephews, started joining scouts, he handed them all down to us. They were of great help to my dens as I was planning the meetings and activites. And my boys loved showing up with "new" things for their buddies to do.

 

The new ones are okay, but I don't think they get into the scouting "stuff" as much as the old ones. What's old is new again, right!?!?

 

BTW, I have three boys and I get a subscription for each of them. I'm sure they will be treasured as much as my brother treasured his for years after scouting (if there is such a thing!). This way they can each have their own in their household.