Pam Perrella of Towne Square Antiques in Gallatin was wondering what to do with a dusty, slightly beat-up 1943 Cub Scout Handbook she found in an old box of curios and collectibles she’d been sorting through. Should she try to sell the book or put it away in storage?
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Then she noticed a name scrawled in pencil hidden by a turned-down edge of the cover. She straightened the corner and realized it was her late father’s name, Tom Schaeffer.
And suddenly the book was a priceless piece of family history.
"Inside the pages are notes my father made when he was only 10 years old," she said. "And his mother – my grandmother’s – signature is there, too. She signed to verify his scouting accomplishments."
Cherished memories of childhood by the boys who lived it, and a connection with that long-gone past by their descendants — those are just a couple of reasons scouting memorabilia is a collector’s item.
"Quite a few people come in looking for boy scout memorabilia," Pam said.
They come seeking handbooks, sashes, caps, buttons, you name it. Pam thinks people collect boy scout memorabilia for the same reason they collect anything else:
"Childhood memories," she said. "They probably lost their own or got rid of it as teenagers. Memories from those days are what inspires most people to collect."
Pam said her father made Eagle Scout and scouting was always an important part of his life.
"My grandmother had my dad’s sash with the badges and buttons," Pam said. "After she passed, she gave it to my aunt. At my dad’s funeral my aunt brought it to display. I’d never seen it before."