A century of scouting

As smoke rose in the air to the tune of patriotic songs, multiple generations of Boy Scouts and their families watched and saluted the American flag and an organization that is turning 100 this year.

Boy Scouts of America is a century old and scouts in the Permian Basin are celebrating with the rest of the country. The Boy Scouts participated, along with the community, in a flag retirement held at Veteran’s Park near the Commemorative Air Force. Scout Executive and CEO Lyman Gifford said about 125 people attended the flag retirement.

But the fun isn’t over yet.

Churches throughout the Permian Basin will pay tribute this morning to scouting and its strong ties to religious organizations. At 6 p.m. Monday, people will gather at the Buffalo Trail Council’s Midland office to unearth and open a time capsule that was buried in 1985. Gifford said that people are scheduled to come in from other states who were a part of the burial. Current scouts will then bury another time capsule to be opened in 2035.

Baylee Britton is a 9-year-old Boy Scout who comes from a family of scouts. He’s done it all. He’s been camping, hiking and horseback riding. But 100 years is a lot for a kid to comprehend. Baylee considered the concept and his eyes got wide.

"It’s big!" he said.

Baylee’s dad Scott Britton laughed. "That’s actually a really good way to describe the 100th anniversary…it’s a lot of years. It’s big."

However, the Boy Scouts of America plan to keep scouting right along and are always pushing for greater membership and creating leaders.

"How do you instill the importance of (turning 100) into a 7-year-old boy? It’s hard…But I think years later they’ll look back and say, ‘I was a part of that’," Gifford said.