Collections: The Mugs

Since I was a youngster I have liked collecting things. I probably started with collecting rocks and bugs. As I entered my teen years I collected stamps and baseball cards. When a movie called Star Wars hit the theaters in 1977 I began collecting Star Wars toys. I no longer have the rocks and bugs. I still have the stamps and cards, although I have not done anything with them for years. I finally stopped collecting Star Wars toys this year when I finally ran out of room in the house.

It did not take long after becoming an adult leader in Boy Scouting that the various Scout-related collections began. I have already told you about the patch collection. This time I would like to tell you about a collection I really never intended to start - the coffee mugs.

First of all, let me state that I do not drink coffee. I do not care for the taste of it. I know that puts me in a minority among Scout leaders. I do not need that cup of java in the morning to get me going. So why do I collect coffee mugs when I have no intention of ever using them?

I do not remember how the first mugs arrived in my hands. Many of the early mugs were given to me as gifts. These gifts began to accumulate. And then, every once in a while when I was attending a Scout function, I saw a mug that grabbed my attention. Soon, I had a collection of the things.

Today, that collection includes over sixty coffee mugs. Some are from council events. Some are from fundraising projects. A few are from high adventure bases. A couple are general Scouting themed. Sixty mugs may be smaller then some leader's collections, but I know it is larger then most people's.

I still do not go out of my way to collect the mugs, but if I come across one that catches my attention it may find itself sitting on the shelf with the rest of them. The mugs take up a lot more room in the house then the patches do so I have to limit myself with what I buy. I have discovered that mugs do not flatten very well when you try to place them into notebooks.

The mugs are on display in my recreation room, which is also the "Scout" room. Every time I dust them (which is not as often as I should), I think to myself that I really should donate these to the local historical society. But after they are cleaned and repositioned I decide I will keep them a little longer.

The shelves are almost full now, which means the collection will have to come to an end. Unfortunately, knowing me as I do, once I start collecting the mugs I will find something else to begin collecting. (When I quit collecting the Star Wars toys I began collecting medieval weapons.)

Patch Trading and Collecting

Whenever Boy Scouts and adult leaders gather at a camporee, jamboree, or training session there is probably going to be some patch trading going on at a table or on a blanket on the ground, especially if the event includes Scouts from around the country or from around the world.

My introduction to patch trading was when I attended a Scoutmaster Fundamentals training course at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1984. I had heard stories about how seriously some people take this hobby, but it was only when I saw grown men sitting around a table with open three ring binders full of clear plastic pages of patches that I truly realized how big this hobby was. So many designs. So many colors. So many patches! I decided then that I needed to start a collection of my own.

I put Scouting patches into three main groupings: the council shoulder patch (csp), the Order of the Arrow Lodge flaps and patches, and the activity patches that you receive for attending a camporee or maybe selling popcorn. I like collecting the csp's and the Order of the Arrow flaps. The only activity patches I am interesting in collecting are the ones given for an activity in which I participated.

When I attended the 2001 National Jamboree as scoutmaster of Troop 1417, I got the chance to see how popular this hobby has become for both the youth and the adults, and how much fun it can be to collect. The Scouts of my troop were excited after an evening of trading, and would often show me the patches they added to their collection that day. It did not take them long to discover which patches were very popular and which patches were not very popular. It was fun to see all the trading blankets laid out along the roadways of the jamboree and the hundreds of people making deals for the patches they wanted. The trade would always end with a handshake which signified that both participants accepted the trade.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the Boy Scouts of America has a policy that restricts trading. Boys must trade with boys, and adults must trade with adults. The boys and the adults are not to trade with each other. There must have been some problems with adults trading unfairly with boys, or visa versa. By the way, there is a blog about patch trading called Boy Scout Memorabilia Collecting. Check it out.

I am not a die-hard patch trader. I am more of a collector. I do have a couple hundred csp's and lodge flaps in my collection which fit into three large three ring notebooks. My favorite patches are the ones I collected from the 2001 National Jamboree.

During the last two years I have done most of my collecting from the internet. I have bought a few patches on eBay, but most of the new additions have been received from trading a dvd-r for patches. The dvd-r is a compilation of Scouting commercials and promotional films that I have collected over the last two decades. I trade the dvd-r for two patches, a council shoulder patch and an OA lodge flap. The trades have worked well. I have received some very nice patches, and the other person has received a dvd-r that they have put to use a variety of ways, including entertainment at district and council dinners.

I would expect that soon I will be starting my fourth notebook. After all, there are a lots of patches out there that I do not have yet!
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