Pathfinding was simpler in 1911.
The Pathfinding Merit Badge has been reintroduced in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The badge was initially offered in 1911. After 1952 it was discontinued. Scouts have the opportunity to do what scouts did a century ago and earn this badge only until December 31, 2010. These are the original requirements from 1911, but they are explained in contemporary language to make them easier to understand.
Find Your Way
If you are in a rural area, you must know every bypath and lane with shortcuts near your local scout headquarters. Your knowledge should include a two-mile radius at least. If you live in an urban area, you should have a general working knowledge of the streets and neighborhoods within three miles in any direction from your scout headquarters.
Help Others Find Their Way
You should be able to act as a guide at any time, in daylight or at night, for people who do not know the area. You should also be able to identify the five closest main towns that neighbor your town. You should know their directions in a general sense in relation to your scout headquarters office. You should be able to provide correct and accurate directions to any of those towns to people who are unfamiliar with your area so that they could find their way after receiving instruction from you.
Find Farms and Businesses
If you live in a rural area, you should know within a two-mile radius certain facts about local agriculture and industry. You should be able to tell in a close approximation how many head of cattle can be counted, how many horses, pigs and sheep are owned on any of five farms within that radius. If you live in an urban area, you are required to know several facts about the area within a half mile in any direction. The blacksmith shops, the location of all livery stables and garages should be known to you. In this same radius, you should know where bakeries, grocery stores, drug stores and meat markets are located.
Find Emergency, Communication and Transportation Services
While they were not called emergency services in 1911, you need to know find local emergency services. These include the police station, a doctor and a hospital. While most communities today have fire stations, scouts in 1911 were required to know the location of the fire alarm and fire hydrant. They also had to know the location of the telegraph office, the telephone office and railroad station.
Map Your Area
To earn the pathfinding merit badge, you have to know and be able to share information about the history of your area and where its main public buildings are located. These include community buildings such as city hall or town hall, local schools, the post office and churches. You must submit a map. You do not have to draw it yourself. On the map you must indicate as much of this information about your area as you can.
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