1957 National Jamboree at Valley Forge
Photo IDs: 044-17 through 044-17d
Type: Promotional map folder
Publisher: Atlantic Refining Company
Date: July 1957
📋 Overview
The Atlantic Refining Company (predecessor to today’s ARCO and part of the Atlantic Petroleum empire) produced this practical and thoughtful map folder for Jamboree attendees. What sets this map apart is the inclusion of a “Scouts I Met” section—a wonderful feature that recognized friendships and connections were as important as geographic navigation.
Gas companies were major supporters of Scouting in the 1950s, and their service stations were trusted stops for families traveling across America. This map folder served both as a helpful resource and a reminder to “fill up at Atlantic” on the journey home.
📸 Complete Map Set
Front Cover: Atlantic Refining Logo
Photo ID: 044-17
The cover prominently displays the Atlantic Refining Company logo, identifying this as one of several corporate-sponsored maps available to Jamboree participants. The clean, professional design reflects the polished marketing of major American corporations in the 1950s.
Panel 2: Map of Jamboree Grounds with Walking Tours
Photo ID: 044-17b
This detailed map of the Jamboree grounds included marked walking tours, helping Scouts and leaders plan efficient routes through the sprawling site. The suggested tours ensured visitors could experience key areas—camping zones, activity fields, the arena, historic monuments, and the trading post—without getting lost or missing important locations.
Color-coded routes or numbered stops made navigation manageable even for first-time visitors to the massive site.
Panel 3: Map with “Scouts I Met” Section
Photo ID: 044-17c
This is my favorite feature of the Atlantic map. The “Scouts I Met” section provided dedicated space to record the names, towns, and councils of fellow Scouts we encountered during the week. This thoughtful addition acknowledged what we all knew: the friendships formed at the Jamboree were treasures as valuable as any souvenir pin or patch.
How many of us actually filled in this section? Did those recorded names lead to pen-pal correspondence afterward? It’s a wonderful reminder that the Atlantic Refining Company understood the true spirit of Jamboree—connection and brotherhood.
The surrounding area map helped us understand where those new Scout friends came from and plan potential visits if we found ourselves traveling through their hometowns.
Panel 4: Detailed Area Map
Photo ID: 044-17d
A comprehensive map of the greater Valley Forge and Philadelphia region, useful for planning day trips, finding the nearest Atlantic station, or simply understanding the geography of southeastern Pennsylvania. For Scouts from distant states, this map helped contextualize our temporary home within the broader landscape.
⛽ Atlantic Refining and Scouting
Gas companies in the 1950s were fierce competitors for the loyalty of American families on the road. Supporting major events like the National Jamboree—and providing useful, attractive souvenirs—built goodwill with customers and their Scout sons who might someday be drivers themselves.
Atlantic Refining stations were known for their clean facilities, reliable service, and free road maps—a crucial service in the pre-GPS era. This Jamboree map folder continued that tradition while specifically serving the Scouting community.
💭 Personal Memories
Unfortunately, I did not fill in the “Scouts I Met” section? Probably because I was familiar with the area, so this particular map wasn’t used except for some of the walking tours.
🤝 The Value of Connection
The “Scouts I Met” feature reflects something essential about the Jamboree experience: we weren’t just learning skills or seeing historic sites. We were building a nationwide network of friendships that helped us understand America’s diversity and unity. A Scout from Texas met one from Maine; a boy from rural Iowa compared experiences with one from Los Angeles.
These connections—recorded in spaces like the Atlantic map’s “Scouts I Met” section—represented Scouting’s vision of brotherhood transcending regional differences.
Collection Status: Personal collection, part of complete 1957 Valley Forge Jamboree documentation