~ with me as the leader
(See also Curry Boy Scout Family Tree)
📋 Collection Details
Type: Neckerchiefs and Slides / Patches / Advancement Records
Period: 1978-1981
Location: Brighton, New York (Otetiana Council)
Primary Units: Pack 152 & Troop 152 (Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church)
Focus:
- The Leader’s Journey (David Curry)
- The Scout’s Progress (Grant Curry)
- International & District Events (1979)
🎯 Description
This collection documents the “Later Years” of the Curry family’s Scouting legacy, ending in upstate New York. It follows David Curry’s progression as a parent and leader as his son came of age and delved into Scouting. This era (1978-1981) was characterized by the BSA’s “Improved Scouting Program,” featuring the Skill Award system and a high emphasis on international brotherhood, as evidenced by the Otetiana Council’s collaboration with Scouts Canada.
“Unfortunately, my memories of this era are limited. I was highly involved in my work at Xerox but felt an obligation to give back to the organization that meant so much to me, and to try to provide experiences for my son and other boys at an important time as they began to move toward maturity.”
📖 The Leader’s Journey (David Curry)
I think it was in 1978 or perhaps earlier that I volunteered to be the Cubmaster of Pack 152 at the Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church in Brighton, NY in the Otetiana Council. If my recollection is correct, the pack was faltering and only a dozen or so boys were very active. In a year or two we grew the pack to over 40 boys, a rewarding experience.
My working at Xerox resulted in an improvement to …
communications with the boys and their parents. Xerox had introduced the color copier a few years prior but costs were high and sales were low. To gain a better idea of how people would use a color copier, marketing put color copiers in many of the office buildings on the Xerox manufacturing facility where I worked. Employees were encouraged to use them for most “anything” for personal or work use. One caveat was that we were to leave a copy of anything we copied in a bin so marketing could understand what uses drew people to color copies. I used it to make copies of announcements and news about our pack, and for images related to skills training. The boys and their parents loved it.
As our son approached Boy Scout age, I was asked by the Scoutmaster of Troop 152 to be his Assistant Scoutmaster, so I volunteered. In about a year he asked me if I would swap roles with him, so I became Scoutmaster. It was a challenging role both with the higher energy level of the older boys and with my increasing work commitments. Along the way, our troop had some great experiences.
Winter camping was sometimes high adventure in upstate New York …
Our troop frequented a particular campsite that had about a half mile trek from the parking lot to the wooded area where we camped. I remember a beautiful sunny Saturday morning as we hiked in with about 15″ of fresh snow covering the trail. We had some sleds to haul heavy items like our patrol “kitchens” and tents. We each carried our packs as traversed the snow on our way in. When we arrived at our camp, some gathered firewood while others started pitching the tents. First priority was to get a campfire burning to help keep us warm and to dry any wet clothing. It was probably in the mid 20s, but when dressed properly and working hard, it was quite refreshing. Most of the boys were good campers, a couple of the younger ones needed some coaching and extra care. Our leaders were pretty good at helping the new campers who said “I want to go home” get involved and realize how much fun the adventure could be.
Since a Scout is Trustworthy, there was that occasion when the temperature was in single digits that I must admit that the idea didn’t sound bad 🙂
🏕️ The Scout’s Progress (Grant Curry)
The advancement and skills of a 4th-generation Scout —
At age 8 he became a Cub Scout and started receiving Boys’ Life magazine.
Boy Scout Starting Point: The Scout Rank patch (brown fleur-de-lis on yellow) represents the initial step in Grant’s journey upon joining Brighton Troop 152 in 1979.
Tenderfoot Achievement: Grant was certified as a Tenderfoot Scout on Dec 19, 1979, in the Otetiana Council.
The “Skill Award” Era: Five metal belt loops (Swimming, Citizenship, First Aid, Hiking, and Cooking) document the specific modular requirements for Second and First Class ranks in the late 1970s.
Official Boy Scout Handbook, 1979 – Grant’s
🍁 International & District Events (1979)
Hands Across the Border
1979 was a pivotal year in Scouting because the World Jamboree, originally scheduled to be held in Iran, was cancelled due to the political revolution there.
To fill that void, the World Organization of the Scout Movement declared 1979 “World Jamboree Year,” and councils across the U.S. and Canada were heavily encouraged to hold “Join-in-Jamboree” events. The “Hands Across the Border” event was Otetiana Council’s major answer to this call with our friends across the lake.
This was not the typical district camporee at Camp Cutler or Massawepie. It was a specialized International Camporee, likely held in the Niagara Region.
Disposition
2/13/2026 to Scout Heritage Museum-Milwaukee
1979 Theme Patch
1979 Otetiana Council theme patch marks the council’s participation in the international “Join-in-Jamboree” year.
Disposition
2/13/2026 to Scout Heritage Museum-Milwaukee
Eagle District 1979 Camporee
A red circular patch featuring a cooking pan, axe, and square knot. This documents the local district-level competition Troop 152 attended during the year Grant joined.
Disposition
2/13/2026 – 1 of 2 to Scout Heritage Museum-Milwaukee
📜✍️Provenance
These artifacts were preserved by David Curry, who served for a short time as a leader for the Scouting program at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church in Brighton, NY. The collection reflects the transition of the fourth generation of Curry Scouts before the family’s relocation to Louisiana in 1981.
💭 Additional Notes
- Artifact Status: May be available for donation in part or in total to former Otetiana Council (now High Falls District of Seneca Waterways Council), or Brighton Troop 152 that was at Twelve Corners Presbyterian Church. If you know of another troop that Troop 152 evolved to, please contact me.
- Source in creation of this web page1
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Last Updated: January 23, 2026
- Thanks to Gemini.Google.com for some organizational presentation ideas and some textual content for this page. ↩︎