BSA Standard Issue Patches - "Double Fire"

In the mid 1940's the B.S.A. allowed Councils and Camps to order patches using a number of set templates.  These could be for almost any event and Patch Manufacturers such as Midwest and Greer would carry out the order requests.  One of the most popular was the "Double Fire" Patch so known for its pictured duel fires located on each side of a Tipi.  While many of these were for Camporees, many others were for other outdoor activities within a Council.

Some of the most valuable patches in all of Scouting are these simple designed patches.  There are many Camps that used this design from roughly 1945 to 1949.  Some more appeared in the 1950's, but the heyday was the mid to late 1940's.  Patches such as the Tennessee Valley Camporee and Camp Drake (Segregated Camp) are quite rare and worth a pretty penny.  So the next time you see a "Double Fire" take a moment to think about where it came from and what it represents.  What seems like a simple patch may be diamond in the rough.

Capitol Area Council BSA Patch - Austin, Texas

In the 1950's the Capitol Area Council in Austin, Texas issued a Round Patch for issue to its member.  The patch pictured an outline of the Texas State Capitol and was mostly used by Explorer Scouts from this Council.  They were especially prevalent on uniforms of Scouts attending the 1957 & 1960 National Jamborees.  Likely they were issued as a Contingent Patch for these events.  They were the forerunner of most Council Patches and are highly collectible.  Most old uniforms with these will have them on the right front pocket in the temporary patch area.  Nearly all of these uniforms have a Tonkawa 99 S1 or S2 Flap, thus allowing us to date them.  A neat Council collectible from the "Capitol" of Texas!  

Natchez Trace Trek Hiking Trail Patch

I have been out of town the last mont on Scouting and Work related trips and decided it was best to take a month off.  I am back online and will post as many neat old patches as I can each day.  Let's start out with a goodie close to my youth Scouting career...the Natchez Trace Trek Patch. In the 1960's as the Natchez Trace Parkway system was nearing completion in its route from near Columbia, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi the National Park Service decided to place a number of Hiking Trails or Treks along wth old suken roads of the original Trace.  The treks were popular at first but some were extremley short and others required hiking down the Trace with the traffic.  While traffic was not heavy it was a concern and after about five years the trails were shut down by the NPS that adminsters the Trace.

The above patch is based on the Trace logo which only changed with the word "Trek" taking the place of "Parkway".  It features the old Postal Rider as he makes his way from Nashville to Natchez in the early 1800's.  This patch was thought be be easy to find for Trail collectors.  It has been anything but.  Since so few hikes hit the Trek, the patches were never really distributed.  So to have one is a real treat.  As a side note I received mine from an old Ranger near the Colbert County / Tennessee River stop.  My troop had camped on the Lauderdale County side of the Trace around 1975.  We hiked across the Tennessee River Bridge to the Colbert Park and returned to our campsite.  The day was fairly warm and it was in the winter timeframe.  That night as we slept the temperatures dropped and when we woke up the next morning, there was six inches of snow on the ground and bitterly cold.  The only time this old Alabama Scout ever camped in the snow.  That patch brings back memories of that event.  I have held on to it ever since.