This 1970 film produced by the Boy Scouts of America shows activities from the Idaho Jamboree, a gathering from July 9-23,1969 at Farragut State Park designed to bring together Scouts, typically boys between age 13 to 17, from all across the United States and world. The film opens with views of Idaho fields; a hawk, tall grass, flowers, a highway (0:33); railroad tracks; a jet flying overhead (0:42). A train passes by two people on horses (0:48); a Greyhound bus with a “Boy Scouts of America Troop Houston, TX” on the side (1:00). The troops arrive in Idaho, disembarking from buses and unloading camping supplies; they wear matching Scout uniforms and bandanas. They put up tents (2:03) and raise troop signs: a “Region Eleven Nor’westers Troop 39 Band” sign (2:54), “Troop 34 Southern Sierra Council,” (2:57), “Arizona Utah New Mexico” (3:03), “Okinawa” (3:07), “San Gabriel Valley Council” (3:10). The camera pans over the campsites with tents and American flags (3:25). Scouts participate in an opening parade with each troop marching in in uniform with their respective bands and flags (4:05). A row of scouts, each holding an American flag (4:20). Scouts stand at attention while “Taps” are played and the Iowa troop raises the American flag (4:59). The face of a scout named Tony appears on-screen as he narrates events at the Jamboree: running races (5:51), boys climbing over logs and rope obstacle courses in the woods (6:00), crossing a rope bridge (6:25), crawling through rows of tire swings (6:39), swinging across a ditch on a rope swing (7:00), cutting logs with a hand saw (7:20). Scouts mingle and talk near “Trading Post B,” a small supermarket/gathering place (7:26); a scout rides a unicycle (7:41). Scouts trade uniform patches (8:00). U.S. Army skydivers in parachutes drop into the Jamboree to visit (8:18). Scouts paddle canoes and swim in Lake Pend Oreille, where the Jamboree is located (9:31). Scouts gather around a burro at the Jamboree Conservation Area (11:04). Scouts look at thermometers and throw sand to measure the wind at the Weather Bureau (11:23). A falconer releases a hawk from his fist (11:47). Scouts grill and eat hot dogs (12:57); boys wash clothes in manual bucket and trough washers and hang them on clotheslines (13:09). Scouts shower in outdoor showers and shave (13:52), use telephone booths to call home (14:03), and collect mail from a U.S. mail postal box (14:24). Scouts attend religious services. Footage of the first moon landing with Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969 (15:16); two of the astronauts who were former Boy Scouts (Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin) sent a message mentioning the Jamboree. Scouts and visitors ride carnival rides, rappel down log walls, cut pineapples, play tug-of-war, and dance at the “Skill-o-rama event” (16:56). Scouts roast chicken over a spit (19:18), fence, and bake apple pies. Troops perform dances: a traditional Japanese dance (20:02), one with straw hats (20:11); a boy in a kilt dances; a Native American dance. Troops talk about race, pollution, voting, and other issues at the Jamboree Forum (21:20). Troops process into the Jamboree Arena to watch a show: Goofy appears onstage (23:27); a boy does backflips, troops dance and play music. Lady Baden-Powell, wife of Robert Baden-Powell, the man who founded the Boy Scouts, makes an appearance (24:32). The film ends with a montage of Jamboree events.
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