Thousands head to Va. for Boy Scout jamboree

Although Scouting has evolved, much of the jamboree remains the same.

The first National Jamboree was supposed to take place in 1935, but the epidemic of polio among boys in the United States forced officials to delay the event. In 1937, the debut jamboree took place in the District, with the boys camping in tents that circled the Washington Monument. (The term jamboree, according to the official Boy Scout etymology, was coined by Boy Scouts founder Lord Robert Baden-Powell to mean a gathering of Scouts.)

This could be the last jamboree held at Fort A.P. Hill. The Boy Scouts of America have been developing a camp near the New River Gorge in West Virginia that will allow for white-water rafting and other outdoor activities. It will also give the organization more space and, ultimately, more control, because they will own the land on which the jamboree is taking place instead of the U.S. military.

The organization is unsure whether the new location, which will be called the Bechtel Family National Scouting Reserve, will be ready for the 2013 jamboree, but the event will permanently move to the new location as soon as it's ready.

For many attending this year's jamboree, Scouting has become a family tradition.

"My grandfather was a Scout; my father was a Scout," Mazzuca said. "By golly, my kids are going to be Scouts."

Andy Kossowski, a scoutmaster for the jamboree, was introduced to Scouting by his father, an immigrant from Poland who maintained a secret Scout troop after the Nazis outlawed Scouting. He formed another troop at the labor camp he was sent to by Nazis.

Zedan said that some of the "best memories I had in life with my father were through Scouting."

Some Scouts planning to attend were looking forward to gaining some of the same experiences.

Being a Boy Scout "keeps me involved and trying new things," said Dakota Snyder, 17, an Eagle Scout from Sterling. "I love the outdoors. I love to create memories and be with friends."

Garrett Pan, 17, an Eagle Scout from Great Falls, said his time in Scouting has taught him one thing he probably wouldn't have learned elsewhere.

"I'm a very big knot guy," he said. "I would not have learned that if I weren't a Boy Scout."

Garrett Fraino, a 14-year-old from Potomac Falls, said he spends too much time indoors. Scouting, he said, "gives me the chance to make my own fire, pitch a tent and relax."