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Camp Wolverton Memorabilia
by
Frank L. Glick
(Revised July 10, 2007)
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The memories we have as Scouts in camp are some of the best we will ever
have. As the years go by, some of those memories fade away. Those of us who were
fortunate enough to have mothers who kept all of our stuff, forced us into
making scrap books, or those of us who personally enjoyed collecting Scouting
memorabilia now have something tangible to hold onto. Items which have survived
over the years and are now collectible include photographs, patches or badges,
neckerchiefs (Camper and Staff), neckerchief slides, T-shirts (Camper and
Staff), sweat shirts (Camper and Staff), staff jackets, coffee mugs, stationary,
brochures, maps, hat pins, money clips and etc. |
Click on the link to see the memorabilia item.
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Camp Patches
1939
This was the first camp patch or badge. It was made with dark blue felt and
white flocking. The Scout camp was apparently not called "Wolverton" yet.
Instead, before World War II, it was apparently called either the Sequoia camp
or the High Sierras camp. ("Sierra" is a Spanish word; the correct term is the
singular High Sierra, not the plural High Sierras.) The Crescent Bay Area
Council issued a patch very similar to the Wolverton "1939 High Sierra GOOD
CAMPER" patch for climbing Mt. Whitney; that patch says "14,495 CLUB CRESCENT
BAY CNCL, B.S.A."
1939 Patch
1940
This is a white sateen diamond-shaped patch with green flocking; it has a
cardboard backing. It says "1940 HIGH SIERRAS." A combination of green, red, and
blue ribbons were added to the bottom of this patch to show awards won, or
activities participated in, during the Scout's week in camp.
1940 Patch
1941
This is a dark blue rectangle-shaped felt patch with gold ink lettering. It
also shows a gold sequoia tree, possibly the General Sherman Tree in Giant
Forest, and says "1941 SEQUOIA"
1941 Patch
No known patches were issued during the summers of 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945
because of World War II.
1946
This was the first time the name "Camp Wolverton" appeared on a patch. It is
also the first time the camp totem (a bear head) was used on a patch. This bear
was known as the "Hamms Bear" because of his similarity to the bear used to
advertise Hamms Beer. All of the camps in the Crescent Bay Area Council had a
cartoon character totem during the late 1940s and the 1950s. This 3-inch
diameter round patch is made of gold felt with no canvas backing material, and
has the date "1946" flocked on it. The identical gold patch without the "1946"
was issued in 1947; see more information below.
1946 Patch
1947
This 3-inch diameter round, gold felt patch is identical to the 1946 patch
except it does not have a date.
1947 Patch
1948
Three distinct patches were issued for Camp Wolverton in 1948. The same was
done at Camp Emerald Bay and at Camp Josepho. The 1948 Wolverton patches were
not dated but they are easily recognized because they are 3-1/2 inch diameter
felt (with no backing) instead of the standard 3-inch diameter. From 1948
through 1953 at Wolverton, there were three colors of each patch to signify the
"camp veteran" status of the Scout. The gold color was used for a Scout's first
summer at the camp; the white color was used for a Scout's second summer at the
camp; and the blue color meant the Scout had been to the camp at least for three
summers.
1948 Gold Patch
1948 White Patch
1948 Blue Patch
It is important to note that the three colors of felt patches from
1948 through 1952 were made without a year and it was common for leftovers to be
used in following summers. It is suspected that some patches may have lasted
several summers while others may not have even lasted through one summer.
Therefore, it becomes very difficult to know exactly when a patch was made
during this era and for how many summers was it issued to the campers.
It is also important to note that although the 3-color series of undated
felt patches from 1948 through 1952 may look the same at first glance, there
are actually several differences in addition to the size difference. (Beware
that washing a felt patch causes it to shrink and therefore the size of a used
patch may not be a reliable indicator of the year.) The oldest patches were made
without canvas backing. The canvas backing probably started in the summer of
1949. Also, there are several varieties of bear design that were used during
this period. It is easiest to tell them apart by the jags in the bottom of the
bear's neck and by the dimple mark at the end of the smile line. And, some of
the patches were made with just ink on the felt while others were made with
flocking added to the ink. Each of these varieties are the result of new art
work and manufacturing differences at the factory each time more patches were
ordered. It is unlikely that the varieties were intentionally requested by the
Council.
1949
The 1949 patches were made in gold, white, and blue felt, and are 3-1/4 inch
diameter. However, there seems to be many varieties of these patches. There is a
series of these with felt backs and a series with canvas backs. Also, the
details of the bear are slightly different. It is possible that the
canvas-backed patches were ordered during in the middle of the summer if the
felt-backed patches ran out.
1949 Gold Patch
1949 White Patch.
1950
The felt patches for 1950, 1951, and 1952 were all 3-inch diameter.
There seems to be many varieties of the 1950 patches. All of them are 3-inch
diameter and all of them have canvas backs. Perhaps the easiest way to identify
a 1950 patch is to eliminate it from being either a 1951 or 1952 patch.
1950 Gold Patch
1950 White Patch
1950 Blue Patch.
1951
The three colors of felt patches for the 1951 summer are easy to distinguish
from the 1950 and 1952 patches because the 1951 patches do not have a dimple
line at the end of the bear’s smile on his cheek. These patches are 3-inch
diameter and have canvas backing. There are some slight varieties of this patch
with regards to the red color ink and flocking.
1951 Blue Patch
1951 Gold Patch
1951 White Patch.
1952
This is the last year the camp issued felt patches. Again there are three
colors for this year. These 3-inch diameter patches were heavily flocked and
have a canvas backing. They are fairly easy to identify because there are two
large jags at the bottom of the neck.
1952 Gold Patch 1952
Blue Patch.
1953
This year was different because the old design (1946 through 1952) was inked
onto a canvas/twill material instead of felt. Also, this year used only red ink
while the previous felt patches used both red and black inks. There are gold and
blue canvas patches known to exist.
1953 Gold
Patch
1953 Blue
Patch. At this time it is unknown if
a white canvas patch was made or if left over white felt patches were used in
1953.
1954
This gold cotton twill patch is the first year the Camp Wolverton patches
were embroidered. It is also the first year that there were no longer three
colors of patches to signify camp-veteran status. And, this year started a
three-year run of patches with the year on the patch. A matching staff segment
(also known as a "rocker") patch was issued for the camp staff.
1954 Patch.
1955
This was a dated white twill patch (instead of the traditional gold patch). A
matching staff segment patch was issued for the camp staff.
1955 Patch.
1956
This was the first year the cotton twill camp patch had a "rolled edge." It
was also the last year the patch had a date until 1968.
1956 Patch.
1957
This was the first time the council name was included on the camp patch.
There was no date; all lettering was embroidered in red. It is possible that
some of these patches were left over and used again in 1958.
1957 Patch.
1958
This patch was very similar to the 1957 patch except that the council name
was embroidered in black threads. There was a "camper 1958" segment and a "good
camper 1958" segment available to those Scouts who earned them while in camp.
This was the last year for the "Hamms Bear totem" in the center of the patch.
1958 Patch.
1959-60
A new design was started this year. It matched a similar design used at Camp
Emerald Bay. The bear head was reduced in size and put into a small gold circle
at the lower right side of the patch. "Camper" and "Good Camper" segments were
available for 1959 and 1960; they were the same segments used at Emerald Bay.
1959-60 Patch.
1960-61
This was a re-order of the 1959-60 patch but it was a slightly darker blue
color. Also, the background twill material was slightly different. "Camper" and
"Good Camper" segments were available for 1960 and 1961; there were the same
segments used at Emerald Bay.
1960-61 Patch
1962
This was the first year of the new bear-face and mountain background design.
Lettering was embroidered in white and green.
1962 Patch
1963-64
This patch was the same design as used in 1962, except with a red border
instead of brown, and with all white lettering.
1963-64 Patch
1965
A new phrase appeared on the (undated) 1965 patch; it was "Mountain Men."
This phrase indicated that Boy Scouts became Mountain Men after a week at camp.
Also, this patch reflected the beginning of an era when the camp was just called
"Wolverton", not "Camp Wolverton."
1965 Patch.
1966
This was the same patch as 1965 except it had an orange border instead of a
red border.
1966 Patch
1967
This was the same as the 1966 patch except the words "Mountain Men" were
embroidered in white instead of green.
1967 Patch
1968
This year marked the 30th summer of Camp Wolverton. The camp patch
included the dates 1939 and 1968. There was also a segment which was earned for
hiking the "Twin Lakes Trail."
1968 Patch
1969
The 1969 patch also commemorated the 30th anniversary (even though it was
really the 31st summer) by including the dates 1939 and 1969.
1969 Patch
1970
The 1970 patch went back to containing no date. This was the only patch with
"High Sierra" embroidered in green on the brown mountains.
1970 Patch
1971
This patch looked just like the 1970 patch except it had the "High Sierra"
embroidered in white again. There were several hundred of these patches left
over at the end of the summer, and they were used occasionally over the next 10
years or so when other patches were not available.
1971 Patch
1972-73
A new design was started in 1972. It was called the "pig-bear" by some of the
staff. This patch has a light blue background.
1972-73 Patch
1974
This patch was a re-order of the 1972-73 patch but it came out of the factory
with a medium blue background.
1974 Patch
1975
This year used the same design but the background was changed to pale blue
and the border was changed to dark blue.
1975 Patch
1976
This patch was similar to the last 4 years except the "Mountain Men"
lettering was replaced with "Great Western Council." This was the last year for
the "pig-bear design."
1976 Patch
1977-79
This was the beginning of a design that showed a full bear in side profile.
The camp was called "Wolverton BSA" across the top of the patch, and "Sierra
Mountain Men" was on the bottom of the patch. This patch was the first to be
embroidered on felt (medium brown color) instead of embroidered on cotton twill
material. This patch was used for about 3 years.
1977-79 Patch
1980-83
It was about this year that the 1977 patch was re-ordered. It was almost the
same except that the felt background color was a very light brown. This patch
was used for about 4 years.
1980-83
Patch
1984-85
This patch was similar in design as the previous seven years, but it had a
white border and the "Mountain Men" was replaced with "Mountaineers" at the
request of Margaret Stowell to respect the fact that women also participated and
worked at Camp.
1984-85 Patch
1986-87
This patch was a re-order of the previous patch. It is almost identical
except this patch has clear plastic on the backside of the patch.
1986-87 Patch
1988
A special design was created by Frank Glick for the 1988 patch to commemorate
the 50th summer of Camp Wolverton. The years 1939 and 1988 are on
this rectangle patch. Also, this is the first time the council name
"Western L.A. County Council" appears on a Camp Wolverton patch.
1988 Patch
1989-97
There were no new patches made during these years. Leftover patches from the
1986-87 years were sold until they ran out about 1994. There were no patches
sold at camp again until 1998.
1998
The 1986-87 patch was re-ordered and sold at the camp. This patch was the
same design except the brown mountain has horizontally stitched threads instead
of the previous vertically stitched threads.
1998 Patch
1999
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the camp, Frank Glick designed a new
patch utilizing several designs from the past. This patch has the "Hamms Bear"
from the 1940s and 1950s, and a mountain background design from the 1960s and
1970s. The years 1939 and 1999 were embroidered on the patch. Campers could
purchase a brown border patch and the camp staff each received a red border
patch.
1999
Camper Patch
1999
Staff Patch
2000
Leftover 1998 patches were used for this summer.
2001-2002
There were no patches sold in Camp for these two years.
2003-04
An undated design similar to the 1999 camp patch was used for the 2003 and
2004 summers. Campers have a black border and Staff have a blue border. 2003-04
Camper Patch
2003-04 Staff
Patch
2005
There were no patches sold in Camp in 2005.
2006
Frank Glick designed and had this
camper patch
and this Staff
patch made. Here
they are, seen together.
2007
Frank Glick designed and had this
camper patch and this
Staff patch made.
Here they are, seen
together.
2008
Frank Glick did another wonderful design for this year's patch. The staff
patch has a red border is is
Here. The camper patch has a brown border and is seen
Here.
The patch for 2008 commemorates the 70th summer at
Camp Wolverton. The Council name was included on this year’s patch for the
first time in 20 years, and the sixth time ever. The design for 2008 was
modified from 2007.
Hiking and Trail Patches
Hiking between Camp Wolverton and Mt. Whitney is a challenging activity! Such
a trip could take one to two weeks to complete. Once you climbed Mt. Whitney,
you were a member of the "14,495 Club". The number is in reference to the
elevation of Mt. Whitney. Some groups commemorated their trip with a patch.
Examples of those patches include an Explorer Pack Trip felt patch from the
1950s and an embroidered Troop 42 patch from 1971.
14,495 Club
Patches -
Wolverton to Whitney Patches.
Another popular Wolverton hiking trip that was commemorated with a patch was
the "Silver Bearpaw." This was a 62-mile hike that began and ended at Camp
Wolverton. Four patches were issued for this trip beginning in the 1960s and
ending with the square patch which began its use in 1972.
Silver Bearpaw
Patches
Also beginning in 1972 was a patch issued for the "Silver Cloud Trail." That
hike was similar to the Silver Bearpaw, except that instead of hiking through
Deadman’s Canyon, the hike went further by hiking through Cloud Canyon and
incorporating a good deal of cross-country travel.
Silver Cloud Patch
Lastly for 1972, the "Wolverton Trails" patch and the "Wolverton Hiking Boot"
patch were produced. These patches were earned by Scouts who participated in
various hiking trips while at summer camp.
Wolverton Trail Patches
The Scouts also issued patches for hiking trips that started or ended very
close to Camp Wolverton. Often the Scouts would stay at Wolverton before or
after such a trip. Hiking trips such as these with patches were known as
the "50-Miler," the "High Sierra Trail," and "Giant Forest to Mineral King."
Training Patches and Neckerchiefs
A week-long training program for Scouts from the Crescent Bay Area Council
was held each summer at Camp Wolverton from the late 1950s through the mid
1970s. At first it was a "national program" known as Junior Leader Training (JLT)
and Junior Leaders in Training (JLIT). Later, in the summer of 1965, it was
customized by the Crescent Bay Area Council and was called "Polaris Training."
There were different levels of training in the Polaris program; "Polaris One
Star" was held at Camp Josepho for a weekend and "Polaris Two Star" was held at
Wolverton. Other levels of training were held at other locations. Many of the
patches and neckerchiefs for these programs acknowledged the role of Camp
Wolverton by including the Wolverton "Hamms" Bear into their designs. That
tradition continued until the Polaris program ended in the mid 1970’s.
JLT and Polaris
Patches/Neckerchiefs
Other Patches
Many Scout camps in the 1940s through the 1960s had a camp brand. Wolverton
was one of them. The Camp Wolverton "CW" brand was used by Scouts to make their
own leather patch.
Wolverton Brand
Although winter use of the camp was not sanctioned by the Council or the
National Park Service, over the years several Scout groups and staff men would
visit the camp and the park in the winter time for skiing, winter camping, etc.
From the early 1980s through the mid 1990's, the Park sold a patch called "Ski
Wolverton." It was common for the Scouts to purchase that patch to commemorate
their trips.
Ski Wolverton Patch
KFI Patches.
Neckerchiefs
Neckerchiefs are a very important part of the memorabilia from Camp
Wolverton. During the mid to late 1950’s and 1960’s hey day of the Camp, there
were perhaps 750 to 1,000 camp patches made for each summer but probably only 10
to 20 dozen neckerchiefs made. For the staff neckerchiefs, the number was
significantly lower.
Neckerchiefs apparently arrived at Camp Wolverton in the early 1950’s. The
standard neckerchiefs were ordered through the Boy Scout’s National Supply. In
1956, staff man Steve Schiff and Camp Director Paul Jordan began making special
staff neckerchiefs in Steve’s garage. Steve made a silk screen of a bear’s head
based on the camp patch of the time, and a mother in Steve’s troop cut and sewed
the material for the neckerchiefs. Together, Steve and Paul made a few dozen
neckerchiefs each summer for three or four years. Several different types and
colors of material were used during this time.
Staff
Bear Head Neckerchiefs
In 1959, the staff changed from using a silk screen neckerchief similar to
the campers (but with STAFF added) to an embroidered "dress neckerchief".
Embroidered neckerchiefs were used by the staff from 1959 through 1975.
Staff
Embroidered Neckerchiefs It should be
noted that each embroidered neckerchief is slightly different due to the
hand-assisted manufacturing method, but different orders for different summers
can be clearly identified.
Shown below is an interesting post card dated February 26, 1959 from Paul
Jordan (Wolverton Camp Director) to Bill Kenny at the Council Office regarding
staff neckerchiefs. This post card documents the beginning of the staff
embroidered neckerchiefs.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s there were many silk screened neckerchiefs. There
has not been a new neckerchief for Camp Wolverton since 1974.
1950s
Neckerchiefs
1960’s
Neckerchiefs
1970’s Neckerchiefs
Neckerchief Slides
What would a neckerchief be without a neckerchief slide to keep it on the
Scout’s neck? Camp Wolverton issued many slides from the late 1950’s through the
early 1970’s. The first known slide was a "Hamms Bear" design made by the famous
Torchy Plastics company. Several of the slides were hand painted in the
handicraft area of the Camp. The colors painted onto the "hiking boot" slide
(made by the Neil Slide company – another famous slide manufacturer) represented
the locations where the Scout had backpacked to during his week at Camp.
Neckerchief Slides.
Bear
Claw awards.
Coffee Mugs
Coffee mugs were popular with Scouts and Scouters in the late 1960’s and
1970’s. Camp Wolverton issued six coffee mugs.
Coffee Mugs.
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this page was last revised on
Tuesday August 05, 2008 09:53 AM
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