''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

(BSA). Its target readers are children between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

. ''Scout Life'' is published in two demographic editions. Both editions often had the same cover, but are tuned to the

target audience The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of cons ...

through the inclusion of 16–20 pages of unique content per edition. The first edition is suitable for the youngest members of Cub Scouting, the 6-to-10-year-old Cub Scouts, and first-year Webelos Scouts. The second edition is appropriate for 11-to-18-year-old boys and girls, which includes second-year Webelos through 18-year-old Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts and Venturers. If the subscription was obtained through registration in the Boy Scouts of America program, the publisher selects the appropriate edition based on the scout's age. In June 2007, ''Boys' Life'' garnered four Distinguished Achievement Awards conferred by the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), including Periodical of the Year. The magazine's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

is Scout the Maileagle, who answers readers' letters and is the subject of a comic strip. In 2018, the BSA announced a pending title change to reflect the addition of girls to Scouts BSA, the renamed program that now accepts scouts of both sexes. The title was changed to ''Scout Life'' beginning with the January 2021 issue.

History

In 1911, George S. Barton, of

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, founded and published the first edition of ''Boys' Life'' magazine. It was edited by 18-year old Joe Lane of

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He called it ''Boys' and Boy Scouts' Magazine''. At that time there were three major competing Scouting organizations: the American Boy Scouts, New England Boy Scouts, and

(BSA). Five thousand copies were printed of the first issue of Barton's ''Boys' Life'', published on January 1, 1911. The more widely accepted first edition is the version published on March 1, 1911. With this issue, the magazine was expanded from eight to 48 pages, the page size was reduced, and a two-color cover was added. In 1912, the Boy Scouts of America purchased the magazine, and made it an official BSA magazine. BSA paid $6,000, $1 per subscriber, for the magazine.

Content

Often, the version of ''Boys' Life'' geared towards older boys features buying guides for products, such as cars, MP3 players, digital cameras, sunglasses, and more. ''Boys' Life'' had in 2005 a monthly feature called "BL's Get Fit Guide". Each month highlighted a different aspect of physical health, such as diet, exercise, and drugs. Each month the magazine also features an unusual Boy Scout trip that most Scouts do not normally do. These trips range from a Philmont Scout Ranch adventure to a white water

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

trip. In both versions, ''Boys' Life'' features a video game section, which, in addition to new video game reviews, contains cheats for a video game monthly. They also contain technology updates, as well as book reviews. Content includes Special Features, Adventure Stories, Bank Street Classics, Entertainment, Environmental Issues, History, Sports, and Codemasters. Comics have included Bible Stories, Pedro, Pee Wee Harris, Scouts in Action, Rupert the Invincible, Rocky Stoneaxe, Space Conquerors (1955 to 1975); The Tracy Twins (created by Dik Browne), Dink & Duff, Tiger Cubs, Webelos Woody, Norby, and

John Christopher Sam Youd (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012) was a British writer best known for science fiction written under the name of John Christopher, including the novels '' The Death of Grass'', ''The Possessors'', and the young-adult novel series ...

's '' The Tripods'' trilogy. ''Boys' Life'' contracted with the Johnstone and Cushing art agency to produce much of its early cartooning content. Feature columns include Electronics, Entertainment, Fast Facts, History, Hitchin' Rack With Pedro the Mailburro, Think and Grin (jokes page), Science, Scouting Around, and Sports. Two columns, Hobby Hows and Collecting, featured Scouts' own personal hobby tips and collections; Scouts were invited to submit stories for these columns and received $10 if they were chosen for publication. There was also a Scouts in Action stories of scouts who helped saved persons lives.

Pedro

Pedro is a fictional burro created as a mascot for the magazine. Pedro first appeared in 1947 according to an account in the magazine for June 1961 in which he appeared on the cover. Pedro's official function is "mailburro," and for years, he appeared at the beginning of the letters to the editor column. A short paragraph detailing Pedro's latest "adventure" was decorated with a cartoon version of the beast by cartoonist Reamer Keller. In every issue since 1989, ''Boys' Life'' included a column "written" by Pedro that later evolved into a department known as "Hitchin' Rack". Scouts could write a letter addressed to Pedro, and mail it to Irving, Texas, where the

(BSA) and ''Boys' Life'' magazine were headquartered. Responses would be published in the following edition of the magazine. Through his column, Pedro has given advice on camping gear, camping skills, and how to solve problems within with camping, fishing, backpacking, cooking, etc. The second cartoon was called "The Pedro Patrol". In this comic, Pedro and a group of Boy Scouts taught the readers scouting skills. The comic was discontinued and replaced with "The Wacky Adventures of Pedro." This is a comics section in the magazine, drawn lately by Tom Eagan, then drawn by Tom Eaton, and starting in January 2016, Stephen Gilpin. He also regularly appears in videos and games on the magazine's website. In 1970, Boys' Life Merchandise created a scarf using the Pedro logo. In the 1990s, Pedro started to appear on T-shirts, sweaters, hats, insignias, etc. Pedro became involved with the Merit Badge Series (the Boy Scouts' award system), showing techniques and tips on how to earn particular badges. This led to "Merit Badge Minute", a new column established in 2010, giving tips for three badges each month. In the January–February 2022 issue, Pedro retired. The comic was subsequently titled "The Wacky Adventures of Steve" in the March 2022 issue and then renamed to "The Wacky Adventures @ Scout Life" in the April 2022 issue. In late 2022, Pedro was replaced by Scout the Maileagle, who also took over Hitchin' Rack.

Contributors

Writers contributing over the years include

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

, Bertrand R. Brinley, Catherine Drinker Bowen,

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

Van Wyck Brooks Van Wyck Brooks (February 16, 1886 – May 2, 1963) was an American literary critic, biographer, and historian. Biography Brooks was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1886 and graduated from Harvard University in 1908. As a student he publi ...

, Arthur C. Clarke, J. Allan Dunn,

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

, Alex Haley, Robert A. Heinlein, William Hillcourt,

John Knowles John Knowles (; September 16, 1926November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known for ''A Separate Peace'' (1959). Biography Knowles was born on September 16, 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing ag ...

, Arthur B. Reeve,

Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson; August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was a Canadian and American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of the foun ...

, Zane Grey, and

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer (; 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Poland, Polish-born Jews, Jewish novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and publish ...

. Artists and photographers who have contributed over the years include Harrison Cady. Donald Keith's " Time Machine" series of stories appeared between 1959 and 1989.

wrote the chess column "Checkmate" from 1966 until 1969.

References

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External links