Let’s see. The Kindle, the iPod, the iPad, and the Nook are just a few of the ebook readers that are currently available. How about we use these gadgets to visit a fictional history of Boy Scouting. Say, like 80 plus years ago.
Did you know that in the early days of the Boy Scouts of America there were many authors writing books to catch that market of teenage boys who were joining this new youth program. One author that wrote many books for this young crowd was Percy Keese Fitzhugh. He introduced Boy Scouts to the adventures of Tom Slade, Roy Blakeley, and Pee Wee Harris. I happen to have several of these old books about the Bridgboro Boy Scouts.
According to the website Wikipedia: The bulk of his work, having a Boy Scouting theme, revolves around the fictional town of Bridgeboro, New Jersey. Major characters included Tom Slade, Pee-Wee Harris, Roy Blakely, and Westy Martin. Each of these characters had their own, distinctly different, series of books. In addition, a fifth series, Buddy Books for Boys, featured individual stories of other Boy Scout characters. In all, Grosset & Dunlap published nearly 70 different Fitzhugh titles in these 5 series. (Link)
I would imagine that there are a lot of Boy Scouts who own a device to read ebooks (electronic books). And even more adults and Scouters. Many of these old novels about fictional Boy Scouts are now in the public domain. How about this? We start introducing the boys to these old novels. Let’s introduce them to a time in which the Boy Scouts of America was still very new. In fact, I am somewhat excited about this idea so I will kick this off.
I would like to introduce you readers to Boy Scout Tom Slade by providing you with the first book in the series. This book is in the epub format so you will need a device which reads epub files to read this book. (From what I understand, many of the popular ebook devices can use the epub format.) Download the book by clicking HERE.
I currently have 16 epub ebook files I would like to share with you. All are in the public domain. If this first selection receives a fair number of downloads, and if this idea receives a decent reception, I will offer more of these books in the weeks to come. Have fun reading!
By the way, if you would like to read an epub file on your computer try out the free program from Adobe: Adobe Digital Editions. You can find it HERE.
