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

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

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

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau ...

. ''Scout Life'' is published in two demographic editions. Both editions often had the same

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

, but are tuned to the target audience 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 The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) was a U.S. non-profit organization for educational publishers. It was active in public awareness campaigns on effective educational resources, as well as aiding communication between educational o ...

(AEP), including Periodical of the Year. The magazine's mascot is Pedro the Mailburro, 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, founded and published the first edition of ''Boys' Life'' magazine. It was edited by 18-year old Joe Lane of Providence, Rhode Island. He called it ''Boys' and Boy Scouts' Magazine''. At that time there were three major competing Scouting organizations: the

American Boy Scouts The American Boy Scouts (ABS) (officially American Boy Scout), later the United States Boy Scouts (officially United States Boy Scout), was an early American Scouting organization formed by William Randolph Hearst in 1910, following on from the f ...

, 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 Codemaster. Comics have included Bible Stories, Pedro, Pee Wee Harris, Scouts in Action, Rupert the Invincible, The Tracy Twins (created by Dik Browne), Dink & Duff, Tiger Cubs, Webelos Woody,

Norby Norby is a fictional robot created by Janet Asimov and Isaac Asimov who stars in his own series of children's science fiction books, ''The Norby Chronicles''. His first appearance was in the 1983 book '' Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot'', in total he ...

, 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 serie ...

's ''

The Tripods ''The Tripods'' is a series of young adult novels written by John Christopher, beginning in 1967. The first two were the basis of a science fiction TV series, produced in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Synopsis The story of ''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.

Pedro

Pedro is a fictional

burro The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

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 retires. The comic was subsequently renamed to "The Wacky Adventures of Steve" in the March 2022 issue, and "The Wacky Adventures @ Scout Life" in the April 2022 issue.

Contributors

Writers contributing over the years include Isaac Asimov,

Bertrand R. Brinley Bertrand R. Brinley (19 June 1917 in Hudson, New York – 20 October 1994 in Luray, Virginia) was an American writer of short stories and children's tales. He was best known for his ''Mad Scientists' Club'' stories. The stories in ''The Mad ...

Catherine Drinker Bowen Catherine Drinker Bowen (January 1, 1897 – November 1, 1973) was an American writer best known for her biographies. She won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 1958. Biography Bowen was born Catherine Drinker on the Haverford College cam ...

, Ray Bradbury,

Van Wyck Brooks Van Wyck Brooks (February 16, 1886 in Plainfield, New Jersey – May 2, 1963 in Bridgewater, Connecticut) was an American literary criticism, literary critic, biographer, and historian. Biography Brooks graduated from Harvard University in ...

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

J. Allan Dunn Joseph Allan Elphinstone Dunn (21 January 1872 – 25 March 1941), best known as J. Allan Dunn, was one of the high-producing writers of the American pulp magazines. He published well over a thousand stories, novels, and serials from 1914–4 ...

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...

, Robert A. Heinlein, William Hillcourt, John Knowles,

Arthur B. Reeve Arthur Benjamin Reeve (October 15, 1880 – August 9, 1936) was an American mystery writer. He is known best for creating the series character Professor Craig Kennedy, sometimes called "The American Sherlock Holmes", and Kennedy's Dr. Watson-lik ...

, Ernest Thompson Seton,

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Artists and photographers who have contributed over the years include

Harrison Cady Walter Harrison Cady (1877–1970) was an American illustrator and author, best known for his ''Peter Rabbit'' comic strip which he wrote and drew for 28 years. Biography Early life and career Cady was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, to a tow ...

. 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