Museum
Welcome To The Bert Adams Boys Museum
Here we have collected many of the tangible mementos of both the "old" and the "new" Bert Adams. We would like to make the collection as complete as possible, and if you have any images to contribute, please let us know.
Corrections and additions are always welcome. We'd like it to be accurate, and sometimes memory fails.
We hope you enjoy the museum and that it brings back many great memories of summer camp and other events at Bert Adams in both Vinings and Covington!
1930 - Camp Brochure. Interesting document all about summer camp. Twenty pages with photos, info, etc. We will post the entire book when we have it scanned.
(Note: the preceding statement was from the original Bert Adams Boys website. I do not have a copy of this book, only the image of the cover shown above. If anyone has a copy please scan the pages and send them to me at contactbertadamsboys2@gmail.com so I can post them here)
Post Cards From Camp
1935 - According to a postmark on one of the following post cards the year was 1935
1935 This swimming pool was at sight to behold. It was in a deep ravine with a creek running along one side. No other buildings could be seen from the pool. It was totally isolated from the rest of the camp.
This building was one of at least 4 staff huts that I remember. This type staff hut was located in sites 1, 2, 3, & 9. The campers slept in Adirondack (3-sided) shelters, a few of which were moved to the Osceola campsite at the new camp in Covington. They are still there!
Above submitted by Randy Yates
Lake Darby - Possibly from the early-to-mid 50's based on the scout wearing the pith helmet, which was popular in the 1950's. As you can see the lake was very small, probably less than one acre.
1940 - Camp Brochure (Mailer). Interesting read. Note the charge for a week at camp is $7.50 for in council and $8.50 for out of council. Click for larger image. (Thanks to John Hoffman for this artifact)
1942 - Camp Pennant. Pennant measures 8.5 x 14" and is blue on yellow. Presumably this was awarded to troops who participated in summer camp. The artwork was obviously done by the same artist that created the 1940 Camp Brochure above.
1961 - Coke ad. This ad for Coca-Cola was shot at Bert Adams (Covington) and appeared on the full back page of Boy's Life magazine. We can't read the troop number of the scouts, but the guy in the Explorer shirt is Bert Adams staffer Bill Veatch. Somebody tell us the troop number!
1961 - Decal. They must have ordered a million or more of these in 1961, as they were in the Trading Posts at Bert Adams for years. I had one on my camp footlocker that followed me around the world for four years in the Air Force. (Thomas Watson)
1961 Camp Gorman Trading Post - This picture was actually set up before the "new" Bert Adams opened so as to be ready on "opening day." We cannot make out the signature of the sender, but it was mailed on July 11, 1961 which would have been one of the early weeks of camp, and simply says "The camp is a big success."
1958 David Ginn - This is our favorite because it's the typical "postcard from camp." Even more interesting because your webmaster (Tom Watson) and David were friends at Bert Adams in the 60's. (David, if you read this-- and I know you're out there still doing magic-- drop me a line and I'll return this card to you.)
Belt Buckles and Slides
1961 Buckle - Approximately 1 5/8" square. Appears to be copper plating over some other metal, possibly aluminum. Your webmaster, Tom Watson, wore one of these through three summers on staff.
Here's another buckle that appears to be the same as the one to the left without the green! Perhaps it was from another year or just aged!
1980 Buckle - We've estimated the date of this buckle based on the Indian design and slogan being very similar to those used in the 1980's. Approximately 2" square, it appears to be solid bronze based on the heavy weight.
Mid-1980's Buckle - The image on this buckle is similar to the camp patches issued in 1984, '85, '86 & '87. So I labeled it Mid-1980's. Submitted by Jeff Kilpatrick
Look Close... they are different!
Buckles (dates unknown) - There is no date on these two buckles. If you know when they were issued please contact the webmaster via the contact information linked at the top of this page.
Submitted by Jeff Kilpatrick
1961 Slide - Plastic "Neal" slide could be purchased at the Trading Post blank, and decorated by the Scout. The colors on the boot nails indicated certain trails. Dark blue was the "Yankee" trail and red was the "Rebel" trail. These were the two longest trails-- long enough for over-nighters-- and were along the northern and southern reservation boundaries (guess which was which!). There was also a trail around Lake Campbell and a shorter nature trail, but we don't recall the colors for those trails.
Cups
Summer Camp Patches
There is some mystery surrounding the earliest patches from Camp Bert Adams. The original webmaster has dates that conflict with what other patch collectors say. Some patches have the year hand written on the patch, see 1932 and 1943. Similar patches have no date but have symbols like arrows, footprints, tomahawks, life preservers, leaves, etc. These symbols most likely indicated achievements by the camper and this style patch used multiple years.
Above is believed by some to be the first patch issued at Bert Adams.
Above is believed to be the second patch issued Bert Adams. Or maybe the two stars indicated a second year camper.
The original webmaster believed this to be the first patch since is it is simple and not embroidered. However this basic design was carried forward to at least 1943 when used by the woodcraft department.
The three patch images in this group that have a year in the lower left corner were added to the website by the original webmaster, Tom Watson. The other images were submitted by Randy Yates.
1930 - In Scouting's earlier days, camp and activity patches were not as common as they became by the late 40's, and Scouts often stenciled "totems" or "coups" onto their Scout belt to show achievements at camp, and Bert Adams was no exception to this practice. If a scout got 15 "coups" stenciled onto his belt, he would then be awarded the patch. I have seen one sewn on a merit badge sash with another dated patch of 1932 and it's likely that this patch was in use for several years. We do not actually have one of these in our collection--
This patch, with 1942 on it, conflicts with the printing of the year by the owner on his own patch shown in the 1943 Woodcraft example shown above. Perhaps there were camp patch blanks the the woodcraft department found and used after the camp patch was changed to the 1942 type design.
The Indian head patches with one feather are believed to be issued to first year campers sometime in the 1940's Submitted by Randy Yates
Second year campers got patches with two feathers
Third year campers got three feathers Submitted by Randy Yates
Greater than three year and/or Staff got the full headress Submitted by Jeff Kilpatrick
Submitted By: Randy Yates
1954 - We have two different patch designs for 1954 and are not sure why. We found a second image of the first design with a "staff" segment attached.
Submitted by Randy Yates
Why is this 1954 patch different from the other two? If anyone can shed any light on this, please let us know!
1955 Staff & Honor Camper
Submitted by Randy Yates
1956 - We do not have any early "staff" segments in our collection. This is a photo of a patch belonging to someone else. Again, if anyone has any segments to contribute or sell, please contact the webmaster.
Submitted by Randy Yates
Scout Craft Patch (year unknown) Submitted by Randy Yates
1958 Staff Segment
For staff members this small tab was sewn to the bottom of the camp patch or sewn on the shoulder of the Class A shirt.
The 1959 & 1960 patches do not say "Bert Adams." This is because the council operated two summer camps those years. This was due to increased demand and limited space at the Bert Adams camp in Vinings. Camp Allatoona was operated as an overflow camp and these patches were also issued at Camp Allatoona. Camp Allatoona, now know as Camp Allatoona Aquatics Base (CAAB) is still in operation and is used for weekend camping, aquatics merit badges and other training. 1960 was the last year the camp operated in Vinings. A new camp was opened for the 1961 summer camping season at its present location near Covington, Georgia.
Actually there were three summer camps operated by the Atlanta Area Council in 1959 & 1960. Two for white scouts, Bert Adams and Camp Allatoona, plus Camp J.K. Orr which was operated for African American scouts. It was a different world in those days. Camp J.K. Orr was located just south of Jonesboro, GA where the present Newman Wetlands Center is located. According to my research it was in operation for African American scouts from 1940 until 1964 when Camp Bert Adams was integrated. Beginning in 1964 the Camp Orr property was used for camporees and other scouting events until it was sold by the council and Camp Woodruff was established near Blairsville, GA.
Below are three patches from Camp J.K. Orr. One is from 1949, the other two are unknown years. The Indian on the third patch is similar to the Indian on the 1960 OA Work Day patch shown below. Same artist? If you know the year of the other patches please let me know.
Image submitted by Randy Yates
(Images submitted by John Hoffman)
(Images submitted by John Hoffman)
The Bert Adams Scout Reservation near Covington, Georgia is open
Not a summer camp patch, this patch was the first patch issued at the new Bert Adams Scout Reservation. It was issued on Saturday, November 19, 1960 at an OA Work Day event. See documentation by clicking here.
Submitted by Bob Higgins
1961 (First summer camp patch at the new camp in Covington, GA. Note the Charter Camper)
"Fire It Up One More Time!"
They did and that was the last year as Woodruff became the cook your own food camp in 1980.
Submitted by John Frost Murlin
1991
At the end of the 1960 Summer Camp season I, along with the rest of the staff, received an invitation to meet at the Treasure Oak Lodge. Being this was about 60 years ago I cannot remember what the event was but based on the date I believe it was a party for the staff after the final week of summer camp. Perhaps they had free Cokes! I do remember my pay for being on staff was 50 cents credit per week at the trading post!
Submitted by Bob Higgins
Not a camp patch, but scoutmasters deserve something!
Patches (Non-Summer Camp) but associated with Bert Adams or the Atlanta Area Council
1940 Camporee - While not strictly a camp patch, we've included this in the museum simply as an early example of a camporee patch.
Staff Patches - We're not positive about the year of these patches. It could be from the 1930's as several staff members can be seen wear this patch over their right shirt pocket in the second undated (Mid 1930's) staff photo shown in the Photo Album page. Length of one is 5 inches and the other is 6 inches. Perhaps the two sizes were made to fit over a shirt pocket or on the shoulder.
1986 - We think this was issued in '86, although it could have been '76 (somebody please give us the correct date!). It is a commemorative patch issued by the council, although it has some glaring errors, not the least of which is that there was no 1926 Bert Adams camp season. In fact, there was no Camp Bert Adams until 1927. It's very likely that there was no council camp at all in 1926 as the council had been having difficulty in finding property to lease for "Camp Friendly", the council camp, for several years. It's also likely that if there was a camp patch at all for the 1927 season, it would have been the same design as the 1930 patch above.
Undated Patches
No dates on these two patches but the Indian head artwork is like the 1980 & 1981 and the 2007 summer camp patches
No date but like the previous two patches, artwork is similar to 1980 & 1981 and 2007
Hike the Rainbow Trail and add colorful yarn to this leather patch.
The Atlanta Area Council was founded in 1916, thus 1996 was the 80th year.
No information on this patch
Available at the Trading Post
The Rawhide Program is for first year scouts that need to earn early ranks of scouting
Unique Rawhide Patch
Cycling Program Patches
Aquatic Program Patches
COPE Program Patches
Optional Program Patches for Adventure Programs
B.A.S.S. (Bert Adams Support Society) is an organization of Scouts & Scouters that help where needed mostly supporting the camp rangers with projects that range from clearing timber to setting up or taking down tents for summer camp. The success of Bert Adams Scout Camp is due in no small way to B.A.S.S.
Not Sure about this one... looks like a relaxing weekend! Dates is June 19-20, 2010
Scoutmasters deserve a merit badge too. And there are requirements, like afternoon naps.
And don't forget the Campmaster and Rangers... they deserve a patch plus much more!
Not sure about this one... if you know please let me know.
Neckerchiefs
Neckerchiefs seem almost harder to come by than patches! Unused ones are particularly difficult to find and we have quite a few with "neck rash" and quite a few missing.
Fuzzy, misty memories may have also caused a wrong year to be assigned to some undated ones, so we could use some help with identification here as well. We have labeled these with our best guess or recollection.
1952 - An obviously hand-made (or "mom made") neckerchief. This was pretty common with the neckerchiefs from the early 50's due to the low volume required. In fact, even the OA Lodge neckerchiefs were hand-made through the 60's.
1956 - Note that this neckerchief was made with a left-over staff segment from 1955 - "A Scout Is Thrifty."
1951
1952 Staff
1956 Staff
1957 Staff
1959 Staff
1960
1960 Staff
1961
1961 Staff
1962
1962 Staff
1963 Junior Leader
1963 Staff
1964 Staff
1965
1966
1966 Staff
1966 Unknown
1967 Emerson
1967 Gorman
1968 Emerson
1969 Emerson
1969 Emerson Staff
1970
1971 Jamison
1972 Jamison
(Submitted by Bob Higgins)
Although this item is not directly associated with Bert Adams this Assistant Scoutmaster, Henry Grady Davis, was with Troop 1 in Bolton, GA which is within 6 miles of Bert Adams Camp in Vinings. Currently Troop 1 is about 3 miles from the site of Bert Adams in Vinings as the troop moved from Bolton to it's present location on Log Cabin Drive in 1962 or 1964. I find it interesting how little scouting has changed since 1933... well except for the price of a Boy's Life subscription. Henry Grady Davis was a very good friend of my mom. I knew him until his passing at age 93.