Memories from the 14th World Jamboree
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 1:09PM 
US Contingent PatchIn 1975 I was granted the unique opportunity of attending the 1975 World Jamboree in Lillehammer, Norway from July 29th through August 7th, 1975. I served as the third assistant scoutmaster for Troop 75J from Sam Houston Area Council, Houston, TX. I had just turned 18 and the position was reserved for scouts like me who were, at the time of the jamboree were between the ages of 18 and 21.
For many of the boys this was the first time out of the country, not to mention the first time on an airplane. We traveled by bus to Dallas where we met other troops of the US contingent and boarded our plane to Norway. Our eventual destination was near the head of Lake Mjosa, near Lillehammer, Norway.
Official Nordjamb '75 Patch
The 14th World Jamboree brought together approximately 17,000+ campers from over 90 countries. Christened "Nordjamb 75" the theme was "Five Fingers, one Hand ". Looking at the Official Nordjamb75 patch this theme is re-enforced by the five mountain peaks representing the five joint Nordic hosts and the five Scout Regions in one Brotherhood.
I have many memories of the my time at the jamboree. From hiking in the mountains in international patrols, a visit to Maihaugen cultural museum, to all the fun of the Saturday Jamboree Country Fair. The King of Norway opened the Jamboree, along with visits by the King of Sweden and the Crown Prince of Morocco.
As a troop we experienced all of these, plus more. I have vivid memories of waking up the first morning at the campsite to find that right next door was an encampment containing girls. I was pleasantly surprised, but it was really fun to watch the boys in my troop [mostly ages 15 and 16] try and impress our neighbors. That same day, or rather that evening, we all discovered the camp canteen. Much to my suprise, for the small sum of 2 Kroner anyone could buy a bottle of official [complete with international scouting symbol] jamboree beer. The next morning we had a bunch of 15 and 16 year old scouts experiencing their first hangover which was further aggrevated by breakfast consisting of hardbread, cheese, and pickled kippers. It was a sight to behold watching the boys.
Green Bar Bill's autograph!
Green Bar Bill in our campI had grown up reading his columns in Boy's Life. The Scoutmaster of our jamboree troop had given each of his adult staff a copy of "Two Lives of A Hero", the biography of the founder of the world Scouting movement, Lord Baden-Powell. Given all that by far my most vivid memory from the jamboree was when Green Bar Bill [William Hillcourt] walked into our camp. Those of us that were in camp when he arrived were in awe of him, and yet I remember him to be a patient and gracious man. I was able to get him to autograph both a copy of his book, "Two Lives of a Hero" and an official Nordjamb-75 envelope.
In the end I will always remember my experiences from the 1975 World Jamboree. To this day I proudly wear my jamboree patch on my uniform for all to see.
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Reader Comments (3)
Peter, those are some amazing memories! What a great thing. Scouting has really been quite a big part of your life, thank you for sharing a bit of your life that I didn't know about
I was there, too. It was the part of my life i wouldn't want forgetting. My jamboree troop was 5302, subcamp 2-Teno. You missed mentioning about the Jamboree Fair Night when there was a single currency that was legal tender to all fair booths - the jamboree kroner. The Philippine Contingent was in 5 buses from Amsterdam, West Germany, Denmark and Norway for a month of tour. Fantastic experience! "Sing everyone, Sam, Jacques and John; Erik and Lee; Go jamboree. Five fingers one hand, oh jamboree; Nordjamb, Nordjamb Jamboree...!"
Troop 21, Siljan subcamp. Somewhere around here gotta boatload of slides I need to put on line. Have an up close pic of, I think, the crown prince of Norway. Got to shake the mans hand. Remember at the end of the Jamboree, we ate the salted fish that had been part of the Norwegian troops gateway next to us. Got a nasty bee sting on my nose during the overnighter. The last night before flying home we were staying in Bergen. Everybody went somewhere for dinner and left me sleeping at the hotel. The hotel refused to give a broke kid a break and feed me. I was, of course, broke by the last night. Spent my evening walking the streets of Bergen and taking pictures by myself til a cop nabbed me and took me back to the hotel. Didnt speak a word of English but his gestures told me all I needed to know. There was an APB out on this skinny kid....
The week in Denmark with a family, the North Sea ferry trip, the terrible diet in Sweden and the bus rides along the fjords...it was an eye opener for a country kid. Probably the wildest thing for me was getting to slip away twice while in Gothenberg to visit the brother of a man whose family we had sponsored that spring when they fled South Vietnam. The brother was a biology prof at U of Gothenberg (or something). I arrived at his apartment to meet him, at about 5 ft tall, his wife (at least 6'3") with a wax sealed letter of introduction. The guy made me sit down while he went in the other room to open and read the letter prior to formal introductions. Was hazy about directions to get there and had my little book of norwegian ready to try to explain when the cab driver told me to put the book down and give him the address. He was from Cleveland!
Just signed my kid up for Sweden next year.