Boy Scout badge???

[Anonymous]

Found this metal badge this week and would like to know how old it is.It's made out of pewter or a lead mix.It has BOY SCOUTS across the top and VERTUE on the bottom,nothing on the back.It came from where an old school stood.School was torn down 70 years ago. <img src="/metal/html/confused.gif" border=0 width=15 height=22 alt=":?"> Bob

 

[Anonymous]

From the link below:
>>>MERIT BADGES
Once a Boy Scout became a First Class Scout, he could begin working on merit badges. In 1911 there were fifty-six badges described in the Handbook that a Boy Scout could earn, from Agriculture to Taxidermy.<<<
Listed is this one for Firemanship. Look like firehose nozzles.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say that it is from an Explorer Scout that specialized in firefighting. We have such a group at our police station here. That badge looks old however!

 

[Anonymous]

those are crossed speaking trumpets, like a cheerleaders megaphone. Those were used in the old days by the fire officers to direct their men. The position they are displayed in and the number of them denoted the officers rank in the department.

 

[Anonymous]

...way back when, when I was fighting forest fires for fun and profit, we had some old brass barrel nozzles in the storehouse that looked a lot like that.... I'll see if I can find a pic....

 

[Anonymous]

From a current ebay auction (link below)
...this is a standard size for forest fire fighting. Often times the 1/2" end opening is threaded for a detachable combination 3/8" and 1/4" tip.
I've seen some that were pretty close to what I would take as the crossed nozzles on the badge.

 

[Anonymous]

I was thinking the same thing.But what really has me thinking,,possably this is where the cloth merit badges might have gotten started.Can you see a scout clanking around with 20 or 30 of these merit badges on.He would look like a knight in armor.This one I found is almost as big as a silver dollar. Bob <img src="/metal/html/lol.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=":lol">

 

[Anonymous]

from the link below:
>>>The speaking trumpet was in use for many years as a communication device. It has carried on to this day in a small way as an insignia of rank in most departments - one trumpet for lieutenant, two for a captain, and crossed gold trumpets up to five in number to signify chief of department.<<<

 

[Anonymous]

...thanks Dave! Are you on a volunteer department?

 

[Anonymous]

The rank insignia was metal, but not the merit badges. Like I said above it probably was an Explorer group insignia.

 

[Anonymous]

Is Vertue a place, or Latin, or what? I earned that badge, and part of the drill was to hold and aim the fire hose with lots of water pressure. That's a lot of power for a kid to hold down. Maybe the fire department had the metal badges made up for the boys that earned their hoses.

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

but the small curved end of the speaking trumpet gives it away. It's curved that way to fit over the mouth. We had a few of those brass nozzles on our forestry truck, but they weren't much good in regular firefighting. The atomizer nozzle in use today is so much more efficient in liquid to steam conversion which is the basis for firefighting. Those days are gone now, I was in service 73' to 83' Funny note, we used to take the recruits out with a straight tip as we called em and run the pressure up till their feet would leave the ground, gave them respect as to what damage a loose hose could do <img src="/metal/html/lol.gif" border=0 width=15 height=15 alt=":lol">
Dave