SCOUTING ON MAIN STREET
By Edward Belason,Assistant Director of Public Relations
By Edward Belason,Assistant Director of Public Relations
By Edward Belason,
Assistant Director of Public Relations
★BOY SCOUT WEEK will soon be upon us. For one entire week in February you will hear and see a lot about Scouting as the general public finds itself becoming Scouting-conscious.
You will hearScoutingon the radio, seeScoutingin newspapers and magazines, and rub elbows withScoutingas Scouts go to and from school in their uniforms.
As a Scout leader, you will want to make the best use of the nationwide publicity and direct the attention of people in YOUR community to the activities of THEIR Scouts. One ideal method for a local Unit is through a Scout display in a store window with a prominent location.
The three immediate advantages of a window display are: ONE, the general public becomes Scouting-conscious; TWO, the Unit has a live and unusual program for several days; and THREE, boys who are not now Scouts see an opening for themselves to join the Unit.
Plan Your Display
Before you ask a merchant for window space, have some plans for your display on paper, or at least in your mind. Explain to him the advantages to the community, to Scouting, and to his store. Most storekeepers are willing to cooperate. Larger shops may even offer the services of trained window decorators. Once you obtain the space you have a responsibility to both the merchant and to Scouting to install the neatest and most interesting display you and your staff can create. No doubt you can get some valuable help from your Local Council.
Build your display around the theme for 1949—“Adventure—That’s Scouting!” Show the folks in your community that your Unit spells Adventure with a capital “A.”
Make a list of the items you will want to display, such as photographs, handicraft articles, posters, flags, collections, knot boards, books, etc. Select those which you can make outstanding. Don’t crowd the window; use just what you have room for.
After the list is decided upon, get the Unit’s specialists on the job. Get the shutter bugs busy on photographs, the craftsmen to their work benches, and the artists to their layout pads. Photos are one of the best mediums for telling your story. Select those that truly represent Scouting activities. Enlarge them and mount them neatly, with captions easily read.
The background, too, should be eye-catching. It should be large enough that passersby will be arrested and enticed to step up close to look over the display. You can make a good backdrop with a photo illustrating Scout adventure, and enlarged to take in practically the entire background. If you cannot get extra size enlargements in your community, choose several photos, make 11″ × 14″ enlargements and group them to form an artistic background. Or you might have your boys make a large Scout emblem from beaverboard and color it. Another possibility is to mount several photos on wallboard cut to the shape of the Scout badge.
Experiment with arrangements in advance, so that when you enter the store you can trim the window in the quickest possible time.
Chalk off the actual window area on the meeting room floor. Place smaller items in the foreground, and gradually build up to the background. If pedestals are needed, perhaps the storekeeper may lend them to you. If he has none, make some of cardboard and gummed tape. Cigar boxes, paper cartons, and tin cans, painted or covered with colored paper, can be used.
Extremely bright colors will sometimes detract from the items on display. Avoid them or use them carefully. Neutral colors can easily be arranged to compliment and flatter the displayed items. For example, when exhibiting a collection of leather-craftitems, a cream or light green will show them up better than bright red or blue.
Arrange the articles to create continuity. It isn’t necessary that each item be seen from every angle. Avoid over-crowding; it has a tendency to confuse and tire the window-shopper. He may walk away and perhaps miss the essence of your message.
Not until you have had your “dress rehearsal” are you ready to install your display in the store window. The pet peeve of any shopkeeper is to have his store upset while windows are being dressed, especially if the job takes too long. Agree on the time convenient to him, then do the job rapidly and neatly. Don’t send the whole gang over. Pick two or three good workers and let them handle it. A good job done efficiently will undoubtedly get you a return invitation next year.