CUBBING
The Formative Years

1894
British author, Rudyard Kipling writes Jungle Book while visiting Vermont and publishes it for the first time in chapter form in the American children's magazine, Saint Nicholas.

1910
With a loophole in the age policy, younger boys of 9-11 slip into troops. Some Junior Troops established.

1911
Boy Scouting age requirement firmly established as 12, but the national Executive Board asks Ernest Thompson Seton to look at the younger boy issue.

1914
Baden-Powell begins talking about an upcoming Junior Scouts program.

1916
Baden-Powell starts the British Wolf Cub program and publishes The Wolf Cub’s Handbook.

1918
The BSA secures the American rights to the British Wolf Cub’s Handbook.

1919
The British Wolf Cub program thoroughly studied for adoption by the BSA.

1920
The first National Conference for Scout Executives held at Palisades Interstate Park, New York recognizes the need for a program for younger boys.

1923
Various younger boy programs can be found around the country including Wolf Cubs, Boy Rangers, Woodcraft Indians, Boy Pioneers, American Tribesmen, American Eagles and American Eaglets.

1924
The National Executive Board proposes that the younger boy program be pursued.

1925
Members of the board are appointed to a committee to study the younger boy program.

1927
Grant issued by the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Memorial Foundation to conduct research and hire an expert for three years to study the younger boy issue.

1928
Dr. Huber Hurt named as a full-time executive for the committee. Seton recruited by Hurt to help with the development of the program.

1929
In August, demonstration units are approved by the national Executive Board.

1930
The national Executive Board approves Cubbing as an experimental program on February 10th. First Cubbing charters issued April 1st with the first Official pack being number 43 of Brooklyn, New York. The first Wolf, Bear and Lion Cub books are issued. Parents' Cub Book and Cub Leader's Outline are introduced. The first woman is registered in the BSA in the New York Area Council as a Den Mother in March. By the end of the year, there are 5,102 boys and 1,433 registered Pack leaders.

1931
A total of 258 councils register 25,662 boys and 5,228 leaders in 243 packs.

1932
The Cubmaster’s Pack Book and the Den Chief’s Den Book are published. A new publication, Cub Leader’s Roundtable, begins. The experiment continues with 44,083 boys, 8,060 registered leaders.

1933
On May 25th the Cubbing program became official and was handed over to the local councils. The year ends with 51,884 boys and 7,542 leaders.