The Polar Bear Award was established in 1955 as a Troop 127 winter camping badge. Mr. Lowell Titus, the troop's Scoutmaster at the time, said that in the winter of 1955 he and his fellow Scoutmasters decided on coming up with a winter camping award. They decided that it should award their boys for their diligence in successfully completing this unique winter camping experience. The requirements were to have three overnighters one in each of the winter months of December, January, and February. They decided on a Polar Bear Medallion.
He then later said that his boys in the Green Bar Patrol would come up with the design for the badge. Luckily for the boys, Mr. Titus had graduated from North High School in Des Moines, Iowa, where the team mascot was a Polar Bear. The original design was on a green, three inch diameter circle with a white polar bear in the center and Polaris, also known as the North Star, in the upper left above the bear’s head.
The Polar Bear Award caught the interest of scout officials at the National Jamboree, who requested troop specifications. It was acknowledged by the National Office in 1993 as an award used extensively around the country, and nationally recognized.
The badge has been drastically changed in both looks and requirements. The requirements also differ from council to council and from troop to troop. From most of the information gathered here are the main requirements.
- Camp in below 32 degree temperature.
- Must be an overnighter.
- Must be in a tent.
- Must be in winter months.
- Most important you must have some proof of weather.
Written by Josh Kassmeyer
Sources: Letter from Lowell Titus
Websites collected by Dave Templeton and myself