Patches – Beverly Hills District

         Beverly Hills was one of the original districts in Crescent Bay Council dating back to the 1920’s. Its boundaries included the City of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Coldwater Canyon and possibly some parts of the South Robertson neighborhood. Beverly Hills District sponsored swimming meets during the 1940’s and 50’s and held their first camporee at Beverly Hills High School on May 24-25, 1941. Annual events included Wilderness, Cactus, Desert and Snow Camps, Gold Rush Days; Pioneer Days; Explorer Cruises, Olympiads and Camporees including participation in four “Council-Wide” camporees in 1946, 1953, 1960, & 1971.
The camporee and activity patches for Beverly Hills District are the most difficult to sort out among all the various Crescent Bay Council Districts. Beverly Hills held many events for which no patch appears to have been made. Some of the patches that were issued have no identifying wording that would verify a link between the event, date and district. To make matters more confusing, during the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the district used mostly generic patches available though BSA National Supply that were also used by other scout councils around the country.
NOTE: Past member scouts from Beverly Hills District have provided information to build this listing. The majority of dates and locations for Beverly Hills events have been reconstructed through detailed analysis of the Crescent Bay Council calendars published each month in the “Round-Up” council newsletter and the Crescent Bay Area Council news clipping scrapbook. In some cases, information listed in the calendars and scrapbook is missing or incomplete.

The 1957-58 Cactus Camps and Mt. Afton Desert Camps remain one of the great mysteries of Crescent Bay Council Insignia. These patches issued between 1957-1962 were used in Crescent Bay Council for camporees held in Joshua Tree National Monument but written documentation identifying them specific to a particular District or multiple districts has yet to be found. Association with Beverly Hills District is the likely origin of most or all of these patches although it is possible that some of them were for events in Santa Monica, Marina or Will Rogers Districts.
NOTE: Joshua Tree National Monument was created in 1936. It became a National Park in 1994.

Mt. Afton, itself, is a mystery that has persisted more than fifty years. It seems there is no record of any mountain in California named Mt. Afton. An Afton Canyon exists in the northern Mojave Desert over 100 miles north of Joshua Tree National Park towards Barstow, CA on Interstate 15. Unfortunately, no peaks or mountains around Afton Canyon look anything like the distinctive mountain rendered on the Desert Camp patches.
There is, however, a peak in the Coxcomb Mountains that does resemble the one on the Desert Camp patches. National Park Service images reveal a peak in the northern part of the Coxcomb Range which is accessible from highway 60 along the Northeastern border of Joshua Tree National Park. Current and old maps of the area indicate it is in a grouping of three peaks, none of which are officially named to this day. Maps as far back as 1953 also clearly show a short dirt access road off highway 60 into the base of the three peaks ending in a place marked “cars parked here”, suggesting a trail head or camping spot. The National Park service photo to the left is taken from that approximate parking location.
Articles also exist (Desert Magazine), written by hikers documenting their forays into the Coxcombs. In the late 1950’s, hikers informally named the three peaks: Spectre (the tallest at 4,480′ elev.), Dyadic, and Aqua. These names have loosely stuck over the years but rarely do they show up on any maps. New generations of hikers have also referred to Mt Spectre as Mt. Coxcomb. The evidence suggests that what has unofficially come to be known as Mt. Spectre (a.k.a. Mt. Coxcomb) was known to the Scouts of Beverly Hills as Mt. Afton in the late 1950’s and early 60’s.

More than any of the other Districts in Crescent Bay Council, Beverly Hills District used Generic patches for its camporees.

Generic patches were available to councils through the the National B.S.A. Supply Division and other patch companies.
They were often used to save money or when there was not enough lead-time to have a unique design made.

1959 Circle B Ranch November 14-15		1960 Camp Slauson May 14-15		1961 Verdugo Pines February
Embroidered generic patch on twill. Also used by Marina District for their camporee May 16-17, 1959 at Hurkey Creek		Embroidered on twill. Gold Rush Days held as a camporee to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of BSA.		Embroidered generic patch on twill.