Slide of the Month


The Slide of the Month was a series of articles published in Boys' Life running from February 1951 to March 2001. Boys' Life was the predecessor to Scout Life, the current magazine published by Boy Scouts of America. Several authors contributed to the articles over the years. Most involved whittling wood. However, other crafts were used for specific projects including beadwork, horn carving, and some metalwork. Common materials such as wood, leather, beads, metal are usually used. However, some unusual materials can be found including animal bone, fungi or pieces of armadillo tail. The frequency varied from one period to another: sometimes monthly and other times only once a year.
Most of the early articles were written by W. Ben Hunt signing occasionally as "Ben Hunt" and most often as Whittlin' Jim. Upon his death, several other contributors took over Slide of the Month.

Inspiration

Inspiration for the slides came from a wide range of subjects commonly appealing to the boys involved in the Boy Scouts at the time.
These include:
Prior to starting the Slide of the Month section W. Ben Hunt had been featured in Boys' Life magazine as early as December 1942, where he explained how to build an arctic sled from scratch in his typical ink-and-pen artwork that would later be featured in so many of his slide articles.
Unless stated all Slide of the Month articles in this section were signed by Whittlin' Jim. In parentheses are the materials used to construct the slide.

1940s

Starting in 1945, some early work of neckerchief slides by W. Ben Hunt could be seen in Boys' Life. In the February 1945 issue, readers learn how to do beadwork and how it can be used among other things to create slides. The design presented would be reused in the April 1951 issue. In the September 1945 issue an article by W. Ben Hunt was published titled Neckerchief Slides. It featured some of the designs readers would later enjoy in Slide of the Month. In the October 1948 issue featured an article titled Make a Neckerchief Slide by Whittlin' Jim featuring the original Chief Hangs-On made out of wood.
Unless stated all Slide of the Month articles in this section were signed by Whittlin' Jim. In parentheses are the materials used to construct the slide.

1951

1952

1953

*Not labeled as a Slide of the Month in the magazine but instructions are provided to make a slide.

1954

1955

1956

In the December 1956 issue, on page 74 Whittlin' Jim also offered instructions to make a Slide Rack to hold all these slides the Scouts could have done by then.

1957

1958

A special article by Ben Hunt titled Here's How To Whittle Neckerchief Slides was published in the July 1953 issue of Boys’ Life on page 34 followed by illustrations by Whittlin' Jim and Richard E. Williams on page C1.

1959

1960

The February 1960 issue featured a How to Make It... Jubilee Patch Neckerchief Slide instructional in full color.

1961

The December 1961 issue features an Elephant Neckerchief Slide instructional in full color made of an inner tube instead of the Slide of the Month.

1962

* Not labeled as a Slide of the Month but located in the space usually reserved for these articles.

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

* Ben "Whittlin' Jim" Hunt's death was announced to the readers of Boys' Life in the Hitchin' Rack section. In this section, readers could write in and get answers from Pedro, the magazine's mascot. Ben Hunt had died on March 30, 1970. They also announced that the section would remain but not happen every month.

W. Ben Hunt's slide legacy

In the June 1981 issue of Boys’ Life, it was announced that the Ben Hunt neckerchief slide collection containing all the slides he made for Slide of the Month would be on display at the 1981 National Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. It was again on display at the 1985 National Scout Jamboree in July 1985 which took place at the same location as the 1981 event.
A full-color article was published on pages 22 to 24 called Masters of the Neckerchief Slide which featured full-color pictures of some of Ben Hunt's Slide of the Month creations. It also talks about Lauren "Lew" Weston who was first inspired to carve slides after seeing Ben's creations and who later contributed to the column after Ben's death.

Post Whittlin' Jim era

''Slide of the Month'' continues (1971–1974)

Following the death of Whittlin' Jim, articles became rarer, with only a few coming out each year.

Title temporarily dropped (1975–1979)

From April 1975 to August 1979, the name Slide of the Month was dropped. However, articles were still being published a few times a year and followed the style and format set by the previous authors: the name of the slide, a few paragraphs explaining the process with a picture of the finished slide, and detailed plans at the bottom. The entire article would fit in a quarter or half page of the magazine.

''Slide of the Month''' Returns (1979- )

In September 1979, the Slide of the Month title reappeared. It is unclear why it was not used for several years.

1979

1990s

2000s

Merchandise associated with ''Slide of the Month''

Neckerchief carving kits

The Supply Division of Boy Scouts of America offered in the 1970s several neckerchief slide carving kits based on Slide of the Month models of years past that could be ordered by mail or found locally at some Boy Scouts equipment distributors.
These kits were sold 29 cents in 1971:
Two extra kits were available that same year:
  • Kachina Doll Totem Pole for $1.45
  • Mortuary Totem Pole for 89 cents

    Plastic castings

Some of the designs along with other designs were later cast in plastic and sold in Scout stores for 45 cents each in 1972:

Other items

A Whitting Set could also be purchased. It contained a Handi-Kraft knife, five blades and four cutout carving blocks sold for $2.25 in 1971.
A booklet was also available containing reprints of the Slide of the Month. It was sold for 25 cents in 1971 and could be picked up at the local Scout store or ordered by mail.