Take a Hike, Snoopy.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America with Snoopy, the Beagle Scout, who was the leader of his band of birds as they went camping and exploring the wilderness in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz.

Snoopy, the World Famous Beagle Scout.
Snoopy started out as a Tenderpaw, but rose in just two days to the level of "The World Famous Beagle Scout." Of course, anything Snoopy did involved becoming instantly world famous. The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California will display the antics and philosophizing of Snoopy the Beagle Scout as he developed his character over 25 years of comic strips.

Schulz was not much of a camper.
According to Jean Schulz, the wife of Charles Schulz, he was not much of a camper. She quotes him saying. "I did all the camping I would ever want to do in the army." Schulz was able to put those camping experiences into his characters, as Snoopy, Woodstock and their following of little birds had many adventures as Beagle Scouts. Jane O'Cain, Curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum, gave some thought to this as the exhibit was prepared, as she wrote that, "Snoopy's alter ego as the Beagle Scout provided a vehicle for Schulz's characters, including many previously unknown bird characters, to embark on humorous adventures in the wilderness. It may also have been at some deeper level a way in which Schulz could reflect on his army days when as a young staff sergeant, he, too, was a troop leader, slept in a tent, and ate army grub."

Visit the Museum in Santa Rosa.
This exhibit will be in the museum from February through June. This is a perfect time to take the young scouts in your family to explore the museum, or to take one of the many classes they have for young people. There are many old strips, original drawings, and historical artifacts from the life of the man nicknamed "Sparky". He certainly was a spark in the cartoon world, and anyone who has enjoyed the daily trials and tribulations of the Peanuts gang will enjoy a chuckle following their history. The museum is located in the last home town of Charles M. Schulz, the lovely town of Santa Rosa just about an hour north of San Francisco.

Source: Information for this article comes in part from the staff of the museum, and from my visit there as a guest of the museum.