I couldn’t leave those children on the street
Pavel Šlegr - Yankee was born on May 13, 1942, in Lužná nearby Rakovník. He graduated from secondary school and became a mechanic responsible for communication and safety devices at the Czechoslovak railroad. This was probably the reason why he didn’t spend his compulsory military service far away from home – he served in Litoměřice as a radio operator (signaler). After his service, he briefly worked as a foreman at an apprentice training school and then went to work in a shaft. He got married and had two sons. Later on, he got back to his occupation at the apprentice training school and worked there as a foreman until his retirement. He became a boy scout at a relatively high age (26) in 1968. Until then, he often heard about the scouts and was a passionate reader of the books of Jaroslav Foglar, but at the time when he went to school, Scouting was not possible. In 1968, he became the deputy of the leader of the 7th boy troop in Ústí nad Labem. The leader of the troop was Roland Sýkora - Rolf. Pavel Šlegr tried to catch up as fast as he could and to learn all the necessary skills. He passed the Scout oath and tried to learn how to properly lead the Scout troops. In September, the activities of the troop were at their peak. In 1969, they went on their first – for the moment just a touring – summer camp and in 1970, they were already able to organize a “proper” summer camp. Unfortunately, it was at the same time the last camp. However, Pavel Šlegr didn’t want his boys to end up playing on the street and therefore he took most of his troop under the umbrella of the regional Child and Youth Organization (Dům dětí a mládeže) where he founded the 7th youth tourist troop “Stopa” (footprint). They gradually expanded into three troops and they were in existence until 1989. After 1989, Pavel Šlegr - Yankee didn’t return to the activities of his troop anymore. However, he took part in the organization of mentoring courses and he was the member of many examination commissions and an educational rapporteur of the ORJ Ústí nad Labem. He also took part in the forest school for seniors where he got his Scout nick name. Currently, Pavel Šlegr isn’t registered but he continues to be a great fan of the Adult Club in Ústí nad Labem. For his activities in the area of Scouting and old scouting, he received two awards – the bronze and the silver Syrinx.
