Pictured to the right are two recent finds that came from the estate of a professional Scouter in Western New York.  The CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY COUNCIL khaki & red half-strip (KRHS) pictured on top is an issue that was not previously known to exist.  It has gauze backing behind the letters.

The full-sized CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY / COUNCIL RWS is an equally unique find.  As can be seen from the back of the patch, the top line of text is backed with gauze and was added to a "blank" that already had the border and word COUNCIL on it.  There are only a handful of other examples of full-sized RWS that are sewn on blanks.  It has been speculated that the pieces sewn on blanks were among the earliest full-sized RWS.  By having blanks ready to go, very small orders could be accomodated by simply adding the council name.  The fact that this Chautauqua County Council RWS on a blank was found along with a KRHS from the same council strongly supports this idea.  When this particular Scouter switched from khaki & red to red & white, the RWS he received was one sewn on a blank.

It's interesting, though, that there have not been any reports of RWS blanks that lacked the council name.  Perhaps one is out there waiting to be found!

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