[1] The first time that James "Buddy" Edgerton posed for Rockwell was for the 1945 Boy Scout Calendar illustration, I Will Do My Best,[2] in 1943.

[3] The final time was for Growth of a Leader, after Rockwell moved from Arlington, Vermont, to Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

[4] Since no one in the Edgerton family was involved in Scouting, all of the uniforms were borrowed from friends.

[1] The painting depicts the stages a man goes through as he moves through the Scouting program, in front of an American flag.

[7] The painting represents the increase in maturity a Scout gains as he goes through the program.