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The Yo-Yo adventure looked kind of cool. Though I imagine it has its ups and downs.

Good thing scouting teaches emergency preparedness! A troop camping in the Allagash Wilderness area of Maine found out why when they suddenly found themselves needing to rescue two men whose canoes had capsized on the lake. Thanks to the scouts, both men are safe...and so is their dog, even though he nearly drowned the two men in an effort to save his own furry skin... Here's the story: https://kstp.com/national/boy-scouts-rescue-brothers-canoes-capsized-maine/5378861/ My takeaway: What we teach the boys matters.

Um, @oldbuzzard, most backpacking is not back-country. The stuff that sells magazines, sure. But the majority of trails are within a couple hours of emergency extraction. Some of them are entirely country roads or railroad beds with a decent homestead every mile or so. My SM made sure that our entire scouting career was either backpacking or orienteering -- and that whole time I never saw real back-country -- not even my 1st 50-miler. That was a local trail along the rooftops of our county -- sort of a graduation present from him the summer before I went to college. Only a couple of scouts in

Wow! I had no idea it went on so long either. Guess I'll end up being one of those people Saltface describes, mumbling everything beyond "Day is done, gone the sun". Cheers!

A NY state bill would require campers to be immunized against over 10 different diseases, including measles and pertussis. "It is a really small handful for us," said BSA Seneca Waterways Council CEO Stephen Hoitt. "But there is a number of families who take that, fill out their religious declaration form and we accept that at this point." Regulated camps, like those run by Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts and the YMCA are all monitored by the state health department. All require immunization records and a physical exam completed within 12 months of the camp session. "Health a

My son signed up to earn this badge at summer camp the first year it was offered there. I don't know how they handled that particular requirement, but I strongly suggest if you have the chance to do so, sit with your scout to hear an old timer talk about times long ago. It's a kick watching scouts hear the tales and honestly, it was super entertaining for me too. We had the luxury of having a great ASM who had been with the troop since his kids were in it in the 70s. He had served in various capacities (SM, ASM, CC etc) throughout all those decades and is still serving today. He got to rolling

Read a thread from a decade ago. It was called "How To Fire a Scoutmaster". The responses were...interesting. Many questioned the loyalty of the poster, who came to the forum seeking advice. A quick tour of the forum (I'm new here, but not to Scouting) shows me that the situation that particular ASM faced isn't, unfortunately, uncommon. I've learned that there are bad situations. Sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Nothing always runs as planned, or as hoped, despite good intentions. I'm among a group of volunteers, ASMs, with a troop. I joined two

Well then, here for the edification of all are the lyrics to "Taps." Please note I TRIED to reduce the spacing between each line, but this infernal text module forces a massive space after each paragraph and I don't know how to change the setting: 1. Day is done, Gone the sun, From the hills, From the lake, From the skies. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 2. Go to sleep, Peaceful sleep, May the soldier Or sailor, God keep. On the land Or the deep, Safe in sleep. 3. Love, good night, Must thou go,

2 weddings, 3 college graduations and 3 grandkids.😳 Barry

You are dead on right. An 11 year old is not the audience for the theory of learning. Rank and MB requirements should not say EDGE. Instead, say "Teach a scout" or "Show a new scout". As scouts mature and age, then NYLT can reveal that BSA's preferred teaching method is EDGE and here's how it works. Learning is a continuum. (leadership, teaching, etc). At the earlier levels, learning starts with doing. This matches Baden-Powell saying that advancement is the natural result of being active. So, learning EDGE should be a natural result of helping each others. At those earlier lev

The first class of female youth from Sequoyah Council BSA (TN) was inducted into the Order of the Arrow (OA) this month. Four girls from Kingsport-based Venture Crew 387 were nominated by their peers in March and have now completed the weekend induction required to become Arrowmen. https://www.timesnews.net/Community/2019/06/03/Sequoyah-Council-BSA-s-first-class-of-female-youth-inducted-into-Order-of-the-Arrow

Leave. This will go from being a passion to being day job WORK. We do this because we love it. If it’s unlovable, don’t let it suck the juices out of you.

https://oa-bsa.org/article/2018-membership-update

No age limitations. Son #1 and his buddy went on a backpacking trip with me and his buddy's dad the autumn before they crossed over. In the troop, we simply assign the seasoned scouts a longer route than the younger scouts, and rendezvous in the evening.

This happens from time to time. Somebody not being allowed to hold their talking stick when and where they want to. @SSF Why don't you start your own topic of Abysmal Examples of Scouts BSA for Girls? That way you can have the moderators ding everyone who posts something positive. Then those folks can claim foul about being manipulated by elites. @Cburkhardt, you have gone to some lengths to reply to everyone who hasn't proffered the responses that you'd like to see. That's nice. But I will note that it only intends to invite equally long off-topic aggrieved retorts. It kind of defea