DYB-Mike

Hi stripersteve, It sounds like what you have is a Cubmasters patch. The Assistant Cubmaster patch was green with gold trim. There were other adult position patches with different color backgrounds and trim. Later they were made with the position name on them as well. Probably the previous patches were confusing to the uninitiated. Im not sure on the dates of use, late 1950s or early 60s maybe? YIS, Mike

But I do beleive this to be a great thread that "should" settle the debate that has been going on for a long while HA HA Scoutfish, do I detect a tongue planted firmly in cheek with that statement? Youve been around this Forum long enough to know that topics like this are never really settled, but thats what makes this a great place. Very often I read perspectives that I never considered and sometimes they change my view of things. I think we can all agree that the uniform is a Method of Scouting and that when the uniform is worn there is a specific way in which it should be worn.

Traditionally the neckerchief was worn over the collar. I have a reprint of a publication Scouting with a Neckerchief by W.E. Longfellow, copyright 1927, that contains an admonishment by then Chief Scout Executive James E. West about the proper wearing of the neckerchief. After instruction of how to place the neckerchief over the collar, West is quoted To tolerate a conscious disregard for requirements, even in simple matters, breeds disrespect for law and order. A little over the top, but theres no mistaking what the proper way to wear the neckerchief was in Wests day. I think,

I generally wear a campaign hat, although Im still searching for the perfect one. By perfect I mean one that has been broken in, not too stiff a vintage BSA. I take a 7 3/8 to 7 , which appears not to be that common, but I keep searching on eBay. For a while I was wearing my Wood Badge patrol cap, but I just got my Beads (happy day!) and I have retired it. Sometimes I wear the new BSA cap. YIS Mike

Well Scoutfish, I must say I have a greater appreciation for your situation than I had with your initial scripted Pack Family Campout post way back when. I am surprised that your outdoorsy Den Leader appears to be such an indoor lecturer. Im still curious where your Cubmaster is in all this. My Pack is currently a small one, 33 registered boys with more like 28 active. Our Committee is basically the Den Leaders and myself (Cubmaster and Wolf Den Leader). We get along very well. I usually bring an outline for the Pack Meeting or other activity to the Committee Meeting and we hash

Scoutfish, It does sound like you have an issue with the Bear Den as far as size goes with all those boys you have two or three dens there! But it is a Pack problem. The Committee and Cubmaster should be addressing the issue of the Bear Den size and trying to recruit leaders for the additional dens. It also sounds like the Den Leader may be bogged down in paperwork that the Committee should be handling. For example, if you had an Events Coordinator, that person would be chasing folks down for payments due on events. The Treasurer could also handle that. It sounds like you

Yes, kudos to the scout for his honesty. I cant blame him for taking the reward, $100 is a lot of money, but I also cant help thinking: what if the Unknown Scout took Boyces tip? YIS Mike

ScoutNut, Glad to do it! Ive do some other Cub Leader training as well my part was on advancement and uniforming. I enjoy meeting other scouters and swapping ideas and stories. In that way, I get trained as well. I havent received the Baloo syllabus or my assignment as yet. I remember my favorite part of Baloo training was making the foil dinners. I had never experienced them before and boy, were they ever good! YIS Mike

Granted... if this was serial number 00001, and it was still in shrinkwrap, then I suppose it would find it's way onto my patch blanket. Lost shrink-wrap! Needle holes! Im CRINGING! Ive got two (ones a duplicate) very rare CSPs from my Council. I paid a lot of money for them. One part of me wants to sew one of them on my uniform, but the collector in me just cant bring myself to take a needle to it! YIS Mike

Scoutfish, Ive been reading and re-reading yours posts and responses on this topic (and the earlier, related one) and I THINK Im beginning to get what you are trying to say. The trouble is, for me anyway, you throw in all these red herrings about methods and scripted programs, when I think all you really want to say is: I feel our Family Campouts are a bit stale. What can we do to liven up the event? Is that it? Most of your suggestions, like the sack races, do have merit and are acceptable activities, although the burping contest is still debatable (the cautions on o

Scoufish, Im getting dj vu. Didnt you start a discussion of this topic in another thread? The advice given to you before and now is sound. An unstructured, poorly planned event can lead to all sorts of problems, including boredom. As I wrote before, OVER planning is the actual goal. Better so many activities you cant do them all than not enough so you are scrambling and giving the impression of disorganization. Yes, there is room for just plain old fun in the activities and if you research Cub Scout literature (handbooks, Program Helps, Pow Wow books, etc.), as well as the web, y

If you cross the W2's over in May I believe that it is a recipe for failure, All I can say is from my experience with our Pack and Troop over the last four years is that there is a high retention rate with our May cross over Scouts. Basementdweller, I dont know where your region is but the logic for us is that there is a greater recipe for failure to put new scouts with little camping experience out in the cold and snow that we have in New England prior to May. The boys Cross Over in May is a campout and as new scouts they also get a camping trip in June. The new scouts and par

Remember that Cubs cannot start work on their next rank until June 1. Yes, Im aware of that Eagle92, but I can see from re-reading my post how you could have made your observation. My son is excited about the next level and Im happy with his enthusiasm to keep going. YIS, Mike

Phibbles, I hear ya. My son just earned Wolf rank and is anxious to see what he can do with his Bear requirements. Since Im his Den Leader I wouldnt mind getting a preview of whats in store for next year, but I dont want to invest in a handbook thats going to be revised. At this point Im going to wait. My son still has a lot of electives he can do so there is no rush. I guess Im fortunate that I have my older sons old Bear handbook. At least I can get some idea of what to expect. YIS, Mike

Most of the time we use the theater row chair set up with Cubs in front and adults in the back. Occasionally weve set up the chairs in a hybrid semi-circle, that is, with the theater rows for the adults in back and the semi-circle for the Cubs in front. Weve used this for certain presentations or when we use our artificial campfire. We had a campfire storyteller at our Blue and Gold this year and for that we had the Cubs sit on the floor in a semi-circle and the adults in chairs behind in a kind of semi-circle as well. I also remember the Cubs seated on the floor for a Halloween pr

Eagle92, The adult leader wearing the patrol patch - to your knowledge is that a recent change? Not to hijack the thread but about 21 months ago, when I was preparing to wear my Wood Badge patrol critter, I was told by several sources that, officially, adult leaders did not wear patrol patches. Of course unofficially everyone did. It appears from the links you provided that now officially they can, or does that just apply to the Webelos den leader. The links dont appear to make any distinction. YIS, Mike

Phibbles, I got my quotes from the Presentation link on the Cub Scouts 2010 page. Its a Power Point entitled Operational Overview and dated 1/21/2010. I didnt note a slide show. I tried clicking on the video link but it brought me to Presentation and the Power Point. YIS Mike

The problem stems from the poor organization of this Pack. Instead of crossing the Webelos over in February or early March they wait till May. Basementdweller, lets not give our friend Scoutfish the wrong impression. Crossing Over in May is not necessarily due to poor organization. It is our Packs tradition and our Scoutmaster loves it. I have expained the whys in other threads so suffice it to say here that it works for all concerned. We do not have a graduation for our remaining Cub ranks (although I like the idea and am giving it some thought for our Pack), but at the Cross Ov

I think your DE is not being fair to both the parents of potential scouts and to the existing Pack leadership by directing you to keep mum about parent involvement. Parents should be told up front that parental involvement is necessary to make the pack go. They dont have to be den leaders (but that would be nice), but they do need to understand up front that they are expected to help in some way. Do you have a Pack Handbook? We prepared one that covers the official program (aims, advancement, uniforming and such) as well as topics specific to our Pack (contacts, dues, location of Scout

So we 'll fill her up till de bottle 's drain An' drink to de Voyageur. But, since we be at de Webelos Woods We fill from de Dr. Pepper. I would like de pecan pie now, sil vous plait. YIS Mike

Ouch! That's "a FAQ".

According to the Cub Scout 2010 PowerPoint presentation there would be minor revisions to the youth handbooks. These would be released as Supply requires (Summer 2010+). You can view the PowerPoint, as well as an FAQ and other information at the BSA website: http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts2010.aspx YIS Mike

My son and I watched Follow Me Boys. I had never seen the movie so it was a good opportunity. Several other scouts in my sons Troop viewed Remember the Titans YIS Mike

Good point Beavah; I stand corrected. YIS Mike

Thank you ScoutNut for coming to my defense. Eagle732, yes it was an attempt at humor, but certainly at no ones expense. I was trying to be topical since these two subjects have recently produced three ongoing threads in the Issues and Politics section. I have been following this thread, but I have not posted to it previously because I felt I do not have the experience to comment either way. I do, however, feel like many others in that the original topic of this thread is done and now it has become simply a game to keep it going. Sorry Eagle732 if you were offended, but ta