eagle90

I echo the sentiments about the Eureka Timberline Outfitters. Yes, they are more expensive, but our troop is still using some tents that were purchased in 1985, and they are used about ten weekends plus summer camp every year. We have had to repair some rips and replace some zippers, but the durability is exceptional. Make sure you get the Outfitter style, which has a thicker floor, double stitching, and a better quality zipper. We have both the four man and six man models. The adults use the six man models, with 2 people per tent. The scouts use the four man model with 2 or 3 per tent. Don't throw away a tent for zipper problems. Check with your local shoe repair or someone that makes and/or repairs boat covers and canvas. They can replace a zipper quite exonomically. (About $20 here). Dale

Thanks for your expert responses, as always! Dale

I know all work for Eagle must be finished prior to the Scout's 18th birthday. However, is there a deadline of any kind as to when paperwork must be turned in by? We havea scout who finished all requirements prior to his April 2006 18th birthday. As of now, October, six months later, we have not received the project workbook. I spent the first few months hounding him about it, to no avail; since then I haven't said a word, figuring it is his responsibility to get the paperwork turned in to me. Is there a deadline, or can we wait months, years, decades, to turn in the application and paperwork? Thanks for your help! Dale

Well said, Beavah! Dale

Welcome to another Illinois Scouter! Dale

Welcome to your son to the Eagle Scout Brotherhood. Congratulations!

I agree with EagleinKY. We invite all parents to attend our Committee Meetings. A great place to get to know them, get them interested, and soon, sign them up! We also have a good time after the meeting over a brew or two. I think we get too hung up over titles, heirarchy, parents, committee members, ASM's, etc. and who can do what. We should all be there for the same purpose, to provide the best possible program we can for our scouts.

Ask your Webelo leaders what they need to accomplish. At this time of year, most Webelo dens are looking to finish up some of their skills before crossover. For example, last year our Webelo leaders said they needed the Forester badge. Our scouts led them thru it. Next weekend we are taking the Webelos out with us again, and this year they need to do the Outdoorsman. So we are setting up a program to do that. This gives our scouts experience at teaching skills and helps the Webelos out with something they need.

You mentioned safety concerns a few times in your post. Before we give any advice, I think we need clarification as to what these safety concerns and issues are.

Beautifully said, resqman

Our counci8l does Scouting for Food the first two Saturdays in May, coordinating it with our local postal workers food drive.

Thanks for the replies. Just to follow up, we followed EagleinKY's advice and used a boxed mix by Krusteaz. 2 boxes per 12" Dutch Oven. About 24 coals on top, 16 on bottom, baked for 28 minutes - PERFECT! Made 4 of them, and all turned out great. A big hit with our families! Dale

Does anyone out there have a simple Dutch Oven recipe for Cornbread? I've seen some on the web, but they have 10 or so ingredients. We want to try this for our upcoming Family Campout. Thanks for the help! Dale

We reimburse drivers for gas for Summer outings only. Our Summer Camp is 375 miles from home. We do not reimburse for weekend activities, but try to keep these within reasonable distances, less than 150 miles. We also do not charge the adults for food dor weekend outings.

In our troop we do not differentiate between committee members and SM/ASM's. Both attend Committee Meetings and both attend any campout or activity that they wish to. The more adults involved in your troop, the better. There will come a time when you will be crying for adult help. Telling a COmmittee Membver "You can work on the fundraisers and sit thru the boring meetings, but you can't do the fun things like camping" I have a hunch you will lose a lot of them. Plus it also helps the boys associate with a number of different adults with varying skills and personalities. Perhaps its not 100% by the book, but it has worked for us for over 50 years.

I received it too for the first time.

gwd - I'm having the same problem. Have to hit the back button like 4 times to get out of the current page. I also have the "You are not authorized" message at the top, and frequently am getting the "This site must be shut down" message, and get booted out. I hope the administrators will see this and solve the problem! Dale

A number of years ago we had a new scout join who had developmental and socialization problems, although he was a straight "A" student. When the boy signed up for Summer Camp we sent a letter to his parents requesting that dad attend camp with him, which he did. And he attended all other outings that his son went on. Six years later we presented this boy with his Eagle, and dad has said that us requiring him to attend camps was the best thing anyone ever had done for his son and him. They became closer and got him out from under mommy. Now the scout is in his third year of college, looking forward to law school, and dad is still an active member of our troop committee. We as leaders must know our limits. We can't be experts in every disorder that exists and must rely on parents to assist us.

What a great week we had at Sea Base! Did the Keys Adventure out of the Brinton Center at Mile Marker 24, which is an overview of all the Keys activities available. Did Sailing, Snorkeling, Fishing, played tourists at Key West, spent a night on Big Munson Island and more. The weather was good, with only one storm, with lightning and thunder and high winds. Of course that was during the time we were on the sailboat! Made it interesting. Caught over 20 snappers and a 30" dolphin which made for great eating! Accomodations and meals were excellent at the base, and the staff was outstanding - very professional, friendly, and accomodating. I'd recommend applying for the lottery over the winter for a date in 2008.

Heading down to Sea Base this weekend! I can't wait. It's been 17 years since I have been down there! We've been watching Hurrican Chris, but it has dissipated and is now nothing much. Keep your fingers crossed for us so we can avoid any further storms! "Wasting away again in Margaritaville..."

The entire Troop 90 family will be praying for you and your family. God Bless! Dale

I too saw nothing wrong with the biographies of the camp leaders. Seem like dedicated, veteran Sscouters to me. It seems there was a little over reaction on both sides of this coin.

A scout salute to your dad, and my sympathies to you and your family! Dale

What is this proposed trip? Without knowing the details, this sounds kind of exorbitant. From Illinois we have gone all across the country (Maine, Florida, Philmont, Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia) and have never come close to spending $2,000 per person. Our troop reserves the profits from popcorn sales for High Adventure trips. The scouts "bank" their profits until they are eligible for High Adventure activities, so most will have 3 years of popcorn profits to use for their first HA activity. It would not be fair for the entire troop to fund raise when only a few are reaping the benefits.

I agree with Venividi, and am 100% in favor of patrol cooking. There is nothing better for a leader than seeing a rag tag group of scouts at the beginning of the week pull together and by the end of the week be a smooth running patrol, cranking out good meals in a timely fashion. If the camp's menus are done correctly and the patrol follows the rotation plan there is no excuse for bad meals and time consuming preparation. I have visited dining hall camps with inspection teams and have had some of the worst camp food ever. Most of the complaints about poor food on this board has come from dining hall campers. And where does it say that patrol cooking and advancement are mutuially exclusive? We just returned from camp with 23 scouts and they earned 57 merit badges and 15 rank advancements along with cooking 15 meals that were all well done. No, they did not do 6 and 8 merit badges in a week, but that is an item for another discussion. And THEY HAD FUN!!