eagle90

I wish there was a non-wool alternative to the red "woolie". I am extremely allergic and cannot wear any wool whatsoever, so in 40+ years in Scouting I have never had a red jacket!

Tonight I have the pleasure and privilege to bestow the Eagle rank on one of my scouts. This is a special one, as the young man joined us at age 11 with a severe problem. It is suspected he suffers from fetal alchohol syndrome. While he is extremely intellegent (Straight A student)

he lacks many social skills and can at times go into a sort of seizure where he flails his arms and gets extremely excitable. At the beginning we would not allow him to go on a campout unless accompanied by his dad because we did not feel we as leaders had the skill or knowledge to deal with his condition. But over the last six years, the change has been remarkable. His dad attributes this to the Scouting program and to the scouts and leaders giving him a sense of belonging and not ridiculing him in any way. It will be hard to keep a dry eye when pinning that badge on him tonight. Our scouts and leaders have worked extra hard with this young man and it has surely paid off. That is a VICTORY!

In three weeks I will be presenting the 24th eagle award since my tenure as SM began. Of those 24, I cannot honestly think of one who did not have the encouragement, support, and yes, sometimes a size ten in the rear end to motivate him. While it is nice to think the boys will do it all themselves, that is a dream world. In reality they all need some help. I know I would never have received my eagle 40 years ago this month (OMG!!)

without my parents encouragement and a little push now and then.

I agree with Neillup. I grew up in an active scouting family. Dad was Cubmaster and Scoutmaster, mom was active, and I had one little brother, 7 years younger. He came to all the Pack Meetings and some campouts. When it was time for him to sign up for Cubs and later Scouts, he said "WHY? I've done all that already". And he never did join. BSA has age limits for a reason. Let's follow them.

We have a 8 x 10 Pace American one axle trailer which has served us well for ten years. In fact, we just replaced the tires for the first time this year after a blowout on the way home from summer camp! in Illinois the trailer is titled to the Troop and it is also insured in the Troop's name ( the insurance is nominal - about $25.00 per year).

We normally have four COH's per year except if there is a special Eagle COH.

Awards are presented at all of them, but we try to have something fun along with that. In September we show slides of our Summer Camp and High Adventure experiences. Normally those slides ae taken by one of our senior scouts who narrates the show. In Feb. is our Annual Dinner and we try to have an entertaining show - a magician, noted speaker, or like last year the High school jazz band. We meet in a school gym, so in April we have a Family Fitness Nite where we have games and contests for the whoe family - free throws, volleyball, basketball, and we get moms and dads and siblings all involved. We close the year with a picnic. It seems to work for us and have good attendance.

I just noticed one of the other Survivor castaways is an eagle Scout -Burton Roberts from San Francisco. Good luck to him too.

For those Survivor fans out there, the new edition kicks off September 18th with one of the Survivors being Scoutmaster Lillian Morris, 51 years old, from Loveland, Ohio, a SM for 11 years. The current TV Guide has a picture of all the Survivor castaways including Lillian in her Scout uniform. Let's all root for our fellow Scouter!

One more thing - this activity has gotten so popular we even get families who no longer have scout age boys coming along with us just because it is such a great time. We also invite our associated Cubmaster and Webeloes leaders to join us as a recruiting tool.

Next weekend is our Troop's 13th Annual Family Campout, and it is one of the highlights of our year. We get a great turnout of not only moms and dads, but also siblings who normally are not allowed to attend regular campouts. We have found this to be a good recruiting tool for adult leaders. The newer mom or dad may say, "Hey this camping stuff ain;t too bad!" Of course we showcase our meals that weekend, bringing out our best menus. We go to a campground where there is a lot to do - biking, swimming, canoeing, paddleboats, applepicking nearby, even some antique shops nearby for some of the moms. Some years We coordinated our Family Campout with a county fair in the area and spent Saturday at the fair.

Sometimes I think the adults have to step in and say, YES WE ARE DOING THIS! for the good of the troop.

Great question! I've been wondering about some of the names myself.

I am an Eagle Scout and have been associated with Pack and Troop 90 as a Cub, Scout, and leader since I was 8 years old, thus eagle90.

I originally did my Ordeal and Brotherhood thru Leekwinai Lodge, of the West Suburban Council, which is now defunct. Presently a member of Pachsegink Lodge, Des Plaines Valley Council.

Our troop has not had separate patrol activities. While the idea seems super, with all the scheduling conflicts (band, sports, church, etc.) it is, at times, hard enough to get scouts to commit to troop activities, let alone separate patrol activities. I did ask them that when a conflict does come up to give Scouting the priority "sometimes". It's a shame we spread ourselves so thin sometimes....

While not a "typical" High Adventure trip, we just returned from a week of Houseboating on Lake Cumberland, Kentucky. Our scouts spent the week fishing, swimming, piloting a 70 foot boat, cooking, exploring the shore, sunning, and generally relaxing. This was our "easy" year. Next year we get back to rafting, canoeing, etc.

Bob - Sounds like a Scouter's Dream vacation! The Schlitterbahn is also on South Padre Island, Texas. We spent a day there as part of last summer's trip to Laguna Station. Great Fun!

Mike F -

I had to laugh. We were on a houseboat trip last week with our scouts and showed "Deliverence".

Also good for rafting is "The River Wild" with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon; and "Whitewater Sunmer" with Sean Astin and Kevin Bacon.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS with John Candy and Dan Aykroyd.

Just watched it again last week with 6 of my scouts and all had some great laughs.

While we do not have our own equipment, we have rafted on the New River in West Virginia a couple of times thru Rivers Whitewater Rafting Resort. They do cater to scout groups with special trips and packagies, even having guides who are certified MB counselors.

LOL, NLDScout. I've done the same thing. One of our dads has a machine shop, and the sand blaster did the trick! Of course you have to re-season after that!

As long as you re season, those ovens can take a lot of abuse and still lst for years and years

A few years ago we were returning from a rafting trip in West Virginia and had reservations to stay overnight in Dayton Ohio after touring the USAF Museum there. On checking into the motel, the Hindu gentleman behind the counter saw the uniforms and gave us an extra 20% discount on the rooms, which added up to a nice chunk of change since we had 5 rooms!

Mike -

Glad to hear you had a great trip at North Country. I'd be interested in reading some of your Lessons Learned. It's been about 6 years since I was up there!

Dale

Having just returned from a week at Summer Camp and two horrendous rainstorms, I also swear by the Eureka Timberline Outfitters. I stayed high and dry!

Eamonn -

What a great post. I think if we all took your advice, many of the problems and disputes we get into would be eliminated. As I get ready to leave for camp Saturday, i will remember STAR all week!

Dale

I know the Florida Sea Base has their own grace as does Laguna Station on South Padre Island.

eagleWB-

I have used both the Scout Base and private outfitters in the Boundary Waters and have found that the private outfitters have better equipment, better food, better facilities, more variety in program, and you have more input as to what type of trip you want. You do pay a little more per day, but I have found it is well worth while. I have found that you are treated a little nicer by the private outfitters, who rely on your repeat business to earn a living.