featherbear

If I put this in the wrong category, my apologies-- Does anyone know how to refurbish old stoves, or where to get parts for them? I've got two 40+-year-old Coleman backpack stoves- the green ones that came with an aluminum box that doubled as a cook kit. They pressurize just fine, but the neck where the element attaches to the can leaks under pressure. I'm really hoping that it's just a matter of old dry seals or gaskets, as these are awesome little stoves- a bit heavy, but don't tip easily at all. I'd love for my son to be able to put them to work in Troop. Thank you in adva

Aside from Crazy Crow, I would highly recommend Centralia Fur & Hide. http://www.furandhide.com/ They have kits and supplies available, or just the drum frames if you want only that, and they do ship. Their octagonals are dovetail-joined so they are VERY sturdy. I live within driving distance of them, so I was able to go down and buy whole horsehides and cut my own drumheads. It was for a group of Webelos for a drum-making session, so going that route for me saved ample $$.

Jeffrey, may I add yet another to your query? What do Cub Units do when their Council hasn't offered BALOO training in a few years? Such was the case for us. I ended up taking leaders to another Council for the training; fortunately for us that Council's boundaries were within somewhat reasonable driving proximity and we were able to do so, but I think we were one of the very few units willing to do that. Our Council has since rectified that training shortcoming, but still! What do Cub Units do? Should they all grind to a halt on overnightes because they don't have access to the trai

True, true Packsaddle.... but it might make for a nice (but brief) stop on the way to the trailhead.

I don't know if this would be terribly out of your way, but the southern end of the Appalachian Trail is in Northern GA and a pretty cool place to visit. So's that little German town in the GA mountains that's near the trailhead. http://georgiatrails.com/features/apptrail.html

That's what a neighboring Council near us did last Autumn, Lisabob - and it was resoundingly successful. The classes offered ranged from Leader-Specific training through Tigers, Cubs, Webelos-transitional, Troop, Venturing, high-adventure courses, and on up into district-related and leadership in all arenas. Every class was filled to the brink. They also allowed older Scouts to come and take classes, and quite a few of them did! My own son, an SPL, went back to his Troop just brimming with new ideas. We definitely plan to wander up that way again this year for this event. IMHO, more Coun

"Forgotten/dead websites are a favorite pet peeve of mine." I agree wholeheartedly, John. I said as much many months ago to the guy who built the site, who was in charge of the project. For a website to maintain any level of validity, it must receive at least SOME sort of update at least on a monthly basis. Just a little blurb here and there, to let people know what's going on, and to let everyone know that it is an ongoing and current project. To NOT do so destroys credibility and the very purpose the site was built for in the first place. I was involved with that project myself

I have been pretty involved in supporting Scouting in Iraq for a couple of years now, just doing what I can as a regional coordinator. I know there is Scouting in every Iraqi provence now, and 3 of the 4 old Scout camps there are up and running. There's lots that individuals or units can do to help support the effort, first and foremost is through the WFF - also through the Iraqi International Foundation, founded by Chip beck and Mike Bradle. Thank you for posting this, It's great to read more articles written about it! (This message has been edited by featherbear)

Wife, and Mom to two Boy Scouts (in 2 Troops!) - first and foremost. Fine artist as my other occupation. In several galleries, do several shows in the region - and use artwork to support Scouting in my area wherever possible. Assistant Scoutmaster, Cubmaster, Den Leader, and active with the OA chapter... during the rest of my "spare" time. So how do you all stuff 36 hours into a 24-hour time frame? I'm still trying to master that. ;P(This message has been edited by featherbear)

one of the things that really helped me out with badges when I had a Webelos Den was outings - LOTS of outings. We did *at least* one outing per month and often more, and we would look for outings and overnighters in which we could get badge work done. Such as: a local art walk, during which admission to all the galleries and museums are free. Since we visited the state history museum along with that, we knocked out some requirements on two badges. Things that did not get done with badges during outings were incorporated into the weekly meetings.

Sorry for resurrecting a 2-month-old thread. I agree with those above that working through all the Den books, keep 'em active, keep it fun, and working on that AOL definitely made it easier on my guys. In Webelos, however, I took it further. I gradually coaxed my guys into utilizing the Patrol Method, with the Denners eventually becoming PL's and my Den Chief becoming SPL. This was not a sudden thing but a gradual transition with each step being taken as the boys were ready. We kept it fun, highly active, and highly engaging. When it came time to pick Troops, they couldn't wa

Our District suffers the same situation. Our last banquet was painfully vacant. It used to be more active, but there seems to be a rift since the merger of our district with the neighboring district, a "trench" we're trying to fill in. Pertaining to LisaBob's #3, there's a District in another Council whose Roundtable I frequent, that solved that problem with Cub leaders and younger kiddos. One of the Venture Crews, which happens to be largely female, volunteered to run a child care service during Roundtable so that more leaders could attend and get their monthly training. They take th

I'm on high-speed, and it will load for me.... after an eternal wait.

John-in-KC: "More importantly, because of where I chose to do WB (out of my normal BSA Council network), I broadened my network of Scouters I can learn from, ask for help from, and give help to. " Hear, hear John, me too! And how! I went to the neighboring Council for my WB in which I knew next to nobody, and now I have this big ol' huge network of friends, sources of information, contacts, etc. that I likely never would have had if I hadn't gone up there to WB. It's amazing how many Scouters look down their noses at me when they find out..."Oh. You went up THERE?!? Why wouldn't

CONGRATS, willhi1979!!

I've done orders for Eagle Scouts, of painted feathers. I gave some basic versions of those to each of my Webelos when they Crossed, each feather emblazoned with an eagle and hung on a leather cord. I told them that's my hope and wish for each of them. Should any of them attain that goal, I want to give them personalized feathers, matted, framed, the works.

I still see red berets now and then. There's a unit or two in our Council I've seen with them. When I took my Weebs to Canada for the Nite Hike, I saw droves of Rovers wearing them, along with black kilts. Sharp!

Ooh, OldGreyEagle, that was bearly bearable! :::::::::::runs::::::::

There's one patch that I know *for sure* that Cub Scouts can earn and wear on the pocketflap. That's the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award. http://www.lastfrontiercouncil.org/cubs-outdoor-activity/

You know, I would be willing to take the 5 point hit on that uniform inspection score sheet - that Aussie hat is just too cool! Thanks, Crew21_Adv, for the link and information. Much appreciated!

Mind another bear? I used to be a Bear, and a good old Bear too. And now I've finished Bearing, And I don't know what to do. I'm growing old and feeble, And I can Bear no more. So I'm going to work my Ticket while I can. Back to Gilwell, Happy Land, I'm going to work my ticket while I can ........one more Ticket item to go.

Neat idea, John-in-KC! I really like the hats worn in the url below, so I'm wondering if such a thing could be done to one of those? Probably completely unacceptible, but it *would* be cool. http://www.scouts.com.au/image_display.asp?iImageID=6841&enumImageType=4

It's that time of year for Cub Scout Packs. Units either just have or are just about to promote the Dens and in many cases wind down for the summer. I was wondering what you folks have found to improve the graduations for your Packs and make them more fun and memorable for the Scouts? I made a whole mess of changes to our unit's program this year, and it really seemed to make a big difference for the kids and for their families. They were quite honestly very bored at the way it had always been been done in the past and I wanted to change that. What have you seen or done that worked w

Don't feel bad, fgoodwin. I too just went through my Ordeal. Our Chapter's new candidates did not receive the handbook, but there was a very good reason for that, and I am not complaining. We were just told we would get them at the next Chapter meeting. I like to make myself informed, though, and as soon as possible too. So I just went down to Council and bought my book! No terrible expense, it was under $3... so now I'm reading up and getting familiar with it. If your Scout shop isn't far from you, maybe that's something you might want to do.

Myself, I've only encountered *one* Scouter who was arrogant or elitist about their WB training. But that person was more into flaunting positions than actually knuckling down and benefitting the youth. Fortunately, leaders like that are few and far between! Many 'badgers I've encountered are very enthusiastic about their volunteer work, always taking on "just one more thing" to the point that you wonder how they keep up with it all. enthusiasm, cheerfulness, always willing to help, always involved, and very much a benefit to their units... that's the standard behavior I've seen. No