GKlose

I worked in a summer camp kitchen back in the late 70s...I'm not sure who accredited our camp (WilVick might remember) but the kitchen and dining hall got great scrutiny. The county health department also visited before the summer opened, and that was even more stringent. Our practices were safe, so there were no issues and the camp indeed got its preferred rating. But all this came home to me one night when a Scoutmaster approached me to tell me that one of his scouts had diarrhea. I really wasn't sure what to say. Could we have messed up? It's possible, but there wasn't anyone else in c

I forgot to mention -- in my older son's den, my den leader wife found out that one of the moms is a registered nurse, and that's how they "taught" Readyman. My younger son went to a Readyman Day run by another district in our council. I thought it had the potential of being something very interesting, but in my mind it was very poorly delivered. Webelos were herded from station to station in a large gymnasium, seated and talked at for 45 minutes. When that was done, they were herded to another station and talked at. All day long. The only relief happened when one of their stations w

As far as I know, the Red Cross BAT (Basic Aid Training) is meant to be a self-administered course. A prospective teacher contacts the Red Cross to rent the training video (which tells them how to deliver the course) and the program materials, which as I recall is kind of like a comic book with sections to be filled in. Red Cross trainers routinely teach basic courses such as CPR/AED and Basic First Aid, and they will do the same courses on job sites (called something like CPR or First Aid in the Workplace). I'm sure if you called one of their trainers they could help you figure out a way

My troop, back in the 70s, did this a few times on our own. When the council offered their version of "Brownsea 22" training (which may have been part of the All Out For Scouting initiative, it was old hat to me. It was also not unlike the week we spent at the national jamboree (actually, I think the menus were very similar at all of those events). This is a link to someone's diary, and it looks like they went through something similar to me (except ours was patrol method, cooking on our own all the way, including an end of the week parent's banquet): http://www.hcst.net/~edelmann/brownse

No problem...when I wrote my orginal note, I debated with myself (really -- you should try running between two podiums sometime ) on how much detail to add. Of course, burned again, because most detail comes out in the end anyway. I was worried the discussion might get bogged down in a "you should be going to the Maine High Adventure Area" rut, when in fact we've discussed that alternative and aren't going that direction (one reason is the overall cost; another is that not all our 1st class and above scouts were 13 by January 1 of this year). Another bit of detail I've been shy about

Thanks guys...the troop has been around a long time, but the current crop (including adult leaders) is towards the young and inexperienced end of the spectrum...monthly outings are more in the style that scoutingagain suggests, and other than summer camp, there hasn't been any kind of long-term or high adventure trip for awhile. Troop tends towards adult-led and passive scouts. Why a spreadsheet? I was kind of thinking along the lines of a template, or a tool, to assist with planning something out of the ordinary for us (also, I personally am cost-conscious enough that I'd like to see a b

Understood, and not taken the wrong way (in fact, I am sheepishly acknowledging the idiocy of my question). But, maybe if I had been more specific it might have made a difference? This would be for a 6-day canoe trip in Maine, with a bunch of tweener scouts (1st class to Star) who haven't gone on or planned a trip like this before (adults included).

Has anyone developed a spreadsheet for trip planning purposes? Maybe something that includes itinerary, budget, patrol and individual equipment lists, meal planning and shopping lists (all on separate worksheets)? If so, would you care to share it? I found a few online, including about four or five examples, for a Backpacking Light contest, and they're a good start. But I figure if someone wants to share their example, that would be great. Thanks, Guy

About a year ago, I was "coaching" my older son's W2 den leader through the transition process. I felt very strongly about, and was going to do this with my son anyway, visiting every troop in town. This is something I did as a Webelos, and when I hit the right troop (for me) I knew it. I got resistance, anywhere from "Why?" to "But I thought we were supposed to join Troop XX". Along the way, we learned not every troop is perfect, and there is a fairly wide variation, at least among troops in our town. My son had a tough decision to make, and in hindsight, he did pretty well with it.

My wife has participated in several, working for a spice-related food vendor. Although I'm sure there are variations, a typical craft fair is a large room with tables, where each "booth" is leased to a crafter. Sometimes individuals selling crafts they've made (handmade jewelry and trinkets, woodcarvings, etc; one of the saddest I've seen was a guy selling digital photographs he had taken, printed on his inkjet and framed -- but they weren't very good photographs), other times it includes craft supply vendors, people who make food products, and all sorts of other things. Big fairs are big busi

Our troop open house for Webelos is coming up in a couple of weeks (that's kind of misleading, because a Webelos or a Webelos den could come and visit any time they want, and they'd get a pretty good picture of the troop -- but this particular meeting coming up is being specifically organized for recruiting). I think the troop committee realizes that last year was a little too low-key, there wasn't much thought put into recruiting, and my son was the only one out of 20-some Webelos in town that joined this troop. So this year, a little more focus is being placed on recruiting. But -- last

I've been to a number of Cub functions over the last couple of years, and I'm continually bored out of my skull because, in general, nothing is planned for parents (besides watching their kids) -- and yes, I do understand that some dens and cubs need heavy supervision, but I've also seen many cases where this isn't necessary (ex: at a Webelos Woods event, group of 8 Webelos are circulating to stations; 8 moms and dads standing around, watching them be entertained). Our district, however, recently ran a Chuckwagon where there were some extra things planned. While dens were busy with differ

I know this question wasn't asked, but may I make some suggestions for shakedowns (and I'm sure others will chime in too): Shakedown hikes are great opportunities to: 1. review and revise equipment and packing lists (1.b. make sure packs, boots, etc fit properly) (1.c. make sure appropriate clothing is packed) 2. split up group equipment fairly among all participants 3. practice staying together as a group 4. review trail planning and map reading and such 5. talk over emergency procedures 6. practice setting up and tearing down camp quickly 7. practice hanging bear bags

I'd have to agree with Kahuna...my trek was in '75, and the bus ride from OH to NM was interesting, to say the least. We shared the bus with two other crews from our district. Our crew leader was a Philmont veteran from '72, so he and our SM knew some of the more interesting places on the way out and back, which included an overnight at Ft. Riley Kansas, a visit to the Eisenhower Library, a St. Louis Cardinals game, seeing the outdoor musical "Texas" near Amarillo and other things. But -- the best part of all, was staying on an overnight with a troop in La Junta, CO, as I recall. They spe

Our local camp has an Eagle Week, and the older scouts in our troop tend to skip summer camp with the troop in order to go to the Eagle Week. I think when I was a scout, I would have liked to do both, but by the time I was older (15+) I was working at the camp anyway. On the other hand, a reasonably active scout that goes to summer camp probably isn't trying to fit all 15 required in at camp. First or second year of camp, they might have worked on Swimming or First Aid. In subsequent years, they might toss in Lifesaving and Environmental Science, or others. And on the other other han

Sure...my youngest son has pretty much decided he's done with Cub Scouts. He'll be 10-1/2 in March, even though he started Webelos I this last summer. It wasn't too difficult to get enough activity badges and activities for AoL finished, but I think he's almost done now (I think his Webelos I den is working on one more activity badge. I think he did it by going to a mix of meetings among both I and II dens. He's not so excited about Boy Scouts either (I don't think he is realizing that it is a much different game than Cub Scouts), but I've asked him if he would transition and then stay th

Sorry, B-Skip -- I've been busy for a few days. On our pack open house night, the only overt thing I did was hand out flyers, because I felt most of the Cub Scout parents there didn't know anything at all about the troop or what the troop does. The flyer, of course, also had contact information. Why everyone else was concentrating on watching Cubs and having fun, I was "working the room", so to speak. I've been in constant contact with the Cubmaster, and I've met his assistant (next year's cubmaster) several times too. I checked in with the Webelos II den leader, and he introduced me

Found the page: http://www.bsajamboree.org/prepared.html Seems that the new health form is kind of supporting the new guidelines.

I'd be screened out too (and judging from the girths seen at recent district and council events, there is a fairly large percentage that are most likely screened out due to BMI issues), but this gets me to thinking. I know there are fairly rigid guidelines set up for the Centennial Jamboree, which were published earlier this year -- but has there been increase of incidents at high adventure areas? Heart attacks and fatalities at Philmont, for example.

I have some recent experience with stuff like this...one was an overnight set up for Webelos, and the other was a recent open house for our "feeder pack". There hasn't been much "feeding" lately because of a mis-handled relationship. So as a troop membership chair, I decided that was one of many factors that had to be addressed, including bringing back the annual open house. In both cases, we wanted to stress Scouts having fun. That's probably the single biggest factor -- a "recruit" recognizing a familiar face (having seen them at these events before) and recognizing that this group of k

None of the packs we've been involved with have ever handed them out, but I've bought them for my kids. To answer your second question, I look at it this way: Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelosx2 = 5 years. Program years. I have no idea if there is official policy on this or not. Also, as a side note: I recently heard from another adult scouter that we could be wearing service stars now, counting our Scout (Cub and Boy) and Scouter years. I'm kind of a bare minimum guy, so I don't presently wear one. Guy

Thanks, Calico Penn -- I remember the old Seboomook Base -- one of the older scouts in my troop worked there for a season or two, while my friend worked at Matagamon Base a year or two after that. Guy

I was faced with a similar decision for my 12-y.o. scout a couple of months ago. I knew he was heading into a winter camping season without a suitable sleeping bag. He was coveting a mummy bag, and was looking through Campmor and other catalogs with me. I'm also thinking ahead to next summer's possible backpacking trip (except now it has turned into a canoe trip). Dad, why can't I get a down bag? Because they are expensive and if you don't take care of them, you'll get wet and cold. Don't worry, you'll learn that eventually (I'm thinking that right about the time he has a job and can

Thanks, guys...I didn't fill in all the background, but I went on a Maine National High Adventure Area trek (on the Allagash) when I was a scout, and one of my closest friends from the troop ended up as a guide there the following two summers. It is highly likely that he is also going to be joining our present troop's trek this coming summer. The particular section of the West Branch was recommended to us by the outfitter as a scenic flatwater trek, and he suggested we didn't need a guide for this section. In fact, while we were planning some kind of trek in Maine for this summer, it wasn

Thanks, SctDad...I know KTP well (I worked in Portsmouth, NH for about 4 years). Our local REI usually has a pretty good map selection too. I have a Baxter State Park and an Allagash map somewhere in my archives (the piles of papers on my desk) too, but I don't think either capture the West Branch. thanks... Guy