Greying Beaver

This may not be the official use for the belt hook that is supposed to be for a pocket knife, . . . but it seems to me that the unofficial use is the remove it from the belt, tie it onto a 4' length of string. It makes a great cat-toy. =>! g.b.

I had to laugh at your posting. The "critter stuff" is part of the fun that keeps on going after you get your beads. You will be surprised at just how often you speak at a TC meeting or Roundtable meeting and find yourself calling up something from your WB coursework. So now, brother Bear, . . . . My wife, "Cutest Bobwhite" said that she is so small and flies so fast that you won't see her poop on your head (She says that a lot.). One of my scouter buddies is a Eagle and says that he will steal your supper and . . . (see above.). Me? I'm a Beaver. I'll just show up and

When B-P was asked, "Be prepared? For what?" He answered, "Well, for anything . . . . " Here is an excellent example of what he meant, when the SM needs to guide the PLC in a more positive direction, and what gran'ma meant when she said, " Got company coming? Put on a big spread." The Unofficial Modus Operendi of the Boy Scouts of America is " If you're not having fun and you don't have food, you're doing it wrong." Make that " . . . enough food . . . ." Try this and start now: Have one of your ASM's visit the pack's Webelos den(s) at their den meeting. At least one of the par

Well, . . . lets see, . . . other than making firebuilding (All you get is two (2) wooden matches, remember?) a requirement for the Scout rank (If that scout in North Carolina had had a small box of matches in his pocket - like we did when I was a scout

" . . . cots for each boy . . . ."? For a weekend campout?! Whatever happened to a groundcloth and sleeping bag? I sense a troop that camps by the Troop Method. The only concession to the Troop Method that our troop uses is a large gas burner to heat water for the three-pot method of washing dishes and larger pots to accomodate everybody on the campout. We also have the highly-coveted position of "Gnome" who sits by the pot with the soapy water and inspects every pot, pan, plate, cup, and fork/spoon to insure that they are cleaned and wiped clean before being put in the soapy water. It h

I have taken our council's course qualifying me to chair Eagle BoR's. From what you have written, I would have no problem with your son's service project as it stands. It appears that the teacher might be trying to change the rules in the middle of the game and get more from your son's project than was originally agreed. Get the teacher to sign off on the project's completion a.s.a.p. and hold the BoR. Then pull out all the stops at the Eagle Court of Honor! -gb

. . . Whew! Okay, two-deep leadership is in place; now they need to go to work on the buddy system. That being said, I'll bet that they had a great time and have a bunch of great stories to tell. Besides, they weren't really lost. They knew exactly wherre they were all the time. They were "right here" all the time. I am very happy that they were found in good health and appearntly, good spirits

John-K.C. - We Beavers are a rare breed in deed. As soon as I have climbed to the top of my beaver lodge (waddle-waddle-waddle), I shall stand in for my fellow "First(

Oh, for crying out loud! That soft whirring sound that you hear is Bill Hillcourt spinning in his grave. "Green Bar Bill" was asked by the National Council to revamp the BSA program back in the 1920's. One of the first things that he did was eliminate almost all of the hatfll of awards (medals, tokens, etc.) for completing advancement requirements. Learning the Oath and Law is a requirement for AoL, The den leadre's job is to modivate the boys, not dangle carrots in front of them. Scouting doesn't work that way. Congratulating the forst boy to recite the Oath and Law is an occasion to p

Now just whose pockets are being lined in this situation? Show'em the door and get back on sound financial footing a.s.a.p. This is what happens when parents do not take an active part in the organization. Seen it happen in BSA units, too.

Call your District Advancement Chair. Tell him/her what is going on. Call you Districe Commissioner. Do the same thing. This is not the way to run a troop advancement program. Last resort: Find another troop in a big hurry. GB

Unfortunately, . . . "Active" means "Annual registration fee paid." As long as the registration fee is paid before the troop re-registers, the youngster is on the troop charter. There will be those boys who are registered, not take part in any patrol or troop activity, but when it comes time to sign up for summer camp, they come up with the money and show up are the date, time, and place to leave for summer camp . . . in uniform. They go, have a good time, finish a rank, or earn a couple of merit badges, come home and disappear until the next summer camp. The extreme of this

Hi, Seed. No, you can't be fired. National Supply has coulotts for women leaders. If your local scout shop does not carry them, ask them; they can be ordered for you. Takes about a week, maybe less.

Agreed. Our district is changing its format this year to get away from virtual patrols at camporees. One course for NSP's and another one for regular patrols. I have judged events at camporees and have seen these virtual patrols come up to me with at least three different patrol patches on their uniform sleeves. Yeah, right. Different courses for NSP's and regular patrols. That is the best way to build patrol spirit instead of putting the emphasis on winning at all costs. G.B.

Hi SWScouter. The content of my posting was a quick overview of LDS scouting in my part of the swamp. My UC Basic course was presented at an LDS church by an LDS scouter wearing silver loops. Of the 12 who took the course, only three of us were not LDS'ers. We were the ones in the uniforms that had not been bought a few days before the course. We had knots, flaps, and beads; they didn't. There was a section on the buddy system and 2-deep leadership on outings. That is presented in SM Fundamentals. So why at UC Basic? I spoke to the trainer after the course. The LDS church is very

Yes, congratulations. You will be surprised at how many times you will use the material presented in your scouting life, and your life outside of scouting ass well. Welcome, brother bear. Greying Beaver

Telemonster, you have found yourself in the middle of the problem. First, you were "called" after prayerful consideration by the Bishop. Did you really have the option to refuse the call? Betcha didn't. See if the LDS'ers have SM Fundamentals and the Outdoor Experience Training to get you "Trained", then take the SM Fundamentals course outside "the community" and compare how the programs differ. Second, find out who paid for the boys' registration fees. It may suprise you. Yes, the boys are required to join. But see how many are active and how many are just in the charter.

Our council's annual University of Scouting was last weekend. One of the courses that I took was "District Eagle Scout Representative Training and Certification". This was a topic in the training. We were told that if the scout in a leadership position is not performing the duties of his position and the SM does not hold a SM conference with the scout at any time during the six month time period in an attempt to improve the scout's performance in the position, the scout gets credit for the time served in the position, even if the scout does not perform any of the duties in the position (!).

Go for it! But use the Patrol Method. Let the PLC put together a list of movies that they submit to the Troop Committee for approval. The PLC decides from the list edited by the Troop Committee. This would be a great alternative to a regular troop meeting on the meeting nights during a holiday when a lot of the guys would be out of town anyway. Most movies run about an hour and a half, so do troop meetngs. And if the chartering institution has a big-screen television and will make it available to the troop, hey, bring pillows and spread out on the floor. And don't forget to invite the p

What a collection! I feel like I'm a junior in high school again. "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road" put The Kid on the floor in laughter. Back then I was a long way from being . . . Greying Beaver.

Ft. Carson, CO or bust! H.Q., 10th Special Forces Group and H.Q., 3rd Armoured Cav Rgmt. Very cool in the summer. What more could a young man ask for?

Our son aged out of the troop we are registered with a year ago. I am still on the troop committee and go to TC meetings. Boy scout troops are dynamic beings. They change with the people that are currently in them. Boy, has our troop changed! Anyway, about two years ago, the troop started having merit badge classes during troop meetings. The skills presentation part of the meeting went the way of the doo-doo bird in a hurry. Then came camporee. Not surprising that our guys did very poorly in all of the scouting skills competitions. Last place in one; next to last in another; last plac

O.K., My turn. My information comes from my son-in-law who is an LDS-er (our family is not), the District Advancement Chair who works at the local scout shop, the Council Eagle Application screener who is also my WoodBadge T.G., and part of the Venture Advisor Training taken at Philmont Scout Ranch on dealing with LDS-sponsored units back in 2004. A lot of what has been said in the previous postings is true, even some of the information that was considered to be false is true. I guess that it would be best to break everything down into catagories. 1. Adult Leadership. Adult leader

That is exactly what to do and how to do it.

It's not that ticket items are kept private. It's that they are geared to help your unit from your position in the unit at the time when the ticket is written. I did mine as a member of the troop committee attempting to get parents more active in the troop. Why? The troop was having a problem getting more/enough parents to be more active. Simple. Anybody who goes through WB/21st Century will be given the same assignment for their ticket. Cutest BobWhite, my wife, did the same thing for the Venture crew that we were also working with at the time. Three years after the fact, the tr