Greying Beaver

Ah, for the good old days . . . ! Lay out your ground sheet on the ground, lay a heavy blanket on top of the ground sheet, then a light blanket on top of the first (now we call that "layering"), A shirt laid out on one side, trousers at the other end along with a change of socks. fold the ends of the ground sheet over the ends of the blankets. Roll it tightly lengthwise, fold it in half, and tie it together at the end and around the middle. We put our good ol' boy scout mess kits, our share of the food, matches, 1st aid kit, a spoon, and anything we thought we'd need in a flat canvas bag

To take Kahuna's thought a bit further . . .a Congressional investigation into the non-response of the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. . . ? Me? I'd pay money to see that! Hoo-boy, cher', we pass a good time then, haa? Pearl Harbor was mentioned. Let's not let ol'Dugout Doug (MacArthur) get away, either. Roosevelt sent him to the Phillipines to head the military preparations there in case of war in the mid-1930's. As soon as the Japanese attacked, ol' Doug put U.S. forces on half-rations and ran like heck for the Bataan Peninsula. Roosevelt had called ol' Doug "th

I live in Houston. It's true that the Houston Police Department did tell the council to stop having units call the Astrodome about volunteering. Given the size and complexity of the operations at the 'dome, it was better that BSA units not be involved during those first hours. Our troop is directing its efforts through the CO(a church congregation). My wife (the cutest BobWhite in the flock!) and I have gone through the food handling training for the efforts at the George R. Brown Convention Center - or wherever we are told to report. The situation here remains very fluid. The Carn

I have been watching this one with great interest. Going back to Hunt's original question of by which time period do you measure Lee's morality being straight. "Bobby" Lee would have raised his and in the scout sign and repeated the scout Oath and Law in late January, 1818. Which do we rip out of it's time period and squash it down into the contemporary society with almost 200 years between them, "Bobby" Lee or our interpretation of what is morally straight (the slavery question)? In 1818, SLAVERY WAS LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - AND REMAINED LEGAL UNTIL THE PASSAGE OF THE 13

I have posted a message in the "Issues and Politics" thread. Go have a look at it and help even if you live far away from the Gulf Coast.

I live in Houston. I do not need to detail what is happening over at the Astrodome. Immediate needs are well in hand. If your unit would like to help with the evacuees housed in the 'dome, I have made a call to the local homeless shelter about donations being sent in from other parts of the country. More than half of the evacuees are children, little chldren who are in a strange place with nothing, no even a teddybear. Please consider a donation program to collect baby toys, rattles,etc, teddybears, toy cars - not the little ones but not large, either, and small dolls. Also decks of card

Our Patrol Yell: "Beavers! Dam!"(snicker-snicker). Thought I'd pass this along. It's the symbolic meaning of all the critters: Beavers - builders/gatherers; Bob White - sacred spirial, ceremonial, holy: Fox - cunning, provides intellegence; Eagle - divine spirit, communication to creator; Owl - wisdom, perserverence; Bear - strength, adaptability; Buffalo - secredness, life builder; Antelope - speed, action, knowledge; Raven - trickster, mischievous. As all Beavers know, if it weren't for us Beavers, everybody would be doing all their wonderful things . . . out in the rain . . . .

Lost your charter? Try this: Have the parents of the boys in the unit declare themselves to be a "Group of Citizens" and have the unit chartered to the parents of the boys in the unit. Check with your DE to see if that is still possible. It has been in the past. The only problem, then, is finding a place to meet. Also, check with Masonic Lodges and/or the Shriners. The American Legion sounds like a good move. They usually have meeting facilities.

NO! Nor any of the tenents of any religious body. Further, when a scout asks a scouter about creationism, the scouter needs to say, "You need to take that up with your pastor, priest, or spiritual advisor, okay?"

Hourman's comments remind me of a man who was very sceptical of the scouting program but because of the troop's program became an ardent supporter. He served as ASM and SM, did a Philmont trek, and completed the mile swim, all in his early and mid 60's. This was the man who was SM in the troop of my scouting (youth) days. It was not scouting that he was apprehensive about, it was the delivery of the program by the adults (our dads). As scouts, we guys had the same activities competing for our time; organized sports in particular, school activites, and later, "'fumes". But it was the FUN,

Re: the "expedition hat" - It is in the uniform catalogue and is listed as a "activity" uniform item, not Class A. Phooey on 'em. And the expedition hat is not supposed to have any hat pins on it either. That hat is the best idea in uniforming that BSA Supply has come up with in a long, long time. And yes, it does have the fleur-de-lis i the inside of the crown. It is an adult-only uniform item. That's too bad. It would look great on all scouts and scouters. Used to be that scouts wore their rank pins on the front of their campaign hats back through the 1440's when the "overseas" cap w

Hey, Old Grey Eagle . . . About your question from 07/08 about a troop voting to not follow the guidelines of of the Guide To Safe Scouting . . . . Consider this: If a troop - as a unit - engages in an acitivity not allowed by the GTSS, two things happen, both bad. Violating GTSS releases the BSA from neglegence in case of injury or worse. And the insurance provided by BSA (It's part of the dues paid every year at registration -have a look at a registration form. It's in there.)is void. A venturing crew can go hunting as a crew activity; a boy scout troop cannot. A boy scout

Wow! Lookit what I started (See previous thread.)!

Here is a suggestion: Call your District Commissioner and explain your situation. One of the Unit Commissioners' jobs is to help with the removal of volunteer leaders. Not the prettiest of jobs to be sure. Ask that a UC be assigned to your unit. UC's are a great resource for unit leaders.

Enter "Houston Chronicle" into your search engine. It's in the comics section. It's in the full-color selection, right-hand column. It's kinda-sorta cub scout uniform, but you get the idea.

Fgoodwin is "spot on". The Lexington "Live Aboard" patch cannot be worn on the uniform. Our troop has been there twice. The Lexington folks have "2nd Cruise", "3rd Cruise" hash marks that go directly below the patch. Our guys have sewn them on the red vest that the Supply Division offers.

Oh, Seattle - That made my day. I laughed so hard that I think I hurt myself. Everybody in the office is looking at me. Seriously. . . yeah, just how cute is this girl?

Ya know what really needs to be done about neckerchiefs . . . ? Make them in "adult" sizes. If you are over 6' tall with the neck that comes with it, the neckerchiefs available through Supply Division might make it down to the second button on the uniform shirt. It looks silly. The neckerchiefs used to be hugh square pieces of cloth that were first foled into a triangle then rolled as they are today. That way neckerchiefs on adults would go down the front of the shirt like the boys' neckerchiefs do. "Adult" sized uniforms exist for obvious reasons. Why not one of the most recognizible p

I have worshipped the Almighty with Muslims on a Friday. I have worshipped the Almighty with the Jews on a Saturday. I have worshipped the Almighty with Christians of all stripes on Sundays. Every one of those worship services had several things in common. 1.)A call to worship. 2.)An opening prayer (and or hymn) 3.)A profession of faith 4.)Announcements 5.)Another prayer (and/or hymn) 6.)A sermon 7.)The collection of the offering (our Jewish friends use a differnt system) 8.)The closing prayer (and/or hymn) 9.)The benediction and dismissal. 10.) The gossipping in the parking lot. Simp

One of my "distinguished co-workers" had it in for me when I told him of the fun our troop had camping one weekend. After he finished his diatribe about BSA is training our youth to be hate, I began asking him "The Fifteen Questions". 1.)What is wrong with teaching a boy to be trustworthy? "Nothing," he said. 2.) What is wrong with . . . loyal? Same answer. 13.)What is wrong with . . . his duty to God and his country?" Same answer. Dodged that bullet! 14.) What is wrong with . . . his duty to others? Same answer. 15.)What is wrong with . . . his duty to himself? Same answer. It s

Need to keep your ear to the ground on this one.

Our district has a "Webelos Woods" where troops set up demonstration area much like the scout fair except in a large camp setting. We use private property for this. Oh, yes, running water and port-a-potties are on site. The Webelos dens visit the demonstration areas. It is seen by the troops as a recruiting opportunity. It has also turned into a cooking competition! Great place to pick up receipes, for true!! Our troop does have a feeder pack, but this helps bringing in boys from the neighborhood in other packs as well. And vice versa, too. The troops set up on Friday night and the We

Okay, It's Me, if you are doing your job at the den level and that the CM and CC are married, there is little that you can do except what you are doing. So don't quit. CNY brings up a good point - the money. Demand to see the books. I repeat, demand to see the books. Let you Unit Commisioner know what is and is not going on. No Unit Commissioner? Call your district executive and tell him/her that your pack needs one in a hurry. Don't take "No" for an answer from anybody on that point. When the current CC and CM leave, big problems could suddenly appear. The kind that could make the n

The Philmont Grace: "For food, for rainment, for life, for opportunity, for friendship and fellowship, we thank thee, o Lord." Simple, quick, and something everybody can say "Amen." to.

You are correct. They are way off base. A troop is a boy-run organization. The boys decide what they want to do and the troop committee acts as the facilitator for the PLC's program. The TC can advise on the feasibility of activities on an activity-by-activity basis. The only time that I can think of when the TC can have any kind of say in the troop calandar is for summer camp. Going out of council will be expensive (tranportation costs primarily). Show the TC your training material. Advise your Unit Commissioner. If you are forming a new troop, your district should have a Unit Commissi