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 that had a flap and a shoulder strap. Put the strap of the canvas bag and your canteen strap crossways over you right shoulder and the roll crossways over your left shoulder, and head out, scout staffs and patrol flags in hand. Slept out under the stars around the patrol cooking fire . . ., man, that was great! Being true sons of the south, we imagined ourselves as Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry" of the 1862 Valley Campaign. And set a pace like them, too.

How did we cook? The old scout mess kit had a frying pan, a pot with a lid, and a bowl that all fit together. We fixed Rice-a-Roni with a can of peas or green beans and ground beef (already browned and frozen when we left for the campout) all mixed together. Breakfast was oatmeal with powdered milk and sugar and sausage(also frozen). Lunch was a p-b-and-j sandwich or two.

Clean-up? The pots and frying pans that we used to cook in, we poured water into them as soon as we finished eating along with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent and put them back on the coals to let the water heat up. As soon as we finished eating, it was wash out the pots and frying pans, rinse them out twice, then follow the same proceedure for the bowls that we ate out of. Somewhere between an art and a science. Nobody got sick; nobody died; nobody sued anybody else. Running water was safe to drink. Much has changed in 40 years.

The only thing that I would do differently now is to have a supply of water waiting at the campsite and make the proper arrangments for a groundfire (see the handbook on how).

There is a wider variety of dried food available now, Hamburger Helper comes to immedietly to mind, as well as lighter-weight groundcloth material. And BSA Supply still has the old style messkit (Same thing is available for less at WalMart.) Here's a trick - coat the outside of the frying pan and pot with liquid dishwashing soap before you start cooking with it. The soot will wash off without scrubbing. It will teach about waiting for the fire to die down to coals and the heat will be steadier. Have a look at the requirements for T'foot through 1st Class. Make the hike to the campsite at least 5 miles and then see how many requirements that you can complete on a campout like this.

You might want to try this yourself with a couple of the older guys in the troop to see how well they adapt to this style of camping. Have fun!

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 "the second most dangerous man in America". Guess who was first? Sen. Huey P."Kingfish" Long, (D) Louisiana(!). Some things just don't change. Anybody care to guess why Roosevelt sent Macarthur to the Phillilines (you'll love it.)? It was another fine example of your federal tax dollars at work. Semper, you know this one?

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 Carnival Cruise Line has several cruise ships docked at Galveston ready to take evacuees and shelter them on board the ships - and the evacuees don't want to move from a cot on the 35 yd. line in the middle of 12,000 other cots with no privacy to a stateroom on a cruise ship, complete with walls, a door that can be locked, and a private bathroom and shower(!). They have said that they just don't want ot move again. I can understand not wanting to move, but not move to better acomidations . . .? Go figure. Stay tuned.

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 13th AMENDMENT, ENACTED DECEMBER 6,1865 (That makes slavey legal in the United States before, during, and after the existance of the Confederate States of America!).

As a scout, "Bobby" Lee could not have owned slaves. He was not yet of age and furthermore did ot own property. As a scouter, Lt./Capt./Maj./Lt.Col/Col. Lee could have owned slaves and be within his rights as a citizen of the United States so to do. Futhermore, given his sense of duty as a man to God and his country, to others, and to himself, and to be mindful of the Scout Law - AS A PRODUCT OF THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, would have made an excellent role model for scout-aged youngsters.

Put Robert E. Lee into the early 21st century and tell him that slavery is now illegal, first, he would be aware of it, second, he would tell you that he is in compliance with the law, third, would make no apologies for having owned slaves, and forth, whisper in your ear that he's glad for the fact because it would remove from the ecomonic burden of owning slaves (But that's another arguement not related to scouting.)!

Me? I would have no problem with accepting Mr. Lee's application to be a scouter in my troop, district, or council. Or any other major figure in U.S. History who was associated with the Confederate States of America. Well, maybe not Jubal Early. He spent his old age being angry at everybody. And while I'm up here on the soap box, can anybody tell me which general officer of the Federal army was in favor of slavery (Hint: He served as president of what is now L.S.U. before the War Between the States.)? I wouldn't mind having this guy in my troop, district, or council, either.

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 cards. Keep the items small; those folks have very little privacy and no storage space. The address to send boxes of donations is Star of Hope MIssion, 1811 Ruiz, Houston TX 77002. The receptionist aske that such boxes be labeled "For Katrina Evacuees".

If you have been watching the news, you have figured out that those people are going to be here for awhile.

Our council sent out an email advising that the Houston Police Department has asked that scout units stop trying to volunteer their time at the 'dome. We have been asked to have donation drives for food, sheets, blankets (It gest cold in the 'dome; the air conditioning works real(!) good. Been there, brought a jacket for baseball games in August.), hygene kits, etc., etc.

All you OA-ers, its time to put the ol'"WWW" into gear. And everybody whose been to Gilwell Field, c'mon. You may live in the farthest points away from all this, but you can help. We have a duty to others; 13,000 others are camped out for a good long time here in Houston, and they ain't gettin' a t-shirt.

If you live in any of the cities where evacuees are being sheltered, do as I did; call an organization that is experienced in handling large donations and has the facilities to store and distribute them, get the address where to send donations, and get moving.

We know who we are and what we are about. Time to prove it.

Yours in Scouting,

Greying Beaver

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 . . . . First in Gilwell Order!

oh, yeah - I used to be a Beaver . . . .

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, and the variety of fun that we had in scouting that the other activities could not - nor were designed - to produce.

Of late scouting has gotten a lot of bad press from scribes who have no idea what we are really all about. Our stance on avowed homosexuals and athiests? We answer to a higher authority; the 12th Scout Law and the third point of the Scout Oath remind us of that. And . . . we choose to raise our sons this way, period. And we should say that whenever necessary.

Amazing isn't it? We are teaching our sons the importance of letting you-know-who be able to say the things that they say about scouting because that is part of the third point of the Scout Oath. Maybe we need to let you-know-who know that.

It seems that all of the arguments against the scouting movement can be answered using the Scout Oath and Law. Let me repeat that. It seems that all of the arguements against the scouting movement can be answered using the Scout Oath and Law. and answered comletely.

Yes, scouting went through a decline in membership in the 1970's, part of the "fallout" of the "hippie phenomenom", the war in VietNam, the women's movement, etc., when the status was no longer quo. The numbers came back, though. Scouting is again on certain organizations' "agendas". Well, scouting's "agenda" hasn't changed in 95 years in the U.S. Spread the word in your units - get trained; use the training; use the Methods of Scouting; deliver the program. The numbers will be there.

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 was introduced. that was the last vestage of the BSA uniform copying the U.S.Army uniform. BTY, does anybody know when the neckerchief came into being a part of the uniform? I have my dad's scout handbook (c. late 1920's) with drawings of scouts in complete (of course!) uniform. No neckerchiefs.

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 troop can use small-bore (.22cal.) rifles on a rifle range; cub scouts cannot use fire arms. No BSA unit can use handguns.

War Story Time: Our troop's PLC voted to spend an afternoon at a paintball facility and presented it to the TC for approval. We had a look at the GTSS. Nope, not allowed. So . . . they then asked about an afternoon at the local lazertag emporium. The GTSS made no mention of lazertag. Cool. The Adult Patrol signed up as a team. But . . .the latest edition of GTSS came out a couple of weeks before we were scheduled to go play lazertag. Aw, C'mon! Paintball launches missles at players; we could understand that, but a stream of electrons being aimed at each other!?!?!? So . . . we drowned our sorrows in s'mores we made over a charcoal grill using the monies collected for the lazertag event.

Best to follow the GTSS for all unit activities. It uses "age-approprite" as the guide and takes in the age range of the units.

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 parts of the scout uniform as well. My Wood Badge neckerchief is almost long enough, but . . . .

Okay, . . . I've vented.

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. Simply amazing. What could be simpler? "To do my duty to God . . . ."

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 surprised him that he found nothing wrong with the boy scouts. When he asked about homosexuals, I told him that we (scouts) do not hate homosexuals, that we just do not want them in scouting. Then I remended him that were his father homosexual and his mother lesbian, that he would not be here. And that we answer to a higher authority about such things and doesn't he do the same? Game, set and match. Works every time.

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 Webelos arrive on Saturday night. Some dens arrive on Friday night as well, but set up in their own campsites with proper adult participation. The OA chapter serves as facilities staff. All of that is explained in the flyer that is given out at RoundTable. The concept works and it is a real hoot to attend in any capacity. And, yes, the GTSS is followed.

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 newspaper. Be Prepared.

At the same time, be looking for a good troop for your webelos to join. I'll bet that you're already doing that, though.

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 Commissioner asigned to your troop. If not, let the District Executive know. Stick by your guns. This ain't no cub scout pack you're in. "Boy-run" and "Boy-led" mean exactly that. So when are the boys going to get those leadership opportunities that BSA talks about?!