Stosh

Welcome from me as well!

With the Asian beetles, box elder beetles, the honey bee hum is quite relaxing and when one heats up the Dutch oven, it smells like heaven even before one puts any food in it.

Works just as good as oil and NEVER GOES RANCID! One can store the cast iron for years and it will always be ready to go. I use it on my camping iron that will sit in the basement from one season to the next. Heck, with bees wax, one can leave it outside in the elements all winter and it won't bother it, Damp garage? Basement? No problem. I use oil on my everyday cast iron.

Are Eagle projects meant to demonstrate a boy's leadership or showboat BSA?

Not really, my former troop did the same thing. They (troop of 30 boys) would heavily recruit with all the ooooh's and aaaah's of high adventure and tons of equipment in their troop trailer. 20 boys would join up and by the end of the year they're back down to 30 boys. They did this year after year after year. They thought this is how it was supposed to work. Only the cream of the crop survived and became Eagles.....

By the way, @@Beavah in other forms of government, the duties have checks and balances to regulate and keep everyone on the reservation. School Boards don't seem to have that system applied to them. They make the rules, they have the administration and employees execute those rules and they adjudicate them when they wish. That is NOT a Constitutional system in America. It's something someone made up along the way.

Over the course of the history of the US, what was once a small Federal government established by our Constitution has now exploded into a bloated bureaucracy that can't control itself let alone it's citizenry. It used to be the creators, the manufacturers, the builders, the visionaries that build upon the previous generations, now it is only the destructive forces of litigation and fear of litigation that dominate the countryside. One cannot legislate morality, There's supposed to be a separation between church and state, but the Christian-Judeo code of morality still dominates and Sharia with it's totally different code has a valid argument. So why is the government in the religion business? Because it likes to stick it's nose into everything a millimeter at a time. Kinda like the frog and kettle of water thingy. It's going to take a miracle to reverse the process because one has to stop doing what's being done and go in the opposite direction. With the continued loss of freedom, in order for the progression into more loss, the current processes have to be stopped. If the people want more freedom, the processes have to be reversed. Lincoln may be correct, the experiment set forth by our Founding fathers may not be able to sustain itself. Nothing at the hands of people lasts very long and the process of change is majorly faster than it has been at any time in history. If it hurts to keep banging one's head against the brick wall, .... stop doing it.

The buttons and collar brass did come from BSA supply and in 1910, that's what made a BSA official uniform. In 1910 there was no uniform, just buttons and brass to be put on a US Army uniform. At least that's what I have been told. Later on, US Army contractors started putting BSA labels on US Army uniforms and then selling them to the Boy Scouts. They were the same uniform with a BSA or US Army label. Hunting down BSA collar brass and two different sizes of buttons was quite a challenge the way it was. The sad part of the whole process is reminiscent of the 1960's when Civil War reenactors used historical uniforms and ruined them reenacting. Same happens to historical uniforms. Eventually only the moth eaten ones that got stuffed away in some attic treasure trove will be in museums.

Most bigots can't see their bigotry...... It's an unfortunate "social challenge" (being PC, of course)

Next time read more closely, I was referring to your Good Turn, not your son's.

There used to be metal blades sticking up out of the ground where farmers could scrape the mud off their boots before coming into the house. With crocs, ya just hose off your feet, you're good to go.

If the boys couldn't find the plate, isn't that the fault of the coach? Maybe he didn't teach the boys to pitch so he could do it himself.... kinda like a lot of SM's are doing out there.

That's not an unofficial uniform! I have a reproduction 1910 BSA uniform I wore for the centennial and because it has 1910 buttons and collar brass on it, it is official. The uniform to be "technically" legal needs the proper insignia and the boys working at finding them is correct. My 1960's uniform has the old OA lodge flap that was removed from service because of it's PC "racial" issue. Finding community strips is probably the most difficult task, but I like them because meeting another scout within council/district doesn't do much for me when the only thing to tell me this is a number. If their city/village name is on the shoulder, it's nice! Never did like Council patches, but they are a great source of income for the councils.

I would inform the "gentleman" that veiled threats against minors such as that are illegal in America and that if it happens again, it will be reported to the authorities.

Yep, know how you feel, add to the disregard to the teachings, policies and helpful suggestions of scouts, parents and fellow scouters and they still won't listen because they have the District Award of Merit, Silver Beaver and a dozen other accolades on their shirt and mantle and this person isn't gonna change. It always ends up ugly and cleaning up after such people is messy. After 25 years they finally had enough of the guy that was the SM of my first ASM position when my son was in the program. I walked away and it took another 10 years to have him removed. A couple dozen Eagles got produced during that tenure, but hundreds of boys got turned off from scouting as well.

Adults who want to be in the middle of running a Boy Scout unit need to be reminded that the program is BOY Scouts and not ADULT Scouts. Whoever put that post out there about some dad pinch hitting for his son in Little League was spot on! Where do these adults find the time to do all the work that the boys are supposed to be doing? It's no wonder adults burn themselves out by doing all the things they aren't supposed to be doing.

Although Congress has authorized the BSA to wear active duty uniforms (i.e. Sea Scouts and BSA's first uniforms were US Army uniforms with Boy Scout buttons) today such practices for appearing military are now inappropriate for Scout wear. This all changed back in the 1970's with the Oscar de la Renta uniform being anti-Vietnam/anti-war knee jerk reaction in society. In the 1960's we had our full scout uniforms, but our backup clothing was all military surplus as was most of our camping equipment. The lucrative reaction of anti-military was a boom for profiteering of the Scout Shops when they then pulled the sale of scout equipment out of the department stores and into their own Scout Stores and catalogs. I'd go with the kilt.... The BSA hasn't figured out the historical significance of the kilt so until they do, enjoy.

Maybe someone should find out before they kick some kid to the curb for maybe saving an asthma attack victim's life, or destroying some A-student's chance at a nice college. After all we are supposed to be dealing with educated people here...... Doesn't bode well for the education profession to harbor such draconian practices in today's modern world.

A Venturing Crew can design anything they want for a uniform.

The vast majority of the soldiers, both North and South, in the Civil War tossed the backpacks and went with a bed roll. A person can pick up a tumpline ($19) and remove all load bearing off the shoulders and hips from any load. The last mass produced production of tumplines was the Canadian Army during World War II. In undeveloped countries where heavy loads were carried over uneven terrain (sound like backpacking?) for thousands of years using only tumplines. African women carrying large earthen pots full of water on their heads? Any idea how much those things weigh? Only "modern, highly technical, developed" countries use shoulder straps and waist belts. It is amazing how easy it is to move an #85 canoe around using a tumpline instead of shoulders..... It is also amazing how much more one can carry if done correctly..... Kelty might have discovered some long lost secret for backpacks, but the indigenous people of under developed countries who still use muscle power to move loads have relied on items that a scout could make for under $10 Like I said, how much does a tumpline strap weigh compared to a frame of an external pack? Want to carry pack or would one prefer food?

One of the major drawbacks of the backpacking scene for me is all the high tech "needs" one must purchase at ridiculous prices in order to make it through a simple 3-4 day backpacking trek. While I used old school equipment, I seldom lack what I need and get buy with a lot less than what others deem absolute necessities. How many calories are there in an external frame with waist belt? I have never had an experienced backpacker ask me that question. How many calories are there in a Feather-light stove and fuel? How many calories are there in a small ceramic water filter? How much does 8000 calories weigh? For a 3 day trek all one needs is food, water, and shelter. If I look at this correctly, a backpack isn't on that list.

Sorry, @[member="David CO"[ I read through your last post 3 times and can't wrap my head around what you mean. I kinda got lost in the public/private, affluent moving kinda logic. By law these kids have to go to school, they get expelled and parents can't afford private school, how does this all work? Looks like a declining spiral that everyone ends up in jail because of a zero-tolerance rule? Okay an affluent kid gets in trouble in a public school and the school board doesn't expel him because mom and dad transfer to a private school. Are you then implying that because the board didn't go through the motion it skews the numbers?

Just because one can doesn't mean one should.

It's not a negative mark against someone for missing an opportunity. I'm sure this young man will fare better in the long run than 95% of the others out there in the world. Maybe next time he'll make a choice that will WOW 100% of the people. But WOWing 95% is still fantastic!