Apache Bob

Silver Fox - I think your WB reunion is a great thing and should be kept and run the way it has been run in the past. You have your committee running smoothly and the events have gone over with out a hitch.

Your Council now wants in on the action since the reunion is up and running and you are getting lots of WB people attending. Sounds as if they just want to come in and take over and make it their event.

I would tell your executive that he will be invited to attend once he has his beads.

We have a reunion each year in my current Council and all WB members are invited whether they did their training in this Council or in a different Council.

"I do not think it will happen in my lifetime but hope that some day in the future our BSA will join the rest of the world in having both boys and girls in Scouting."

Rest of the world? We have boys and girls in Scouting. Ever hear of the Girl Scouts? Ever hear of Venturing? Maybe you should be petitioning the GSUSA to admit boys.

You're right Gold Winger - I did not make myself clear.

Boys and girls should be able to start into BSA together when they are in first grade and go through the Scouting program until they age out.

Yes, I have heard of Venturing and am a trained leader in the program but it starts at age 14 to 21.

I know the GSUSA is out there and was a Girl Scout leader for two years. It is a different program than BSA and I was talking about BSA. Maybe they should have boys in their program. If they did the BSA would change its mind about girls younger that 14 in a heart beat.

Yes they should be on camp staff as long as they meet the job requirements. Would think that you will probably have more behaved and well mannered boys at the camp also.

I do not think it will happen in my lifetime but hope that some day in the future our BSA will join the rest of the world in having both boys and girls in Scouting.

" heck, the new DE of my district has a tattoo on the small of her back, of course its in the shape of the Venuring symbol, but still its a tattoo." I won't ask how you found out about the tattoo.

Get back in Scouting - you are needed. I have known many Scouters in their 20's and they are welcome. Someone also has to keep the older generation on our toes.

Nike - I think you should contact the National people and see what they think and respond to your suggestion. It might be best is pictures were taken instead. Please let us know in the future what answer you got back from them.

Don't forget to remind those boys to leave the chiggers, ticks, no seeums and mosquitos alone and alive. They should not use any bug spray on camping trips as that will or might harm the insects.

For the record - in North America there are over 91,000 different types of insects and in the world there are over 900,000 types.

OldGreyEagle - you are 100% correct. We should be using correct figures. I was told in the late 80's that we have lost about half. Did not mean to go off half cocked and you were right to bring me back. Thanks.

CNY - thanks for the correct figures.

We had 1,382,000 Scouters in 1960.

1970 - 1,604,000 Scouters.

1975 - 1,385,000 Scouters.

1980 - 1,110,000 Scouters.

1999 - 1,292,000 Scouters.

Between 1970 and 1980 the BSA lost over 554,000 Scouters or 31% of the adults. The figures only go up to 1999 and we were still below our the 1970 figure by 312,000 adults. Hopefully by 2008 we have gained back the adults to the 1975 figure.

I am using the figures for Scouters not Scouts. After over 30 adult years in Scouting I have never had any problems getting boys into the program. The boys come to the program if there are adults who will give up their time.

Back to the subject. I just hope that adding a million new adults to the program will help but it seems that we are trying to get the new adults without any real plan to put them to work. It sounds like the idea it to just fit them in the cracks and hope for the best.

Is BSA ready for all these new adults. For example, are the training teams across the US getting ready to train a million new adults in the next two years? Are the Scout Shops ready to sell a million new uniforms in the new two years? I would hope that after about two or three years about 100,000 of these new adults would like to take WoodBadge - are the Wood Badge teams ready for this?

My time is up for now. Thanks again for the correct figures. Bye.

Interesting to find out that the ScoutParents website is not from National. Really thought is was the way our Council people pushed it.

In my Council the idea to get more adults involved is to have each unit register one additional adult each year thereby in 20010 we will have reached our goal. They suggest that the new Scouters be used in the units for some job to free up another Scouter. No real plan on how to use the new people.

How is the Inner City handbook brought into my discussion? It was a good idea (?) that did not work. In fact caused the lost of of over half the boys and adults that were members. I hope that bringing in a million new members without a plan on what to do with them will work and not backfire on us. What could go wrong - I don't know but some law (I think it was Murphy's) may apply. Hope I am wrong.

From the information I was given many moons ago the ScoutParents website was set up by BSA itself. Am I wrong?

The site was to give new Scout parents (or prospective new Scout parents) information about what the Scouting program is about. It is also set up to (hopefully) get new parents involved in Scouting.

Remember National wants a million more adults by 2010 (whether they do anything or not). Let's see. One million adults times $10.00 equals big bucks plus they can say they have one million more members.

I remember the "Inner City Scout Handbook" of the 70s. Didn't we lose over half the Scouts and Scouters with that great idea?

Is this the same thing as the Weather Wise Training Module???

I was just informed that several people in my units should take the module.

Thanks in advance

Gold Winger - and of course when your one district was formed it had only one district chair and one district commissioner. They were given the job of handling six times what was normal. How many of the professional staff was working the new district?

About 13 years ago our number of districts went from 3 up 5. The reason given was to give better service.

About 4 years ago our number of districts went from 5 down to 3. The reason given was to give better service.

The main thing is how it is presented to the Scouters. In the first merger everyone knew that the Council was looking into changing the district and knew members of the committee looking into it. The merger went smooth.

In the second merger it was just dropped on us with out any warning that it was even being considered. After 4 plus years we are just now getting together.

Last night I was in my easy chair watching the news and saw that the City of Philadelphia, Pa was asking the Boy Scout to move their office of many years as it was on city property. They had been receiving rent of a $1.00 per year.

Does anyone have more information?

Have the wedding and reception at a Scout Camp.

I picked up several months ago that the Commissioner role(s) were going to be revised, changed, adjusted in the future. Got nothing further about it other that changes were coming. Thought it might be around 2010.

In the distance past when I was a SM our Troop went one year to the Council camp and the next OOC. The boys loved going to different summer camps so they could see and experience new things. I thought it was great because after awhile when you see the Scouts run through the wood at night without a flashlight, because they know where are the trees are - you start to think you have been there to many times.

In my current Troop the younger Scouts go to the Council camp while the older Scouts go to a different camps (OOC) that have a high adventure program.

Whooooo! an Owl, of course

NE1-123

RangerT - please get back to us and let us know what happens in your Council.

Would also like to know where your SE gets his new job.

This subject may have come up in the past but ----- what about now?

Comments?

Just today at lunch I was listening to the news and they came on with the 5 best beaches of the year. To my suprise number one was Caladesi (spelling) just north of Clearwater Beach Fla.

In the mid 50's it was called Hog Island. An Explorer friend and I spend a week doing survival camping on that island.

I think that a mixture of the old and new is always good. If we remember the underlining principle of the Scouting program.

My only real problem with this election is that the news people started this thing over three years ago. I'm not sure that what we hear is about is about the people running for office and their views or what the channel news people want dream up and give their pet theories about.

From what I understand the people running do really make their views known its just not reported. The news people are working on different VP's and not the issues.

SctDad

No, it was the Catawba Lodge. The ordeal was at Camp Grimes just south of Marion.

Hope you get your brotherhood before the end of the year.

See you around a campfire real soon.

Your husband is wearing the Cubmaster patch that over 95% of the parents in the Pack will never think of wearing. They want everything for their sons but will not take the time, from their busy schedule, to help their own son. Your husband is taking the time and your son will be better for it. The other parents owe you and your spouse a great deal.

Yes, he needs the get the trained patch. Yes, Woodbadge should come.

But first he stepped forward to take a big job on. That is something most parents never do.

Per the National Supply Division the Cub are going to keep the blue uniform, at least for now.

Webelos will be moving into the new uniform - however, they want the Cubs to wear the red unit numbers on the shirt to indicate a Cub.

Parent's brag is a great title and all of you are right on! This past weekend my oldest grandson completed his ordeal in North Carolina. I'm getting older but my mind is staying young from being around all the Scouts.

Tokala - I went through the ordeal and brotherhood in Clearwater in the mid 50's. So your lodge was my first one. Was on the dance team then.

I know this is going off the subject somewhat but ----

I remember sitting around many campfires in the 50's playing a juice harp. In fact I still have one. It caused a real problem once going through a security check point at the airport.

Does anyone else have one and have used it at campfires?