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Howdy All,

I've just been asked (like yesterday) to get a committee together to facilitate the 100th anniversary celebrations of the BSA in my council. I'm looking for ideas of what other councils are doing to comemorate the BSA Centenary over these next 2 1/2 years.

From what I was told, at the recent Top Hands meeting it became an instant priority. HA! Not like it snuck up on us, did it. )

I'm very excited about the prospects. I appreciate your many and varied ideas.

A true tragedy, no winners here.

I agree with the County Atty, no good could come of pressing charges.

I was also going to suggest carving an Eagle emblem on it. I received a stave as a gift from the outgoing SM of our troop when I took over. He carved my WB Totem, name and the Troop # along with the title of Scoutmaster. The carving can be simple, small, and would add a lot to the piece.

Our troop had (and may have again) plenty of space. We have a small wooden Eagle (toll painting) with a brass plate on each representing our Eagles. They are to be permanently affixed to the walls of our scout house when it's finished (laying concrete this week). We also have a perpetual plaque for the CO to display, each Eagle with a plate

This is a nice idea by the way, I really like it. The little ceremony of having a previous Eagle from the troop walk it to the front to begin the CoH is a neat tradition in the making, the secret gift is as well.

Good job on this

No pets allowed on outings ever. Yours and mine might be well behaved and socialized, but that's no guarantee that anyone elses is. Leave em at home and they'll love you all the more when you get back.

I love reading but generally never have the time. It's unfortunate. I do listen to books on tape during my commute to and from work. Latest was the Gunslinger series (Stephen King). What a story that was. King is my favorite author. Just got a signed copy of The Stand and will re-read when I can.

Just finished READING "City of Bones" by Michael Connelly, had listend to a few of his on my MP3 player. Got a chance to read "Prey" by Michael Crichton - that man can write about anything.

Just started reading a book called "The Testament" by Eric Van Lustbader. Along the same lines as The Divinci Code.

W/ audio books it's about 40/year w/o audio books it's about 10.

OGO, that was a nice link.

Some things that were given at my last course that may fit the bill were:

"Class B" Beads (like above, sets of 3 on lanyard)

engraved coin

handmade coin purse w/ course # n WB logo

handmade book mark w/ name, critter, course number, theme (I like this one, cheap too)

hand made keychain w/ course number

small treasure chest (our theme "treasure the values of scouting" and pirate everything)

WB Critter patches

Christmas Ornaments w/ course number and one with critter and course number

hand made gigantic woggle (fun to try and wear)

Larger gifts that more than one can go in on...

canvas boat bag w/ coarse # and theme embroidred on it

plastic plate w/ axe n log logo, course nubmer printed on it. This was actually the hit of the course. It was a simple plastic plate with Wood Badge accross the top in Log Letters, the axe n log w/ the course number in it. All were screen printed and looked nice but not exquisite. One member started having all staffers sign the back, before you knew it, everyone was doing it. This will be one of my best memory pieces w/ everyone's sig on the back. I don't think it was too expensive either.

Good luck, the gifting is a lot of fun.

Changed my sleeping pad a couple years ago to a Therm-a-rest ProLite 4. I'm a big guy and like the princess and the pea, I can feel a pine needle under my gear, but this thing is very nice and seems very durable. At $100 more or less it's a bit pricy for young scouts, but for older boys and adults it's a good bet.

My least favorite piece of equipment right now is my MSR Simmer Lite stove (multi-fuel). I'm going to invest in a MSR Dragon fly, that thing can get a 55 gal drum to a boil in 3 min, or launch the space shuttle if need be. Love it.

I am a Scoutmaster and tend to pack way too much as well on short weekend trips, but we get real serious and organized as a troop when we take longer treks. For a simple 3 - 5 mile jaunt, it's ok to be over prepared with some items (extra stoves, extra jacket, extra first aid stuff) just in case the boys need it. Week long trips need better equipment management.

Do ya take gas cards?

Gas being the operative word here. Popcorn...

STA, I wanna hear what's been going on in the last 24 hours. This story had me hooked.

Welcome Ohio_Scouter,

I would say of all the Scouting related msg boards, this one is the most friendly and helpful.

Congratulations to your son (a bit premature, but what the heck) and to you as well.

STAnderson, Hold your ground and good luck. Keep the boys in mind at all times and remember the Cub Scout Oath and the Law of the Pack in your dealings. Might be usefull to have them printed out and hand to every parent at your meetings.

I think a region patch, those patches identifying region personnel, are different that those used to identify participants in an event from a particular region, like the Jamboree. Two separate patches IMO.

2005 Jamboree, Western Region I believe had a patch but it was not issued to every unit, or if it was it was not required to be worn. I was on staff and it was not offered to me, my son was with a contingent and it was not offered to him. That would be a temporary patch to be worn on the right breast pocket. The World Jambore CSP's or WSJSP's are identified with regions, as most councils would not be feilding a whole unit for the WSJ. The WSJ units were by definition regional units drawn from many councils and areas.

By the way Lisabob, I've been told that to get that nasty looking glue off of your uniform, take it to the dry cleaner and ask them to get it off. The chemicals they use remove it all, even the stuff holding on current patches. Be forwarned. I've got kids with the world crest scar on the chest and I beg them to get it taken care of. It drives me crazy...even more than I truely am...

Lisabob,

Our troop car camps for the Camporee, Summer Camp, and 1 or 2 family camps. We bacpack everywhere else. We advertise this and make it a point to anyone interested in joining our troop so there's no misunderstanding.

We take our newest boys out on a car camp and introduce them to the methods we use in backpacking (along with their parents). Our first couple of back packs are 1 - 1.5 miles and are fantastic and fun. By the time they're 12-13 we take them to the Eastern Sierra and hike and fish. We design trips for ability levels. We try not to do too many advancement items while backpacking.

We sent a small contingent into the mountains this summer for 10 days. The group contacted a fly fishing guide to give them an hour's worth of instruction. The guide loved the boys and stayed for over 5 hours and declined to take any $$ for her efforts. The boys fly fished all week while on the trek and caught tons of fish. They brought back pictures, stories and infectous enthusiasm.

Take pictures of your trips and show them off as much as you can. When we had a meeting place of our own, the boys would all look at the story boards of HA trips past hung on the wall and brag "I remember going on that trip" or "Do you remember catching that fish?" and other rememberances. It gets the young boys turned on to the prospect of joining the elite group in the pictures.

Some boys and some adults for that matter will never like hiking of any kind. It's too physically demanding and they see no use in it. I had one boy in my WII den that didn't cross with the rest of the den, he went to another troop that didn't hike because he and his father decided that they would never walk more than a mile to do anything. He's a good kid, hiking is not for everyone is all.

Good luck and have fun with it.

Standerson, there are control freaks everywhere. Everywhere. I think your approach to sit down and discuss the problem with him, the ACM, and your UC as a third party will help to lay the issue out in front. Don't let it get personal, don't take cheap shots, keep the focus on the program and the boys in it.

When it's time to cross over into a troop, what are the local options? are you going to be stuck with this guys later in a troop? if you roll over and let him walk all over you now, what's going to happen if he follows you to the same troop? It will all happen over and over again if you don't stop it now.

Good luck.

I'm in Southern California. We're famous for our Mexican food. Go figure. Carne Asada es muy bueno. Mi gusta mucho.

I'm 4th generation Californian, and my family actually came here with the Donner Party (guess what they were famous for eating?).

There is such a plethora of foods and cuisines it's amazing. One thing I guess we're famous for in So Cal is In n Out Burgers. My son attended the World Jambo. On his return almost 3 weeks later the only thing he wanted was an In n Out Burger. They are amazingly good.

Also, I'm with CA Scouter. I spent a week in the Fishmermans Warf district in San Francisco and ate dungenous crab and sourdough every day. I don't think I could get tired of that ever.

Yes I watch cooking shows all the time OGE; Top Chef, Iron Chef America (not as good as Japanese original), all of the others. I'm a practicing ameature chef in my own right.

My troop backpacks mostly so gourmet is not something that is easy in the back country. We do make all of our own foods however, it's more time consuming than buying campmore stuff but it's also cheaper and tastes a lot better. Most recipies can be experimented with and turned into backpacking fare.

Our troop guides are members of the Experienced scout patrol, or older boys that are in the 14-17 year age range, typically Star and above in rank and they use it as a POR. We sometimes need to cycle the TG's out because it's not an easy job to "mentor" an 11 year old boy, let alone 8 of them all at once.

Our troop's Experienced Scout Patrol (it's been refered to as the venture patrol, but that's misleading IMO) are all NYLT trained and have been active in our high adventure program for some time. This is typically the group from which the SPL, ASPL, TG's and TI's come from.

TG's cook (and eat) with the NSP on campouts. They help them set up their patrol site, but they sleep with their own patrol and will have extra food available for them just in case things don't turn out with the new boys. (the boys idea, not mine)

From the West Coast in 2005 we had a cost of about $2500 I believe.

I've already excited about it. My son just got back from the WSJ and got me thinking about it. I've been schmoozing the powers that be in my council to get a spot as a contingent leader. I'm either smart or really simple. Probably the latter.

Good luck, have fun and stay focused on your studies. Your education is the springboard by which the rest of your life will take off. Oh, and although a bit premature, congratulations on completing the requirements for Eagle.

I was once told by a pretty smart man that "a boy run troop is much more difficult to manage, on orders of magnitude, than an adult run troop"

Well, by gosh turns out he was right. It is hard to have a boy run troop.

Many have posted here the varying degrees of boy run, If you're new to the idea and it scares you, start off slow and easy, adding responsibilities along the way until you've reached boy run Nirvana, at which time all of your best leaders will age out and you'll have to start all over again...ces't la vie'.

We (our troop) ask our boys to:

Plan all activities. The boys come up with the ideas and places, the adults facilitate their wishes.

Run all meetings. From pre-opening or gathering activities to presentations to games, they run it all.

Hold regular PLC's. The SPL's job is to run the troop with is PLC. It's up to him when he has his meetings and how often.

Use Patrol Method. Allow Patrols some autonomy when it comes to outings and activities. Allow patrols to plan separate hikes, etc. in order to facilitate the development of leadership and meld the group into a high performance team.

Plan and Execute all Service Projects. Our troop performs a lot of service, and almost all ranks require some amount of service time. We ask boys 1st class and above to plan and execute service projects. Gives them great practice for their Eagle project.

We of course have varying degrees of success with these above items, but more importantly we provide the boys with the opportunity to make decisions, make mistakes (and learn from them), and make connections. It's great to see a young man take on a job and complete it, it's even better to see him learn from it and do it better the next time.

Welcome, good luck and have fun. I was a Cubmaster for 3 years and I loved every minute of it.

Lauwit, wear your patches proudly. Jamboree, AoL and Eagle knot, Lodge Flap. You've earned each one and you should be proud of them. When I was a Cubmaster, I wore my Eagle knot and my 1977 Jamboree patch and the boys would aske me about them every month at the pack meetings. I never got tired of telling stories to them about my Eagle or the Jambo.

Pack378, that's a pristine patch, you must have purchased a few extras.

Alexsma, have a great time with WB, you'll never forget this experience. Be nice to your Troop Guide, they have the most active roll on staff behind the Quartermasters and Scribes.

Thanks for the info. My father would always carry a pocket knife for as long as I can remember and up until the day he died. I got possession of a lot of his scouting stuff (he was a SM in the 50's and 60's), but we divvied up his pocket knives (tons of them) among the grandsons (tons of them, too). Some of them had Marlin spikes, and I really never understood why until now, he could always undo any knot, no matter how wet, old, or badly tied. I might have to get me one of those lil miracles.

"BTW, as noted you have to go on a Philmont Trek to earn the right to wear the Bull. Going to PTC (Philmont Training Center) doesn't count for that..."

That's odd, when I attended training there in the 80's, I was given a Bull patch by my course director for just that reason...hmmm, I was told that since I missed the day hike to the top of "Baldy" I couldn't have the tail touch my shoulder seem. I still have my bull, but have never attached it to any jacket. I'll have to get some clarification on that.

You all scare me, I don't know if I can take a face to face...

OH, wrong forum, sorry.

I don't know anyone. It's probably better that way in the end...

We don't allow any MB work during meetings times. MB's can be lectured before a meeting if need be at the same location for facilities, but not during a meeting.

I make sure I have enough MB's offered monthly to keep the youth on track. If I see a few older (14 yo +) scouts missing some Eagle Required badges, then I get qualified adults to instruct or councel the badge.