Kudu

Green Bar Bill's version of what a Troop Meeting should look like: http://inquiry.net/patrol/troop/index.htm

Patrol Shoulder Knots are still worn in some parts of the world. Generally they consist of two colors, except for the very oldest Patrols which are represented by a single color (Wolves being the exception for some reason). Some examples of Patrol Shoulder Knots on modern Traditional Uniforms: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/traditional/index.htm Traditional Placement: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/traditional/placement.htm Diagrams of Patrol critters (used on Patrol Flags, not Patrol Patches): http://inquiry.net/patrol/flag/index.htm More readable version, with downloadable critters: http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/clipart/logos/patrol.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

thriftyscout writes: I am considering creating a mixed age Kudu style patrol made up of Scouts for whom Scouting is their primary activity. Thrifty, Have you had a chance to try your experiment? Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

scoutfreakdad writes: wow those cannon photos are sooo vivid, i'm interested in the cannon box. Amazon has some detailed reviews of the Canon Underwater Housing for the PowerShot S90 at: http://tinyurl.com/4qbn259 I shot a short video yesterday at King's Spring (Crystal River, FL) so that you can see the S90 in action underwater (in the Ikelite case). Note how big and bright the screen is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvGvEACwC5s To view the photographs I was taking, click on "King's Spring" at: http://inquiry.net/scuba_diving_merit_badge/index.htm I shot the YouTube video using a Liquid Image Scuba Series Wide Angle HD322 Camera/Video Mask. This new Wide Angle model is much better than the previous version: http://www.liquidimageco.com/products/water/scuba-series-hd-wide.php Note that the visibility was poor yesterday due to the high algae content of the water, so the lack of clarity in the photographs and video does NOT do justice to either the Canon or Liquid Image cameras. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

I took these photographs about a week ago with a Canon S90 in an Ikelite underwater case: http://troop452.com/scuba/rainbow_river/2011-01-09.htm The S90 is an amazing camera. The Canon brand underwater case is less expensive, but I went with an Ikelite because I can in the future add a wide angle attachment for even clearer photographs. Note the photographs have been reduced from 2,000 - 3,000 KB to around 600 KB for the Websites. More photos (mostly using the same setup) at Life After Scuba Diving Merit Badge: http://inquiry.net/scuba_diving_merit_badge/index.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

For those whose assignment is to build a Klondike Sled: http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/winter/gear/sleds/

Ever wonder what Wood Badge was like before 1972? See the 1968 Wood Badge Training Notebook: http://inquiry.net/traditional/wood_badge/index.htm This was a course requirement, and it was reviewed by a Staff Member at least three times during the week. Participants were also required to complete eleven "Spare Time Activities" (knife & ax work, rope work, distance estimations, compass course, and map making), to be signed off by the Staff. I can't find any mention of Thursday's program, but the Staffer wrote: "It would be helpful to you if you put a date on the pages." A copy of the circa-1965 Wood Badge program used in the former British Empire can be found at: http://inquiry.net/traditional/leader/index.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net (This message has been edited by kudu)

WestCoastScouter writes: looking at buying tents that the boys can own themselves. What tents are most durable, and good for both backpacking and also car camping. A couple people have suggested waiting to see what the Troop's policy is. Turn That Around: Be proactive and ask for a Troop's tent policy BEFORE you join! Troops that do not allow Scouts to use their own tents tend to be adult-run even though they talk about the "Patrol Method." It's all about control. Watch out for perfect grids of identical tents, brightly lit under glaring gas lanterns ... like a automobile dealer's sales lot. Those adult control-freak Troops look well-organized from the outside, especially to Cub Scout parents. But Scouts who think for themselves will hate those adults before they are 13 years old. A Scout who owns his own tent has some control over who he tents with during Troop campouts, and the freedom to camp with friends AWAY from the Troop (which is the whole point of the Patrol Method). Adults who camp in walk-in tents tend to be Webelos III as well. If you see that warning sign, then ask a LOT of questions about their backpacking program. Backpacking was why Boy Scouting was invented. Other anti-backpacking Webelos III warning signs are folding cots, Star and Life Scouts toting suitcases with wheels, extension cords leading to the adult tents, and lines of Scouts with blow-up air mattresses waiting for their turn at the troop air compressor. As to which tents to buy, I always had good luck with cheap tents (around $50). Most of them come with "bathtub" bottoms, which (for young Scouts) are a BIG advantage over the traditional Eureka tents that everybody raves about. I bought a "three man" Ozark Trails tent for $45 in the mid-1990s which served me well. The rain fly went all the way down to the ground and always kept me dry, even in heavy rain storms. I also used it for winter backpacking in below-zero weather, but you must warn Scouts that the poles could snap below freezing. A winter wind storm will kick up some snow dust inside a "two season" tent, but it is NOT a big deal. The purpose of a tent in the winter is to keep the wind off you. If you want a warm shelter, build an igloo: http://inquiry.net/outdoor/winter/shelter/igloo_kit.htm I also have a cheap Coleman tent that has served me well. As others have mentioned, look for a rain-fly that comes down the ground, or at least close to the ground. An expensive backpacking tent? I love my MSR Hubba Hubba. It says "three season," but it worked well at about 15 below zero. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net (This message has been edited by kudu)

acco40 writes: So, Kudu, stating that the BSA "violates" a Congressional charter is somewhat of an empty statement. Maybe you haven't been reading all the posts. Section 30905. ("Exclusive right to emblems, badges, marks, and words") gives the BSA the ability to trademark generic words and images that were already associated with Scouting long before the BSA was invented. The US Rovers, for instance, were served with a cease and desist order because they used a generic fleur-de-lis on their Website! That is correct, Americans can not associate a French fleur-de-lis with an adult camping program, even if they do not use the word "Scout"! "Empty statement," huh? Of course if you think the CSE is a man of great wisdom for flooding membership with a Hispanic soccer program that keeps 12 year-old Scouts out of tents (and presumably on a 1970s-style non-camping path to Eagle) then of course you will be very happy pretending that the Congressional Charter does not forbid American citizens access to alternative Scouting programs based on the methods that were in common use by Boy Scouts on June 15, 1916. Ironic, huh? Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

Sec. 30902. Purposes: The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, First Paragraph of 1911 Handbook: "The aim of the Boy Scouts is to supplement the various existing educational agencies, and to promote the ability in boys to do things for themselves and others." Sec. 30902. Purposes: to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods First Paragraph of 1911 Handbook: "The METHOD is summed up in the term Scoutcraft, and is a combination of observation, deduction, and handiness, or the ability to do things. Scoutcraft includes instruction in First Aid, Life Saving, Tracking, Signaling, Cycling, Nature Study, Seamanship, Campcraft, Woodcraft, Chivalry, Patriotism, and other subjects." Sec. 30902. Purposes: that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. Scoutcraft Chapter, page 16: "The requirements of the tenderfoot, second-class scout, and first-class scout, are as follows:" http://inquiry.net/advancement/tf-1st_require_1911.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

http://kudu.net/outdoor/activities/soccer.htm

Sec. 30902. Purposes: The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, First Paragraph of 1911 Handbook: "The aim of the Boy Scouts is to supplement the various existing educational agencies, and to promote the ability in boys to do things for themselves and others." Sec. 30902. Purposes: to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods First Paragraph of 1911 Handbook: "The METHOD is summed up in the term Scoutcraft, and is a combination of observation, deduction, and handiness, or the ability to do things. Scoutcraft includes instruction in First Aid, Life Saving, Tracking, Signaling, Cycling, Nature Study, Seamanship, Campcraft, Woodcraft, Chivalry, Patriotism, and other subjects." Sec. 30902. Purposes: that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. Scoutcraft Chapter, page 16: "The requirements of the tenderfoot, second-class scout, and first-class scout, are as follows:" http://inquiry.net/advancement/tf-1st_require_1911.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net (This message has been edited by kudu)

OldGreyEagle writes: on page 153 there is a paragraph on Leadership...The dumbing down of the BSA sure started much sooner that 1972. Yes, the term "Leadership" usually indicates that whatever follows is dumbed down and anti-Baden-Powell This is why the YMCA was so desperate to secure a monopoly on "Scouting" in the United States. They were in "violent disagreement" with Baden-Powell over two of his most important principles: 1) Scouting is the opposite of school (no homework Merit Badges), and 2) The Patrol Leaders run the Troop (literally: no "Troop Committee" of parents). The BSA's first bogus "Modern Leadership" theory was called the "Six Principles of Boy Work:" The Patrol Leader and the Scout Master Care should be taken by the Scout Master that the patrol leaders do not have too great authority in the supervision of their patrols. The success of the troop affairs and supervision of patrol progress is, in the last analysis, the responsibility of the Scout Master and not that of the patrol leader. There is also a danger, in magnifying the patrol leader in this way, of inordinately swelling the ordinary boy's head. The activities of the patrol should not be left to the judgment of any patrol leader... http://inquiry.net/adult/methods/1st/index.htm The fact that James West threw out "modern Leadership" and hired William Hillcourt proves just what a difference a good Chief Scout Executive could make now, a hundred years later. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

skeptic writes: Advanced first aid: Know the methods for panic prevention; what to do in case of fire and ice, electric and gas accidents; how to help in case of runaway horse, mad dog, or SNAKE BITE; treatment for dislocations, unconsciousness, poisoning, fainting, apoplexy, sunstroke, heat exhaustion, and freezing; know treatment for sunburn, ivy poisoning, bites and stings, nosebleed, earache, toothache, inflammation or grit in eye, cramp or stomach ache and chills; DEMONSTRATE ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION. I see nothing wrong with any of the REQUIREMENTS that you list. In fact in free countries Boy Scouts can join Baden-Powell Scouts associations just to get back to those basics. The "program" is the requirements, no more no less The "how-to" material in Boy Scout handbooks is just a best guess at the time they are printed. I'm sure that CPR procedures have already changed since even the most recent handbook was published. skeptic writes: Only a very few are the types of units of which you complain You need to get out more often skeptic writes: These are my observations as a SM for more than 30 years, with a troop that has done thousands of back pack miles over its almost 90 years, As such you must observe that given the opportunity, most Scouts in a gung-ho Troop will jump at the chance to hike into the backwoods. That is what made Scouting popular (back when it was popular). But no longer is there any requirement that forces an Eagle Scout wannabe to walk into the woods with a pack on his back. Even the Camping Merit Badge backpacking requirement (designed for Cub Scouts) is now merely optional: An indoor Eagle can substitute four hours of eating cupcakes while floating downstream on an innertube. Skeptic, I just feel that you are focusing too much on perceived successes, and not enough on the program. moosetracker writes: Unfortunately I fear Kudu has to be a born salesman both with his style of presentation at the high school You could do it, moosetracker. If you have ever spaced a Troop's Patrols apart 300 feet, or allowed competent Scouts to backpack a few miles ahead of the adults, then you know firsthand how dramatically Scouts rise to the occasion. Then, when you take that experience and speak to sixth-graders and the auditorium explodes with their frantic thirst for dangerous adventure, Scouting will never be the same to you. I used to be terrified of public speaking. If I can do it, anyone can do it, provided they speak from truth and experience: http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm moosetracker writes: Most pictures I see of our unit when they started out in 1932, showed them with the heavy canvas style tents that are still popular at many Council summer camps.. Those must have not allowed them to travel lightly. Yes, the First Class Journey would be much easier now. For Patrol Campouts we used "Trek Carts." The most important invention was the backpack waist strap, which appeared in my neck of the woods in the mid-1960s. moosetracker writes: OK.. So we can do away with EDGE. It wasn't a method for teaching in 1916. We should do away with EDGE, but not because it wasn't a method for teaching in 1916. The "frozen in time" tag is not my position. Yes, we should always include Baden-Powell's requirements to call it "Scouting" (the BSA did a good job at that in 1911), but there's nothing wrong with adding stuff to those minimum standards. I myself added LNT to Baden-Powell's 1965 SA requirements when I worked for the last two generations of B-P Scouting USA, See: http://inquiry.net/traditional/handbook/index.htm Now the younger generation has returned to B-P's 1938 requirements, which I agree is better. See: http://inquiry.net/traditional/por/proficiency_badges.htm moosetracker writes: We should retest scouts at each level of rank for all their back ranks as that was a method for teaching. I think we should, and re-certify all Merit Badges every 12 - 18 months. But those are Baden-Powell's British SA requirements, not the BSA of 1916. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

Twocubdad writes: It's killing me -- how DO you stop a runaway horse? EXPLAIN to the horse that he should not run away. DEMONSTRATE how a good horse behaves. GUIDE the horse back to his rider. ENABLE the horse to Understand Group Needs and Characteristics. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

skeptic writes: Kudu pronouncements...perhaps some individuals need to get out of the forest of misconception and actually look at the trees. Nice. Just who is it that dwells in a forest of misconception, skeptic? You list all of the Tenderfoot through First Class requirements, but you do not "actually look at the trees." Any real outdoorsman could read each and every one of those requirements and see what I see: A challenging outdoor program. What I find "cause for serious alarm today, or at least good laughs" is that "modern" Eagle Scouts need never have walked into the woods with a pack on their backs. The purpose of Scoutcraft was not to train boys to use the "commonly available technology of the period." If that were true, then Baden-Powell would have called his program "The Parlour Scouts" and held meetings in the boys' homes where the "commonly available technology of the period" was kept. None of the requirements you list say "Demonstrate rolling a drowning victim on a barrel," or "Explain why you must use a tourniquet for snake bite." To use your words they "were never an actual requirement." skeptic writes: Also, in the early period, it was important to know about runaway horses and mad dogs, as that was a common problem then, and much less was known about rabies. Should we still be teaching these things? Of course not. I just love that moral indignation: "Should we still be teaching these things? Of course not." As if our contempt for "Be Prepared" is so universally shared that no 21st century Scout need "Demonstrate first aid for the bite of a suspected rabid animal." I first heard this assumption that modern Boy Scouts are never around horses from the SPL at my Wood Badge course. He expressed his contempt for the timelessness of Scoutcraft in exactly the same way: As if any Boy Scout on the face of this planet would rather know how to "Understand Group Needs and Characteristics" than be prepared to help with a runaway horse. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

SeattlePioneer writes: Well Kudu, it's interesting to hear your pronouncements of the Scout Charter as "The Law," but do you have legal opinions to back up your claims from courts to support your claims Yes, the BSA itself cited the Congressional Charter recently in the landmark YouthScouts case (Wrenn v. Boy Scouts of America): "The BSA also noted that in addition to standard trademark protection, marks were protected by the congressional charter granted in 1916 under 36 U.S.C. Chapter 309.[2]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrenn_v._Boy_Scouts_of_America The final ruling of the San Francisco judge affirmed his preliminary finding that "a charter Congress granted in 1916 gave the organization the exclusive right to use 'scouts' and related terms in naming youth groups." The BSA's use of the Congressional Charter as a legal instrument dates back to the year after it was issued, when it sued Randolf Hearst's United States Boy Scouts out of existence: http://inquiry.net/traditional/b-p/deposition.htm It is also referemced in the BSA's cease and desist warnings to groups like the US Baden-Powell Scouts, the UK Baden-Powell Scouts, the Rovers, the SpiralScouts, and everyone else in the USA who uses the word "Scout," including International Harvestor and the Girl Scouts: http://www.inquiry.net/adult/bsa_vs_gsusa.htm Scoutfish writes: You yourself are saying that anything outside of The Congressional Charter is in fact, breaking a law or at the least, the charter. No, I did not. The Congressional Charter does not forbid new stuff, as long as the new stuff does not replace the original Scoutcraft stuff. Scoutfish writes: But ScoutCraft...which you majorly support was added after the charter, by BP himself. No, just the opposite, Scoutfish: "To train them in scoutcraft" is the second purpose cited under "Sec. 30902. Purposes," quoted in my first post, above. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

SeattlePioneer writes: Here we have Kudu, picking and choosing among the things he likes and doesn't like about Scouting in 1916 and the things he likes today. What is that supposed to mean, SeattlePioneer? Which of the 1916 requirements do I not like? Do not bear false witness. SeattlePioneer writes: He is in fact no different that the Chief Scout Executive doing the same thing. The Chief Scout Executive seeks to keep 12 year-old Boy Scouts out of tents. Why do you admire that? SeattlePioneer writes: I merely object to references to the Scout Congressional charter as if it was some kind of Holy Writ. It is not "holy writ," it is the law. When you break the law (as you are advocating here), do you tell the judge that you "object to references to speed limits as if they are some kind of holy writ"? SeattlePioneer writes: The program and changes to it need to justify themselves on the basis of facts and rational argument as far as I'm concerned. As I detailed above, you "justify" on the basis of outright lies, not facts. You do not make "rational arguments," just emotional accusations. You do not engage in dialogue but merely repeat the same false misconceptions over and over and over again. SeattlePioneer writes: Not even Kudu is willing to live within the straight jacket of the 1916 Boy Scout Program. You only consider the 1916 program to be a straight jacket because it requires actual Scoutcraft skills. Again, which of these 1916 requirements are you falsely claiming I do not like? Proud Eagle writes: Now, if we were to test two first class scouts, one from BSA of 2010, the other from Baden-Powell's British SA of 1910, on a few basic Scout skills, which do we think would do better? The final requirement of a Baden-Powell First Class Scout is the First Class Journey: a solo journey seven miles into the woods, an overnight which includes cooking requirements, then a return trip and a journal. How many 2010 Eagle Scouts have done that? Maybe 1 in 100,000? Likewise Baden-Powell Tenderfoot skills are retested before completing Second Class, and Second Class skills are retested before completing First Class. After First Class, all Proficiency Badges are retested every 12 to 18 months. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net (This message has been edited by kudu)

SeattlePioneer writes: If we weren't going to do anything except the program as it existed in 1916 we would: As a few people have already pointed out to you, the Congressional Charter does not limit us "to do anything except the program as it existed in 1916," it only requires that those Scoutcraft requirements continue to be included in the future. SeattlePioneer writes: 1) be using an axe and saw to cut down trees to construct lean tos for the night when we went camping. That falsehood is typical of Cub Scouters who hate Boy Scout Scoutcraft. A lean-to is a permanent structure that takes more than a day to build: http://inquiry.net/outdoor/shelter/adirondack.htm Certainly few Eagle Scouts would qualify as a First Class Scout by 1916 standards: http://inquiry.net/advancement/tf-1st_require_1911.htm Woods tools are only mentioned twice: Tenderfoot Requirement 6. "Use properly knife or hatchet." First Class Requirement 8." Use properly an axe for felling or trimming light timber; or produce an article of carpentry or cabinet-making or metal work made by himself. Explain the method followed." SeattlePioneer writes: 2) have no Cub Scout program Good riddance. If Little League had invented the Cub Scout program, every red-blooded American boy would hate baseball as much as they now hate Scouting And all the militant Cub Scouters would be praising the Chief Little League Millionaire's plan to replace baseball with soccer for Hispanics. SeattlePioneer writes: 3) still be wearing these uniforms: Offer exactly the same thing in camo and most boys would love it, even with those baggy hip hop pants! That BDU was a state of the art outdoor uniform in its day, certainly less embarrassing to 21st century boys than the 1980 Oscar de la Renta dress-designer uniform that we only recently got rid of over the objections of the national uniform committee, supported to the death by Wood Badgers and adult Eagle Scouts who think the Uniform is an indoor method. The leggings (called gators) are useful when a Patrol is not limited to the Webelos III camping that our cross-over Cub Scouters love so deeply. The old Campaign Hat is still official and still worn with pride by some Boy Scouts. SeattlePioneer writes: Changes in the program need to be evaluated carefully in the light of current needs. Changes in the Boy Scout program are only evaluated in the light of the "current needs" of indoor lawyers, indoor millionaires, and militant Den Leaders on national "safety" committees, certainly not by recreation experts or insurance actuaries. SeattlePioneer writes: But arguring that we should be straight jacketed into the program as it was in 1916 is absurd. Yes, it is "absurd:" Reductio ad absurdum to be precise, but "reduced" from an untrue premise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum The 1916 program is not my ideal choice, but it is the law. I would go with Baden-Powell's 1938 program: http://inquiry.net/traditional/por/index.htm Or William Hillcourt's 1938 BSA program as featured in his thousand-page Handbook for Scoutmasters (but I would add the critical First Class Journey back in). SeattlePioneer writes: Baden Powell didn't hold the first Wood Badge course until 1919, and of course that was YEARS after the Boy Scout Charter was approved in 1916. So obviously it must be a violation of good Scouting practices. That is a perfect example of bad Cub Scout logic: Baden-Powell's Wood Badge (as well as his 1938 program) included all of the BSA's 1916 requirements. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

"Our goal is not to teach someone to rub two sticks together and make a fire. But when you rub two sticks together and make a fire side by side with an adult of good character, you're going to learn about who you are and go on to lead men... "You can teach a kid about character and leadership using aerospace and computers. The secret is to get them side by side with adults of character. "We run the risk of becoming irrelevant if we don't adapt to things that attract kids today... We recognize the evolving science of leadership. We've had CEOs on our board say they want to send their people to Wood Badge, our adult leader training program, because we use state-of-the-art techniques" (Chief Scout Executive Mazzuca) http://inquiry.net/leadership/sitting_side_by_side_with_adults.htm

mc99218 writes: Headquarters, viz. the Commissioner, whose business it is to see that the lines of policy on which our charter was granted are not departed from. 1917, huh, MC? Departing from our 1916 Charter is modern "outside-the-box" thinking! The whole point of Wood Badge is to teach CEO-Wannabes how to systematically violate the "policy on which our Charter was granted!" Sec. 30902. Purposes The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916. http://inquiry.net/adult/bsa_federal_charter.htm vs. "Our goal is not to teach someone to rub two sticks together and make a fire. But when you rub two sticks together and make a fire side by side with an adult of good character, you're going to learn about who you are and go on to lead men... "You can teach a kid about character and leadership using aerospace and computers. The secret is to get them side by side with adults of character. "We run the risk of becoming irrelevant if we don't adapt to things that attract kids today... We recognize the evolving science of leadership. We've had CEOs on our board say they want to send their people to Wood Badge, our adult leader training program, because we use state-of-the-art techniques (Chief Scout Executive Mazzuca) http://inquiry.net/leadership/sitting_side_by_side_with_adults.htm Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http//: kudu.net

AZOwl writes: Our schools will not let us come in and do presentations/classroom talks etc, I was told that for years, but one of our bad boy Scout hooligans got us into the 6th grade auditorium through his personal relationship with the high school detention vice principal I find that 70% of sixth-graders want to be Boy Scouts if you present Scouting as a Dangerous Adventure. About 28% of their parents will allow them to register. The presentation works on the peer pressure of a dare: http://inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm I've always thought that it might work in a church school audience or a sports team if the group was big enough. Daring boys with danger is not so effective with smaller numbers because there is less peer pressure. Oh, and the presentation once back-fired on me with an audience of Webelos Scouts at a Blue & Gold. Years of Den Meetings had filtered out all the rough-and-tumble boys, so I ended up scaring the ones that remained. I quickly back-peddled and talked to each, one-on-one, until I got all but one of the eight Webelos to cross over into my Troop. However (according to the dads), only two of the moms allowed them to go to summer camp ("They aren't old enough to be away from home"), so the following autumn only those two Scouts of the eight remained. My experience is very limited, but about 0% of Cub Scout crossovers from this Pack (which always delayed Arrow of Light until May), returned in the fall if they didn't attend summer camp the first year. I prefer to recruit boys who put their foot down and drop out of Cub Scouts. AZOwl writes: so we are limited to flyers in the school office, which is not real effective. I agree. When I call the parents of highly-motivated boys (who desperately want to join) after one of my presentations, very seldom has the parent seen the information sheet I hand out with all the information. Information fliers did not work during the Great Depression either. The Handbook for Scoutmasters recommended spending scarce money on postage to mail information home rather than giving it to Boy Scouts at Troop meetings. So even the Boy Scouts who became known as "The Greatest Generation" could not be trusted with fliers Candy Works: Try bribery with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as the coin of the realm. Everyone in the Patrol gets candy (and eats it in front of the other Patrols) if one of them brings a friend to a meeting or a campout. Campouts are better recruiting tools than indoor meetings. Patrol Leader Patches: I use my connections in the Council offices to buy both old and new recruiting patches whenever the BSA comes out with new ones. If a Scout recruits one Scout he gets the small recruiting strip. Two Scouts = a round recruiting patch. Three Scouts = a centennial patch. Four Scouts = Patrol Leader Patch. The twelve-year-old son of a District Commissioner (who had dropped out of Webelos, refusing to finish only two remaining requirements for AOL) brought in more than a dozen friends, of whom about half registered. His Patrol grew to 12. Retention in the Boy Scout program is an indication of the quality of your Troop's adventure. Adventure for the younger Scouts can be as simple as spacing your Patrols Baden-Powell's 300 feet apart. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

Eagle without ever having to walk into the woods with a pack on your back? Really?

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv credits LNT with chasing kids out of the woods, where they build tree forts and such. Likewise I often hear LNT arguments ("300 feet? Bush whacking? We must travel and camp only on hard surfaces!"), as excuses for dumbing the Boy Scout program down to the Cub Scout level. Bah, humbug! Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net

Oak Tree writes: I'm [not] looking for a long argument with Kudu over the entire directional philosophy of the program. SeattlePioneer replies: those who would try to turn Scouting's Congressional charter into a kind of Holy Writ to stifle change and innovation. Well, that went well. Here are examples of two such uniforms: One from a "Retro-Innovation" Boy Scout program based on the "Lemon Squeezer" (Campaign Hat) period of Scouting, and the other from a beret-era program: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/traditional/index.htm Some charts that explain how a retro-uniform works: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/traditional/placement.htm And detailed "how-to" instructions for making your own authentic Scout shirt to Baden-Powell's specifications: http://inquiry.net/uniforms/traditional/shirt01.htm One innovation I like a lot is Scuba Diving Merit Badge: http://inquiry.net/scuba_diving_merit_badge/index.htm As an ongoing Troop program it offers monthly adventure in the south were it is simply too hot and humid to camp. On the down-side it shares in common with two other wildly popular "innovations" (sixth-grade recruiting based on dangerous adventure, and spacing Patrols 300 feet apart), a near-universal rejection by adults. Yours at 300 feet, Kudu http://kudu.net