Oldscout448

I'm afraid I can't help much. I wanted to get this back in the day and was very active in my parish. But the good Father would only sign off on the application if you were an alter boy for two full years. In addition to all the other requirements. What with Boyscouts, explorers, OA, and a rifle team, I just couldn't devote a Sunday every three weeks for two years.

ANOTHER rebranding?

WWW means work, work, work! Lol When I joined the ceremonies team I was told " If you think you worked hard a a candidate, you ain't seen nothin yet" I thought it had to be an exaggeration. I soon found out otherwise, but the OA was the highlight of my scouting life. Even more inspiring than watching the sunrise while standing on the Tooth of Time. I too still keep the Vigil. We seen to have gone far afield from the OP here. Sorry W.M. passions run a bit high for a lot of us.

Not quite yet it aint. At least not everywhere. I aim to keep feeding it as long as I can find sticks.

Is it more work? Yes. Is it worth it? IMHO Absolutely. In my neck o the woods the white sash with a red Arrow is considered to be quite an honor. It means that the one who wears it is looked up to by the scouts in his troop, as an example of what a scout should be. Three of my son's were elected to the order, and went to their ordeal. Two of them loved it, made many new friends, went to lots of chapter and lodge events, some just for fun, some for training, and took a great deal of new found enthusiasm back to their troop. Their brother didn't really like the Order, and droppe

I think the critical question is why the older scouts don't care. If they have grown past the " gotta have more bling" stage and care more about having fun and teaching the younger scouts then yes that's a good thing. Bur we had a district camporee that the same troops patrols" won" year after year. Even when it was very clear that they didn't. Somehow the numbers always got tweaked just enough for them to win. After a while the older scouts just stopped competing. Sometimes they are smarter than we think.

and co-ed troops seem to be the norm around here. Just not on paper.

Ummm, as a general rule, males are stronger than females. It's a well established fact.

So help me out here, did we not change to the red berets and multi colored rank patches in '72? Second class was green, first class red, star was blue. I forget the rest.

There are a few of us here who were scouts in the 60s or even 50s. I joined up in '69 but the big uniform change was in '72 or '73. Something about Oscar de la somethingorother. I don't think I have a Guide to Insignia anymore, but I do have the handbooks. Yes, Knots were worn by adults they were a different colored background than todays versions. The eagle as I recall was a toss up. A lot of adults still wore their Eagle badge, I saw a few from the 40's that were square rather than oval, it was not correct by the strict rules but I never heard of any of the Patch Police

The scouts hereabouts read the new ceremonies skits, and proclaimed there was no way they were about to do them. If a pack want to write its own ceremony, fine they will do that. If the pack requests the ceremony that the OA used to do, these young men will oblige. Without sashes, uniforms, or any mention of the Order. They ask for no money, no fame, they do it on their own time, driving their own cars, using their own stuff, just so the cubs will have the ceremony they have waited and worked for since they were Bobcats. I have no authority to forbid them to do so, i'm not their pa

I would be very concerned if I had scouts/parents who were not trying to get around rules that under the guise of safety forbid the function of the unit that is very core of Boy Scouting. My boys are not "sneaking". They have honourably and politely stated that they have no intention of following rules they consider to be both ludicrous and antithetical to Scouting, and that if the adults decide to " kick them off the team" they will at least go out with their heads held high.

Would it not be much more appropriate for a crossover to be conducted by the troop into which the cub is entering? Preferably his den chief, rather than some scout wearing a white sash that the cub has never seen before and in all probability will never see again.

I still fail to see why the sash is to be worn. What does the OA have to do with either of the new " ceremonies"?

Exactly what I've been hearing, "We want to go have fun with our friends, hiking/camping/fishing, we have our own cars, gear, and $. Why do you imagine we need you and your silly rules?

a bit confused here... All we ask the SM for is to point out the SPL, TOAR, make sure 50 percent of the scouts are present, and sign his name. The OA election team then explains the Order, and the election process, and with the TOAR, conducts the election, counts the ballots, and submits the paperwork.

Another point submitted for your consideration, how do most of the first year scouts do on the Ordeal? Do they have the skills to stay warm and dry on the first test? Do they have the education to understand what symbolism is and how it is used? If not, they are simply unable to understand the ceremonies. Do they even have the vocabulary? (and if you can't understand the ceremonies you don't even know why you are there) Have they developed the mental discipline to maintain silence over a prolonged period? Most of all, do they have the maturity to understand t

Do we need to start telling National to stop making it more and more difficult to deliver a program that even resembles Scoutimg?

Today was the first time that Standing Bear Productions LLC, did an Arrow of Light ceremony. The cubs, siblings, and parents loved it and the CM asked us back for next years crop. They had an little speech planned which introduced us as OA, but we asked them to omit that part.

Not tying to play the devils advocate here, I'm just not sure what the current rules would say given the following situation. Which although hypothetical could very easily happen in our troop. A Cub Scout we'll call him Jimmy who is 10 years old , bridges over in March and wants to join his 12 year old brothers Patrol. It is a mixed-age patrol, the oldest being the patrol leader, a life Scout who just turned 14. The patrol uses 4 man tents, on the May campout only 4 scouts from the patrol can come. Two 13 year olds, the PL, and Jimmy. Do the current rules stipulate that Jimmy

From the back page of the Brotherhood Ceremony 1949. Song of the Scouts. by Edwin Markham We are the boys of the helping hand.Banded together for the good of all; We cheer the steps of the ones that stand,And we lift the ones that fall. Our feet are willing, our hearts are light,And we take the road with a cherry song; For we are the friends of every right,And the foes of every wrong . Soldiers are we of the nobler warsThat great souls fight for the common good; We follow the call of the morning stars,In a knightly brotherhood.

The old maxim seems to apply here When everyone is special, no one is.

1 in 10 was the old ratio, if memory serves. How about requiring the camping MB? I'm not sure how many scouts could camp 30 to 45 nights in two years.

@shortridge you ask a very good question, I've been mulling it over for a few hours and I'm still not sure I have a clear answer. Having done dozens of Elections I recognized the words at once and have no argument with any of them. But here are my thoughts as of right now . In our lodge we play a rather dull video from National so that all the words are always exactly correct rather that read from a script or recite it from memory. It's a lot easier. BUT, you can see the eyes of many of the scouts glaze over about one minute in. Especially the younger ones. They're just si

Come to the Dark Side, we have red lightsabers and black capes