Oldscout448

Sad but true. there was a scout who I thought would be a wonderful asset to the Order, best camper and leader in the troop. He got elected, went thru his ordeal, and refused to have anything else to do with OA. When asked why his reply saddened me greatly. " I was the only one who worked all day, the only one who kept my mouth shut. Everyone else was joking and goofing off. Even the members didn't care. If a big joke is all the OA is, I have better things to do with my time."

@sst3rd The fire is indeed burning less brightly than it was, and National may be filling a big bucket of water but I plan on keeping watch as long as there is an ember glowing. I think I owe this to the memory of the four advisors who showed me the meaning of the three Obligations. Three of them are gone now, the fourth is living with the Comanche in Oklahoma. Sometimes I feel like I am the last of the Mohicans, old and worn out, But the some of scouts truly love the ceremonies and that keeps me going. Oldscout448 consultant to Standing Bear Ceremonies LLC

There is no rule forbidding it but it can and has been abused from time to time. I clearly recall the case of a CC, who was hell bent on her darling son "earning" Eagle by age 14, signing him off on lashing when he couldnt even tie a clove hitch, as well as quite a number of other reqs. The other scouts in his patrol were livid, and he to his credit was very embarrassed. As a young ASM {20} I had no realistic way of stopping this, so the scout and I would sit down on campouts and we would go over the signed off material until we both felt he had earned it. I did sign off som

A scout is courteous

I would love to start a patrol or three of eager scouts, go hiking, fishing, canoeing, and other fun and challenging activities, as long as National and Council left us alone.

Headed out to buy some popcorn single malt. I promise not to wear my uni while I drink.

I may no have been common, but we did it when I was a scout, 69 thru '77

I love talking with our soon to be Eagles at their troop boards. I try very hard to spend at least 75% of my time listening. I view these reviews not so much as a practice run for the scout but as feedback as how we did as scouters. My stock questions are " If a new scout were to ask you what does it mean to be an Eagle Scout how would you answer?" and " If you were SM of this troop, what would you change?" I have only ever heard of one scout boy ever being failed at a troop level board. He was a transfer from another troop, and had altered some of his older brothers blue cards

Then we are going to need totally new ceremonies. My current worry is Will there even be an Order in 10 years?

jingle dress?

"The work is done by them as shows up to do it." If CodyMiller is doing the job of SM, then he deserves all the respect due that office.

19, eh? Props and a Scout salute to you! I was once an ASM for a brand new troop at that age. SM was a good guy but knew nothing about scouting. So I pretty much ran the whole show while he did the paperwork. As others have pointed out, being young gives you a closer bond with the scouts than is possible with us old folks. They will look up to you and copy you. ( scared yet?) The down side is that some of the older adults have a hard time seeing you as an adult. I said things as a 20 year old to some 40 year old parents and was completely blown off. I say the exact same thing now and

Hereabouts such a " mandate" would be used to light the next campfire.

Mike, you and I share much the same history, and I respect your opinions quite a bit. Although my years on a ceremonies team were '74-'80. I Absolutely agree that no chapter or lodge should flout National, but as an individual who is not representing the Order in any way, no sash, no patch, no mention of the Order at all, please explain to me how National gets to tell me what I can wear.

Not to derail the thread, but this kinda sounds like why we no longer have any district camporees anymore. Council started taking 10-15% off the top for "expenses"

Quite a lot of the scouts have bought their own materials, made their own regalia without any help whatsoever from the Lodge, If they decide to serve the cubs by driving their car to an AoL and doing a ceremony that the pack has requested,without any reference to the Order, I do not see how a Lodge ,or even National ,has any right legal or moral to tell them no. Oldscout

So we just drop the sashes and just carry on as before? The ceremonies teams around here seem to think that's their best option right now.

In my familys case having spent decades in both BSA and GSUSA, this feels like watching your parents fight it out in divorce court.

Amen!! This cannot be said to often

Fine with me.

Hoo Boy ! That's going back a ways. I would need to dig out my old handbook collection to be sure, but I think it was in "72 with the whole nightmare " improved scouting" thing. I know when I "crossed the bridge" in '69 it was a week before my 11th birthday and everyone in my Webelos den left one at a time when they turned 11. It made for a steady (ish) flow of new Tenderfeet in the troop, rather than a huge influx once a year. As others have pointed out ,it made troop guides and NSP unneeded . Almost all of the scout skills I learned were taught one on one by the older scouts

30 minutes of your time? Plus mileage? I would hand them a bill for services rendered. If they can afford concert tickets...

A quick question if I may. I admit it's been about 20 years since I worked with Webelos, but I didn't promote any troop over another. We visited 3 or 4 local troops and it was up to the cubs and their parents to pick out the troop that best fit their needs. Have things changed ?

it's a new one on me as well. I like the idea of having the tools in one place, but I'm not going to lay any of my axes, hatchets, knives, or saws on the ground. d

Now that seems totally fair.