Oldscout448

Just wanted to thank all you guys who took the time to respond. I read and in some cases reread every one of your posts. for the record; yep I'm an ASM, the scouts ( not a patrol) were given the task by the SM. the other scouter at the fire was some district level bigwig, ( I forgot to say we were at a camporee) I am thinking of offering a class or two in advanced wood cutting skills to the older scouts/scouters. You know felling, limbing, bucking, splitting etc Hey, how about log cabin building?

This has been hashed over and over I know, but I'm still struggling with the last campout campfire. I know that's criptic so allow me to give a thumbnail sketch. About 5 scouts were given the task of building the Saturday night campfire, none of them had a saw or an ax so I lent them mine. My axes are just short of razor sharp,so I followed the scouts to the campfire circle. Firstly to see that no scout got hurt, secondly to see that my ax wasn't going to hit a nice hard rock. It was quickly clear that none of the scouts had ever built a large fire before. I sat on my log and t

What a flood of memories that question brings! Sunrise on the Tooth, ordeal night, the blacksnake in my sleeping bag, 2001 Jambo, my first meeting as the SPL, on and on. I guess the one that really sticks out ( not counting the Campfire Girl camp where I met my wife to be ) was the first 50 miler. In our troop this event was held every spring, and was be invitation only. I the guys who made it last year asked you, you could go if you wanted, and were first class or higher. This year there were only three scouts from last years hike who were going. two were PLs and the the other w

Well I'm back, all in all it went pretty well, considering the ceremonies team had only managed to get in two practice sessions beforehand and only 3 out of 4 showed up for those. A far cry from " back in the day" when we met every Tuesday from January to June. There was the newbie who did Friday night Meteu, I just sort of expected him to stand there and just recite his lines. He moved , he gestured, he made eye contact, the " You who love ... " was delivered in almost a whisper, the "thunder in the mountains" line echoed off the trees fifty yards away! I was sitting at the big dru

Well, we have the bells, feathers, deerskins, drum, 15 blazes, etc,etc, all loaded up. Now off to the deep, dark woods. without wi-fi or cells. Gonna get down to about freezing temps tonight. Guess I need to stay near the "fire" See you on Sunday Oldscout

Thanks Tahawk, You made me smile, After my Ordeal I joined the team, I wanted to be the " Mighty Chief " when I asked if I could have the part the older guys just smiled a little and said " Sure thing kid, all ya gotta do is do it better than Roger does." Roger was about 6'-3" , 220 lbs. and had a booming voice. The kind that rattled windows. He just loved being Allowat. He had also practiced for years. He was good, he was very very good. I accepted a smaller part in the Friday night ceremony, without another word. I also watched Roger every Tuesday night. How he mo

Interesting to see this topic back again, scoutson #4 is on the ceremonies team for our little chapter ( has about a dozen active members) and we have managed to get the brotherhood ceremony moved to 7:30pm. None of the under 21 members have ever seen an after dark ceremony. I hope its the start of a trend. For what it is worth, my Ordeal ceremony started about 8:30 on October 4, 1974. and I can state for a fact that I was cold, tired, and hungry. but it was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. the team ( there hadto be about 20 of them) practiced year round just for these

Welcome back mgood, You are not alone many of us stopped scouting for a year or two or 10 or 20. Then came back when we could. Be warned! the hills are steeper. the sleeping pads thinner, and the creaking joints tend to give us away when stalking animals. But the smiles on scouts faces when they reach the top of a mountain ( of any sort ) are still there, so are the sunsets, and the good friends made around the campfire. Oldscout

Jason, glad to see I'm not alone. When I go for a walk in the woods/fields I want to be able to identify every bird, tree, track, bug etc ....as well as understanding their uses and/or habits. Will I ever get there? Nope. I don't have the 20-30 years of free time it would take (and that's just in my neck of the woods) Will I stop trying? No again I just love it when a tenderfoot shows me a "cool track" he found in the mud. Then we can figure out what made it together.

Petey, I too grew up in that area and spent a fair amount of time at the mall where the Lyons sisters were last seen. I know its been in the news again because they think they may ( at long last) have a good idea where they were taken. But things have changed indeed they have. In 75 I was 16 walked and biked for miles around, to go hiking fishing etc Sometimes with my scouting buddies but most often alone I now live a little north of there but still in Maryland ( sorry SSS I'm not from Ballmor) Last summer my 16 year old son decided to walk to his friends house about 5 miles away. He

Ah, some good stuff there. thanks much Eagle 94

Back in the '70s-'80s when I did such things we made all our own stuff. We mostly used blackfoot style for two reasons; first Hollywood had sadly pre-programmed people to think beads and feathered war bonnets whenever they heard the word " Indian" and if the cubs didn't see such stuff they came away disappointed, secondly it was fancy and being teenaged boys we liked it. We spent many an hour wrapping feathers, sewing leather, learning beadwork, studying old photos. As I remember it took over 100 hours to make our first war bonnet. I also made some very good friends, and learned to respect m

So their is a scout in my troop who has one last merit badge to earn in the next few days before he turns 18. It is Citizenship in the Community and he is having trouble with req. 4b, interview a member of your local government about an issue of concern in you area. It seems no one at town hall has time for some kid. That seems to be how they see him. Any of you old pros have some advice for a frustrated scout?

I agree "boy hood is short" But I must point out that the rank of Eagle should not be the only measure of a Scouts success in the program. Many a Scout (96%?) doesn't make Eagle, but they still learn some skills, some leadership, some friendship, etc. and in later years count it as one of the highlights of their youth. I have known a lot of scouts who would rather not spend a weekend in the woods, but they endure it just to be with their friends, who love it. But as others have rightly pointed out, scouting is largely about the outdoors. Thats where we go to let the scouts learn to do

About 8-10 scouts from our chapter were were all gung-ho to go ( a reverse sash?! cool! ) then they saw the price tag... $800 plus. You could just see their minds racing " that's months of no gas for the car, no dinners, or movies with girlfriend (real or just hoped for), no summer camp, no... awww the heck with it." I understand that to some of us 800 isn't much, but I fear very few boys or dads for that matter, from my neck of the woods will be going. I know that renting a place that big costs a bundle (or two) Perhaps we could do something locally for the 100th.

Well, there was an " Order of the White Swastika" back in the '20s ans '30s in New York. From what I little I have read it seemed somewhat like the OA. The name was changed after Hitler came to power and the public view of the swastika changed.

Fun thread! As a certified member of the "old goat" patrol, I do indeed remember the old hot rock trick,as well as a number of others. It is worth noting that digging a hole is needed only when the rocks are so hot they are a fire/ melting hazard. Just heat a number of football sized rocks (start early- rotate often) until you can just hold them, wrap 'em up in a towel, and place them about the tent. They stay warm for hours. In the old days winter camping often meant using the big heavy Baker tents. With the front flap up and a small fire ( with reflector) going in front we were toasty wa

Unless o' course ye ha' a kilt! (Not that I advise telling a Scotsman that )

S'all good, Stosh

Stosh, I was trying to respond to the question of rank required ( or not ) for a POR not a question of numbers of den chiefs, Instructors, etc. For the record, "my" troop has 3 den chiefs, and two instructors, but we are not big enough to need two ASPLs yet. My hypothetical bugler contest was only to show that I want some one who can and will do the work required for the job. I would has no objection to a pair of buglers ( I love echo taps ) but right now we only have one scout who owns a bugle. It would make it somewhat difficult for the second bugler to practice. And as a one

Advancement is to be signed off by a "troop leader" the handbook does not specify a position or rank, but if the troop is to be scout led it follows that most of the TF to 1st class should by tested and signed off by the PL. He is the one who is spending the most time with Tommy Tenderfoot right? So it follows that when possible a PL should know the skills and know them well, ergo he should be first class. There are of course cases where that is not going to happen (a new troop, or a patrol where the only first class scout or higher is a bully or just plain lazy and everyone in the pa

Welcome the the " campfire" youngster, pull up a log and set yore self down, good to hear a fresh voice. Oldscout Provided naturally that you are not a troll

If the video indeed shows that the CPB did everything right, then why are they refusing to show it? Fox may well be off on some things, ask any three witnesses what happened and you will got three slightly different stories, but a drawn gun is a very memorable thing. Its not some small detail. I had an idiot point a 303 enfield in my face once and I assure you he got my entire and complete attention. Have any of the other witnesses given any public statements yet? Oldscout

I talked with my nephew (a lodge chief in New York)a few days ago he said they were shown a preview of the new Ceremony a few months ago at a conclave. The response was 10% thumbs up,10% don't know, and 80% thumbs down. That does not fill me with optimism

Thanks guys, I guess I sorta knew that but was in a mild state of shock, there was no warning.... everything seemed fine.... I don't know what caused it and right now I'm not about to ask I think everyone of the scouts not out of town on vacation showed up in class A. for the viewing, funeral, and graveside service' Now for the car washing etc Frank I like the black strip idea how do you add it on?