SctDad

I have to agree. The LNT is to try to leave the place better than you found it. Even putting down a tent leaves a matted area. But we do our best to make it look like we weren't there. All we can do is try. I think that the gateways are a good idea. It seems to teach some of the basics that we seem to be getting away from. How many people here remember building a tower, or a dinner table when we were younger. Or even better, have you actually tried to build a raft. Those were the days, when creativity and teamwork were key. Lets try to bring it back and not focus so much on rank. Yes eagle is important, but lets EARN IT and learn the basics of scouting. YIS DOC

I have not been camping in a long time and I just have a quick question. How long should I boil my perculator for normal strength coffee. Just some general guidelines.

OK I will agree, the scouts were not made for the military. I was misunderstood. What I am trying to say is, is that the scouts were formed after it was seen that the soldiers had a lack of basic skills and thought the best way to teach it would be at a young age and make it fun. I think that is a little more correct. If not could someone help me get the details right.

OK here is an interesting subject. Everyone is downing the military for their choice of clothing and saying that any scout unit that wants to use something like that is wrong and should become their own little Soldiers of Fortune. Have we forgotten that the Boy Scouts were designed to help soldiers in the military have a better understanding of survival. That was many years ago. On the other hand. Yes the wool button up sweater has been replaced by the polypro clothes. I prefer the wool. Warmer in my mind and safer as someone pointed out. If Scout units want to get the wool sweaters and wear them than that is their choice. Remember, these wool sweaters are prefect for wearing under the uniform shirt. The sleeves stick out "SO WHAT" I understand that there are some who go way overboard, but if I want to wear a BDU or DCU (Green or Tan cammo) Gortex Jacket as a rain coat/warm coat because the ARMY gave it to me, then I am gonna wear it. How is that different from someone wearing a STARTER jacket with a sports team on it? Everybody needs to get off the fact we tend to use military equipment and clothing. It is usually durable and cheap in a surplus store. I am getting ready to go to a GOVT surplus ware house to sign up to buy some of the stuff they have there. It is cheap and reasonable quality. Lets start looking at the issues that we as scouters post and less about how much LEGAL stuff we can find about each thing. "SORRY, about the rant" Stepping down off of soap box that I must have got on.

I think that you may be on the right track for the belt loop. I think they mean how do people use art to show things. Computer graphics, hand drawn, things like that. Just a word to the wise. If the Cubs are not Webelos, you might want to wait. If I remember correctly, the Art Belt loop is something that they need to earn as a Webelos Scout. I aksed my DE and they said that it is best earned then

Gunny You are like me, you see a lot of the rules here and wonder who comes up with them. I personally thinik that if you have the availability of a pond, set up your targets with the boys aiming that way. That is the way I saw it donw at camp this year. Hope all works out for you

Cave Eagle I like the idea of the patches for certain segments/milestones. I just wish we had the budget, we are still working on fund raisers. I was thinking about getting the boys the Family Camping badge for our campout next month. It will be the First overnigther. I am still looking into it.

I have a question about the Boy Scout Belt loops. Does anyone remember thes, what were they exactly, and what were some of the requirements. I have a bunch of them and I am kind of looking for some information.

The cloths pin rank display that you are refereing to is seen in the How-To book. If it is not in there then I also saw one like it in the Cub Scout Leaders Book. It gives a good description in picture on how to make it. There are also some of the other design possibilities in there. We have been thinking about making one for our pack ourselves.

Here in NC, we have a OA sponsored Webelos weekend. They provide the activities, the scouts must provide the camping supplies and food. The cost is just $5. and if the Webelos want, they can have the OA will be doing a crossing over ceremony there for free and cross the webelos into their new troop. Maybe talk to the OA in your area.

For the graduation ceremony, the changing of neckerchief is a good idea. If you are looking to make it a crossover type ceremony then try making a small bridge, (one the you can use for years to come.) (plans are in the How-To Book) Start with the tigers on one side of the bridge with thier den leader, have the wolf den leader on the other. TDL Calls out to get the WDL (Wolf Den Leader) WDL How may I help you this evening Tiger Leader TDL I have X number of scouts that would like to cross into the Wolf Den. THis evening WDL Have they met the requirements for thier Tiger badge and Do they meet their other requirements. TDL Yes They do WDL Do they wish to continue their journey as Cubs Scouts with the as Wolf Scouts TDL Yes they do WDL Remove the Tiger Neckerchief and Slide and have the Tiger Cross over to us with his parent/guardian (Remove neckerchief, and have tiger cub and adult partner cross the bridge) WDL (Cub Scouts Name), Welcome to the wolf Den of Pack 162. This year we will learn a whole new group of skills. THere is much for you to do and I look foward to helping you along the way. (Assist the Scout with putting on the new Wolf Neckerchief and Slide.) (To the Parent) Do you accept the responsibility of helping (Name) along the road to wolf. Parent/Guardian: Yes I do WDL: Then Join us by standing by our Den Flag over here. (repeat as needed to get all TIger Cubs across the Bridge) Might look best as an outdoor ceremony with a campfire. Also having both Tiger and Wolf Den Flags is best. This can also be altered for the other ranks along with the Webelos crossing over to the Boy Scouts. One Suggestion, if you are on a budget, try it this way if the parents are willing to let the old neckerchiefs go. Start with the higher ranks, and then pass down the neckerchiefs to the next group. This will make it so that the Tigers are last, but they get the neckerchiefs from the wolves. I think you can catch my drift(This message has been edited by SctDad)

I know what you mean by 'what's the difference?' Well this is so that they can have one standard and that everyone meets one standard. YES. For those of us who are already certified in EMS, or have 10 years as a Combat Medic in the military, we should be able to challange. Let us take a test, if we fail then we just need to take the course, if we pass then we meet the standard and let us get our card. I can agree but I can also see where the BSA is coming from. That is my two cents worth

I know this is gonna sound a little dumb. But I need some help understanding what goes into a cracker barrel meal. I don't eer remember doing these things when I was in scouts and now that we are going as cubs (including tigers) I am looking for something easy on Sunday afternoon. OK hit me with the answers

Well here are some of the tings that we are planning on doing Meet at 0800 at our charter place. Be at the campsite by 0900 Unload and set up Eat Lunch, move to afternoon activities, 2 groups, (Hike and nature center tour) Flag Football Dinner Fishing Campfire if no Burn Ban Bed time no later than 9:00 for the Tigers and Wolf Sunday Breakfast Conservation Project, (Clean up around the lake, for letting us stay there free of charge) Break camp and leave after lunch

I can feel the pain of what is going on. I have a pack overnighter planned and I trying to figure out how to go about planning the meals. I have one boy who will not eat meat for the most part so that makes planning interesting. Anyone have any suggestions Side Note:We have 6 Tiger Cubs and 1 Wolf, and 2 Webelos That makes a large difference

I got this book this year for my birthday. I am thinking about taking some of the things in it and doing them at our Pack overnighter next month if I can find something that would work. It is a good book. I think it is great and hope they come out with a sequel

Mike I like your idea of the Chinese New Year and how you did your stuff. We also went through and got some donations from Wal-Mart and I was able get some door prizes for the boys. I was expecting 10, but I think I may have lost one. So I had one things left over. The Cubmaster was looking at the insulated coffee mug and made a comment that it was nice. So since no boy picked it, I gave it to him. I thought that would have been better than trying to save it for later. I would say that we had about 35 people there. We are a small pack and we are trying to rebuild our ranks. The potluck thing worked out pretty good. I think to make things a little easier, next year we might try something like the Golden Corral. Let them cook and clean. Not to mention there will be plenty for all to choose from. SOunds like yours was a great success too. I do not know how we would have fit everyone in if we had that many. I know that there would not have been enough seats. Anyway here is to another year, and hopefully things start picking up.(This message has been edited by SctDad)

Well we had our B&G ceremony Last night. Things were pretty good for the most part. We had one out of the three guests show up. It was the mayor. But he had to leave early because of another commitment. Oh well. The Sheriff could not make it because of a telephone emergency at the dispatch center. The other called me last week and let me know. Other than that everything went pretty well. The Pot Luck style dinner was good, there were a lot of good eats. The Cubs enjoyed themselves. The parents liked the show. The only real disadvantage is that we will be eating baked mac & cheese for about a week. I thnk things went well. Anyone else have any luck with their B&G

Somethings that someone mentioned when I was discusing our B&G. Try a place like GOlden Corral.. Buffet, Large Room, and THEY CLEAN UP I think that is what I am going to do next year

I just thought of one when someone mentioned "Glory" It is a long movie therefore it may not be good for the younger scouts. "Gettysburg" There are a lot of good Leadership points in there. Like when Lawrence Chamberlin of the 20th Maine Volunteers gave the speech to the prisoners that were accused of desertion. THere are also some other great points of leadership in there. I think that if your scouts have a good attention span (hey look that is pretty shiny) (just kidding) then this might be a good movie. Good Luck

You know, I never thought about going to a buffet eatery. I think that might be something for next year. Maybe when we have a little more funding or when the parents might be able to do something. we will have to see. I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the idea.

I just read something about "before and After tapping out" Is this something that is no longer done. I know when I was tapped out, it meant a lot. We all knealt in a circle facing in with our eyes closed. There was a ceremonial drum, and members of the OA lodge came in and tapped tose on the shoulder who were selected. I was one of them. The hardest part was when we were instructed not to tell anyone about the selection except our parents who were to bring us to the Ordeal. That was hard and it took a lot of discipline to keep it too myself. But it was a great honor to be tapped and I did not want to lose that. So do they still do the tapping outs?

He everyone thanks for the input. I have gone over some things and come up with a good plan of attack. Here is what our program looks like. (PotLuck Dinner) 7:00 Opening - Presentation of the colors. (We got some flags from our senator and we will be presenting them at the ceremony) Flag Ceremony (our one Wolf Cub will be saying the "I am Your Flag" story before begining the Pledge of Allegiance Benediction The empty seat - We are chartered by the American Legion so there is an Empty seat with a place setting for the soldiers that never returned Dinner - Pot Luck Friends of Scouting presentation Charter Presentation Tiger Cub Awards Tiger Cubs Skit Wolf Cub Awards Webelos Awards Webelos presentation (Flag Folding Demonstration) Closing How does that sound anyone got any comments.

I have a few things to say about this issue. As many of you may know from my previous posts, I am a military man. I have served in Iraq and been in for quiet a few years. I think that the over under issue is over-rated. Does it really matter which way the boys wear it. As long as they ALL wear it the same way then I think that should be sufficient. My Tiger Cubs wear their Uniform with the Neckerchief under the collar. The neckerchief is rolled and a slide is there to hold it in place. There was one thing that bothered me a little but I politely let the parent know. we are pack 162. She forgot the numbers and sewed it on as 129. Not to mention the numbers were spaced out. But we gave her the right numbers and let her know that the numbers were supposed to be together. No big deal. We will see how things are at the B&G next week. I think that there are other pressing issues that are at hand. Not all of my cubs can afford the pants. They are not cheap. So I ask that they wear dark jeans or slacks if they must. Try to look uniform. I think if we take the time to make a little effort, then we can still look great. They are young. Give them a break. Most of the families are young too and trying to make ends meet. At least they are getting uniform shirts. I cannot complain too much. Not too mention, we do not have the money as a pack to go out and buy the uniforms for the boys. I have discussed with some of the parents that after the cubs outgrow their uniforms if they would be interested in donating the old uniform to the pack for a uniform bank. I think we need to look at things of uniformity of the pack/troop/event, before we start griping about the regulations. These are my opinions. Not that of the BSA, my council, district or Pack.

The flag is provided on the uniform. You are right in many facts. The old uniforms did not have it on there. Why did we change it. Why did the Army go to wearing the flag with the Army Combat Uniform. There is always going to be change in this world. There is always gonna be people who complain. I am sorry, I believe in one thing, if there is a standard for the uniform, then there should be a standard across the board without alterations. Example, FLAG OR NO FLAG. THAT IS THAT. Of course the combat veteran (Yes I was a Medic Too) I would like to see the flag on the uniform. All of my Cubs look the same. As for the Pledge of Allegience. There are requirements for the ranks that require the Cub Scouts to understand the Pledge and take part in a Flag ceremony. I have my Wolf Cub giving the "I AM YOUR FLAG" presentation. WE need to make sure that OUR children understand these thing. The Schools cannot teach everything. That is my opinion. Not those of my Cubs or the BSA. Agree with me or disagree, that is your RIGHT