shortridge

Ah, a topic near and dear to my heart! I practically grew up in local libraries, and read every Scouting-related book they had, more than once. Patrick McManus' "Kid Camping from Aaaaaaa to Zip" was (and is) a personal favorite. I also once snatched up a bunch of '60s and '70s-era MB pamphlets that were being discarded - cool stuff. My mother is a youth librarian (children/teens) and she reports that by far the most popular items are graphic novels, in both traditional and anime style. They fly off the shelves, and are regularly stolen. So if anyone knows of a Scouting-related topic that'

Good advice and snapshots from everyone else. Some additional observations: - As an adult leader/parent, you'll generally be expected to help out and supervise the young'uns, so you will stay busy. There may be a staffer assigned to your group as a "program specialist" to lead you around camp, fill waiting times, sing songs, play games, etc. That can give you some breathing space. - Get into the theme of the camp - pirates, knights, Wild West, space, etc. Brainstorm with your Cubs what they can do or bring that'll help them have fun with the theme - eyepatches, mini catapults, "ray g

If you're only taking one step away from the tent, it would be important to know which way the winds are blowing.

The threshold is not physical evidence. However, the wording of the requirement does leave a lot up to the discretion of the PL, TG or adult leaders - what does "identify" mean, for example? Another option would be tracks - photos or plaster casts.

I've tried to build up a lint stockpile over the last year, but my wife keeps discovering my caches and throwing them out.

Is there a special technique for holding the match in your mouth while avoiding contact with your tongue? And are we talking wooden or paper matches?

I really like a couple of your ideas. "I'd love to see all of our camps take a long hard look at making what they offer year round kid friendly, unit friendly places for groups to go." I'd love this, too. Wouldn't it be great to have the pack meeting outdoors a couple times a year, at a camp? Or den meetings at a camp? It wouldn't work for everyone, but those units in the immediate vicinity ought to be encouraged to do so. From there, it would probably snowball so more units would have their meetings outdoors as a matter of course... the way it used to be. :-) "I do think it's t

Eamonn, I think you're thinking about one of the resident camp standards, M-64: "All high activities (6 feet or more above ground) must have a reliable protection system and back up system to protect participants." A thread on that topic is here... http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=207474&p=1(This message has been edited by shortridge)

I've not built one myself, but there are detailed instructions here... http://ropesandpoles.blogspot.com/2006/05/erecting-hourglass-tower.html and here... http://www.geocities.com/allan_frbs/pioneering.html Seems like it's easiest to lash the towers together on their sides on the ground, and then tilt and raise the whole contraption up using long ropes.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Were these youth leaders or adult leaders?

Not to go off-topic, but in my council, Cub camp attendance has been through the roof historically. I hear there was a bit of a dropoff last year, but it's still high. At one reservation, the council runs four weeks of Boy Scout camp and then three of Cub/Webelos camp; it used to be four of Cubs and three of Boy Scouts because of the high demand for Cub resident camp. As someone who's staffed a Cub resident camp, I can make the observation that staffers generally rely fairly heavily on parents and adult leaders to help with the program. You know the kids far better than we do - their temp

Wow, you really do learn something new here every day. I majored in history and studied presidential politics, and the whole Cleveland thing never even crossed my mind. Thanks!

Also consider that band, theatre and high school athletics have a captive audience to draw from. Students are surrounded by the trappings of their activities every day they go to school. The awards fill the display cases in the lobby. The coaches and band/theatre teachers are often popular, many times the beneficiaries of a hometown cult of personality. It's an educationally-sanctioned in-crowd. The bigger picture, at least where I'm from, is that a ton of kids think that they have a future as professional athletes - a dream encouraged wholeheartedly by their parents and coaches. When the

Sorry... I meant at what areas at camp do you work - aquatics, outdoors skills, shooting sports, etc.

IM_Kathy, I had the same reaction when I was elected into the Order. It was extremely intriguing, but I wanted to know exactly what I was getting myself into. I got my mitts on an old Bronc Burnett novel that features an older inductions ceremony, and annoyed the heck out of my Scoutmaster until he sat me down and told me basically what others have said here. I would like to amplify something that emb021 stated, about leadership. That wasn't one of the things that attracted me to the OA, but it was certainly what kept me involved. The youth REALLY run the OA program, and the adults,

Beaver - I also thought those words reflected the spirit of citizenship well. Trevorum - EDITED: Sorry, I misread your question. Yeah, Biden would have been Acting President, at least until noon.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Out of curiosity... It seems like more than a few of the troublesome situations being described here involve step-parents who are not the legal guardians of the Scout. Yet schools seem to not have any problem with accepting step-parent signatures, pick-ups, emergency contact info, etc. If schools don't, why does the BSA? I'm also wondering why step-parents wouldn't become the legal guardians of a child that they're helping to raise. Can someone in the know comment as to the difficulty in doing that? Are just there a ton of obstacles to overcome, and that's why the step-parents don't

"An avowed homosexual is someone who publically promotes their sexuality as a part of who they are." So how comes we never hear about a heterosexual person wearing a wedding ring or mentioning their better half in conversation being described as an "avowed heterosexual"?

Welcome! Is that the Venturing Gold Award or the Girl Scouts' Gold Award? (Someone needs to pick a different name, I tell ya... ;-) ) Out of curiosity, what's your crew's specialty, and what camp program areas do you staff?

Reviving an old thread... another alternative is for lodges and chapters to create some sort of totem to be worn with the uniform that signifies the position. My old lodge had a very ornate - but simple - beaded leather necklace that was passed down from lodge chief to lodge chief. No one else wore similar totems. There's also the option of a nametag, which most lodge officers in my term wore.

They were the ones that decided to be there. Therefore, they are choosing to be one of the guys. Nope - they're choosing to be one of the Scouts. That includes Venturers.

Check out Mohican State Park, near Mansfield. Has some beautiful territory there, and it's not too far away. Have fun, and good luck!

Eamonn, As I posted in the thread this was spun off of, my understanding of Wood Badge coming up in Scouting in the late '80s and '90s was that it was THE capstone program for adult leaders - everything you needed to know, and more besides. That may have been an incorrect impression, but the descriptions of WB by those who went through it certainly didn't disabuse me of that notion. I believe that WB instructors should know the core skills of the programs they're working with. For Cubs, that's a familiarity with the achievements for Tigers through Webelos - from putting on a simple s

I agree that there is a wide variety of skills and gifts by folks who support Scouting. I wouldn't necessarily expect a district committee chairman to be able to teach the Totin' Chip. Nor would I expect an ASM to be able to deliver a flawless FOS presentation, or a Bear den leader to process advancement paperwork in the most efficient way. A lot of people work behind the scenes to promote and support Scouting, and their skills and interests in large part define their roles. However, in the thread that Eamonn drew his quote from, the discussion was centered on Wood Badge instructors not k

Oh, good grief... pleeeease, stop the agony.... (This message has been edited by shortridge)