SSScout

Oh, the luxury of an active unit committee that has enough folks to be able to determine who may NOT vote. Treasurer: How's our finances? Popcorn raises enough money or not? Have we collected all the IOUs from the Philmont trip? Program: How are plans for the canoe expedition coming? Does the SPL need any help? The SM should always attend, even if he/she doesn't "vote". In a small Troop, where few people wear many hats, the SM may well be a "voting" member. In any event, the UC needs to hear from the SM as to how the Unit is doing. How'd that last hike go? Are the boys having a good time or only just "being there?" Maybe the old timers on the UC have some suggestions. The good UC will sense burnout before the SM is aware of it himself. The UC is the group that holds the "Operating Officers" of the Scout Unit responsible. And the consensus of this concerned group must be part of the corporate memory of the Unit. Blest is the Scout Unit with a Concerned Committee that puts the welfare of the Unit above petty ego things.

Depends on what kind of pin, and how perminent an attachement one desires. Safety pin type, usuually not a problem. Adjust the bend in the straight pin and the "lock" on the tip end. Clasp pin type, test periodically for tight attachement, clasp to pin. One can buy new clasps at your local hobby shop (sometimes!). If not available, you can try needle nose pliers and teeny bending adjustments of the clasp "handles". I have done this, until I discovered I could buy new ones! (now, where did I put that little plastic bag with the other 9 clasps in it?). And, lacking those possibilities, form a glob of "GOOP" on a piece of wax paper. Allow to dry thoroughly, peel it off the wax paper (plastic wrap is a perminent stick) and then you can push it onto the pin (it takes the place of the clasp). And then don't let the Cub Scout run around playing Steal the Bacon with his medals jangling and getting grabbed by his buddies.

And we still haven't started on the BACK of the shirt. Prime, vacant, undeveloped land, er, territory.

G2SS and SSD are what all Scout leaders (Cubs too!) should start with. Absolutely, go over with the boys, good, safe behavior at the pool. If you think about it, all the SSD things (subsandwiche?) are things that any pool operator, public or private, would want to consider. Your parents AND Cub leaders need to be mindful of them. Deep water needs to be respected by the beginners and you will find the pool staff lifeguards will not complain if your boys are the most respectful and careful ones in the pool. If you want to test your Pack for Swimmers and Beginners, ask the pool staff how you may cordon off a section for your swim test. If it isn't too busy , should be no problem. If you rented out the whole pool, ask folks to come 1/2 hour early to give the test. MiF, KiS&S!

"Hello? Oh, hello Mr. Eaglscouttransferparent. Good to hear from you. How's Johnny like Troopnew? Uhhuh. ummm-mmm. Well, you know, each Troop is different. No, we haven't thought about that. (((surrrre we haven't))). Well, since Johnny transferred out to that New Troop, Carl made Life and Sammy is the new SPL. Yeah, doing a good job too. No, haven't heard any talk about Johnny. Wait, I'm sorry, I think I do remember hearing that some of the boys had heard about Johnny's Eagle project. No, I don't know. They might, I don't know... Say again? Transfer back? After he completes his Eagle? Why would he want to do that? No. Ummmm, Nooo, I wouldn't think Johnny would WANT to come back here if we made him so uncomfortable. Listen, Mr. ESTP, I really don't think it's good for a Scout to bounce around between Troops without a really good reason. Boys need structure and stability, don't you think? Anyway, what's wrong with Troopnew? Uhhuh, uhuh... frankly, that sounds pretty usual to me. I don't think we'd do too much different. Have you spoken to their Scoutmaster? Yes? He said that, eh? Well,as an Eagle, Johnny would be expected to pull his weight in his Troop, don't you think? He could suggest more activities and... No, I believe that's up to the PLC. P-L-C. Well, the boys elect their Patrol Leaders and ... oh, no? He does? Uhhuh... No, I don't think it would, your'e right there, our Troop didn't act like that...still doesn't! eh,eh,eh... Well, listen: I am sorry your boy isn't happy at Troopnew, but he also wasn't happy with us. What makes you think things would be any different? Well, in my experience, making Eagle SOMETIMES indicates a maturation on the part of the boy, sometimes not. Yes, I'm sure you know Johnny better than anyone else. What does Johnny say about all this? Huhhuh...huhhuh... Okay, ummm...okay... (((sigh)))... Well, I still have to say it would not be a good idea for Johnny to switch Troops again. I think Johnny chose a good Troop and... yes, I said I think Johnny... oh, why would you say that? Don't you trust your son's judgement? You obviously supported the decision to switch before... No, it still would not be a good idea. I really believe that if Johnny switched to Troopnew with the intention of earning his Eagle with them, he owes some loyalty to them, don't you think?... They have served him well, don't you think? I think he might make a fine SPL for Troopnew, but then, I haven't seen him in 2 years. You'd have to ask the SM, or even better, I think Johnny should ask the SM. Yes. Yes, um-mm, ... Oh, your'e very welcome. Good talking with you. Good night."(click). Wow.... Martha? You out in the kitchen? I need some Earl Grey, here...Let me tell you about this guy...

I find agreement with everything above. The BL of my youth was a Scout magazine: how to do, make, go and stay. Since the "dumbing down" of the rank requirements (see other threads), the content of BL has lost it's purpose. Articles on finding the north star, morse code study and use, tracking, animal IDing, filled it's pages. It was a addendum to the "Handbook for Boys". It had advertising, but I remember most of it's content was articles about "them that are out doing it" and "how to do it", but that's how things were back then. We made our own tents, camped on a "budget". Here's something indicative: my son's Patrol buys it's food/supplies, THEN divies up the expense. In my Scout day, each Scout contributed, say, $3. (!) and we bought our meals from that. If we had money left over, great, if not, we didn't buy any more. The same attitude seems to permiate the BL of today. It says, "here's a product, already made, to take care of this problem/situation. Buy it". The BL of today resembles a comic book, not a useful how-to book. It is almost too slick. Where previously, only one "Scouts in Action" item would be in an issue, now more episodes are now included because (IMO) they are easy to produce, popular for their subject (action, heroism, reallife, the reading Scout can ID with the Scout in the episode, show how Scout training can really save lives) and no copyright issues. And it is a cartoon. Think Classic Comics. It makes it EASY to read it. The Bible stories are nice. But, as I have had to remind folks before, Christianity is not a requirement to join BSA. Sure, they are Old Testament mostly (haven't seen any New Testament stories for a long while), but where are stories from the Koran? Bhagavad Gita? Book of Mormon? Native American creation stories? Come to think of it, BL used to feature American Indian legend and mythology on a regular basis. When was the last time you saw an article about Kipling's Jungle Book? Jack London wrote for BL. So did Hemingway. Who writes for BL now? I like Gary Paulson ("Hatchet"), but even he is limited in his draw. Scoutson glances through his BL and is done in 10 minutes. It has no draw for him because, in his own words,"it's too young for me", and he said that when he was 13. He's now 16, and it really is "too young" for him. Yes, he receives the BS edition, not the CS edition. And why the perception of the need for seperate issues? Where is the challenge there? I read about the camping and hiking of Boy Scouts and my little Cub self couldn't wait to grow up. The BL of today is playing to the lowest common denominator, and not asking the Scout reader to step up and do more than they thought they could.

Beware the parent who poo poos the idea of any such problem. "one little taste..." We have some friends with which we went to a minor league baseball game. Their boy was 8, ours was 10. Both loved Baseball. We were sitting in the stands behind and beyond first base, about 7 or 8 rows up. Foul ball gets hit toward us, lands in the stands and rolls right up to our feet. Friend's son picks it up happily, and within 30 seconds, his throat starts to close up. The ball had rolled thru some peanut shells on the floor. The parents knew exactly what needed to be done, and he was fine within minutes. But without that knowledge, it might have been diffferent. He only needed a special inhaler. Take it seriously.

1) Things change because the new thing is "better": more logical, longer lasting, cheaper, more useful to those involved. 2) Things change because the people in charge must recreate their world in their own image. This happened EVERYTIME my department got a new manager. Something always changed. Something. Always. 3) Things change because the 'changer' needs to justify his/her existance to the bosses. 4) Things change because the rest of the world has moved on and unless the change is made, the stuff in question will become historic, rather than relevant. 5) Things change because no one resisted the change (for whatever rationale) and it happened. 6) Things change because time only is measured in one direction, at least in our experience. 7) Things change because meteors are non-returnable.

'Round these parts, the place for non-uniform usual pins is the left pocket left flap corner. I see Baloo pins, religious committee pins, Jamboree staff pins, all kindsa pins there. Sorta became the mutually nonvocally agreed upon place. Just happened.

Find someone who can do a Campfire Ashes talk. Done well,it links the prehistoric taming of fire and our use of it to heat our homes, light our night, scare away the big hungry sabertooths, fuel our travel and discovery, with the need to just sit around a basic fire, stare into the flames and tell stories. Fire is a powerful servant and a hard master. Our church camp has as it's motto: "A Fire At The Center" The talk is also about the connection we have with Scouts and campers long goneby. How BP took a bit of ash from his last campfire and mixed it with the next fire, and then took a bit of that fire's cool ash the next morning to add to the next fire (or didn't. This is an apocrophal story and some say it never happened. But "a Scout is Trustworthy" and I believe the Scouters that told me) The speaker tosses his bit of ash and cinders into the Campfire and the watchers are reminded of the "pedigree" these ashes have. Last years Camporee, the Woodbadge course, the National Jamboree, gone to the moon and back, so many countries, so many states and other camps. And then remind the Scouts that a box of plastic baggies will be there in the morning, if anyone would like a unique souvenir of this wonderful weekend, never to happen again. And Sunday afternoon, when mom asks "What's this bag of dirt doing on my kitchen counter?" ,you can tell her it's making history. All the way back to the stone age...

IMHO, budgeting is important, but not the most. As the QMChef, you have to concern yourself with: Food allergies, dietary concerns (religious restrictions, moral objections, etc.), taste and quality vs quantity, cleanup (LNT? paper plates? real cutlery? recycling vs throw it out?), healthy vs comfort food, caffein (don't forget the decaf and herb tea), skim milk and lofat, soymilk for allergies?. Communicate with your AQMs, make sure they are in the loop and are given the opportunity to help. Remind them of the commitments they make. And ALLOW yourself the luxury of asking for help! Be specific, and call on folks. Make a dry run (many!)out to the course site and get to know the facilities, what's available, what you might need to get. Play the "what if" game. If the previous users of the site do not leave the pots and pans that you were expecting, what then? How self contained can you be? Make sure your CD doesn't "assume" things. Help him/her, put it down in writing. And sing. Make sure you sing in your kitchen. But no food fights. Uh-huh. Not Scout like. YiS

As in all things, it's the people that make the program. Anyone out there know Henry Nygard? Actually he served in the Air Force, but he and his sons established a SShip in Montgomery County, SS759, which I did not join, staying in Dirt Scouting (!), but he was a good friend of our family. The first thing they did was build a raft on 55 gallon drums and float it in the local reservoir. Then they partnered with another SShip on the Ches bay and obtained (don't know how) an old PT boat. That didn't last long, I understand, and I then went off to college and lost track of all. Next time I caught up with Sea Scouts, I discover they have named the annual local regatta after Henry. Oh, it's definitely useful, and needs promotion. All you need is some really dedicated people. http://www.seascout.net/chesapeake/special_events/regatta.htm "Is it so nice as all that?" asked the mole, shyly... "Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat Solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

I did a short demonstration at Scoutson's Troop. I exhibited my collection of neckerslides and 'chiefs. I then held up the red 'chief from my youth and the blue one of the Troop today. I asked the Scouts, aside from the color, if they saw any difference? All of them noted the bigger size of my old red one (almost 6" longer on a side), and some of them noted that it looked "worn". Well, yes, despite being washed and ironed and kept in a plastic bag, it did have a few snags and rubs on it from it's use 40plus years ago. I explained how we practiced bandages, slings, signalling and were encouraged to USE it , not just WEAR it. We wore it almost every where we went as a Troop or Patrol. About the only place we didn't wear it was when we went camping on the Troop "property"; but to Camporees, out in public, it was on our neck. It meant we were from OUR Troop. We were Scouts.

I started out to make a cute connection to the thread about uniform "patches", but got caught up in the song itself. It's very Scout connected, on it's own. Loyalty , trustworthiness, "do your best", keeping promises, bravery, thriftiness, being helpful, acting kindly to folks, obedience, it's all there. I leave it to someone else to make the Cub/Scoutmaster minute out of this that it deserves. Patches == Clarence Carter (vamp) I was born and raised down in Alabama on a farm way back up in the woods. Oh I was so ragged folks used to call me "Patches". Papa used to tease me about it, but deep down inside dad was hurtin' 'cause he'd done the best he could. My papa was a great old man I can see him with a shovel in his hand Education that he never had But he did wonders when the times got bad The little money from the crops we raised Barely paid the bills we made Oh life whipped him Down to the ground When he tried to get up Life would kick him back down On the day papa called me To his dyin' bed Placed his hand on my shoulders And in tears he said Patches I'm depending on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you Two days later papa passed away And I became a man that day Everyday I had to work the fields 'Cause that's the only way We got our meals See, I was the oldest of the family And everybody was depending on me Now the years have passed And everybody's grown Mama's been livin' In a brand new home Lord knows it took A lot of sweat and tears And my daddy's voice To help us through the years He said - Patches I'm depending on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you (vamp) Daddy had been sick for a long time, flat on his back. Every evenin' after we'd finish our chores and eat our dinner, we'd all go into papa's room to cheer him up a little. And this particular day dad was in good spirits, sittin' on the side of the bed, tellin' mama how good she looked. When all of a sudden, papa had a pain in his chest. I was too young to understand, talkin' about a heart attack here. Mama rushed us all out of the room into the hallway. About ten minutes later she came out with tears in her eyes. She called out to me, "Patches, Patches, get in here, boy. Your daddy wanna see you." I went runnin' into papa's room, there papa lay. Daddy had tears in his eyes. I knew something was wrong, daddy was a poor man, but all of my life he'd been a proud man. I knelt down on one knee beside the bed, papa put his hand on my shoulder. He said, "Patches, Patches, boy, the hammer of life done beat your old papa down to the ground, and I ain't got nobody to turn to to take care of mama and the younger. So what I want you to do is promise me, son, is that you're gonna do your best to help your mama as much as you can." I said, "Papa, I'm gonna do my best." But little did I know then like I know now, that tryin' to climb life's mountains searchin' for a top where there ain't no top, sometimes you find yourself frustrated, crazy. But every time I feel like I can't live my life like I want to, my mind goes back to that day when I see those tears in my daddy's eyes. But most of all I remember his words, "Patches, I'm dependin' on you, boy." Every time I feel like givin' up, I hear his voice. "Patches, Patches, Patches, Patches -" I'm depending on you, son I've tried to do my best It's up to you to do the rest Patches I'm depending on you, son I've tried to do my best It's up to you to do the rest Patches I'm depending on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you

I always will remember the gateway arch at the Jamboree from a Detroit Council Troop that announced to all the passers-by that "Antonio's Pizza salutes the BSA!" in a sweeping pizza studded arch. In smaller lettering it announced where they were from. I looked to see if the tents were similarly emblazoned, but they were plain REI tents, (with REI emblazoning). I think it was Antonio, might have been another name. Oh well.

Me: HS: Trombone, rank captain, drummajor. Band was 5 days aweek in school. Our director (Mr. Laakko, Finnish) played oboe in the National Symphony on occasion. We marched, did parades, football halftimes, bball pepband, assemblies, school concerts, he even had us do concerts at the Finnish embassy. It was academic credit and to my knowledge, was not adjusted out of our gpa. College: In my research, I found that if one wanted to play in the band, in MOST colleges, you had to be a music major. Let me out. I found a BIG school (Purdue) that had my subjects and (oh joy!) I could be in the band w/o being a music major. I got to the campus without knowing about the pre-semester band camp. I jumped in as a rookie trombone player (no competition unless you wanted to play in the concert groups). Again, it was part of the academic schedule, 5 days a week, we played, marched, halftime shows, parades, went places and did things. It was a cultural education, physical exercise, academic disciplne, social outlet, and fun. I knew I was never going to be good enough to be a pro, but I loved music, all kinds. Scouts did things differently, did different things. Camping and nature study ain't band. I knew I wasn't going to be a Park Naturalist but I still learned enough to see the connectedness of the world and be able to impart some of that to younger people. It all comes together. My HS Band: Troop bugler: Eagle: college band: trips: :: son likes music: guitar: trombone(too hard):Troop bugler: we'll see what happens next...

Camp ROOOOsevelt, yes, I remember. Summer camp, OA ordeal there. Sea nettles, mile swim in the bay,stteeep trails. Still have the stepstool I made and gave to mom. Didn't part of CR go to the Calvert Cliffs State Park? Or the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant? This was one of four NCAC camps ,as I recall, that they sold (1967?1969?) to buy Goshen. Wilson? Thunderbird? Roosevelt? And... skips my mind...I think our Troop visited all of them.

If the US had an all-inclusive protective tariff system, or "closed" it's borders to all imports, and depended only on stuff made within it's borders, what would happen? Except for rare earth elements that come from nowhere else but outside the US, could the various industries survive/exist on a self feeding economy? I think for the most part, it could. After all, what drove the overseas outsourcing? The desire to lower costs to increase profits. It has often been said that if the true cost of things was considered, the consumer society we live in would be a whole lot different. If it is CHEAPER to build a shirt/car/baseball glove/refrigerator/compass outside the US AND carry it here over several thousand miles (and cover the insurance losses when the ship sinks, etc.) than it is to build it here, and railroad it to the KMart center, what must be the result? The philosophy that drives the industries involved does not require them to insist that the out of country factories pay their workers a living wage or provide health care. Only to pay what the workers will accept. How did the union movement start? When the workers began to insist that they be paid a living wage and work in safe places, among other things. Hershey and Ford did well to realize that their workers needed to be able to afford the cars and candy they were making. Go to Scranton PA and see the exhibits about the coal mine workers that created the wealth of the 19th century. "Norma Rae" comes to mind. It is all tied together. It would be interesting to find out if BSA did any research to discover what sort of factories produce the uniform parts, or if they just asked, "make us 5,000 of these" and accepted what the wholesaler provided.

Indeed, thank you Terry. Yes, Norton was specific. The "danger" sites were listed. I took the specified site URLs and PMed them to Terry for consideration, knocking the dot for safety. The next day, this thread came up. 'Nuff said.

Scouter,com has discussed this before: http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=253281#id_253583 and http://mypack507.org/docs/Whittling%20Chip%20Requirements.pdf among lots of google things. Have fun be careful... KiSMiF

If you want to save the ribbons for history/acknowledgement/bragging rights/oo-aahing, you need to get them OFF the flag pole. It only makes the pole top heavy and hard for younger Scouts to carry with 40 years(!) of camporee ribbons tied 'round the finial, and they will only degrade and fade and fall off. And how can you read the record if it's 8 feet up and bunched up like that? Take them off, Leave the last two or three years worth on if you want. Take the ribbons, wipe them with a DRY cloth (dampness may run the old colors), iron them out flat on a COOL setting(rayon doesn't take kindly to a hot iron) face down (don't want to melt the colors), and press them between some cardboard until you can mount them permanently. If you are not "archival" concerned, get carpet double stick tape and the folding display boards from Office Depot or your local Dollar store. If you really want to go the preservation route, check with your local scrapbook person/store and get acid free tape and display board. Organize it by year, type, Scoutmaster, however you want. Write Scouts names alongside the appropriate ribbon, if anyone can remember...

:-})> Smiling man with mustache and goatee. ;-{) Smiling man, winking, with walrus mustache.

What you have is the history of a Scout. I see a pattern but it is missing one or two pieces. The patches do have an intrinsic value in dollars to collectors, they also have (had?) a value in history and nostalgia to the "neighbor". Perhaps he had no family to pass them on to. I have gone to conventions, Jamborees, and other Scout activities where an older Scouter, who made my acquantance, perhaps over hours or days or years, has asked if I would like to have "some of these old pins and things". I do not actively collect Scout memoribilia, but if it comes to me, I accept it in the spirit it was presented. I attended a three day long Scout conference out in Indiana once. Some of these folks I knew thru long distance correspondance and it was good to meet them in person. Some I had never met in any fashion. One of the outgoing officers of the group announced to the rest of us, "I have some things I'd like you folks to have" and proceeded to empty out on the table a box of pins, patches, neckers, commemorative woggles and hats. We all leaned back and collectively gasped. These dated back to the 1950 Valley Forge Jamboree and earlier. None of us quite knew how to react. He gestured and encouraged us to take what we "took a fancy to". I came away with a necker from the Idaho Jamboree and some other items. He was passing on his tradition to us. Most of my "stuff" is personal, earned or attended by me. I have some other "collector" stuff, and I respect the history and tradition it represents. They are artifacts. Kinda like my fathers westling award belt from high school or my uncles award for "aeroplane flight modeling". I value them, not for their collectability (Antigues Roadshow?) but for the connection they represent of ME NOW to THEM THEN. Perhaps the "neighbor" would like to come out and be an "uncle" to the Cubs of your Pack? Now there's a new POR...We had a fine old Scouter who was famous for inventing new craft items (clothes pin woggles? "rocket launchers" out of paper clips?)and was a regular at Roundtable, though his children were long , long time out of Scouting. Figure out a way to display them for your Cubs and learn what they represent. How did the "neighbor" come by them? Where did they come from? I don't think Taconic Scout District is in North Carolina! Can your Cubs see themselves "earning", collecting such over their Scout career? Can you use these found items to intrigue your Cubs? No, these are too valuable to use as "prizes". Wow, what a Cubmaster's minute.... or two.... Good luck and KiS MiF!(This message has been edited by SSScout)

SCOUTING: + Everyone can earn First Class, with or without help. And help will be there. SPORTS: - Not everyone will "make the team". SCOUTS: -/+ Outdoorsy program is not for everyone, but there are other ways to be a Scout. Sports: - You either play, or you don't. Team manager? Score keeper? Not the same thing. "I was an Eagle Scout" "I was a Bob Warner Football player" Compare? Granted, "Remember the Titans" is a good story, but the virtue/value of the coach was the source of the boy's growth, NOT the football sport.

Again go again do we. Leave the Church flag where it stands for services. Ask the Pastor, it will probably be next to the lectern/pulpit. On the RIGHT from the congregations view. Process the colors as you will, US flag on it's own right (audience left view). Take all the old ribbons off the Pack flag pole. Sort them out, by year, type, etc. Clean them up a little. Get a cardboard fold up display panel from Staples/Offfice Depot?CVS and a roll of double stick tape. Make a display of all the awards garnered by the Pack over the years. Show'em off at B&G, and various other times.