SSScout

Some other  posts mentioning chainsaw projects and cotton sleeping bags makes me wonder if a thread about how WE did stuff in Scouting, way back when,  and isn't  it a wonder we are here to tell the tale...

I will start off with a story I heard (because I was too young to participate) about.   Our CO had a Cub Pack, a Scout Troop AND a Sea Scout Ship.   The Ship was well known around the council, it being led by an old Chief Mate.  One summer , they decided on an adventure, so they built a wood raft with  55 gallon drums lashed  under it . Sailed down the Potomac and out into and up the Chespeake Bay.  

aww, it was an incomplete..... It was a tail dragger...

*sigh*

So much philosophical water under the metaphoric bridge. 

Way back when I was working on my Stegasaurus Husbandry Merit Badge,  my Troop was a very active outdoors Troop. Like I am sure many of you, our adult leaders/parents were veterans of the Great Depression, WW2, Korean war....   I remember one winter campout, snow on the ground, we were going to the back woods of one of our leaders.  And just before, we were told we would have a "guest Troop" camping with us.  A GIRL SCOUT TROOP.   Who'd a guessed?   All the Girl Scouts I knew back then sold cookies and held fashion parties (Not that I knew too many Girl scouts).  So it seemed some lady parents of my acquaintance (really!) were outdoor people !  So a dozen BOY Scouts and about a dozen GIRL Scouts set up camp , in a foot or 18"  of snow, back in the woods.  I remember a certain division of labor.  BSA chopped wood, hauled water, GSUSA set up the campfire and such.  There was an amazing cooperation present thru out, but....  They brought  chili/stew frozen in used milk cartons, which thawed out and cooked over the fire very nicely. Suitably impressed, we BSA fried eggs and sausage and biscuits for breakfast.   Hikes for nature study,  we each went home that weekend, I think, with a new appreciation for at least some of our schoolmates.   I am sorry to say, that was a one time event,  I can not say why, but it did not happen again. 

Earning Eagle is another thing entirely.  I worked and earned the ranks, figured out what Merit Badges were, and earned some at summer camp.  Woodworking (woggles)  , made a woven seat stool.  Found some MBcs (had to call Council for phone numbers), did Surveying, Aviation,,,,  Then a new Scout joined the Troop.  His dad was a Naval Officer who came to Troop meetings in full uni,  scrambled eggs  on the cap.  The kid announced (!) that he had done the math and would be Eagle in  X months on  Y day !   Well, us older Scouts got together and discussed this.  After many years of just enjoying the camping, hiking etc.  we realized this new kid could end up being the First Eagle of this Troop !  We decided that wasn't going to happen, so we started to work.  The new kid became the third Eagle, about a year behind his schedule.  Competition can be a motivator.

Never hurts to ask, but if it's a recognized Scout uni, Sea Scout version (!)  , and you are so trained/awarded/recognized, I would think it's appropriate. 

But that's just lil' ol' me....   😉

10 minutes ago, Navchop said:

I would like to know if there is going to be a version of the Unit Commissioner patch for a Sea Scout uniform.  This would allow UCs to wear the appropriate uniform, which serves to promote Sea Scouting.

Welcome aboard.   I would see no problem with the Offishul Commish round patch.   What is the concern ?  Too "red" ? 

Ideas (if you don't have them already)

1)  An Orienteering course.   "Scout's Honor", this can be a self run activity after the Scout gets some training in Map, and Compass.

2)  Find "specialists"  to do Merit Badges not always done at summer camp. Pros could come in , one day and do, say, Surveying,  Bugling,  etc.   

3)  Fishing...   if you have the lake, stream front.  In addition to the usual waterfront stuff,  time out activity.   Prizes for what's caught. Sell supplies at the Trading Post.  

4) I hope yu have the trails well marked (Eagle project?), distances, places/stuff/nature/history  of interest signage.  Various Merit Badges possible.... 

5)  Scouters don't need to sit in camp all the time.  Enlist the interested adults.  Make known your desire, need, possibilities.  I worked the Scout Skills pavilion when I accompanied the Troop some weeks. 

6)   Woodcarving?  Woggle making?  

Don't forget , camp should NOT be ONLY about "rank advancement"   

And you too, have fun !  Smile and wave as you go by....

Yes yes and yes,   they responded quickly !  I have had a nice email conversation with the MB Committee volunteer(s).   They will consider my concerns when next they have their meeting next year. Ho hum... ]

Thank you, Schiff,  I'll let you know their response, if and when...

Well, I must be behind the times. I just went on line to National to check something I heard a rumor of, and sonofagun, it was true.

Bugling Merit Badge Requirements were changed, and the National BSA web page is incorrect....

The page claims "most of the music uses only four notes. " .  And they changed the requirement from "Sound the following bugle calls"  to  "sound ten of the following calls" 

Therefor, "Call To The Colors "  (raise the flag)  and "Retreat" (take the flag down) are no longer necessary (you need five notes), and six are a good Bugler's range.  

To Whommm may I address my concerns?  It is not obvious to me. 

History is personal and impersonal.  Ice ages and warm periods have been documented both within the fossil record and in recent memory. Here in Maryland USA,  I can remember winters with snow drifts taller than my dad's head. Made good tunnels for the well wrapped Cub Scout. Photoes in the magazine of storms that closed the rail road systems. The last few years have been noticably less snowy.  Last year, it hardly made sense to put the plow on the front of my son's truck. 

Do ICE contribute to the climate ?  Look to London's coal smoke clouds, Los Angeles'  smog.  Certainly. Do they contribute to the ultimate change in the climate?  Very possibly. Are they the absolute CAUSE of the climate change ?  Ummmm, ...

Electric vehicles?  Battery?  Lithium mining in the Congo? Maybe soon in Montana? 

I'm frankly more worried about the next Carrington Event.  Teach your Scouts well. Their families may need the survival skills .  

"It depends".    I once asked that question, seeking history, old names.  I was directed to a MICROFICHE archive, several boxes.  The paper had been disposed of.  1950's, 1960's....   The microfiche was hard to read but it was there..

Yep.  Been there, done that: 

Ah the Scout Neckerchief...  

 Collared shirt.   A collarless shirt would require a special tailoring.  That is probably why the C/L shirt was abandoned.  
Over or Under?   Size?  Woggle, slide,  Friendship Knot ? Depends on the wearers attitude.  Is the Necker a useless piece of tradition,  symbol  or a possible tool, as was the original attitude?   Let's see if I can find those pages from "" Matching Mountains with the Boy Scout Uniform; the Official Boy Scout Uniforms"" , by Edward F. Reimer . . . 

As an amateur Vexilologist ( I've yet to meet a professional), I share this because it agrieves me.  

We see replicas of the American flag displayed on t-shirts, swim trunks, Napkins, cups, banners. little paper flags on cupcakes, I can smile. 

I invite folks to search out the Ruggables company, which has offered for sale  (and they have named and presented as such)  "An American Red Flag Rug"  

Red and white stripes, pretty. White stars on a blue background, nice. Fifty stars on a blue field in the upper left corner of thirteen red and white stripes, this is intended as a US flag . But something INTENDED to be walked on, wipe one's boots on, ,, what were they thinking?

Opinions, thoughts?   https://ruggable.com/products/american-flag-red-rug?

IMHO This is not a YPT issue, but a ego PT...

BSA is very careful about ALL events and operations being open to observation by parents.   This does not mean "manipulation"  but looking on and "being there".  

Registration as an adult and taking the YPT  is necessary, but no one can deny the parent the right/ability to "observe". 

Converstion wih those involved seems appropriate.  The CO and COR are to be involved, and IMHO, a Troop cannot have too many WELL TRAINED  ASMs...  And maybe your local Unit Commish, if you have one. 

Right, Fred? 

So now there is a PROGRAM for the kids.  

Do we have a PROGRAM for the parents?   Maybe that's what this really is.

 The original Cub Scout "program"  was supposed to be (as I remember it)  a fun thing where the kid  had some fun stuff and (without really realizing it)  learned some important stuff along the way.  Trust, cooperation, teamwork,  good ideals, handy skills, pride of craft,  ,,,, What else?  Ranks weren't so much GOALS TO BE MET,  as  MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY. 

The parents we had were folks that had lived thru the Great Depression, the World War,  the Korean War, , They knew hard work and sacrifice for others.  They knew working together in the community was important, they took us kids along with them to Lions Club Meetings, community fund raising fairs,  PTA meetings even.  Cub Scouting was really a junior version of all that.  The adults  were a mixed bag, of course, and some knew THIS and some knew THAT.  Maybe I was just lucky....

BOBCAT was a pin one earned for learning the basic Cub Promise, Law of the Pack, Cub Sign,  salute, and such.  Any kid could join at any age, the Bobcat was the first thing.  Not every kid started at Wolf.   It was not a PATCH.  When the Cub Program jettisoned the Jungle Book references, it lost alot of the fun, imagination of childhood aspect.  Was that because of Rudyard Kipling's  Imperial connections?  His (possible) unfortunate racial/ethnic discrimination inherent in the British Imperial System?   One can read "IF"  and see in it, as in much of his literature,  alot any human could use for ideals....  I'd like to think even B-P learned, overcame his own racial/ethnic prejudices as the Scouting Movement became internationally known.... 

It would seem that because of the ease with which we allow others to do things for us (cell phones for libraries,  push buttons to open  doors, cars that PREVENT us from making any traffic mistakes,  ) it has become unnecessary for nascent parents to raise (raise?) their children, but trust to a "program"  to guide them in that endeavor.  Is it really the librarian's sole responsibility to explain why one book is appropriate and another isn't for a first grader?   

There are now better GUIDELINES, RULES to protect Scouts, if not the BSA organization, from themselves .  There still needs to be actively involved parents  to guide, protect, example adulthood to the next generation.   The hugely expensive and yet absolutely necessary accounting of the BSA's egregious mistakes of the past only goes to show how some parents neglected to BELIEVE their Scouts, even believe their own eyes, and act on that knowledge?   Do these newly adopted guidelines and rules absolve the parent from their responsibility to (themselves) guide and help the next Scouts become the next Scout Leaders?   

Mowgli, please call your office, er,  cave....   

I do wish they ("THEY") would settle things for more than 3 years this time. 

Cubs have been staggering along, adjusting, creating,  modifying,  clarifying,  the program  seemingly every other year....

Back when the ranks made sense, morphilogically, small mammals to bigger more DANGEROUS ones,  and literary references  (Akela,  Baloo)  could be understood,  and a DEN was a place for Cubs to live, and the PACK was to be run with 

I thought belt loops for arrow points were a good exchange.  Now, the changes were coming because "we can" and maybe they will be good for the kids (which is what it's for, yes?).    

I am reminded of a CSDC Director I worked for once ("ScoutSkills"). She said that OF COURSE the Cubs will learn and earn the 8 Knots....  I replied no, if they LEARN really learn and remember the FOUR knots I will teach in a 50 minute session, I will be successful. In the mean time, the Cubs will smile and laugh at my jokes  (I hope) and come away with some knowledge of  Newton's Fourth (little known) Law of Motion:  You Can't Push A Rope....

21 hours ago, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

At least right now, my husband definitely needs to hear more about how his scout will be safe in scouting. He's still cracking cynical CSA jokes. He's openly hoping that our cub scout doesn't cross over. 

Families aren't necessarily all in or all out.

There it is.  Dr. Bourke and company not withstanding, it is up to THE PARENTS, and everyone else to see that what is RIGHT happens.  The Guidelines are just that, GUIDELINES.   If the people who WATCH and SEE don't speak up, don't say something, the GUIDELINES mean zilch.  

Welcome.  Pull up a stump. . Did you remember your camp cup and fork?  The virtual peach cobbler is over there.... 

Scouting has OPPORTUNITIES, not REQUIREMENTS . 

We do our kids a great disservice when we make the wrong things "REQUIREMENTS", especially in Scouting.

F'rinstance : Merit Badges....    I firmly believe no SM  (or anyone else)  should make MBs sound like they are REQUIRED.   Scout ranks are not REQUIRED.   OPPORTUNITIES can and should be arranged (camp outs, Axe Yards,  hiking trips, visits from Park Naturalists, visits from local EMTs,  ) with the Scouts participating , nay, ORDERING the schedule.  The Scout should be able to see her/his peers making choices to LEARN about proper safe knife and axe use.  Choosing to learn about map and compass ("hey Google !"), 

The SM should facilitate all this but NOT  require it....   

An organization is only as good as it's human leadership (General Miley, thank you for calling your office).

The ideals not withstanding, the past BSA leadership  were thinking too wishfully. The present situation is the result.  When folks did not believe what they were told, didn't make sure the miscreants were properly held to account,   censured, charged, punished and REMOVED from all of Scouting,  the present situation had to occur. 

If the lessons were learned,  publically acknowledged, the victims made whole as well as can be done this much later,  then we must move forward with the SAME ideals and example to our youth that made Scouting's reputation what it is.   

Knots need to be tied. Trails need to be hiked. Boots need to get muddy and Good Deeds need to be done daily. 

What else is on the agenda? 

Our  Chinese Chestnuts have been really productive this year. We have two types, evidently, but the leaves are indistinguishable to my eye.  One big nut , about 1" across, and ovoid, and one about 3/4 inch across and more circular.  Very regular , each of the two trees, on opposite sides of our house.  Can't eat them raw, but cooked they are very tasty. 

A neighbor has a very large and grand White Oak, bushels of acorns, much more than "usual" this year.  Wife and some friends are going to produce Acorn Flour from them this year. It is quite a process but produces a tasty flour for baking, pancakes, etc.  

Hot glue it to a 1/2"  pvc pipe, make a heckufa necker slide...

I am, unfortunately, reminded of a Carol Burnett show  skit, where an ex Nazi becomes the Activities Director on a cruise ship.   "YOU VILL HAF FUN ! ""

I have been, am sad to say , witness to this sort of thing and agree with all that has been said, especially the part about the separation of the  "earning/approval" of the rank and the "celebration/awarding"  of the medal.

What hasn't been mentioned is the final say over the Troop/Unit is the CO Institution Head.   She/he names the COR, and could as easily dethrone him.

I find it hard to believe, in so active and well supported Troop as you describe, that one person would be allowed, much less need to ASSUME (?) so many roles/responsibilities.  Has no one else spoken out to this usurpation of power?   

Then too, as in Band of Brothers, Mr. COR could be re-assigned to other duties by the District Commissioner. He/she assigns Comisshers to Units.  Mr. COR can be assigned (!!) to another Unit and the results would be easy to observe, and (perhaps) his Commishun revoked..  It has been done. 

As to the closer to home problems,  it will remain for the rest of the ADULT LEADERS to Band together and remind this , dare I say it, fascist, that Scouting is for Scouts to lead, not the adults.

Tie him to a chair and force him to watch Veggie Tales for a while...   "It's for the kids".... 

Congratulations. A few years to consider the Eagle project....