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SSScout

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Everything posted by SSScout

  1. All well and good. The CO can set membership requirements for their Pack and Troop and Ship. But what happens when the stray Jewish/Quaker/Lutheran/Mormon/Unitarian/Wiccan boy comes along and wants to be a Scout in a one-Pack-Town? MUST a boy be turned away because his family is not a "parish" member? I don't think even our Mormon friends are so - ahem - parochial. Would they also turn away a non-Latter Day Saint? Growing up, my Pack and Troop and Explorer Post (and come to think of it, they had a SShip, too) was sponsored by a Methodist Church. I wasn't Methodist. My family was fr
  2. The Peter Principle emanded: The list you made to not forget the stuff you want to remember will be misplaced and forgotten.
  3. Mucho Congrats. I'm sorry I don't know your song. You have contacted the camp, of course? You will remember this time later, (perhaps MUCH later) in your life as a true high point. You will also be pleasently surprised at how what you have learned along the way in Scouts is useful to you and indirectly to those around you at odd times. Oh, and don't forget the shoe box. You know, the one to put all the old patches and badges in. The one your grandkid will find in the back of your closet and drag out to ask "granddad, whats all this old stuff?" As you stride along life's trail, don'
  4. If yours is a small community, (and even if it isn't!) contact the newspapers and see what they would welcome in the way of notice. They might even send out a reporter and photog to your ECoH. In any event, no matter how formal (Marine Band plays) or informal (uncle Ed from Altoona plays his guitar), take pictures and send a notice and pictures in to the papers.They will note it in the local listings. And it will be good for the boys scrap book (he does have a scrap book?). Depending on the history of the Troop, you might search out past Eagles and have them come to add their congrats to t
  5. ...Or flashlight gathering ceremony...
  6. Yes. A compass. Get one that has a good metal case, take it to your local jeweler and have them engrave the date and Pack number, etc. a short message on the back of the case. Leupold Co. out of Portland Oregon made a good one of a "handful" size. I don't know if they are still in business, worth some research. Aufrdersehen! Guten Pfadfinderein!
  7. ...so this guy walks into the Greek tailor shop, and holds out a pair of pants. The tailor says, "euripedes?" And the fellow asks, "eumenedes?" Thank you, nike for the opening... YiS
  8. "On my honor,I will do my best..." (BSA) "On my honor, I will try..." (GSA) " Swear not at all... but let your communication be Yea, yea; Nea nea..." (JC/Mathew/KJB) "It's for the kids" (Bob T. Tomatoe) YiS
  9. What nldscout said. This is about equal access and legality and communication. Make contact with other Scouters, compare notes (roundtable? DE? ). Is this situation peculiar to your school only or endemic to the whole school district? Your Council and District need to step up and insist that Scouting be treated the same as any extra curricular activity. If soccer clubs and Bible study groups and privately owned ice skating rinks and karate dojos can send home notices, so should you (us?). Have your local Council check with National Capital Area Council and the hassles they overcame i
  10. All of a sudden I feel really blessed to have had the Troop leaders I had 'way back when'. I don't remember ever having that sort of problem as I was advised and counseled thru my Eagle. Come to think of it, yep, it was almost 30 years ago. I would think the boy has learned the important lesson that, often, "a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on". GET IT IN WRITING. Somewhere in the bowels of the National headquarters is some paper with signatures on it that attests that a bunch of Old Fogeys thought that a certain young man was worthy to hang a multi colored cloth p
  11. I'm coming in late to this discussion, but I find great agreement with all that has been said. When my son became a Cub, I discovered to my surprise, that the Pack turned Cubs upside down to award the Bobcat. I told them not with my son. And not any more to any other boy. The parents had no idea about the problems and risks involved. Physical injury ( what if some one slips?), psycological trauma, the example of a small 'hazing' making larger 'hazings'seem OK (initially they didn't see this as 'hazing', only good ole boy ribbing taken to a lower level), public humiliation even in "good
  12. One person is the "Camporee Chair". He/she works with the DE and the OA to organize the skeleton of the Camporee. (NB: this is not what we call the Webelos Weekend, which is a seperate affair). Usually, along with the "special" stuff ( climbing wall, black powder muskets, etc.), the CCh asks each Troop to sponsor/organize an activity that can be purely fun or Scout oriented. Some past "Stations" have included frisbee golf, an orienteering course, a nature trail/scavenger hunt, a pioneering contest, matchless fire building, archery. Not all Troops sponsor a "station". I guess som
  13. I know there are lots of good, useful, thought provoking, "AHA!" type suggestions out there , but often they are what I call "self correcting". F'rinstance: "If I told you once, I've told you a million times, DON'T EXAGGERATE!" Y'all got any more?
  14. Oh, it's one hour a week. I'm now into ...oh, let's see... December 2027...
  15. Icons are not only visual.... "Open channel D" "Little buddy" "Round and round she goes and where she stops..." "Plunk your magic twanger , Froggy" "My time is up, I thank you for yours" "Hawaya, hawaya, hawaya..." ""These are the voyages..." "Do not attempt to adjust your set..." "You open this door with the key to imagination..." "Hey kids,..." "And they are MILD" "Let's hear it...for ...THE BEATLES!!" " And awa-a-a-y we go!" "ummm how sweet it is!" ...Here's a hard one...said only once... "...G'bye, kids
  16. "All politics am local" Personal story: When I came back from Roundtable with the information that our District Camporee had to be rescheduled from its original site/date due to a previous scheduled event, the question was NOT "how can we go there on that date" but "who's in charge this year?" And when I named the name (different than the year before), the Troop Committee together nodded and said, "then we'll go." The Program is the most important thing. Next, is the Parents commitment to the Boys. Without that commitment, THERE IS NO PROGRAM. Is that a triad? Program--Boys--Parents.
  17. Yes! I remember that too. Any Moore?
  18. MY version goes ( and you can try to google it)... "I am a fine musician, I practice everyday, And when you hear me practice, you can hear me play, My TROMBONE, my TROMBONE, I love to play my TROMBONE... RaaH Raah RATARATA RAha RA arRAHH (with appropriate trombone motions, thru eight beats only)) my picolo, my picolo, I love to play my PICOLO... Treeedaleealee treadaledaledalele... etc. Pick up all the instruments you like until everybody in the band is playing in sync, in harmony (suurrre) Caliope... Oompa oompah oompahpah ..Move up and down Bass Drum
  19. "all politics is local" (are local?) Scouting is not going to dissapear any time soon, but as an influence on the young (and wow, I used to be a young), it's influence has been eroded. How? TV and other media has contributed to this decline. Where the child got his skills, interests and values (there's that word again) from the family, now he (and she!) get alot of it from the flash and dash of the litle screen (and the big screen). The parents that ALLOW the screen to be a prime source, without challenge, ("now why did Homer say that?") OR LIMIT ("no, our family does not support the idea
  20. Always try to check back on these entries... Thank you SWS, my info was verbal at the RT, so I will go back and speak to our DE designate ( we are between DEs). I think we'll still sell a little PC, none the less...
  21. Yes, the PC is overpriced. Yes, the effort to sell it may not be worth the return to the Unit. Yes, the original story sounds like unscoutlike coercion. But... The Council and National and the District doesn't sell Christmas wreaths or wash cars or put up flags or direct traffic at the county fair (and that is one Troops fundraiser in our Council). So do they raise the Dues to a "realistic" level, or do we sell some popcorn? I've been of the opinion that if GSA can sell cookies at a price CLOSE to a regular retail price, why can't BSA sell the PC at a closer to regular retail price? We'v
  22. Ah, the blessings of growth. Rejoice in poularity, many Troops around the country are struggling. If you can't deal with Patrols that are semi autonomous from the Troop, perhaps setting off a new Troop could be considered. OOO- OOO! I know! The charter org sponsors TWO Troops! A north end Troop and a south end Troop! WoW! True story: My Cub Pack sponsored a "Join Scouting" night at the elementary school. We invited our Scout Troops to come , they set up a rope bridge and model camp site. We also invited the local Girl Scout Troops to come (seemed only right...). They both declined,
  23. Ah, the blessings of growth. Rejoice in poularity, many Troops around the country are struggling. If you can't deal with Patrols that are semi autonomous from the Troop, perhaps setting off a new Troop could be considered. OOO- OOO! I know! The charter org sponsors TWO Troops! A north end Troop and a south end Troop! WoW! True story: My Cub Pack sponsored a "Join Scouting" night at the elementary school. We invited our Scout Troops to come , they set up a rope bridge and model camp site. We also invited the local Girl Scout Troops to come (seemed only right...). They both declined,
  24. Ah, the blessings of growth. Rejoice in poularity, many Troops around the country are struggling. If you can't deal with Patrols that are semi autonomous from the Troop, perhaps setting off a new Troop could be considered. OOO- OOO! I know! The charter org sponsors TWO Troops! A north end Troop and a south end Troop! WoW! True story: My Cub Pack sponsored a "Join Scouting" night at the elementary school. We invited our Scout Troops to come , they set up a rope bridge and model camp site. We also invited the local Girl Scout Troops to come (seemed only right...). They both declined,
  25. I distinctly remember all the SMs I had in my STroop. We had 5 in the 7 years I was in Scouts. I seem to remember that the 'passing of the flag' occurred at the end of a CoH. It was always the last thing . The retiring SM did all the opening ceremonial stuff and the awards (candles, Scout Promise, Scout Law, etc.). Then some other adult type person ( the CC? the CRep?) came up and said some good things about the retiring SM and the passing of time, etc. The SPL and sometimes some other senior Scouts also came up and thanked the RSM, placques and souvenirs were handed out. Something tearjerki
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