SSScout

""When I was 14, my dad was so dumb I was embarrassed to be seen with him. When I turned 21, I was amazed at how intelligent the old man had become in just 7 years." = Mark Twain = Yep, some kids are like that. I recommend two troops also. Let the older Scouts learn from watching the younger ones. Unless, thru your interviews, you learn some of them are "Instructors". Then, if they are awarded the patch, they'll need a Uniform to wear it on ! When things go right, praise the heck out of'em. If the tent is set up badly, say "ummm, maybe if we do this...." do not chastise, only encourage.

Yep. Mine is made of 2x4...

The topic is "recruiting for Scouting". If the folks on this eDebate are , as I must assume, of the opinion that Scouting is one of the best opportunities a kid may have , one must consider three things: 1) What is "Scouting" ? What EXACTLY sets this activity apart from , say, 4H, MYF, Boys/Girls Club, school drama club, intermural football, SoccerUSA, etc. ? 2) How would any kid (and his parents?) learn of this "special" opportunity? 3) How can we , old fogies, help with #1 and #2 ? And yet NOT limit #1? Let's get personal. I joined a Cub Scout Pack , and earned my Anklyosaurus badge thru the encouragement of my parents, I went on to Boy Scouts because I liked the fun and (didn't call it this back then) "safe adventure" and gained some good friends. My Scoutson Joe joined because mom and I encouraged him, and it seems to have stuck. I was active thru school in dramatics, band, debate, other stuff. These activities didn't set up tents and cook over an open fire or learn how to bandage a bloody (ketchup! ) broken leg.... The popular video made and presented by the South African Scout Association (boy saves young girl from surf, which morphs into the dad saving the daughter...) is the kind of thing I mean. I can truthfully say I have only had to remember first aid and CPR once in my life, but once is enough. Knowing the skill gives one the courage to step in and deal with situations that others might only stare at. The fun part that lets the kid WANT to stick around and learn the DANGEROUS part. That has to be included to. SO, let's interpret the 3 things another way.... 1) A good program that encourages the youth to have that "safe adventure", become confident in their ability to deal with strange activities (chopping wood? Lighting fire and using it to cook one's food? Finding out that yep, I can hike 5 or 10 or 20 miles in a day, I can give a name to that tree, that animal, I can solder a pipe and tie up a canoe that I will later paddle down a lake). One can gain knowledge and confidence thru 4H and Pop Warner football, but as was said above, staying out of a permanent house for 2 or three or ten days can affect one's unconsciousness, differently. So: #2: Personal invite, media attention, publicity, If the world around us has a certain opinion of Scouting, gleaned from some unfortunate events, these can be, MUST be countered by touting the good stuff. We do not say all of America needs to be abandoned due to a few unfortunate events, we look around and smile at the good stuff and work to correct and make the unfortunate stuff impossible in the future. 3) Us "old dinosaurs" as one of my friends termed us, need to step up whenever we can and share our experience, our memories, our hopes with the young whipper snappers (they don't snap whips any more. We need a new metaphor). Go out and teach IOLS, BALOO, NAYLE, Share Totin Chip and Whitlin Chip . Help with CSDC as Scout Skills Pavilion, Archery Range Officer, be the "First Assistant Everything Else" that the CSDC Director needs. To mention a well known story, we can help a few starfish... I will now share a "pithy saying" . This is from a man who lived 200 plus years ago, and I try to remember his prayer often. Stephen Grellet: ""I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.

Well, ye're only as old as ye feel... I only include mention of the Shileleigh because folks ask about it after I unveil my sharp tool collection and speak of sharpening and chopping and such. I do not promote it, for sure. Occasionally, I even get a nascent SM trainee who wants to try out my two Scout crosscut saw. Once (once!) at a Webelos Weekend, , I was able to convince a Troop to set things up, let the Cubs cut cookies out of a log, the Troop had a fire set up to heat a small branding iron to write a "TXYZ " in the cookie for a souvenir. Haven't been able to arrange that again. Dempsey's in Ashton, homemade peach cobbler, you name the time..... . PM me?

Thankee, matey... I hope ye got the gist of my total comment about ruining an axe with the "safe" method of splitting bolts. Yep, they call it the Shilleliegh Method. I do not recommend it , but have to mention it in the IOLS training. I gave the Troop a fiberglass hafted axe I bought as an experiment, I encourage them to use that. It would need to be ground down for about an hour to get it sharp enough to actually cut wood, it is so dull in profile, but it makes a good "hand wedge". And the handle will never be broken by over swinging or being run over by a truck....

So did I. Present situation does not permit. But here are the guidelines.... How to Heat with Wood for Free! It is easy to heat your home for free with wood! I have done it for many years , and I have been asked by many to detail the economics of it. Here, then, is my accounting of heating with wood over the last few years! Wood is available for free from many sources. Neighbors may need a tree cut down. Road crews leave wood by the road for picking up. Untended lots need thinning. One just needs a little equipment. Build wood rack from scrap lumber : FREE! Install catalytic equipped wood stove, double wall stove pipe: $3,432. Purchase chainsaw, case, chain oil, hardhat, safety goggles, Kevlar chaps & vest, heavy gloves, wedges, maul for splitting, : (“on special”!) $644.95. Two gallon gas can and 2 gallons of gas: $10.48. Buy old second hand pickup from cousin: $850. Rebuild engine, new clutch, new tires, pass state inspection, tags, title, insurance: $3,347.85. Pay fine for cutting wood without a permit on park land: $250. Replace rear window in pickup (threw log thru it): $87. Sharpen saw chain after hitting rock in tree crotch: $15. Buy 2 extra saw chains: $63.05. Repair neighbor’s roof edge after maple fell the wrong way: $327. Repair chainsaw after using regular gas in it (needs 2 stroke mix): $98.47. Buy two gallons gas and pint of 2 stroke oil: $10.48. Doctor visit after wood rack falls on foot: $20. Copay. Crutch rental: FREE (local service club) Clean rug and smoke damage when wife forgets to open damper: $180.28. Lawyer visit, recommendation of marriage counseling: $250. As you can see, it is easy to heat your house with wood for FREE! Of course , not everyone is as adept at wood cutting as some, so your experience will no doubt be different. Good Luck !

Why be so limited.... Make it a whole state: https://www.cornhuskercouncil.org/programs/activities.html/article/2017/12/14/big-idea-2018

Yep. One can use the "Impact" method. Or the "Contact Method". The Shilleliegh Method, whereby one Scout holds an axe, blade into the bolt to be split, and a second Scout hits the poll with an old bowling pin or carved "persuader" (the Shileliegh), is a safe way, but will ruin a good axe, as it tends to spread open the eye and mushrooms the head. Something to read on a cold night: http://www.bchmt.org/documents/education/AnAxetoGrind.pdf Here is my favorite video. A classic, to be sure:

*Ahem* Any news on Scouter Surbaugh ?

Keine Sauerbraten, sondern Truthahn ? Und Fullung, smeckt gut....

Local FB page: Mother opens with "Looking for local places/activities for middle schoolers to do and keep busy". I respond with "Seek local Scout Troop, Cub Pack, click on www.beascout.org." She responds , "the kids aren't into scout stuff. We are looking for fun stuff like Jump Up, Kids Gym, etc. Otherwise all they do is hang out at the Micky Dees." My response: "depending on what your kids are "INTO", Scouts can do that: movies, bowling, the zoo, hikes, nature, trampolining, etc." She responds, (smileyface).

Maybe we should promote just shaking hands . . . .

Wonderful Idea. I attended the last Jamboree held in Fort Ambrose Powell Hill . Wonder when somebody will make the connection with his name and record?

You tube is full of such "accidents". I use quotes because they can almost ALWAYS be prevented. Most unfortunate here. I teach bus drivers. I make my students "repeat after me: If it looks like a Rail Road Crossing, I will treat it like a Rail Road Crossing." To wit, any vehicle classified as passenger bus, whether it carries passengers or no, on approaching a Rail Road /Road crossing, must first put on the four way flashers, or the School Bus Flashers, STOP (FULL stop, NOT "rolling stop") within 20 feet of the closest track,( but not where the crossing gate can close on the bus), shift into First Gear, OPEN THE DOOR and LEFT WINDOW, listen, look, and when CLEAR and SAFE TO DO SO,,,, proceed in First Gear across the tracks without hesitation or other stopping , LEAVING THE DOOR OPEN. When clear of the tracks, CLOSE THE DOOR, turn off the four ways or School Bus lights, and proceed as usual. In every case, when the student driver takes the state license exam, there will be either a REAL grade crossing or painted stripes on the driveway with a crossbuck sign. In one case , it was Washington DC, the testee was directed down a street that had THREE separate industrial rail crossings. He told me since the third one LOOKED like it was "abandoned", he ignored it. Guess what happened? We had to come back two weeks later to try again. Different examiner, same route, he passed this time. Tracks do not forgive mistakes. They require one to NOT make them.

About The Summit.... wasn't it told that Bechtel (that name's familiar) donated 50million for the purchase? And another 50 million for development? Am I remembering that wrong? Where'd that go? And while we're on the subject.... is there still a "no trespass" area there? Last Jamboree I attended there, I took a hike and was shoo'ed away from a trail on the map by some M16 totting Marine MPS....

Each Council is a "franchise" of the National Council. Each Council has a corporate structure dictated , ostensibly, by the local state requirements for a corporation, be it "for profit" or "non-profit". As such, the Council needs a Board of Directors, and some sort of Stock Holders arrangement. With BSA, as I understand it, the local Council must have a set of Charter Organization Representatives, officially these folks are supposed to meet periodically and VOTE, DECIDE on the Council leadership and Big Decisions. I was introduced to this concept when this group, Scouter dot com, was introduced to the brou haha about the attempted sale of the Owasippee Scout Reservation in Michigan. It took awhile, but the COR's and the involved County government eventually got together and forced the Chicago Council , which was backed by National, to NOT just sell off the umpteen hundred acres of Owasippee to a resort developer. The Scout Reservation still exists and is very successful, by all reports, as a cooperative local Park and Scout camp. Perhaps we need to get the CORs in our various areas , shall we say, "involved"?

All together now . . . "Owasippee".

Oh, I don't know. I visited my home Troop ( dates back to when I was a paleo Scout) and now Commish, last night and met a new parent. The Scouts were all busy, and I asked him which was his? He pointed out the lad, and in our conversation said the boy had just upped and asked to become a Scout. Had he been in Cub Scouts? No. Had the dad been a Scout? Only up to First Class, his family had moved around a lot. How did the boy (sixth grade) come to want to join the Troop? Dad said he thought it was because of a friend, but he wasn't sure. The allure of Scouting is out there, whatever it is.

Well, that is what I've been told, that the MB records must be/are checked before the EboR is scheduled. Dates, etc. must line up and such. Ah me. I have not had to pursue this type of activity in a looong time. For instance: http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/NCAC_Eagle_Scout_Verification.pdf

In my experience with young lumberjacks, ie Totin' Chippers, the idea of a sharp axe is hard for them to conceive. They want it sharp NOW, not after an hour of handfiling. And the skill involved in aiming and chipping a V in a log takes some time to gain. Rarely do Scouts get that opportunity any more. The Scout Fieldbook of my day, William Hilcourt be thanked, gave fairly detailed instructions on how to fell a tree (bare chested Scout was the illustration). And as to actual splitting bolts? Wedge and sledge? The average 12, 13 year old Scout needs that experience but , again, rare it is in the urban world. Over swing your sledge and presto ! We have an opportunity to learn handle replacement. The "safe" way to split bolts is with the "shilleliegh " method, in which one Scout holds a long handled axe straight on the bolt, and the second Scout stands perpendicular to the axe handle and swings the old bowling pin or carved Persuader to hit the axe poll and drive it thru (!) the bolt. This does work, but it ultimately mushrooms the poll and loosens a wood handled axe by widening the eye. Thus, use only a cheap, disposable axe, if you identify one. I gave my Troop a cheap fiberglass/plastic handled axe for this.

I agree, this video is not the best for a Scout activity, but a start of discussion. Here is my favorite video, courtesy the USDA Forestry Service: "An Axe To Grind" in two parts, note.

Here in the NCAC, White Oak District, MBCounselors must be registered with the District MBDean, who lists them with the Council. Council has taken to checking MBC names and dates on Eagle Applications before the Scout may proceed to the Eagle BoR . There has been gnashing of teeth, to be Biblical, about this. The MBCounselor needs to fill out two pieces of paper : Adult Scouter Application, Merit Badge Counselor Application (which details which MBs and who the MBC will see, ?only Troop members or any Scout?) and take about an hour and a half of online training (This is Scouting, YPT, MBC training). All this is free, no fee required (unlike us Commishers and ASMs ). There is no requirement to be "expert" in the topic, be it Archery, Nuclear Science or Chess or Basketry, only a desire to BE a MBCounselor. Oh, and maybe a desire to be "Trustworthy". How a Scout teen at Summer Camp can "legally" fulfill these steps has always caused my head to be scratched in wonder. So , perhaps, the "activities accomplished" page is appropriate, unlike the "Partial " Blue Card I partially fill out during my bemused time as Bugling MBCounselor.

Not so far fetched. It all depends (as does so much in Scouting and/or kid's life) on the adults. As a Cub, way back in paleo scout times, our local Scout District (I guess) sponsored a Cub Scout softball league. Packs fielded teams, we got together on local park and school fields, and PLAYED BALL . I was a right fielder and first baseman. Learned to swing a bat. Earned a arrow point or two thereby, as I remember. My dad, and the other dads and moms, played coach and umpire and had a real reason to get out in the back yard and "interact" with their kid (me) tossing a ball back and forth, thereby developing hand-eye co-ordination and verbal language skills. Not all of which are repeatable in polite company.... This did not continue into Boy Scouting, but it was fun.

We have another big thread about that program. I remember 106 years being mentioned. The problem is recruiting and convincing teens that "messing about in boats" is a worthwhile thing to do, along with soccer, wifi gaming, other sports, etc. etc.