SSScout

A sportsman's club. What kind of sports? Hunting? Fishing? Hockey? Croquet? Maybe there are possible Scouters among the membership? Has that been broached? Isaac Walton League here abouts has always been very Scout friendly, for instance. They allow their grounds for Cub Scout Day Camp, Archery Camp, Rifle and Shotgun Merit Badge camps, many things Scouty. If yours is to serve brats and sodas, make the most of it. Scout PR, a demo campout, PineWood Derby, whatever. It could be a win win for both of you. Perhaps the membership is aging and no longer able to keep up the traditional stuff. New members from the Scouts or Scouters eventually? Involve the local Scout District too. Make your situation known more widely, see if there are other Scout units might want to help out, who knows.

Yes things adapt and change. No more "Blacksmithing" MB. And I must remind folks that there is no truth to the rumor that BSA is planning to fold the Pet MB into the Cooking MB.....

I worked thru college. One of my jobs was as a cook in a German restaurant. Because my "language du college" was German, I got a multiple benefit: Money per hour, uben mein Deutsch, at least one free meal , practice in cooking, learning some new cuisine, new friends and some good references. The restaurant owners were good people and I felt grateful for their opportunity to me. This is admittedly different, but a review of benefits for the Scouts might be beneficial. Cooking and selling food::: Show gratitude to and Cooperate with CO, check. Help with their finances (do they need help?) check. Work responsibility and experience serving the public (is it public?) check. MAYBE a free meal (negotiate that ?) maybe check. Learn new skills and responsibilities, I bet check. Might be fun. I remember staffing the soda and dog stand at our high school football and b-ball games as a Key Clubber. I didn't get any pay from that, but it financed the sports and Key Club activities. Why'd I do that? All these years later, I realize I was following my mom and dad's example of "doing for others" thru their work in the PTA, Lions Club, Hospital Bazaar, lots of places. My Scout Troop helped out regularly at the church suppers, busing tables, directing the parking lot. Come to think of it, they didn't let us cook.... did they know something we didn't? Your Scouts need opportunities to hike, camp, earn bling and recognition, and learn by the adult's example of service to others. What is it your CO is known for, anything specific? Is it a church, or service club or vet's organization or.... The CO has seen fit to support and sponsor a Scout Unit (or two or three?) . Are you fulfilling YOUR responsibility in making their investment in your Unit worth their while in your Scout activities? Perhaps every other month serve the sausages... Make the schedule.... Have the talk....

If it is a search and rescue scenario, perhaps the Patrols need to HIKE into the camp, no cars or trailers. The "emergency vehicles" are parked, oh a quarter mile away? 1 Kilometer? The wreckage can be strewn over a wide area that the Search Teams (Patrols) must hike into, set up camp, and reconnoiter their assigned area. . Report back to GHQ , make notes on the topo map they have been given... Rescue folks and carry them back to GHQ , set up signal towers (pioneering), signal stuff (wig wag morse code? Semiphore? ) to GHQ by a relay if it is too far away, wow the ideas inherent...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_pin

Yep, city, state, troop. Got mine in that shoe box....

Welcome IanMarshall. Our Scouts who have gone to NTier had a bodacious time. Be sure to get in canoe practice in home waters, insure your waterproofs (storage bags ) are adequate (the outfitters may/maynot have enough). Foot wear is a consideration. sturdy OLD sneakers, or "jungle boots" that can shed water and protect feet are preverable. Talk to the outfitters about insect repellant and bug netting.... See you on the trail.

Yep, over thinking. Any serious donations can/should be written to the Acme Group, and they (they !) are your charter org (speak to your DE) so what's yours is theirs and so they should give unto the Troop. If the donator is desirable of claiming the deduction, they should deal thru the CO, since the Troop is not the tax exempt entity, Most Troops just accept the donation, and hike along, since most folks aren't concerned so much about the legalities with tax deductions , " I was a Scout once, I don't really want any popcorn/wreath/carwash/sausage, here's a twenty." Good luck and good Scouting.

Absolutely possible. Join the Scout Troop of your choice. Ninth grade is a good time to be a Scout. You are certainly computer savvy, See BeAScout here: https://beascout.scouting.org/ See you on the trail.

My mom was a Campfire Girl. I have some neat old (old !) photos of those kids in long dresses and (?maybe, can't tell) bloomers... They are camping, smoke, tents, out in the trees.... I especially like the big bow ribbons in the hair they wore. And neckerchiefs. As a rep for my faith award committee, I went looking for local CF folks (the awards can be earned by CF too), but could not find any within 75 miles of home.... Online resources are rather slim, I thought.

Here in Murlin, our state states you must be 16 years of age to take the test for a learners permit to learn (!) to be a licensed driver of a motor vehicle. UNLESS, your parents allow you to take the test at age 15 and 6 months.... "But dad/mom, the driver ed teacher says....", yes darlin' but WE say.... 16 , happy birthday, here's your learners permit... With practice and reading and instruction, our teenager gets the state's permission to drive. With practice and attention to detail, they KEEP that permission. I have kept it for niegh onto 55 years now. How? Practice. Use. NEED to use... Once and done? Not on (yours and mine) life. Same with any Scout Skill. Learn it and move on? Sure, but the Eagle Factory that is successful insists that the skills learned (bowline, organization, boot care, tent packing, camp cooking,,,,) gets opportunity to be used. The Scoutmaster and his/her minions must NOT ONLY insist on the correct fulfilling of the rank requirements, but INSIST the Scouts plan opportunities to USE them.

You must make the acquaintance of your DE, of course. Your Council should have a "High Adventure Committee" or some sort of Camping promotion committee. Look there for brochures and you can email Bechtel and Philmont and Mount Katahdin and Sea Base and Northern Tier too directly. They will all gladly send you stuff.

Please forgive me, as this is not about Scouting, per se, but I am moved to share it with my friends . Acoustics is very important in delivering a message. https://www.facebook.com/john.deboer.spirit.of.thunder/posts/10214529852461085

""Age is required, maturity is optional." "One must get older, one does NOT have to grow up." KiS MiF applies to old folks too... I favor this idea: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900028728/old-coots-booth-at-farmers-market-offers-probably-bad-advice.html

How many of you Scouts have a "Boss" ? Somebody who tells you what to do, when to do it, how to do it ? It starts just after you are born.... "BREATH ! NOW ! (whap !) " Your parents are your first bosses. Get dressed warm, put your shoes on the right and left foot. Do your homework, NOW.... did you take out the trash like I asked ? Make your bed.... Then you get your school teachers... Sit up, THERE... put your clay away so it will be there tomorrow... Line up for lunch time, hand in your essay. What book did you pick ? Choose a topic... wear the safety goggles... Maybe your church or temple faith leader? Turn to page … and read this... kneel now, bow now, raise our hands.... memorize.... Then you get a job, and get paid real money for following the boss's instructions.... AND THEN... maybe, just maybe, YOU get to be a Boss ! When am I EVER going to be able to do what I WANT to do? Yeah. lots of bosses, huh? Here's the deal: YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE BOSSES ! A really good boss does three things: He (or she !) knows what needs to be done to accomplish a job. If it's going to take more than one person to accomplish that job, the Boss gets to tell the others what needs to be done. Then, the good Boss not only tells folks WHAT to do, but HELPS the people to accomplish their part of the job: with tools, instruction, advice, space, time.... Sound familiar? You will ALWAYS have three Bosses in your life, no matter what. : Yourself, someone else, and God. Yourself: Yes, you can decide what to do, how to do it and with what. That makes you the Boss of yourself ! Someone else: Your spouse, your Scout Master, your Patrol Leader, the teacher, your Boss at the job (paycheck time!) , the Pastor or Imam or Rabbi, the policeman, your staff sergeant..... SOMEBODY ELSE will know what needs to be done and will need YOU to do it, nobody else. You. And the Ultimate Boss. God. We might call it your Conscience? That Still, Small Voice ? You can read thru your scripture, listen to famous and not so famous faith leaders, but eventually, you have to listen to that nagging reminder in the back of your mind of What Needs To Be Done and How it needs to get done. The Boss. You can fight it, or you can make it easy.... ""Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."" See you on the trail.

PP, welcome to the Forums. Hope you find a comfortable virtual log around our eCampfire…. As a past Lifeguard (waaaay back), I would advise doing the gradual rather than the all at once thing. If you are a competent swimmer, get BSA Lifeguard certified first. If done correctly, you should also get a Red Cross cert too. This will naturally lead to the Waterfront Aquatics Manager Supervisor (or whatever it is called these days). You've got time. The Lifeguard thing can lead to a part time job (?) but the Supervisor thing is meant for folks that want a longer term gig. Good luck to you and your Scouts. KiS, MiF.,,

I had a good friend who lived in Alaska. His address, mailing or otherwise was "Joe Friend, 2 miles Douglas Island Rd. Juneau AA. "

Repeat after me: "There is no meal so mediocre..... "That it cannot be improved with ketchup." Even grits.

Flashlights.... D cells..... Scoutson had just crossed to Big Scouts. We said we would buy him ONE new item for his camping to celebrate. He had, for a kid of 10 or 11, been camping quite a lot, but no heavy duty, hike the AT type camping, we expected some type of "hiking" thing... He chose a 5 D cell Maglite. This thing could've warned airliners away from mountain peaks, served as a tent pole. He took it on the first Troop hike on the AT, maybe five miles into the campsite/cabin. It stayed home after that. It is presently in his kit for when he drives the snowplow for the county.

CO of course is produced, but most of a candle's production would be CO2, I think. Canvas? Yep, leaky tent. Modern, waterproof bathtub bottom, zipped up ? Not so good, unless it has a screened top and open rain fly above for ventilation. I have awoken in the morning with icicles hanging from the top of my tent back when I camped in such atmospheres. I leave that to my adventurous Scouts now.... Teepee is good. Haul wickiup behind pony. Washte... Urban BBQ ? Noon ? Friday ?

Who will buy this wonderful gluten? Such a cookie you never did seeWho will wrap it up in mylar?And put it in a box for me So I could eat it at my leisureWhenever things go wrongOr keep it in my freezer To last my whole life long ? Who will buy this old Girl Scout Cookie??It's so good, my glucose is high, Me oh my, I guess I won't eat it,So what am I to do to keep this box so blue?There must some place it can hide ? ? ?

Here's the situation: a local non-profit organization has an BIG annual event. When I say BIG, I mean thousands of people attend over a weekend. Games, stuff to buy, entertainment, food, history re-enacted, etc. etc. I attended the planning session, and yes, there will be a Scout presence, but that is not the issue here... A local Scout Troop has separately volunteered to direct traffic in the parking area. It is across the street from the event area, and there is one safe, allowed crosswalk (police/crossing guards) across the road to the event area. This Troop plans to put out a basket and "encourage" folks to "pay" for their parking direction. The Scout leader I spoke to was very honest about asking for this. They did the same thing last year, and when I approached the Scout leader about BSA not allowing the asking for donations, he said they were asking folks to pay for their "service". I still think this is asking for donations. No, there is no charge to enter the parking lot. There is an admission charge into the event area, AFTER you cross the road. When I approached the non-profit about my concern, I told them they could pay the Troop for their service (there is precedent for this in our area), they said that this was their fund raiser, they had no idea they should pay a Scout unit for this service when the Troop had volunteered to do it. I have an email into my DE about this. Comments?

Combustion in a closed tent? Have we forgotten our chem 101? Yes, the flame is a hazard worth remembering and avoiding, but I might worry more about the collection of CO2 in the confined space.

Here in the Murlin, DC area, it has been noted by many wildlife experts that we probably have more White Tail Deer per acre now than in colonial times. The environment has changed that much, folks in the suburban areas like the look of the deer. Humans have become the apex predator for the White Tail, so safe hunting is important. The Parks people schedule "cull hunts" periodically, which have gotten very popular (among humans, maybe not among the Deer). . In a similar vein, I have observed Deer stop on the edge of the highway and look before crossing the road ! There is a definite evolutionary thing going on.... Then too, I have hit deer that didn't..... so much for THAT genetic line.....

Whooo Do You Love ((with apologies to Bo Didley)): I walk 47 miles of Philmont, I use a cobra snake for a woggle, got new Scout Hut on the roadside made outta Antelope hide, it's got a little bitty chimney right on top made outta a Buffalo skull. Come on Troop Guide, take a walk with me, tell me, whoooooo do you love oh honey, whoooooo do you love....... I got a Boy Scout staff and a Woodbadge Mind, I'm just 42 and I don't mind Hiking..... Whooooooo do you love….. Come on B-P make me understand, let the boys LEAD , win all you CAN, WHOOOOOOO do you love, oh Course Director, tell me, whoooooo do you love…......