SSScout

""Last, and most importantly, never invite a DE to your Scout presentation. They will mess it up every time."" Oh, ho, ho, ho,,,,, Most definitely go to Kudu's encyclopedic site.... http://www.inquiry.net/adult/recruiting.htm

In my perusal of several ongoing threads, I am struck by the suggestion that every boy/girl HAS to be a Scout, because the program is so good, so uplifting, skills promoting, etc. etc. It sounds sometimes as if we are first surprised that someone would WANT to be a Scout (but not abide by the stated requirements), then we turn around and are aghast that anyone would NOT want to be a Scout. Well, which is it? There are many other places and times in history when the youth of a nation had no choice but to be an XYZ, and follow that "program" , whatever it officially was. Die Hitler Junge comes to mind. But here, we are touting the choice of joining Scouts. There are lots of good youth programs out there, outside of the "regular" school. Some parents (we were some) see the regular school as not the optimum learning opportunity for our kids, and home school or private school. There's a choice. Some folks see other programs as a better choice. Just today, I had a long discussion with a mother of now adult children about just that choice. Four H became their choice, and they went all out there, with good result. Scouting , in their area, was not a "good choice". I could write paragraphs about her experience with those Packs and Troops, another time. If we do not provide a good reason for the kid to join (and abide by the rules, even if they are changed), why are we arguing about the dearth of joinees? It is, thankfully , a choice. If the kid does not become a Scout, does not earn Eagle, does not go to Philmont, does not earn 87 Merit Badges, that is , I hope, his (and his parents? ) choice. If the QRS Church chooses not to sponsor a Scout unit, so be it. We go on doing the bestus we can with the volunteers we have, with the boys that choose to be a Scout. And with recruiting season (I wish there was a better term. It almost sounds like we get a commission for each new Scout...... Choice season?) upon us, what reasons are we giving those boys to "Be A Scout"?

I drive bus part time for our Yearly Meeting Camping program. We take the campers to the canoe put in, pick'em up at the end of the trip, that sort of thing. Yesterday, I drive to the pick up point in company with a counselor driving the pickup truck and canoe trailer. We are to pick up 3 counselors, 14 campers and 9 canoes (one counselor paddles solo). When the float arrives, the kids jump out of the boats, eagerly help unload and carry the boats and gear up from the landing to the bus, truck and trailer. One boy looks me right in the eye and smilingly asks "are you here to take us back to camp?" The bus has a rear door, which is open to facilitate loading all the wet detritus. I am sitting in the driver's seat, the kids are rolling around in the passenger seats, getting together with their particular seat partners. One girl jumps up and announces "I guess you are our bus driver!" I admit, yes, I have that responsibility. Are YOU my camper? She giggles back and nods. Boy on the back seat yells "Should we close this door back here?" I shout back, yes, that would be a good idea, do you know how? He shouts back, yeah, I opened it to help load last week!. I was once asked by a parent as we prepared for a camp trip, what would they do if it rains? When I replied they would get wet, he hesitated and then nodded with grave, serious expression. Any more for Captain Obvious to mull over?

Thankee, Darcyedit. I stand corrected, and will then point out again, that multiple registrations can be a large economy size problem when Eagle time comes . Good Scouting to you, and your Scout, Sanve001. Keep a copy of everything!

I cast my vote for the sympathy ("too bad Jessie Cub was sick that day. Here's the materials, and some instructions. Maybe he can make'm during the lunch break. Oh? He just didn't get up in time and you decided it wasn't worth the effort ? Well, that's okay too. Here's a volunteer application...".)

There are many Scout memorabilia sites, facebook, etc. you can check with. I say it is older than the 1950's. I had a compass from that era and it was more decorated, the compass had a Scout fleur de lis on it. I think it is a leathercraft project, and a little compass was maybe provided to fit. Nice item, even so. Further back, we did not worry about square boxes for map aligment, a compass pointed north, with an angle circle, that was enough. The compass here looks like one my uncle left me (he was a Scout in 1928?) but I have misplaced it.

Yep. Even AMTRAK has holding tanks.

"It depends"..... He can be registered "OFFICIALLY" only in ONE Troop for BSA purposes. If he transfers to a new troop in another Council , he will get a new registration number. They seem to be Council specific. All this will become very important if and when he applies for Eagle and all the badges and service hours and PORs need to be tracked. You don't want two registration numbers, trust me, I had to clean up that problem once. RULE: Always use only ONE version of your name. Always John R. Jones, not Johnny Jones or JR jones or... That does not prevent the Scout from participating with another Troop until he is sure he wants to be a fullfledged member there. He can camp and hike and whatever with any Troop he and his parents desire. The importance of communication between SMs then becomes important, and the subsequent transfer of his Scout records to the new Troop. We had a young man from Georgia come to attend a residential school nearby and attend our Home Troop for a period. All his activity was transmitted to his home Troop in Georgia for his credit. Venture Crews are often (not always) associated with specific Troops. A Scout can belong in a Troop and a Crew.

The CO has always had the right to limit the membership and leadership as it sees fit. That is nothing new. It can limit membership in it's Scout units to folks that are adherents/members of its faith, only members of it's individual house of worship, only male, separate male - female units of Venturers, almost any way they see fit to match their vision of Scouting. Look at our LDS friends, how they "adjust" the Scouting program to match their view of how they want to treat their youth. Muslim sponsored units are similar in their arrangements of male- female.... Orthodox Jewish units, there you are. I don't see BSA insisting they change. As a Commish, I have seen COs insist in such things, notably a RCatholic church of my acquaintance ( It is a small Troop) will politely refuse membership to folks not of their membership, and I refer them to other units. "Nothing to see here, move along please..." BSA will adjust and move on. Some will join, some will form their own activity groups, some will never have the benefits (?) of Scouting, some will join other "clubs". So has it always been, so it will be.

""How to Shit in the Woods"" by Kathleen Meyer..... Go to the expert, this is the authority as to hygiene, sanitation, packing in/out, NPS Back Country requirements, all that stuff. Order on Amazon, if not available at your outfitters.... http://www.amazon.com/How-Shit-Woods-Edition-Environmentally/dp/1580083633

Contact the local Military District and ask the Corps of Engineers to come out and work a station on building things. Our CSDC had them out, they did a pavilion for a whole week, and cost us zero. Ask NASA for help . Call the local Jr, College, they might have a Physics lab that likes going "Boom" for people. Natural science: Dept of Agriculture Extension Agent will help with soil conservation, erosion, plant genetics, killer bugs, bees disappearing,,,, Fishing can be very scientific. Aviation was our theme some years back, we did fabulous things with that. And don't let them kid you, your camp is YOUR camp, adapt it as the spirit leads you. One year, the Council announced our theme was "Wild and Wooly West" We chewed on that a while, and decided to do the Lewis and Clark Expedition! It was really popular! (dare I say educational) Each day was another 500 miles toward the Pacific Ocean... If you think "Science " is too broad a spectrum (!), adjust your theme....Do it all in Aviation, or Space Exploration. Or Agricultural Science. The local Extension Agent will love to help . The Scouty stuff will fit easily, you'll see. ... ""I study nuclear science, I love my classes I got a crazy teacher who wears dark glasses Things are going great, and they're only getting better I'm doing all right, getting good grades The future's so bright I gotta wear shades......"

Oooops.... "Assembly" is NOT what you hear before a horse race. That is called "First Call". "Assembly" is a whole lot different. But 2cubdad has the right idea, Bugle is a POR of a different holler. And that reminds me of a story about an undertaker's vehicle and a bakery sweet, but no matter. It is time to be off to play (if I were in camp) "Tatoo" and then "Taps". G'nite Gracie....

Farm Mechanics Merit Badge? And do they know Eric Sloane? Any possible connection to the local County Parks Department? Our County Park & Recreation has a "Agricultural History Farm Park" that is very popular. It is used by local Scout Troops for hikes, Blue Grass festivals, threshing festivals, birding clubs, it is the headquarters for the County Extension Agent and the 4H too. They have an "old timers" club that built a big barn to store equipment in, work with the county fair. I would say there is some public event there at least once a month thruout the year. http://www.montgomeryparks.org/facilities/ag_farm.shtm Kids, both young and not so, love to watch the saw mill cut big maple logs , powered by a belt driving Case tractor engine.... The only thing we haven't seen there is Cub Scout Day Camp, because of we have a superior site on which to hold it, and therefore haven't seen fit to ask! Camporees are out, there is a policy against overnight stays on the property, so the manager says.

About a year after my first wife and I parted company (A Scout is Courteous) I met a young lady who was also recently divorced. I had a 5 year old daughter, she had a 6 year old son, both of us had "custody". I thought we got along fairly well in our first few dates. I was not ready, and neither was she, to introduce our kids to each other, but they had each met the other adult, and had it explained that even mommies and daddies had "friends". The problem came when I suggested, after some observation, that her son needed a mother more than his mother needed a "friend" of 8 years old....

“â€We have taken many paths we would not have chosen, and we have done many jobs we did not want to do. We have carried burdens we did not want to carry and dealt with impossible people we did not like. “â€It is strange that the road we did not want to take is the one that brought us more quickly to the place we wanted to be. At times, the way was hostile, but when we needed a hand there was one. When we needed courage, it was there. What we call problems and unjust circumstances have a way of teaching us integrity and how to be peaceful. ҠIt makes us wonder how many other rewards we have missed because we resisted something that looked like too much responsibility. Ҡ= Joyce Sequichie Hifler = from "A Cherokee Feast of Days"

Transformers?

The "USE" of a bugler is , as has been noted, dependent on (1) the intention of the event or Unit Leadership (do they want a bugler, do they want the time keeping notice affect or the ceremonial affect or the tradition affect or...) and (2) the skill and attention of the bugler and (3) the recognition of the participants of what that noise means, (if anything). If the leaders see a need and utility of the bugle, then they will work (1) to make it's playing a serious matter to the participants (3) and make sure they know what to expect. Similarly, the leaders will work to make sure the Bugler (2) knows his skill is appreciated and not just tolerated. Encouragement is a good thing. Is the Bugler part of the PLC? Does the SPL remind/tell/instruct the Bugler to "make the call"? Is the Bugler really trying to achieve virtuosity or just "putting in time"? If it's close to 6am, and they hear "the noise", it should be Reveille and it's time to get moving. If it's coming up 7am, and you hear "the noise" (best if it can really be considered "music", yes?) , probably it's "assembly" and time to gather at the flag pole, or at the fire ring so we can walk up to the "parade ground" as a Patrol and/or Troop. Eventually, the calls will be recognized (tin ears not withstanding), and the communicative utility of the bugle will be achieved. But it takes consistency and insistence. It takes awhile for all this to happen. The Bugler needs a bugle , a reliable time piece (!) and Leaders that want him to do a good job and rely on him to do a good job.

We have a local RCChurch that charters a Pack and Troop. One must profess the Catholic faith to be a Scout in their units. Small, but active and well supported.

I suggest this thread be shifted to the "Faith and Chaplaincy " thread.... when it gets created.... Meanwhile, ""Father forgive us for what we must do You forgive us we'll forgive you We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven."" Thank you, John Prine.

Toten Chip on Wii. Virtual Rock climbing (holodeck?) Swim Safety Defense in Youtube?

"" it is good, bad, or otherwise"". Wallll, it ain't the way I seen it. Each Newsletter reflects the editor's desire and spirit and ... resources. Yours is very good, but includes more "instruction" than I would include. I like the pics of local Scouts doing their thing, but my email will not support that. I have been told I can be TOO interesting. A neighboring District has a "Newsletter app" that I have been invited to try, but haven't got around to yet. The previous enews flash was a listing of "stuff". I try to encourage folks to go and find things on their own in googleland. If they are reading my enews, online, they can easily be referred to the Orienteering Championship Games website for the details and reminders about declination, etc. I try to refer folks back to the "official" District webpage for Training dates, schedule, official stuff. The training and references are good to have and I will suggest that to my colleagues.

Waaaay back when, our Council had four Council camps. I remember each had a reputation, each had a "specialty" of sorts. Roosevelt was on the Chesapeake Bay (boating, swimming, mosquitoes, sea nettles), Wilson was in some Pine woods, (cooler, Patrol camping only, hiking and compass stuff), and two more whose names I forget. One of those was on a mudflat lake, you had to "hike" your boat to get to deep water, as I remember. And many of the local Troops also did their own Summer Camp thing. My Troop built up one on some private property ( I wrote about that on another thread), a friend's did a long trail camp on the AT, with supplies coming to meet them along the way. Going "out of Council" was rather exotic, unless you went to Philmont or Katahdin, Seabase hadn't been invented yet. Mid 70's, Council sold all the camps, and bought one 4000 acre plot waaaay down in Virginia. This was after I left Scouting, and I had no say in it . It has been well developed by now, they built a dam , the lake now needs dredging they say, lots of corporate sponsors and corporate names. No one recognizes some of them now, they are no longer in business but "Camp PMI" is still there...

Heat4212: Give them all a subscription to "BALOO's Bugle" : http://usscouts.org/bbugle.asp and be sure to DRAG them (use your two half hitches) to your District RRRRRoundtable!

Use the necker to denote "I am a Scout". Wear it around your neck. Formal occasions, make a neat woggle to hold it neatly, wear it UNDER or OVER the shirt collar, as your Troop decides, so there is some "uniformity" among the uniforms. Do not wear it "informally" on formal occasions. . Informal occasions, tie a "friendship knot" and wrap it around your neck. Trips to the zoo or the museum or the USS Whatever, wear your ScoutTshirt with the Troop necker so we can see the Troop at a distance among all the regular tourists. Take several with you to the Jamboree, trade them with your new Scout friends. Wear several as you collect more friends. Years later, Use them to jog your memory and think about them. Learn to use the necker as a bandage, sling, emergency lashing, horse halter (old manual!), sun shade, signal flag, etc. Mine from 40 years ago has holes in it from first aid practice, but it is clean and ironed and resides in the ziplock bag in the shoe box in my closet with the other 15 or so neckers from various places and persons. Good Scouting to you!

Voulez vou eclaireur francaise?