SSScout

Toten' Chip: Get rid of all factory made tent poles and pegs. Scouts make'm on the spot. Ropes and lashings: Get rid of all "umbrella" tents. No elastic tie offs, no little plastic string lock thingies. Guy tents to hand made pegs and available trees. Tautline hitch , bowline, etc. Make tentpoles longer with parallel lashing. Cooking: No more gas stoves. Dig fire pits and set rocks to hold pots and pans. Well, maybe there is a middle ground then going all the way back to tarps and groundcloths.... Give prizes and awards for most inventive campground arrangements. I went to a "Salamagundi" sponsored by the OA and saw a natural forest transformed into streets (nameplates! lashed sign posts!) , built up lashed tables and benches, Patrol gateways, laundry lines, campfire kitchens (off the ground!) , fire bucket stations, it was impressive. Medals were awarded, ribbons for the Patrol flag. At the end, when the camp was broke down, everything was untied, sticks stacked for "next time", ropes coiled neatly and the place swept back into "forest" again. It was hard to see where the tentsites had been. If they have no NEED, no COMPETITION, no REASON to use the skills, they become one more thing to file away under "so what".

The Knights of Columbus Squires? Nascent Knights Templar? (no, wrong establishment) Junior Jesuits? Saint Francis' Friends?

*(( The true author of this article is unknown. It is here copied from the COME HOSTELING newsletter, Sept. 1980, of the Potomac Area Council of the American Youth Hostels, who received it from Dick Schwanke, Senior PAC Staff Trainer, who read it in the APPALACHIAN HIKER by Ed Garvey, who got it from the Potomac Appalachian Trail Conference Bulletin, which quoted it from THE RAMBLER of the Wasatch Mountain Club of Salt Lake City, which reportedly cribbed it from the I.A.C. News of Idaho Falls, which reported it from the 1966 PEAKS & TRAILS. I offer it here for your enjoyment and inspiration. Note that some of the ingredients are a bit dated. Adjust as necessary. Enjoy!)) "Courageous Cookery" by John Echo* Once the convert backpacker or cycle camper has accepted the subtle gustatory nuances associated with sustained operations beyond the chrome, he should try the advantages of ultra fringe living so that he will realize what he is paying for his nested pots and pretty pans carried so diligently and brought home so dirty after every "wilderness experience". The following system works. It is dependable and functional. It works on the big rock. It even works when the weather has gone to hell, you are wet and cold and the wind is blowing down the back of your hairy neck. It is not for the timid. It consists of a stove, a six inch sauce pan, a plastic cup and a soup spoon. If you insist on a metal cup, you must never fail to mutter "I'm having fun, I'm having fun", every time you spill the soup on your sleeping bag. Breakfast: Instant wheat cereal-- sugar and powdered milk added-- ready two minutes after water boils. Eat from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water, boil, and add powdered eggs and ham. You'll never taste the cereal anyway. In three minutes, eat eggs. Do not wash pot. Add water or snow and boil for tea. Do not wash pot. Most of the residue eggs will come off in the tea water. Make it strong and add sugar. Tastes like tea. Do not wash pot. With reasonable technique, it should be clean. Pack pot in rucksack and enjoy last cup of tea while others are dirtying entire series of nested cookware. Lunch: Boil pot of tea. Have snack of rye bread, cheese and dried beef Continue journey in 10 minutes if necessary. Dinner: Boil pot of water, add Wylers dried vegetable soup and beef bar. Eat from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water and potatoes from dry potatoe powder. Add gravy mix to taste. Eat potatoes from pot. Do not wash pot. Add water and boil for tea. Fortuitous fish or meat can be cooked easily. You do not need oil or fat. Put half inch of water in pot. Add cleaned and salted fish. Do not let water boil away. Eat from pot when done. Process can be done rapidly. Fish can even be browned somewhat by a masterful hand. Do not change menu. Variation only recedes from the optimum. Beginners may be allowed to wash pot once a day for three consecutive days only. It is obvious that burning or sticking food destroys the beauty of the technique. If you insist on carrying a heavier pack, make up the weight you save with extra food. Stay three days longer.

As the BS RT Commish, I do an email newsletter , I try to make it weekly. In the "title block" I include a quote from someone , The Title, a schedule of RT topics coming up, a reminder of where the RT is and when, and a link to our Council/District website (which our new webmaster just finished updating and neatening up ). I then mention training and events coming up, interesting Scouting things I find online and elsewhere, {"STEM in Camp Snyder...") . People send me notice of activities. If timely and of Scout interest, I include them. The "30" is a list of our District leadership and their emails and numbers. I also stick in a "bullet" or two. My latest are: "Sco_t _o_ndtable... What's missing? RU?" and "3/5 of SCOUT is OUT" stuff like that. Since this is only an "email" and not a "newsletter" , I try to keep it fairly simple and straightforward. I have found I can even include some fancier posters and brochures if I am careful to "attach" a small file. Verizon has a limit to sending attachments. Golly gee, I've even been known to lower my standards enough to include dreck from a website named "scouterdotcom".

Since this really does involve Scouting History (YOUR history!), I put it here. I hope a lot of you avail yourself of this opportunity to talk about some memories.... Back when you earned your Stegosaurus Husbandry Merit Badge... To all adults who were Boy Scouts: I am an Eagle Scout from Capitol Hill Troop 500 in Washington, DC. I am making a video of adults talking about how Boy Scouts impacted their life in positive ways. I'm trying to get video clips of as many people as I can before September 1, 2015. I will be making a compilation of the clips to post on YouTube. If you'd like to participate, send me a 5-minute (at most) video of you answering this question: How did Scouting impact your life? When you email me your video, please send me a signed release form as well. You can send your video and form to me at greysonacquaviva@gmail.com. Because of the BSA's youth protection rules, please cc: my mom at kdacqua@gmail.com, and include the release form below. Thanks so much for your help. Please share this post with your friends! Thanks - I really appreciate it. Greyson Acquaviva and his mom, Kim Acquaviva. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/marketing/doc/talent.doc (note: Greyson is already an Eagle. This is a "personal" project).

Congrats to your Scout. Rules are rules and some seem more draconian than others. I would be interested in learning about the project. I must ask, WasE61, what exactly does that mean, "your Life rank was one week too late"? Not enough time between Life and earning Eagle?

What they said. We had a Pack of 12 Cubs at the time, a "Hands Off" CO, and at the last recruitment we had 14(!) Tiger Cub wannabes show up with their parents. After showing them all the neat stuff, leading the boys thru a Den meeting, not one parent signed up. Not one. "Too much time". "He has better things to do." "I was never a Scout, I wouldn't know what to do". "Yes, I see he's having fun, and the material is good, but he can get the same in school and soccer/Karate/ChurchGroup/my uncle takes us camping" etc. etc. My wife and I were Den Leaders, Cub Master, Committee Chair, saw our boy blossom and grow in Scouting. The other remaining families felt the same. But when it came time for us to "cross over", no one would step up, The CO was not interested, they sign the paper, have a good day. The DE was trying with suggestions and such but he was not "HERE". I sent out a letter three months before the end of the year announcing our imminent departure. Again at two months. We had a final fling, spent the Pack treasury on a nice picnic and some award sweaters for all the remaining parent leaders, and told the CO we would not be rechartering that year. Their response: "okay". The remaining families (6) transferred to other local Packs and we nodded and smiled as we saw them again at camporees and Eagle CoHs . Life goes on. Pack 775 did not.

What gets sold? What got sold?

Post this to your email Pack buddies: ""The Work is Done by Whoever Shows Up" Then ask: Can you answer the following questions: 1) Does your boy have fun in Cub Scouts? 2) Do you want to have some say in how your boy grows up? Or will you let the TV, Internet, only the School do his growing up for you? 3) Do you want a connection with your boy when he is 16? If you do not have that connection by the time he is 12, you will not have any at 16.... 4) Do you see Scouting as a worthy activity for your boy, REGARDLESS of who his Leaders are? 5) If you answered "YES" to the above questions, then we will be glad to see you at the planning meeting on xx-xx-xxxx in the yyyyyyy Hall. We have a great year ahead and we need YOUR light and energy to help give YOUR boy the future he deserves! As Red Green observed, "we're all in this together". "But I wasn't a Scout " Don't have to be. You only have to want your boy to be a Scout and help him have fun doing it. See you then! Call if you have questions? Please! "Course, sometimes no amount of reason, guilt tripping or cajoling will avail. In that case, write your farewell letter (on paper! Makes a bigger impact!), send it to the other parents (it will be worth the postage to your soul, trust me), and transfer to a Pack that cares.. You will find one.... They are out there. Good Scouting to your boy and to you! Then, when no one shows up at the next Pack meeting, you take YOUR boy and transfer to a Pack that cares.....

Interesting discussion. We just finished watching "Twelve Angry Men " on TCM. Bigotry versus facts vs perception vs experience vs democracy vs need to punish vs need for fairness vs real life vs expectation vs personal desire vs need for revenge vs integrity vs compassion. I don't remember any mention of religion, but "you know how those people are" was mentioned several times.

"The work is done by whoever shows up". "" What can you do?"" You can show up. Due to health issues (eye surgery among other things) I was not able to fully participate in CSDC this year. But I still helped to clear land at the new CSDC site having fun with the chainsaw. And I still head up the Scout RoundTable, which leads to being the enews email sender (240 email addresses) and will be doing my thing (Woodtools, Scout's own, Animal and Plant ID ) at IOLS and helping with Cub Leader Training and SMSpecific training. Somehow, I have become a magnet for used camp gear ( I now have three canoes and accompanying paddles and PDFs and several lanterns and stoves) and am trying to find a home for them where they will be used. And then there is the Home Troop....

Sounds great. And another Damascus! We have a Damascus in Maryland, not 1o miles from my home!

Oak Tree: Sorry for the confusion. "Local option" is the thing I was referring to. Yes, there are National Standards that the Local Unit have to abide by, but they don't have to allow anyone that BSA says is OK. What we have in this thread is finding out what, exactly, the National Standard is. And, yes, National, or the local Council, can pull the charter of the unit for whatever reason they want. Then, it is up to the CO to find out why. In my experience, this has included: Didn't pay the fees, check for the fees bounced, didn't recharter in time, didn't have everybody YP'd in time, couldn't find enough suitable folks to fill in charter, publicly noted that anyone could join the unit (that is ANYONE, without regard to race, faith, gender, sexual preference, country of origin , or citizenship) (this led to all kinds of bad press locally), 15 year old Webelos, fraudulent information on application(s), et al. And, vice versa, the CO can deny the unit charter they have held for (many, many) years because: They don't have the money, they don't like BSA's (perceived) recent attitude change, BSA hasn't changed ENOUGH, they want to use their own church youth program, they can't find any new leaders, the CO has closed down, etc. C'est la vie....

""I wish my camp had 1/2 that number."" Our CSDC had 150, down from the year before of 220. We attributed the drop to a new site, lots of Cubs going to the Council overnight camp, the insistence of Council raising the price, and the County School system insisting on making up the "snow days" by tacking on 5 extra school days , which led to ultimately making the first DAY of camp a TWILIGHT (evening) camp, with no reduction in price... It was still "a good time had by all" and no bad reviews to my knowledge...

Is it time to name an ad hoc virtual committee to design/arrange/plan for a virtual campfire celebration of the founding of this website (20 years? Only seems like 30... ) Our District Round Table motto appears to be (unofishully) "The work is done by whoever shows up", so maybe we can establish a temporary thread for celebratory mechanations....

Having had "a little" experience with BSA rejection, after reading thru the above, here is my take on the situation: For reasons unknown, the parent has been bared by National Council from any official connection to BSA. He may not be a registered volunteer , leader or Scouter. It is up to him to pursue the matter to find out exactly why. It may take a lawyer's letter or other legal action to pry the reason loose, if that is what the person really wants. He may have some inkling of the real reason, or he may not. He may want to try and clear things , if he believes the reasons are false or not interpreted appropriately. Or he may want to "let sleeping dogs lie". The Scout can still be a Scout, but this can lead to difficult situations. The parent can still attend activities as a parent. UNLESS>>> The CO thru the COR and IH can request more information, that is their right as the final approver of contact with the Scout unit as to Leaders, etc. They should, IMO, do so for closure and satisfaction. BSA ultimately, cannot tell a CO who they will or will not allow to be a unit member or leader (see recent actions by the National Committee). If the National BSA convinces the CO that their reasons for this ex-communication is valid and worthy of action, then the CO can also bare the person from contact with their Scouts. All this is not to say there is any guarantee that BSA will (1) reveal to anyone what the reasoning is or (2) admit to any , shall we say, incorrectness (?) in the issue, or (3) correct anything that they admit to being incorrect, the first point of the Scout Law not withstanding.

CoH on the left coast, Skype projected on the right coast... BBQ on both coasts. Mit Kraut....

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, we have the parent that appreciates what you do . I had a break from "Scout Skills" and was walking back to the Admin Pav to sit and cool off. I notice a boy and woman (his mother, I learned)in the middle of the field, obviously having a difficult discussion. I walk over and say "hello. Can I help?" The Cub, maybe 8 years old, looks up at me and says "This (*%$##@!! bitch wants me to go home! I ain't going no &^)*$$ place with this dirty (^%%$# ". I look at the woman, who smiles back at me and says " Yes, he has a problem. And we have to leave camp for today." I ask how I can help? It is obvious to me the boy suffers (and that is the word) from a condition I had only just read about. The boy kicks his mother in the leg, HARD, and curses again. I tell him he needs to treat his mom better and some day he will appreciate her, she might be a good friend to have around some time. He curses me, tells me to "&%##$ off " and sits down in the grass. I ask if she wants me to help her to her car? and she says yes. I pick up the boy like a bag of potatoes under my arm and we go to the car, cursing and flailing boy in tow. I help her strap the boy into his carseat (my work in the psychiatric hospital was useful again) and the boy settles down. He could unstrap himself, but he doesn't. She thanks me and they drive off. Needless to say, I write a long incident report for the record. They do not return to camp that week. Next year, I am Archery RO. The second day, after the safety talks of day one, the Cubs line up and have fun hitting the targets. One Cub is very accurate and consistant. I look at the roster and his name seems familiar. I ask the group of parent DenWalkers if his parent is among them, and sure enough, I recognize his mother. This is the boy from the year before. Now she has the time, she thanks me and I carefully ask if his medication has been adjusted? She smiles and says yes. Cub Scouting has been the outlet he needed, and (her words!) men like me were help to her. This boy will have the most bullseyes and be one of the most polite, attentive Cubs that year.

Amen, friend.

Neutral territory, if necessary, can be found. The Geographic Center of the contiguous USA is near Lebanon Kansas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_center_of_the_contiguous_United_States Nice spot for a campout.....

Sounds like a good camp. How many Cubs? Well, the only question I have for you is .... are YOU having fun?

Packsaddle has the idea. The new Cub Pack guidelines are only an outline. You are left with the filling in. Here's what I tried to do each Pack Meeting: Opening, (let each Den take a turn), CM's Agenda (short! Might include a Led Skit)), Den Reports (what did they do in the last weeks?), the Program (craft, guest visitor, game, Den competition, some combination, etc.), CM Minute (final announcements , give the Parents a piece of paper with the upcoming schedule on it, Something To Think About), and Closing (again, let the Dens take turns having this responsibility), cleanup & put away... I almost never had a snack time in the Pack meeting. The "cookout" meeting had food, obviously. Food can mean more clean up and corralling of Cubs. And don't forget to include your Unit Commissioner and DE in your planning and your local Scout Troop. They both will have ideas for Cub presentations and things of interest (Whittlin' Chip? Nothing better than a knowledgeable Den Chief Boy Scout teaching Knife Safety) . Our Unit Commish loves talking about Astronomy and telescopes, he brings stuff to "play" with and this leads to the Astronomy Belt Loop/pin. Definitely check out "Baloo's Bugle" http://usscouts.org/bbugle.asp (Sorry Mr. Kipling, we will miss you), and the old, abandoned BSA publication "Cub Scout Program Helps" http://www.scouting.org/HispanicInitiatives/Resources/ProgramHelps.aspx Good Scouting to you!

And boots?

Stosh: I know not a few adults who appear to be working on their "bulging" MB

Girl Scouts got roots?