SSScout

Waaaay back in Paleo Scout days, I had two , no three Den Mothers . My mom, in our newly rebuilt rec room in the basement and our across the street neighbor, an old farm family with a hundred year plus old house, we met in their "usual" parlor, we would've called it a "living room" (our house had that). The "polite" parlor, all the furniture had clear plastic fitted covers. Webelos Den (after Lion !) we had (I say "we", because just about the same bunch of kids went thru Cubs together) a mom whose husband was a scientist/diplomat. He was overseas alot, their house, we met in their BIG kitchen. When that dad was home, he acted as our Pack Cubmaster, often. Back then, I don't think I paid much attention to the Pack Organizational Adult Leader Chart. O mostly remember building stuff, going special places, playing softball (we had a Cub Scout Softball league !), and hanging out with my friends, "on purpose". As a nascent Den Leader, I think you could do alot worse by aiming for similar goals.... Welcome to the virtual campfire...

DATS WAD HEM TAWKIN BOUT ! ! Wonderful..... The GAP is a made for this trail. Mostly old railroad bed. 90% downhill or level all the way. Wished I'd had the time to join you....

Yep. Volunteer Fire Company. Around here, "department" implies the professional type/part.

All Scouting is local... Home Pack UMC chartered had to fold for lack of adult leadership during Pandemic. UMC held charter until.... Folks working to recruit and reconstitute the Pack with the NEW Charter, see below.... Home Troop(s) UMC chartered heard the news and went looking for a new charter holder. Very Scout friendly UMC pastor said , sorry, but I have to follow the church instructions. Troop can still park trailer, etc. until you find your new home . almost 70 years of history and wall plaques.... Troop(s) found a new home in the VFC. VFPresident was a Scout from the Troop ! This Commisher helped, might could create Venture Crew specializing in EMS . Details of storage, room useage , COR etc. being worked out.... The local County professional F&R service is very good, a cooperative hybrid thing with the many VFC around the county. All the volunteers must meet the same training and certs as the pros.

By all means, have that discussion. Your Troop will never be the same after a self created adventure like that. The community created, the Patrol Method at work (if you let it)... Waaay back in Paleo Scout days, I joined a Troop that had alot of WW2 and Korean army vet parents. I did not make this connection until much later, but that is where they had been. The parents were of every type, bank accountants, farmers, telephone pole workers, fed gov researchers, one dad became a embassy adjutant in Budapest. Somebody's brother's cousin had some property near Germantown MD, and the Troop started camping there. It was , as I remember it, just about ideal. At the end of a long dirt road, we had to hike in about a quarter mile. They (they!) found a running spring, it drained into a far sized creek. The spring was capped, a pipe installed ( I assume it was tested OK ), and voila, we had water. We Scouts cleared some Patrol campsites (Totin' Chip !) , two on each side of the creek. Later, it was decided we needed a summer camp (!!), so a privy/latrine was dug and built, and a three sided Adirondack cabin was built into the side of a hill for "headquarters" . The logs were dragged in by Mr. Atwell's Jeep, he was the telephone lineman, and heck, the phone company had lots of old poles, right? (so THAT'S how they notched and locked the logs in place for cabins !). The older Scouts set the pace, did much of the heavy lifting, so to speak, we younger Scouts tried hard to match their example. "The Property" slowly became "Camp Freedom". Several weeklong summer camps were organized and held. Canvas tents were bought and erected (BSA Camper and Baker tents were favorites). Tables and benches were built. Canvas dining flies erected. We built cooking fire pits, rocks from the creek.. We had a grove (?) of dead American Chestnut nearby that provided the best firewood. Chestnut burns with a blue hot flame, did you know? Mr McDaniels became our Quartermaster, in the cabin, he doled out the food, menus were fairly standard. Refrigeration? Wood box in the creek, always at about 50 degrees. Activities? Easy. Hiking trails, nature exhibits, pioneering lashing stuff that was USED, not merely demonstrated. About the only thing we didn't have was a swim pool, but field trips were taken to local private pools that were known. When I "grew up", the Troop was still using Camp Freedom, and also going off to Philmont and Camp Roosevelt on the Chesapeake Bay. Camp Roosevelt is now partially Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and a State Park. Some of it may be a subdivision. "The Property" , Camp Freedom was sold, it is now a church retreat center and homes.... Sic Gloria Mundi..... The important thing is INCLUDE THE SCOUTS IN THE PLANNING. DO NOT just give them a fait accompli plan.

Some time ago, (I was an adult then) I remember seeing a tv ad (and I have not been able to find it online/youtube/etc. ..so much for everything being online). The ad had three middle school age kids "hanging out". I think they were on bikes... One says something like " hey, I made level 18 in <video game XYZQ> this summer. Pretty cool." Kid #2 says, "Yeah, I got to hang out at my mom and dad's pool". Kid #3 says "I hiked and camped 90 miles in the New Mexico mountains. " Other kids turn and look wistfully at #3.... Cut to scenes at Philmont, ""BSA. Adventure awaits."" At least that's what I remember.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKie47V2lLY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JylE5nHRUA

Yep. I agree with everything you note. All Scouting is Local, after all, but that does not mean thatthe local Council and Nashunal shouldn't be putting stuff out on TV, , Facebook, etc. If nameless couples can get traction telling stupid jokes, why can't various Scout folks do various videos. Even recycling oldies but goodies :

Who Will Buy ? THIN MINTS ! SAMOAS !! LEMONOES !!! """"Who will buy this wonderful gluten? Such a cookie you never did see Who will wrap it up in mylar? And put it in a box for me So I could eat it at my leisure Whenever things go wrong Or try to 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 ? ? ?

Water balloon battles are not a good idea, UNLESS... you promise to count, then pick up and account for ALL the rubber balloons that are used, so they do not become a threat to wildlife trying to eat them. Truism....

"PATROL " method, or "TROOP" method, or "ADULT " method ?

Again, welcome to our campfire ring. Used to be, back in Paleo Scout time, one could not "work" on a given rank until one had "earned" the preceding one. That changed when TPTB realized that there is no harm in LEARNING a skill or knowledge prior to DEMONSTRATING it for rank requirement passing. This led to the allowing of passing a rank requirement whenever it can be done. Sign off in the book.... Much of Scout rank is classroom stuff, yes? Learn the Scout Promise, etc. That can be passed on (earned) whenever ready. No harm in learning knots, fire safety, camp cooking early on.... More time to practice and get good at them. Would you deny a Scout the ability to ID POISON IVY just because plant ID is not in his next rank requirements? I knew a Scout in our home Troop, really nice kid, led, taught, went on adventures, did not receive his second class OR first class until he was corraled by the Scoutmaster and ASM , and sat down to earn and sign off all the in between stuff. At one CoH, he was awarded (at age 15) (in proper order) Second Class, First Class and Star.... He did eventually earn his Eagle... More importantly, is your Scout ENJOYING his time in Scouts? Personally, I do not favor "New Scout Patrols", I would rather see the newbies absorbed into the regular Patrols (traditional Patrol Method) for the older Scouts to then take under their wing. Natural progression of serving as a patrol member, then being a leader in any and all capacities, but that's just me. Stand back and watch that Scout soar. See you on the trail....

My Troop used to sell donuts.

Welcome to the virtual rant circle, er, I mean CAMPFIRE... You will find this bunch of Scout fanatics well worth knowing. The past files are worth digging into, if you have a particular topic to discuss. Cub Scouting.... I was a Scout back in Paleo Scout days. Worked on my Eohippus Husbandry Merit Badge, but did not complete it. My good wife knew of my Scout history, but her sons, my now stepsons, had been turned off to Scouting by their dad, mores the pity. When our new son came along, and came of age, I was pleased that he decided to join the local Pack, and much to my wife's surprise, she became involved early on and eventually became the Cub Scout Day Camp Director, which made me the "First Assistant Everything Else" (that was my title !). Son staffed a Jamboree, crew chiefed TWO Philmont treks and earned his Eagle. Be careful, my friend, it can become addictive, despite the current travails and course corrections. You want eWhipped Cream on your virtual peach cobbler?

Wait a min... More echarcoal.... recipe calls for .... 18 ebriqs on the lid....

Yes, but.....

""Neoprene socks, the longer you wear them the stronger they get....""

Well said, ED... Getting the Scout (the adult?) to buy into the Scout Law and Promise as ideals that can ACTUALLY (actually!) apply for the good in one's life can be hard. I had a p/t job once as a carpenters helper. My crew chief was a crusty old carp, the kind that knew how to frame a roof by calling down the dimensions to a cutter on the ground and getting the right slant on top. We had just finished a frame up on the first floor of a house, he came up looked around, said' "stretch your tape here" indicating the diagonal, corner to corner, and then for the other diagonal. An inch and a half difference in the twenty plus foot lengths. He told us to take out the one wall and rehang it. "Why?" asked one of our crew. "after the drywall, plaster and paint, who's gonna know?" "He said 'You and I would know... Take it down and redo it." In today's world of "believe me" and be rewarded by me.... to what are we loyal? Not to who....

Oh, how well I know....

Oh, you got that right. No Morse Code or signaling required for First Class, among other things..... Mostly for the best.... AND... Welcome to the forums, where you will either be entertained, or confounded... (what happened to Merlin?). You want virtual whipped cream with your ePeach Cobbler?

Pursue. Document.. Keep good records. Call, phone. Email. Send real letters. Remind folks of the Scout Promise and Law. I had served as Chaplain in two previous Jamborees to good effect. Approval of my faith's Scout Committee, support of my congregation. I had thank you letters. Third Jamboree, I was emailed that "you are not to be a Staff member. This is not appealable. Have a good day". No reason, no person to contact . For the next two months, I collected names at National . I had some very good people write letters of recommendation. 18 of them. Scouters of no small repute, employers, school principals, politicos that knew me. To no avail. National fellow finally told me that all Jambo staff are "vetted" by their home Council, and that I had been given a less than stellar rating. ?how so? By whom? They never told me, but his "opinion" was that I had somehow "made an enemy". Did not the reference letters indicate the mistake/falsity of this "vetting rating"? No, they would not change the decision. This time.... I did not serve on that Jamboree, but guess what? The next time, they changed the vetting requirement. No problem that time..... and then came the Pandemic.... Be polite. Be honest. Be logical . Do not lose your temper, ever. Refer to past things. (records? ) Be persistent. See you on the trail....

We no longer have "big" miracles, only small ones to remind us of how/why/what. In the "right place" , at the "right time", with the "right skills" , with the "right attitude"..... Aw, it's just a co-incidence.... I don't think so. Otherwise, howcum the detective always finds a parking space RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SCENE OF THE CRIME ? When wife and I go someplace, and we find our parking space RIGHT THERE.... I know we are supposed to be here.

.....completely different?

A boy named sioux ranger:::: You were in the right place at the right time with the right training and attitude .... There is no such thing as coincidence..... AND... what were you doing out on a lake in a boat at age 14 without (two deep) adult supervision ? 😉