SSScout

I've always liked the idea of an original Troop (or Patrol!) design. I like the idea of a non-copyright design. The Necker SHOULD be big, 30" on a side is not too small. Then, it lends itself to being USED, as the original necker was intended to be useful, as a flag, or dust mask, or sun hat, or arm sling or..... My Troop necker was designed by the boys in the Troop just before I joined. There was a pair of dusty boots with the motto displayed "Always on the GO!" . The ESL necker was a style statement, indicative not of Scouting's purpose, but of it's demise from being the pre-eminent outdoor youth adventure organization. If you have a good, Scouty design, well and good. Stay with tradition. But you might ask the boys to provide a design THEY can own. And use the necker, don't just wear it for wearing's sake. Good Scouting to you!

wc153221, ?? Any news??

"ALWAYS keep copies of paperwork until the deed is completed or your grandchildren are no longer interested".

Do you want a stand on the shelf TROPHY or the Sports Academic Letter to sew on his brag vest? http://www.meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Cub_Scout_Academics_and_Sports_Program A lot of this is "obsolete", so you may well have to make it yourself (nicely sawed off log section "cookie" with the pins etc. attached thereto), as a keepsake, or go the ebay route. Shadow boxes are also a nice way to display what in my day was put away in the old shoebox in the closet. CS shadow boxes are available at my Scoutshop.

Cub Scout Obstacle course: "Crossing the Crocodile infested Amazon " "Look out for the Piranha!" --- Nail/screw 2x4 end pieces to a 2x4 set narrow side up to make a balance beam. Make a couple shorter ones, arrange in a curvy row. Add some 9" cinder blocks (called CMUs by architects) to jump to and from. ---Tie a heavy rope between two big trees about 4" off the ground, maybe 10' long, tight, and another rope about 5' higher for them to hold on to. Ask them to navigate that. ---Old tires on ground to hop in and out of, like the course you see football players use, but don't be alarmed if the Cubs can't make the distance with the shorter legs. They will still have fun with it. --- Sink a fencepost in the ground, 4' high. Use the tires, have the Cubs pair/triple up to lift the tire OVER ONTO the fence post. Can a Den do it as a team for time? . Scout staff can lift them back for the next team, or just pile'm on, add on to it. Set up a relay race for the Den, for time. Use balls, flag folding, stick handoffs, knot tying, filling up a measured bucket with a wet sponge.... Make stations for the Cub Dens to travel between. KiS MiF!

Yep. Beads. Amazing what a fella will do for a bead, doesn't matter the age, I guess. The OA in our area gets a bead for a service project attendance, for helping at a Ordeal, etc.. CSDC, everyone earns beads for catching a fish, hitting the target, picking up a handful (judgement call) of trash, leading a Den cheer. Those beads add up. At CSRT, beads have come to be expected, sign in, pick up your handouts, take a bead (Trustworthy), different color each month. . Did I mention Jeff throws out candy for good questions? Also beads, when he runs out of candy. I haven't had to stop to that, (church won't allow food in my room). I see a lot of beady neckerlaces.

The bike trip sounds like (I hope) an ongoing project, to be done every year? If FoS can do golf tournaments, why not an Eagle project that sets up a yearly bike hike to raise money for another worthy cause? Tell him to research TOSRV, a hundred mile bike trip once organized by the Columbus American Youth Hostel Council. Attracted 3.000 plus bikes each year, Columbus Ohio to Portsmouth Ohio. Now, branched off to a separate entity.... https://tosrv.org/15/index.htm I did it in '76 and '77. Ah, the memories... Congrats and good luck to him.

Our District has TWO separate RTs, on the same night, same location. No joint meeting, no "breakout". Boy Scouts is me. Cub Scouts is Jeff. We each have our own email list, send out our own weekly eNews. We email announce the RT place, time, topic, and lots of other interesting stuff . Jeff runs CSRT like a Pack Meeting, When you arrive, you sign in and take a bead for your necker, (a lot of beady neckers here!) give a buck in the jar, and take a copy of the Monthly Program Suggestions (gleaned from lots of sources. Jeff has assistants!) and Baloo's Bugle. A skit (folks are "drafted" into the skit as they arrive, especially new faces!) opening germane to the next month's theme. Then official announcements (Real short) and onto a crafty thing, and then maybe a "guest" that also goes along with the theme. Fireman in turnout gear, doctor /paramedic talks about health issues on hikes and campouts (Cub family campout), docent from an overnight venue (historic ship), that sort of thing. OCCASSIONALLY we meet jointly, like recharter training, or the new program material as it affects both sides of the aisle. And he closes it with maybe an award and a "Cubmaster Minute". He tries to have a snack or if there is a discussion , he will throw candy to the folks that ask a good question (they're all good!) as encouragement. (I throw old camp patches). Our attitude is if it would be interesting to me, it can be interesting to you. When I took on the BSRT, it had been done by an ex-government bureaucrat who had not wanted to do it, so the RT had devolved into a boring oration of Scout announcements and Powerpoints on camp hygiene and such. I invited a podiatrist to discuss blisters, boots and socks and the rest is history. Doubled attendance over the past year, and folks email me to ask about THAT topic or to be added to the email list. The Official RT BSA site is a good suggested outline, but hey, you are there, they are not. "Make it interesting and they will come" so long as you have them on your email list and make the RTNews worth looking at. I even get stuff to include off this raggedy site!

Ya think Ethan will help? http://www.scouting.org/filestore/program_update/pdf/Ethan.pdf And talk about disability... The kids asthma must really bother him, with no nostrils.... And let us bewail the passing of the Jungle Book from Cubbing.... Rest in peace, Rudyard....

The Troop of my yoooth did this several years. I still have the dangle from "Camp Freedom". Somebody's uncle's brother's friend owned some wooded property with a spring on it. After we had been camping on it several times, The Troop developed a schedule : We first capped/dammed the spring, put a actual spigot on it. Then, one dad worked for the phone company, and we took many surplus utility poles and dragged them into the woods (with a surplus Jeep!) and the dads and older Scouts cut and built a 3 sided Adirondack shelter into a hillside. This became the Quartermaster's Cabin. Meanwhile, somebody (?) had dug and built a privy, "over there". Down from the QCabin, they partially dammed up a creek (the outflow of the spring) and made a aluminum box in it that became the camp cooler. Little Tenderfoot me helped where I could, and often! By this time, it was winter. The next summer, I attended both the Council camp (Roosevelt on the Chesapeake Bay) and "Freedom". We had four Patrols, each had a separate campsite, and we built a rock fire place in ours. Draw your supplies from the QCabin, cook your meals, and do Scout stuff all day. Field trips to museums and other Parks. The adults were "over there" and we were "over here". We built lots of camp gadgets, including a table and benches (which was replaced the next year with a board/lumber set that we pounded together). Who did it? The older Scouts had a large role in planning and teaching and exampling, as I remember. When I became "old enough" ( a real objective judgement), I was a Quartermaster and Bugler. The adults did the supplying and directing. Mr. McDaniels was the Quartermaster and he had a couple of Scout assistants, who took care of business. Often, he was not there, but would come in each day with supplies and walk thru the camp to check on us. Mr. Leaman., the Scoutmaster was there too, but "over there" more than anything else. Ah, those were the days. I have no doubt any Troop today could do the same sort of thing, make it a traveling camp ala Joe Bob. "Freedom" was used for at least 20 years by the Troop, then it was sold off (I later found), partially to a religious retreat center and partially to the County Parks. I took Scoutson up there once and found the ruins of the cabin. The spring had been bulldozed and filled in.

""The Work Is Done By Whoever Shows Up."" = Scouter District mantra = Perhaps they could use someone who has been there- done that? Ummm?

Resurrect the thread: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson How to Shit in the Woods by Kathleen Meyer

As I understand BSA policy: 1) A Scout Unit may NOT solicit donations. The unit must earn its budget (selling, services, etc.). Voluntary donations can be accepted, but not asked for. 2) If a Scout Unit is doing a service project for a non-profit entity (can't clean up a gas station parking lot for free), and fund raising is necessary (gotta buy materials to build the picnic tables for the church), those funds (however raised. ?donations?) must ALL go to the benefiting entity. And any leftover materials. 3) Nothing the Unit does financially can personally benefit any individual Scout, except as it applies to his Scouting career. Camp scholarship okay, new xbox, no no. New back pack, maybe, new Air Jordans not a chance.... see previous discussions about "Scout Accounts". 4) Yes, the Unit is "owned " by the CO, but the understanding CO will let the Unit do it's thing with the Unit's money. And the understanding Unit will not knowingly embarrass or place the CO in any financial problems. 5 Therefore, if the Scout Unit wants to do a project/have a fundraiser/ etc. to benefit a separate non-profit entity (ie, not the Scout unit), they should fill out a "Fund Raising Permission " form (contact your DE) and figure out how all the above applies. Share the money raised between the Unit and another Non-profit? ? Well, we do that with popcorn, yes? so it is not out of the realm of believable. Outside sponsorship? mmmmmm.... Cub Pack helping at a charity race? Better chance. Relay for Life gets lots of Scout support around here, Scout Troop organizes team, and ALL the money goes to the RfL folks. That's appropriate. Unit helps with crowd control at the school track, good fit. Sells bottles of cold beverage to participants? Who gets that money? Half and half? seems okay to me.

Lessee now... From Gilwell Park to New York to New Jersey to Texas I 1979. Keep moving west? Denver got any cheap real estate?

Boy, that looks like a REALLY big backpack! But the stamps are notable. Makes me want to dig out my mom's stamp books and look'em over. Is the "Forever" stamp collectable? Any upside down 747s?

Junior Ranger Award is intended for Cub Scout age folks. Boy Scouts do a lot in the Parks, usually for their own ranks and badges, but the occasional Eagle or OA project comes to mind. I have also seen specific projects that Troops take on, one that comes to mind is the illumination of the Antietam Battlefield , where local Troops help set things up, other "civilians" help, but it is mostly Scouts herehttp://www.nps.gov/anti/planyourvisit/luminary.htm AND, some parks DO have a Boy Scout Ranger Program http://www.nps.gov/gettinginvolved/youthprograms/boyscouts.htm , just gotta ask about it.

Disabled? "Most of us are only temporarily Able."

WELL!!

She probably did not understand the description in her Treasurer Job Description as "volunteer".

Now if EagleSon can only stop making his "f"s look like "Euros" .... My dad worked as a "show card artist". He had impeccable print and flourished script writing. My mom was one of the first woman news reporters (Chicago Trib and Boston Globe). I did a Jr. High project on Cuneiform. Morse Code? Still useful. Communication is an underrated topic, for sure, especially when it comes to written English. I brought up the application materials on computer for the Council Jamboree application for adult leaders. So many typos and grammar errors. I am moved to write to my SE and ask him to proofread it....

((I pass this on to our OA brothers, everywhere)) The Order of the Arrow Broken Arrow Ceremony for Courtenay Marshall will be held on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at 5:30PM at the Transfiguration Episcopal Church , 13925 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD. Light desserts will follow the ceremony in the Parish Hall. Scheduling conflicts greatly delayed this meaningful ceremony and, while a year has gone by ( he passed away Sunday morning, June 8, 2014), it is only right that we honor the life of our colleague who dedicated so many years to Scouting, the Order of the Arrow, and the community. Mr. Marshall was a longtime Order of the Arrow Adviser, Vigil Honor, Assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 1444 and active at the district level. His presence is still missed. This ceremony is open to both OA members and non-members. All Scouts, Scouters, and the public are welcome. It is appropriate for Scouts and Scouters to wear their uniform or appropriate civilian attire. All OA members, in uniform or not, should wear their OA sash. As an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 1444, Mr. Marshall was the epitome of a servant leader and beloved by those who truly knew him. In turn, Mr. Marshall loved scouting and the Order of the Arrow. He was a regular attendee at troop, district, chapter, and lodge functions and meetings for over three decades. If you have never seen this unique Broken Arrow Ceremony, it is both touching and symbolic. Please come to say your scouting goodbye and honor the scouting life of our friend and adviser. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F084FA8AB2EA0F85-broken Questions? email to : whiteoak.oa@gmail.com YiS WWW

"" I once visited another Council office during a business trip and got to chatting with one of the office staff. She said that, not only did she have to pay the fees to work at Jambo, but her SE was charging her 10 days' vacation time for being out of the office. "" As a prior Employee Rep, I can tell you that the Fed Labor Relations Board might take a dim view of this. If it is an "ASSIGNMENT" and requirement of her employment, then they cannot charge her leave time, and must PAY her regular wage. As Wolf suggested, if she "VOLUNTEERED" for it, then, yes, that's her vacation time, and her fee, but the SE might have been a bit more Scouty ("A Scout is Courteous, Loyal, " etc. ) Yeah, it's a stretch for many of us. But , as was discussed in BBlog last year, it can be seen as a bargain, what with all the activities, entertainment and built in food, accommodations (sure it's a tent), and the transportation etc. has to be considered, too.