stevejb

Just wondering how many of you remember the twelve skill awards from the 1970's and 1980's. I remember earning them as a Boy Scout and teaching them as a scoutmaster. I have recently been writing about the skill awards on "A Scoutmaster's Blog" found at http://www.melrosetroop68.org/blog/

Have you checked out the newest podcasts from PTC Media? http://www.ptcmedia.net'>http://www.ptcmedia.net Around The Scouting Campfire #11 (audio) Steve and Buttons talk about the past year, setting goals, learning the Cub Scout Promise, and listener feedback. Moms In Scouting Service #4 (audio) Topics include Scout Sunday, respect and courteous values, advancement paperwork and organization. The Scoutmaster Minute Show #48 (audio) Some good winter camping tips as well as lessons learned and a discussion on moving the Troop forward. Melrose Scou

We recently posted episode #11 to the "Around The Scouting Campfire" podcast. The episode has already received over 600 hits. I just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who take the time to listen. I hope you find it entertaining and informative. http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MelroseScoutingAudioPodcast

A new post to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast is the third of four videos featuring the open house held by the Central Minnesota Council on September 2, 2009, to celebrate the "A Century Of Values" tour. This video features some of the other activities that were taking place on the grounds of the council office. The video begins with a visit with two of the district executives having a little fun and racing cars at one of the activities. Then we spend a moment with the council executive as we watch the Cub Scouts ride a hot air balloon. One of the gentlemen touring the country wi

The Central Minnesota Council, BSA, held an open house on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, to kick off a year of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Hundreds of people attended. There were plenty of games for the kids, a dinner provided by the Jamboree troops, and several displays showcasing the history of Scouting. There was a lot to do and see. I was there with my cameras, of course. The Century Of Values road team was on hand to display the specially designed recreation vehicle (see the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #75) and to present the council will a

Have you ever been traveling in your car listening to the radio when you suddenly reach an area in which stations begin overlapping each other's signals? The is the premise of this skit performed by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 during their 2006 Laughs For Lunch Show. Each of the five Scouts represent a radio station that keeps getting interrupted by another station's programming. The five radio stations include Fantasy Land, a Twins baseball game, a cooking show, a gangster show, and an advertisement for the Boy Scouts of America. http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions

Only a week left to register for the drawing to win dvd's or posters for Scout Camp: The Movie. Details at http://tinyurl.com/kksp3z

In the latest episode of the Leaders Campfire podcast, co-hosts Chris and Steve interview Garrett Batty, the director and writer of Scout Camp: The Movie, which will be released on dvd at the end of the month. Learn some interesting facts about making the movie. Check out the podcast at http://ow.ly/dfjb and learn how you could win a dvd or poster of the movie. The podcast can also be found on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=204547473 The website of Scout Camp: The Movie is http://www.scoutcampthemovie.com/ Thanks for listening.

I am veering away from the usual song or skit video found on the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast to bring you something created by Eagle Scout Doug G. A couple years ago Dougs father, Fred, asked me for some assistance in finding some Scouting videos that his council could not find for him. Fred recently wrote me to share a few videos created by his son. I watched both videos and was very impressed with Scout Law video. After a quick email of my own, I received permission to share Dougs video through this podcast. Fred wrote that Doug made the videos to share, so if you have a

MSPP Episode #65: Scout Vespers The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 are very familiar with Scout Vespers. They have used it many times to close their own campfire programs. They have also used it to end each of their thirteen Laughs For Lunch Shows. And that brings us to today's video for the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. This video was taken from the troop's 1996 Laughs For Lunch Show. I could have taken it from a newer show, one that was filmed with a digital camera, but I wanted to present a video in which all the boys shown have grown up, moved on with their lives, gone to

"Our troop has many young adults with no children leading as SM and ASM" And this is a problem? Let's see, I became an assistant scoutmaster at 19. I was appointed the scoutmaster at 21. I do not have any kids. I am still with the troop as scoutmaster 28 years later. Do the "young adults" have the training needed and the support of the troop and committee? As for the card issue, I probably would have let it slide if it fell out of his pocket, but like stated earlier, I don't know both sides of the story here.

Around The Scouting Campfire #4 It is time for the fourth episode of Around The Scouting Campfire, a podcast about Boy Scouting with a bit of fun thrown in for good measure. Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, have put together a full show for you. Show #4 begins with Steve and Buttons talking about the troop's latest fundraiser, a pancake and sausage breakfast. Steve then tells a story about a campfire skit that did not go as well as the patrol was hoping it would. Next, the Buckskin staff of Many Point Scout Camp sings the Many Point Ballad. During Buttons' Corner

Episode 3 has been posted. Check it out.

For those of you who are interested in listening to Scouting podcasts... There is a new podcast about Scouting that has posted two new episodes this month. It is an audio show called "Around The Scouting Campfire". The shows are about 15-20 minutes long. It starts with a discussion between the hosts, then move on to a campfire song or story, some thoughts on Scouting by Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, and wraps up with a scout leader's minute. The podcast can be found at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MelroseScoutingAudioPodcast or through iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/Web

Lawrence, thanks for the reply. It is great you took the time to join this forum and give us the background information about the event. I still think it was great what you and your pack did. Keep up the good work... and Happy Scouting!

"The Sauk Centre Herald is a weekly newspaper published in the city of Sauk Centre, which is the first town to the west of Melrose, the city I call home. The Herald is one of three local newspapers that does a good job of supporting the local Scout troops and packs. A few years ago I recieved a phone call from one of the Herald staff asking for a picture of the troop. They were planning on doing a full page spread in the issue coming out during Scout week to recognize the area Scout units, and wanted to include pictures of the Scouts and leaders. I was qui

You know, I was not going to reply to all this bickering but: For your information: From an article in a local newspaper, the Scouts, families, and leaders did this on their own time. It was NOT a Pack or Scouting event. It was a local community event. The Scouts were trying to do a Good Turn (for their leader who has cancer), which is something we as leaders try to teach our Scouts to do. There was no reason to file a tour permit or follow any Scouting rules. The only thing that had anything to do with any Scouting rules is that maybe they should not have been wearing their uniforms

As the new year begins I cannot help but think of A Scoutmaster's Blog and the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. I have been writing posts to the blog for over two and one half years already. (Wow, time flies fast.) If I would have know in high school how much time I would be spending on a thing called a computer, I think I would have taken a typing class. The MSPP podcast currently has 58 videos, with another to be posted later today if I find the time. I have enjoyed putting the videos together. I hope you have enjoyed watching them. I also hope I can keep finding new material to po

I do not consider myself crazy (although their are some who think you need to be crazy to be a scoutmaster). For example, they are a number of people each year who decide they need to take a quick dip in a hole cut through the ice of a frozen lake in Minnesota. Would I do that? No way! I am not crazy. But this year in Lake Minnetonka near Minneapolis, Minnesota, hundreds of people decided to bring in the new year by getting nice and cold in the icy water. Crazy, huh? Well, what caught my attention this year is that a group of Cub Scouts decided to join in the festivities. Here is part of

Late last night, on Christmas Eve, several of us from around the country joined Chris for his live "An Hour A Week" Christmas show. The chat room was very lively as we listened to Chris and the various Christmas music he was playing. He invited us to join him on the show, so I thought I would try reading the story "A Christmas Scout". It is one of my favorite Scouting Christmas stories (not that there are that many too choose from). I recorded it while Chris was playing some music and sent him the mp3 file to use during his show. After thinking about it this morning, I thought I woul

I remember seeing this movie for the first time when I attended Philmont Training Center in 1984 (on a reel to reel projector), during my third year as scoutmaster. I remember thinking that it was quite an accomplishment for Lem to celebrate 20 years as a scoutmaster, and thinking to myself would I be able to do that? Well, it is now 27 years as the scoutmaster of the same troop I started with. I beat Lem's tenure! :-)

Three more videos of Boy Scouts performing skits and songs have been posted to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast: #52 - Summer Camp Campfire: Two troops at the Many Point closing campfire. One troop does the Supersize skit in which everything put into one side of the "machine" comes out bigger on the other side. The second skit features another troop doing a superhero variation of the Invisible Bench Skit. #53 - The Boy Scouts perform the Submarine Skit during a community show. The skit is about a dysfunctional crew on a submarine trying to torpedo enemy ships.

I can tell you what I would do. I would resign and tell them why, just like GW suggested. There is no reason for the DC to take away someone you recruited to help you. He should go out and find his own recruits. I could not work for a group that would undermine my work like that. (This message has been edited by stevejb)

The Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast has added two new videos recently. Both feature Buttons, the radical Boy Scout (a puppet). The first video has Buttons and his puppet friends telling each other bad (and I mean terrible) jokes, like those you would find in Boy Life magazine. In the second video Buttons reads Baden-Powell's final message to the Scouts, and announces a contest to celebrate the podcast's fiftieth video. The podcast can be found at http://feeds.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions or on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/4abmmk You can also see the videos on

Two new videos have been added to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. The first video features the Buckskin Staff of Many Point Scout Camp in Minnesota performing the song Star Trekking at the Friday night closing campfire. It gets a little wild. The second video features a troop performing the Hole In The Ground song during their yearly community show. The song gets longer and faster as it continues. These videos can be seen in Itunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=251187870 or by checking out PTC Media at http://www.ptcmedia.net