Stone Cold

I don't think the BSA sells campaigns hats by anything other than hat size but a quality hat will be sold by hat size and head shape, i.e. Regular, long oval and wide oval.

I've been in two troops with trailers. Troop 1 had shelves installed and every piece of equipment had an asigned spot. It made it easy to see when something was missing and nothing moved around on the trip. It had no extra room for personal gear and everything they owned was taken on every trip whether it was needed or not. Also required a pretty heavy duty truck to pull it. Troop 2 just has an empty trailer and whatever is needed is transferred from the troop shed to the trailer for the trip. That leaves a lot of room for personal gear or we can haul bikes if we are going biking. Sometimes things are left behind that we wished we had brought but it usually only requires a medium duty truck to pull it because of reduced weight. Both trailers are the same size with tandem axles and trailer brakes.

From the latest (12th) edition of the Scout Handbook, page 32:

"Whether your uniform includes a scout neckerchief is up to the troop. To wear a neckerchief, first roll the long edge to about 6 inches from the tip. Place the neckerchief smoothly around your neck, either over or under the collar, depending on your troop's custom. Hold the neckerchief in place with a neckerchief slide."

Some advice: Before you type that resume, learn to use the shift key.

When and how the elections are announced is entirely up to the scoutmaster.

I have been to call-outs at summer camps and district camporees. Both can be very long and troublesome for controlling younger scouts with very short attention spans. For the last several years, our troop has had its call-outs after the spring Court of Honor. We have our own ceremony team with costumes, drums, torches, etc. It has several advantages in that it is fairly short, intimate and parents can attend without traveling to camp where little Johnny sees them and says, "Hey why are my mom and dad here?".

Unless you're a medical professional willing to take this kid on as a patient, keep your diagnoses to yourself.

We're here to teach the game of scouting. How many of the scouts are feeling like this scoutmaster? How long before the scoutmaster, dad and kid are the only ones left and the troop is dead? Get rid of him and go on teaching scouting to the rest of the boys.

I think it would be kinda tacky for an adult to be wearing all those medals except the Eagle medal.

One of the biggest problems in this country is "I'm going to do want I want" and not "I'm going to do what's right" whether it's wearing scout uniforms or selling mortgages or disregarding safety regulations on oil platforms. Maybe if we teach them to do what's right in the little things, it will continue into the big things.

Okay, he was fired "just short of six months" so say 5 1/2. He's been working at cub camp since June 14, so say 1 1/2 months. Where's he been for the other 4 months? Apparently not at troop meetings. Tell him to move on and do better at his next job.

By the way, Smokey Bear has no middle name, unlike Winnie The Pooh or Atilla The Hun.

You can check their gear all you want, if you don't do a pat down of the person what good is it?

A chair with a back.

The documentation was posted in Eagle92's first response. Just click on it.

How do you go about making a suggestion to national about a centennial award? It's only five years away so it may already be too late to get something done by then.

According to my copy of the OA Handbook, there was a 50th and 60th anniversary award which can be worn on the sash by those who earned it. Instead of messin' with the sash, why not have a 100th anniversary award?

The wording is a little confusing but the convoy rule is supposed to apply to all drivers on all trips. It is best to give directions so that everyone knows how to get there. I've seen two and three people on a trip blow through a red light because they were afraid of losing the convoy and getting lost. It also makes it easier on a group leader so they don't have to keep checking to see if everyone made it through that last light and avoids a lot of pulling off the road to let everyone catch up. Just give out good directions ahead of thime so all drivers can review them and evryone can catch up at pre-arranged rest stops.

Your troop should have a Troop OA Representative (a scout who represents the troop at meetings and OA functions) and an advisor who co-ordinates transportation for him. Anyone in your troop who wants to go to a meeting or event should contact them to carpool.

Pink Cadillac, crushed velvet seats with furry dice hanging from the mirror. Or you could get a US flag from your Senator or Congressperson which has been flown over the Capitol. Put that into a cherrywood frame with the certificate, gold award pin and patch. "Medals of America" is a good company for the frame purchase and will mount everything for you if you send it to them.

Rank pins can be worn in place of rank patches. They go back to olden times. Patches are for the convenience of the wearer since, if they are attached properly, do not get snagged on other items or get lost.

For those who know the whole story, it seems appropriate that the announcement was made in post number "666".

You need to have 50% of the registered scouts in attendance to have an election. The candidates need to have 50% of "the votes cast" to be elected. For example, if you have 50 registered scouts, there must be 25 present for an election. If 5 of those are brand new scouts who don't know any of the candidates and they don't vote, then there are 20 votes cast and 10 are needed to be elected. If they do vote, and a blank ballot is counted as a vote, then 13 votes are needed to be elected. So it is better to not have brand new scouts vote. The only blank ballots should be if they feel that no candidates are worthy of election.

I have started collecting vintage OA handbooks and the one copyrighted 1973 has a chart listing number of boys eligible, number of active registered unit members and maximum number of names on the ballot. So for example, number of boys eligible (7-8) number of active registered members (8-18) maximum names on ballot (2).