Trevorum

I second EagleInKY. This is one of the most common errors I've seen with new campers. Even ONE INCH of exposed groundcloth will channel water between the tent and groundcloth.

Our troop hasn't had a Bugler in more than a year. (Unlike Historian, say, the SPL can't appoint just anyone to be Bugler... he needs to first have the basic embouchure!) Is playing Reveille and To the Colors a lost art? How many troops actively use Bugling in camp?

I organize my CDs by maturity date.

I organize my CDs by maturity date.

Beav, It's true that meal prep and KP take more time than hiking to a dining hall. I don't see that as a downside at all. It is time well spent, building patrol spirit and developing teamwork (not to mention the cooking skills). Our guys did this and also had full daily schedules of shooting, hiking, naturecraft, etc. As I recall, our Scouts earned an average of about 3 to 3.5 merit badges each, plus a partial or two. I am very keen on this idea because all the other campouts of the year get only one day of cooking each. After the second or third day, the duty roster idea really kicks in with the guys, and cooking and KP become amazingly efficient. I saw the lessons from our week at Spanish Peaks carry over throughout the next several years. (hmmm ... I guess it's time we go back!)

Our council has a lake, but it's smallish and gets rather tepid during summer. We use it for boating and swim in the pool. On the other hand, we have 5,000 acres of undeveloped land for hiking and LNT camping. One of my favorite summer camps was at Spanish Peaks in Colorado. In addition to the eye-popping beauty of the place, we experienced patrol cooking for an entire week instead of a dining hall.

pack, from that paraphrase, you must be thinking of Chuck Heston, not Chuck Conners ... ...now, with all this baseball talk of who played what position in what year, why am I reminded of Billy Crystal and Jack Palance ...

Hey Hillis! Our crew is doing trek #13 through the south and then north, around Black Mountain, 2 days at Cimarroncito, and then down over the Tooth.

... why am I suddenly reminded of Chuck Connors ...

If I recall correctly, Mike Walton's point was that the insignia belong, technically, to the BSA and NOT to any individual person. That means that a SE could concievably confiscate the insignias being illicity displayed by, say, Destiny's Child. However, even if the BSA could "repo" someones Eagle badge, that still wouln't "un-Eagle" him. He would just be an Eagle without a badge.

How on earth can any rank be revoked, after the fact? Lacking evidence of falsification on the Eagle application, once it is approved by National, that's it. National can perhaps wish that certain people had never earned the Eagle, but unlike the military, you can't be stripped of rank and busted down to Life or Second Class.

Well, my opinion is (This message has been edited by someone who knows better than Trevorum, who is just a trouble maker)

My two cents: I know nothing about the issues or persons in this particular case. However, if I saw something going drastically wrong in my own council and I believed it was due to mismanagement and poor leadership by the SE and his inner circle, I would protest and make waves. My loyalty is to the Scouting movement and the youth it serves and NOT to a particular executive or a particular council. Yes, there is always the chance that causing embarrassment to the powers that be will get you ejected from the private club.

I know this is sorta silly, but ... I've wondered if there is anyone who is strongly against abortion who also believes in astrology. Doesn't astrology claim that the time of one's birth is fundamental? Time of conception is irrelevant. I wonder how they reconcile the opposing beliefs... (OK, now back to your regularly scheduled debate ...)

Hello ronvo, Yes, I know of several Scouts and Venturers who have completed the Living Your Religion study curriculum and have earned the award. However, I believe there has been a delay in getting the actual medals manufactured. (It may have to do with fronting the cost for an entire manufacturing run with an organizational budget of nearly zero; I believe the UUSO treasurer is working with the membership committee and the manufacturer to resolve this.) Nevertheless, the Scouts and Venturers are entitled to wear the knot (representing the award) on their uniform. Scouts are encouraged to earn either the Religion in Life award (UUA sponsored) and/or the Living Your Religion award (UUSO sponsored). However, at present, only the Living your Religion award is authorized for uniform wear. BSA is indeed nonsectarian in it's approach to reverence and (IMHO) made no judgement against the UU faith in it's retraction of the UUA sponsored award. At that time, the materials mailed out to interested scouts included some UUA material - peripheral to the actual curriculum - that was critical of BSA membership policies with regards to homosexuals and atheists. BSA and UUA could not reach an agreement and so after several years, the UUSO was organized by several concerned Scouters to resolve the impasse. UU Scouts can once more wear the emblem of their religion on their uniform. I know that several UU Scouters have disagreed with this strategy, preferring to keep the social issues at the forefront. I respect their position, but I personally feel (along with UUSO membership) that is is more important to encourage UU Scouts to learn about their faith while pursuing an award they can wear proudly on their Scout uniform. To learn more about the UUSO and the Living Your Religion award for UU Scouts and Venturers, visit http://www.uuscouters.org/

Hillis, I'll trade for the 2004 MBU and the 2005 LPSR. Let's hook up at Conclave. Trevorum

Hello astrophe, and welcome to the Forums! I know that the UUSO has a committee that is currently developing this curriculum for Cub Scouts but I'm not sure of the time frame. If I hear more, I'll relay the info.

At our Spring Court of Honor last Monday, we recognized five young men who had recently turned 18. All are Eagles; four had been SPL in the troop and all are active in our Venturing Crew. We formally invested these fine young men as adult Assistant Scoutmasters. You should have seen the eyes of all the new Scouts, shining up in awe at these big fellows who not so long ago were also working on their Tenderfoot and learning how to tie a sheetbend. Each of the five spoke for a moment about their most memorable scouting experience and told us what their plans are for the future. You should have seen the eyes of all the new parents looking up at those role models as, one by one, they said they had been accepted into The University of Texas, or Texas A&M, or Rice. As Barry says, I love this Scouting stuff.

Agreed. GS-CS, us folks of minority faiths often just have to grin and bear the majority's blithe presumptions. I am respectful of the dominant faith, but I refuse to be invisible or complicit in religious intolerance.

Thanks Fred! I might just make this my Things-To-Do-Before-I'm-Too-Old list.

Thanks, Neil!

Some good stuff there - if I was in SHAC, I'd sure want to trade! I know there are some scouters out there who would love to add these to their Sam Houston collection - my suggestion would be to list them on eBay.

A new Scout joining a troop should be able to join any patrol he wants. He often feels most comfortable with fellows in his own age cohort, but there are lots of reasons why he might want to hang with another group. Maybe he has an older brother in another patrol, maybe a best friend. Maybe he doesn't like someone in another patrol. It doesn't matter. The SM should not decide where to "put" any scout.

A while ago someone asked about historical membership data. I have just come across the following troop site which contains an interesting historical summary as well as yearly membership data. I do not know the source of the data or their accuracy. However, the text covers 1910-1993 and looks to be lifted from an earlier (pre-web) document, which I suspect may be official BSA sources. http://www2.powercom.net/~stolerd/about/ahistory.html#top The numbers look like this: 1911 61,495 1912 97,495 1913 115,364 1914 127,685 1915 182,303 1916 245,183 1917 363,837 1918 418,984 1919 462,060 1920 478,528 1921 513,015 1922 534,415 1923 587,578 1924 696,620 1925 756,857 1926 783,574 1927 785,633 1928 819,791 1929 833,897 1930 847,051 1931 878,358 1932 878,461 1933 904,240 1934 973,589 1935 1,027,833 1936 1,069,837 1937 1,129,841 1938 1,242,009 1939 1,357,993 1940 1,449,412 1941 1,522,302 1942 1,553,080 1943 1,613,783 1944 1,866,356 1945 1,977,463 1946 2,063,397 1947 2,141,984 1948 2,210,766 1949 2,579,515 1950 2,795,222 1951 2,942,779 1952 3,183,266 1953 3,395,884 1954 3,774,015 1955 4,175,134 1956 4,526,302 1957 4,751,495 1958 4,950,885 1959 5,043,195 1960 5,160,958 1961 5,210,294 1962 5,322,167 1963 5,446,910 1964 5,583,700 1965 5,732,708 1966 5,831,521 1967 6,058,508 1968 6,247,160 1969 6,183,086 1970 6,287,284 1971 6,427,026 1972 6,524,640 1973 6,405,225 1974 5,803,885 1975 5,318,070 1976 4,884,082 1977 4,718,138 1978 4,493,491 1979 4,284,469 1980 4,326,082 1981 4,355,723 1982 4,542,449 1983 4,688,953 1984 4,748,511 1985 4,845,040 1986 5,170,979 1987 5,347,098 1988 5,377,493 1989 5,363,593 1990 5,445,899 1991 5,319,226 1992 5,339,660 1993 5,355,401 For each year, the value is total annual membership, with the exception of 1911 which is total to date.

I'm an archeologist. (I'm actually in one of the photos in the Archeology MB book.)