Vigil-Hiker

If have multiple shirts, only need one set of patches to purchase if velcro to fasten them on. BTW, I sew on snaps for my OA flap since my Lodge's flaps don't like frequent washings.

We made ended up litter bags out of recylced paper bags.

We folded down top edge 2-3 times to stiffen it up and added a long pipe cleaner under that lip of folds for better rigidity. Then used a hole punch to make holes all around. Then laced twine through to hold pipe cleaner in and creat a large loop on one side to hang over headrest. Bags were then decorated based on do not litter/trash your trash theme. Bag can be used as completed or insert a small trash bag to hold trash(better for wet items) and reuse as a holder.

The pants pockets on my old uniform from the 1980's and early 90's were more functional. Why did they screw that up? The color is the same and I would wear them but I added ~ 30 pounds since college.

Some of my old troop would wear surplus military pants or hunting pants winter camping. More durable, briar resistant, and can layer under them. My hunting pants were even water resistant, perfect for winter camping in the snow. So maybe bring back that style of pant but use better fabric like military ones.

Hats: add a boonie hat, solid green, that is water resistant. It is packable, crushable, and servicable for field use. I use a desert storm surplus one on my own hiking and fishing trips. Or a crushable felt (real wool) expedition hat. I bought a hat like that for ~ $20 at Marshalls. I did like the berets, but mine no longer fits. My dad's flat-fold is still servicable, but he can still wear his greens from the late 60's early 70's.

Cub Scouts (my current affiliation) need a few small retro changes to reduce costs. Belt buckle, hat, neckerchief,and neckerchief slide with generic cub scout logo, instead of one per den level except for Webelos. If must have different logo on hat, same hat but use colored rank pins that have safety-pin or screw-back fastenings to prevent loss.

My am still using my original cubscout slide from the 1970's and the hat and belt is still servicable(but little too small for me now).

How about velcro for rank patches, troop/pack numerals, and CSP's.

How about some bird identification

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed hawk

turkey vulture

turkey

blue jay

robins

male or female mallard duck

wood pecker(or evidence of)

Or mammals and where spotted in camp

black squirrel(variety of gray squirrel)

chipmunks

skunk

deer

gray or red fox

squirrel nest lcation

have each list what camp trails they used and add points for something found on least used trail

name of furthest outpost

camp ranger's name

I am glad that things worked well for the campout, but I don't like the idea of 6-7 year-olds lighting fires. I hope you had instruction including the dangers of fires and what is required for safety when have a campfire.

We usually have hamburgers and hotdogs cooked by an experienced volunteer crew for the whole pack. Last fall the adults had steak for dinner. Cleanup was easy since we had portable propane George Forman grills that mostly self-drain into a resevior. We have s'more and hot chocolate for snack. Breakfast is hot chocolate/coffee, orange juice, bagels, cinamon rolls, and a variety of fruits. We do quick breakfast in order to break camp so most families can get to Mass on Sunday (very Irish Catholic here, 3 Catholic churches and 2 Catholic schools in our town)

Saturday lunch is always BYOBL (Bring your own bagged lunch). We set up ~ 10:00am and have activities following set up for those don't have to leave for Soccer, Baseball, or Football games. The athletic group comes back for dinner and stays the night, the rest play games/hike/fish and get fire wood for evening campfire.

My son has a late Baseball playoff game this year, so may miss dinner. We may eat at the field or bring foil packet dinner to cook in camp fire when get back to camp. Baseball is big here, so we try to work with it. Only 13 boys teams for the 7-9 year-olds.

Any one else go pack camping even on a wet week-end? We had one (I missed due to a family wedding) that was a light rain Sat-Sun. So had games and knot tying in large tents to entertain the cubs.

Requirement 7 for Wolf requires a community clean-up. We picked up litter in part of the school yard where they go to school. Teens sometimes hang out there and just leave their trash and sometimes smash glass bottles. The adults picked the glass pieces.

One of the boys picks up litter in the church parking lot whenever he is there, and another picked up litter in a park by his home. Both in addition to the school yard work. Do I count those personal clean ups as their project, or do I still need a den project?

The recylcing pants into a garbage bag holder is interesting, but we are working on limited resources and short on time.

I need some easy to do ideas for a service project for my wolves to earn their World Conservation Badge. One idea I had was to make litter bags for them to keep in their parents cars to put trash in. Not sure if have them decorate paper bags for this or have them sew cloth bags that they can put in a "liner" bag that gets thrown out.

If we do cloth bags, I need a design so can off of a head rest to be usable in back seat and not kicked around the floor.

Any one have any other ideas. I got two weeks until last pack meeting for the year.

YiS,

VH

Uniforms do get expensive. In the mid-1970's when I was a cub scout, the neckerchief, slide, and hat was the same for first 2 years and changed to Webelos ones when you moved up to Webelos den. That was easier on the pocket, but since it was the era of the v-neck shirts, neckerchiefs had to be worn unlike today.

Any one else remember Offical Cub Scout sneaker's back in the late 1970's? I had a pair of those, now long gone, worn out and grass-stained.

Our pack usually buys the neckerchiefs when they move up, the rest is up to the parents. We recommend getting a shirt for the badges earned, but as National says, uniform are not required.

Dickies navy pants, are close in color and less expensive. Try eBay, goodwill, freecyle, and check with parents of cub scouts who are moving up to Boyscouts or quitting for old uniform donations.

One easy den activity is to make slides using film canisters after cutting hole in top, wrap paper around it, and decorate it.

I like the idea of having a basic hat that you change the pin on to signify the change of Cub Scouting level, but needs to be a screw-back to keep them on - have seen lots of pins lost from backs coming off. We should submit the idea to National. I have always disliked the Bear colors on the hat - too pastel and feminine for me.

Obviously this is a very poorly run pack. Apparently no one has gone to any training or read any of the leaders books, or go th Round Table meetings (leaders meeting for all scout leaders in district/county). They are not even following the themes set by National. Februrary is It's a Celebration, ie. 75th anniversary of Cub scouting, and it is when the Blue-Gold is supposed to be held.

Ask you pack leaders if they are really there for the cubs. If they were, they would recieve their awards in a timely manner. Why should a scout work hard to earn his ranks, arrow points, and any elective awards if not going to get them months after they are earned.

Seeing others earn and receive their badges, is supposed to inspire the rest. What will happen if the others do not finish their requirements in May? Will those who earned it not recieve their bobcat and wolf badges, because others did not? It is not a group effort to earn a badge. Otherwise, one kid could do everything and the rest get their badge for doing nothing. That is not fair to anyone. You should bring these questions/statements I've made up to your CM and CC. May be it it will get them in gear.

Does your pack even go to any District or council events? Have overnight camping? go to a baseball game? Take a day trip to science or other museum/place that the boys would be interested in?

If not they need new leadship, or run to a better pack.

Our council sponsors 3 minor league baseball games for the scouts to attend. One game has option to camp out in the outfield of the Stadium - it is a sell out. The cubs will get a patch for participating in a District or Council run event, some of they things they do there may even be counted for badge requirements or electives, in edition to having fun and learning new skills. Go to one of these events and may be find a better pack to join or find some one will to help put your pack back on track.

You should consider calling your council office and talking to your district executive (they are professional scouters) who over see the unit commissioners who are suppose to be helping/monitoring your pack.

If you like the boys and people in general there, not how things are going, volunteer to take over with some others who are of same mind as you to turn it all around. Couuncils and districts have trainers to help you.

I am currently at the cubscout level. At our back to school/recruitment night we tell the parents that the uniform is not required to be a scout, but recommend to at least get the shirt to have somewhere to put the patches on.

I tell the parents in my den that if money is an issue and their son wants full uniform, start with the shirt. Can always get the pants and hat later for birthday or holiday gifts or can have other family members get them as gifts for him. Shop ebay or ask if pack/troop has a uniform exchange program for those out-grown uniforms that are in good shape.

To keep cost down, buy short sleeve short big, so will grow into it. Can it over a basic long sleeve shirt in cooler weather. Saves sewing everything again on another shirt too.

Dickies navy colored khaki pants are very close in color and style as the uniform pants. For Pack meetings and public events we want the boys to wear their uniforms, den meetings depend on the planned activities (painting, wood-working not ideal for expensive uniforms).

Yes, durability has gone down. My new shirt I got last year when I joined to run my son's den had to have pocket restitched after 9 months. My old shirt from 15 years ago is in better shape, but is too small now (fit me in college and last couple years in high school, went on many hiking and camping trips in it).

I can understand not wanting to wear the necherchiefs, but they are not mandatory, I avoid mine 50% of the time and wear a bolo tie. It makes it easier to identify which level of cubs is which, and distinguish between scout troops when they wear the same neckerchief in each troop. If you want them to wear neckchiefs, have them make their own slides. If they are proud of their work on it, they will wear the neckerchief to show it off.

Back in the 70's, when I wore the shirt, I had to wear a neckerchief due to the open neck style of the shirts (cubs and boy scouts). So be glad of that shirt change, it sucks ironing the neckerchiefs.

And by the way, in high school, I too avoided my uniform for all but scouting events. During same time was even more involved in Scouting/OA, since we started doing more fun and going to interesting places, at sametime was involved in Winter and Spring Track (uniforms), marching band (uniforms), stage band (black pants and white shirts for "uniform" look), and concert band.

For the kids, I'd say it is not about wearing a uniform, but wearing a scout uniform around at non-scouting events. For the parents, it is the expense. After all, the schools, Pop Warner League, and Little League suppply uniforms for their teams. I myself live paycheck to paycheck, so I watch ebay during the spring/summer when the kids move on to boy scouts or for the out-grown cub scout ones to uniform my son.

Yes, there is documentation.

The Wolf book, page 6, says a bead will be presented for each 3 achievements towards the Wolf badge by the den leader to show progress toward rank. After he gets his fourth bead, he will be ready to receive his Wolf badge at a pack meeting.

It does not say it will be presented a special ceremony or when the entire den has earned it.

Cub Scout Leader Handbook section 18 Advancement 18-3 "advance one rank per year"(except for earning Bobcat in order to earn the other ranks). "A cub scout's advancement progress depends on his own motivation..." "an 'overachiever' will progress rapidly..."

18-4 from Advancement checklist "do boys receive prompt recognition?"

Section 20 Wolf and Bear Programs 20-6 "When a boy has completed the 12 achievements to the satisfaction of his parent or guardian, the den leader indicates this on the cub scout and Webelos Scout Den advancement report and gives it to the pack committee so awards can be purchased. The Wolf badge is presented to his parent or guardian at the next pack meeting... parent or guardian in turn presents the badge to the boy."

Training sessions as in Leader Training, Powwow, and University of Scouting all mention recognizing their progress in a timely manner.

Can see having an award held back due to it is on back order(has happened a few times since certains awards tend to be earned about the same time like the Sports and Accademics, never enough football and soccer awards in the Fall or baseball in the Spring in stock at council for all the packs. In case if there are other awards presented, we recognized their work and say they will have it presented at the next pack meeting as soon as it comes in.

If they know that they have earned something, they want to receive it soon.

So if earned, present it promptly and wear it proudly for all the hard work and new skills learned.

By the way, one kid in my den, who appears not to be quite normal, is the closest to earning his Wolf badge. My son is the next closest with 6 achievements done and 4 started, but has 29 electives done, and 8 belt loops.

There are other awards that can be earned: World Conservation badge, Leave No Trace, 3 different 75th Anniversery Awards( can only be worked on from September 2004 thru December 2005, and religous awards.

So there is plenty for any overachievers to do if they have the desire.

Still a poor decision. Why present a badge, but not be allowed to wear what he has earned.

I have been in scouting most of my life. My first event was camping with my dad and his scout troop when I was 4 years old. He was still serving as assistant scoutmaster after college. I started cubscouts in 3rd grade(that was when that was the starting age group in the 70's) and moved up to Eagle Scout. I served as a den chief, assistant patrol leader, partol leader as a youth and as assistant scoutmaster through college. I have since rejoined for my own son (my dad was my cub master and assistant scoutmaster, during my youth) and now am a den leader.

The only time awards were held back were if the next month was the Blue-Gold in cub scouts, or other a special Troop event was planned for awards in Boy Scouts(EACH EAGLE HAD THEIR OWN CEREMONY EXCEPT FOR THE TWINS).

I also am a Vigil member of the OA. If there are lots OA members recieving their Brotherhood, it would be split into two ceremonies. As soon as new sash is presented, it is worn. No waiting for second group to go through their ceremony.

As soon as an award is earned and presented, it should be worn to proudly show their achievement. Otherwise it appears they are embarrassed to show what they have earned or are lazy like those who have made little progress.

It is like saying you have earned a raise, but we won't give it to you until next year when we have the next company banquet.

First of all let's get where this class A and Clas B uniform stuff originated.

Boy Scouts evolved from military scouting as Baden Powell experienced. Uniforms were based off of army uniforms. Class A is dress uniform in military. Class B is field dress as in dig into the trenches. So the terms were adapted unofficially into Scouting.

Class A is the the Official Scout Uniform with the shirts for ranks, Council Strip, etc. Class B is usually regulation pants/shorts with official activity shirt, or other Scouting t-shirt.

Class A should always salute "military style". Right hand showing appropriate scout sign by right eye brow or right-side of brim if wearing a hat.

I have seen cases where Class B using official activity shirt give same salute (like camp color guard at summer camp), but Class B should be right hand over the heart.