Longhaired_Mac

My 2¢ and nothing more. That is a list of the Chairs responsibilities or "Job description" which is not the same as "Administrative Powers or Rights." That said, the simplest way to deal with the problem is to call a committee/parent meeting and vote for a new Chair person, with an explanation why it's needed, and at least 1 person that is for sure willing to take on the work load. Have the vote and see if the grass is greener however it ends up. Your Council might act as a diplomatic go-between if a problem can be pinned down and addressed but more likely will leave the Packs Business to the Pack to deal with. UNLESS it becomes really disruptive and more adults are "Butt-Hurt" than the kids are benefiting from the program.

Just a quick note on a conservation idea that's super easy. Mason Bees are very important pollinators and making little houses or Bee Hotels can be quick, easy, and fun even for Lion Dens. You can make them out of old bird houses falling apart, scrap lumbar, or a cleaned up tin can, some rolled up scrap paper, or old garden bamboo canes. The links below give good basic info on why and on how to do it but there are many more ideas on Pinterest. Painting is always the funnest part for the kids. https://baynature.org/article/backyard-boarding-house/ https://www.turningclockback.com/diy-mason-bee-house /

I don't know the particulars but your Council may be limiting you because they can't afford it anymore than your Pack can. Our pack is spearheading a committee for a membership drive in Sept, "Rally in the Valley". We asked Scouters and parents to send in pics from different events and used them to develop our own personalized flier. A parent from our Pack is also translating a Spanish copy for a second flier. We were able to find a local company to donate the paper and printing. Have you asked your committee members or current scout parents what help they might be able to provide? If a business won't cover your printing then perhaps a couple of parents work in places where they are allowed to print for personal use as well as work. With 600 you want to make sure to split that up so it doesn't become a burden to one person. You may want to investigate to see if there is a process you need to follow to get into your schools. Our local Exec had to go before at least 2 school boards to get permission to have our fliers distributed to kids in class. And even with that permission the individual Principals of the various schools can still veto or "lose" fliers. So we are making appointments to visit with the principals to discuss the event and if they won't help we thank them for their time and save the fliers for elsewhere. The generic posters and fliers the council has for us are being saved for Library's and other public spaces as semi-permanent advertising. That might be the best use of yours as well. Class B uniforms in the class on Den meeting or Pack meeting days are great ways to get kids involved too. We actually discussed making some "craft/work" shirts to wear over the uniforms to keep them clean during the meetings but in the end we found our local Scout Office's "trading Post" had many t-shirts on sale from past summer camps or other events. For a $1 a piece the pack bought each of the scouts a Scouting t-shirt to change in to or wear over uniform shirts to stay clean AND can be worn to school without risking Class A uniforms to recces adventures. You might want to check with your local Trading Post or Scout store if you have one and see if you can't do something similar. If all your kids are matching at school it's going to create questions in the other kids which leads to questions about joining up. And then there is always public announcements on radio stations and local TV. Even if the ads aren't during "Prime time" the information will still go out, and on their websites. And Facebook pages, which can then be shared outrageously by Pack members so friends and family see it. A $5 a month paid advert on Facebook for your Pack FB Page (which is as much a recruiting tool as a way to share Pack events & calendar) is well spent priming parents and kids before school even starts. A little Googling of "Advertising for Small Non-Profits" will probably bring up some great tips for you as well.

Was scouting some OA lodge patches before Fall Fellowship and found this gem...in case anyone is looking at the moment. 1970's BSA Scout "Boys' Life Pedro" Plaid Jac-Shirt, 85% wool 15% nylon, in a Large...which I think is a men's 42" chest. Says it's a vintage Woolrich https://www.ebay.com/itm/Boy-Scouts-Pedro-Executive-Jac-Shirt-Scouting-Tartan-Large-1970s/163173544392

My old scout book might have had a bent corner or 2 but basically it was a fresh and clean, rarely cracked open...door stop or bookshelf end. My Field Guide was another matter. I think I had three copies before I was 15. I read and reread it at various stages of my scouting experience. Still have the last one I bought but it needs some serious help.

I have to admit I haven't been back in Scouting for long so while I've paid my dues and have the new lodge flap sewn on my pocket, I haven't worn my OA sash in over 20 years, I don't even know if it would fit around me (joking....maybe not joking.) I have spotted a few Arrowmen with their sashes tucked into their belt at events or in online pictures. My first reaction was that I rather liked it. I attend at least 1 Pow Wow a year to watch the dancing competitions and pick over the bone carvings, beads, etc. So I frequently see full regalia dancers with traditional wampum belts slung over their shoulders in different fashions AND hung from their belts the same way OA sashes are being done. As I said before, I liked the look of the OA sashes on the belt when not in use and probably for the very reason of the similarity to what I've seen at Pow Wows. With that said, Uniforms are what set us out from the rest of the crowd as Scouts. They are utilized by military branches, union members, priests, schools, and many other groups. Frequently out of necessity and safety standards as much as identification or decoration. Uniforms have built into them as much societal tradition or tribal knowledge as any of our other traditions and those all got started some how. All traditions have been adjusted, butchered, and outright stolen. Far to quickly the new ways become the old ways as time marches on. For now the rule book says the Arrowmen can't wear the sashes on the belt but that may change. If you don't like the rule then be that change. It's a relatively free Republic, you can start a writing campaign and try to get it changed. Another way to introduce sashes on the belt might be something like regulating it to only times of wearing regalia and only if the sash is beaded or in a Wampum style. Document private examples to be submitted to National for consideration. Leaders need to know how to change things the right way within the realm of group expectations and regulation and not just recognize the change is needed. Just an example of why we follow uniform rules. I'm not much of a football person and if Pastor Tim really wants to have his old beat up Lincoln to be decked out with Kansas City Chiefs seat covers and license plate holder in a big Seattle Seahawk town that's his choice and right. But if he wears a Chiefs sweater or jersey on every football Sunday during Services instead of his suit and tie...well it's still his choice and right, but it would be considered inappropriate and poor taste by many church goers...and non-church goers alike. And Pastor Tim doesn't even have a SOP or dress code written for him, only societal or congregational expectations. Some will say there is a big difference between the 2 issues and there is. Pastor Tim doesn't have a set and printed dress-code rule and we Arrowmen do. Full disclosure, the pastor has Kansas city memorabilia but never wore a jersey during services that I know of...where anyone could see anyway. So for now, be a good Scout, a good Arrowman. Follow the rules as to how, where, and when to wear your sash, and lead others in your example. P.S. I found a beading info-graph online quick enough and modified it to show my take on a possibility of what to wear with regalia:

LOL, and to think they are upset with the BSA for stealing "their" Girls.

Came across this while reading some online cartoons to my son. Thought it might give a few of you a grin.

This is just so disappointing. I realize that 8 out of 1,000 or more boys is a small number but that's about 7 more than I thought would show such a lack of integrity. I looked the subject up on YouTube to see if there was any news reports broad cast on it. The search field had 8 scouts caught with pot in Scotland. Nothing to be seen. FYI, Pot and Girl Scout cookies are evidently a thing. A big thing. Who knew? Sounds like an easy joke to make at the GS expense but that's fair disappointment to me as well.

I never knew of William Hillcourt growing up. Baden-Powell was the figurehead held up to us as Cubs and Scouts but most anything about him went in one ear and out the other of my self-centered teen-aged brain. Now the lives of Lord Baden-Powell and William Hillcourt are absolutely fascinating to me. Dedicating their lives to scouting, to the betterment of society from the ground up. There was a Scouter who had much the same brilliant impact on me as a Cub and then a Scout, and eventually sat across the table from me at my Eagle Board of Review. Jim McKellar, known to all in the local Scouting community as Grandpa Mac. He dedicated himself to the Boy Scouts of America under Troop #1 of Cashmere from his twelfth birthday on April 15, 1921, to his death on January 3, 1998. During this time he was the First Eagle Scout of Troop 1 in Cashmere, WA in 1929 and went on to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in Scouting. He helped build the Cashmere Scout Building, established Scout Troops, trained Scoutmasters, and served on the board of Troop #1 for more than two decades. His writings have appeared in Boys Life and other well-known scouting magazines. “Grandpa Mac” lived by the words that he carried on a card in his pocket: “A hundred years from now I will not matter what my bank account was, the cost of the house that I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but that the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” A Quote many of you will recognize from Forest Witcraft, another great Scouter. Well it's only 27 years since I earned my Eagle and only 20 years since Jim passed, but his examples still live on in my memories and my approach to Scouting. Something else I recall about Grandpa Mac. If a Cub or Scout so much as looked in his direction at a meeting or jamboree, he would dole out this bit of string he kept in his pants-pocket and would give it a flick, tying it in a simple overhand knot with one hand. Then he would challenge the scouts to give it a try. Rarely would their whipping and slashing of the air produce much more than a gentle grin from Grandpa Mac. I've been practicing recently with a bit of paracord, still haven't managed it but a time or two...by accident.

Our Pack decided to be proactive with girls. We invited any sibling and prospective girl cubs to our day camp in June and had a fair turn out for the Bear aged group. 1 of the girl "dens" at the day camp out did all the boys in archery and BB guns, which proved to be a very positive recruiting point. We also did a 3-day Pack/family camp-out in July and again had a surprising turnout. Not tons of girls but a good showing. So far our Charter Organization, the American Legion, seem pretty ok with the situation. We've already lined up necessary female adult leadership counterparts and are set for the fall as a co-ed Pack. In Sept we are planning a District membership drive, kind of a mini jamboree, with 3 Packs and 4 troops we hope. Some of the focus will be on recruiting girls specifically. We already have 3 radio stations in town who will be broadcasting a Public Announcement for us, and our small local tv station will be doing something similar as well. The District was going to pay for a newspaper advert but it looks like our Pack will end up paying for that. We did have a few girls meltdown during our Raingutter Regatta races and there was a bit of uncertainty from the male leaders how to deal with it. But it got figured out and in fairness about a 3rd of the boys got just as upset when they lost. In the end everyone got to race. And eat popcorn. No hard feeling at all. Our Cubmaster and his wife have really taken this on, helping form a multi-pack committee, and are leading the charge. Our District Exe is brand new and spent some of the summer out of country on vacation so he has maybe a month in town. Not sure what help we are getting there. If he's on board or if he is playing catch-up with our CM or if he has other plans...I'm not sure. Just hope once school starts that the weekly meetings continue to be as harmonious as our monthly events through the summer have been.

Our summer day camp for the cubs this year had a C.S.I. theme. All the Staff and Junior staff wore shirts stating, "___________ology, (noun) The study of..." And we were all asked to fill in the blank with a sharpie. Many didn't pay attention and just wrote their names on the blank. I of course being in charge of the archery range had Toxology. Which continued to be confused with Toxicology, but I still got to educate a few cubs and Scouters.

I know this is an older posting but just in case it comes around again. Your Council should have BSA Range Officer training available at some point during the year. You might find they give you better vernacular to teach cubs about archery. USA Archery I is basic but it does tend to focus the training on kids going into JOAD. Kids with focus and maturity by nature or that are just a bit older (Webelos or Tenderfoot ages at least) that can handle more technical ideas and language. Of course it never hurts to double up on the training and USA Archery/NFAA's SafeSport training is similar to BSA's online Youth Protection, just 3 times longer. National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) can be a good resource for teaching ideas as well.

I haven't gone through the WB training yet (plan to next Oct) But I came across this vid clip and it really seems to speak to the Ideas behind the WB. On multiple levels. And maybe an idea as to who should be paying for it as well.

I'm not up to date on official positions on this matter but when I did my project back in the day National had made a point of preference. They preferred the projects be of service, implying work, so that no one could make the claim that a boys family bought him his Eagle. Yes realistically you have to raise funds for supplies at times but similar to OA the project should be about service to the community. If your prospective Eagle needs money because he can't find suppliers that will donate materials then you are left with finding funds to purchase what is needed. And it's my understanding that begrudgingly National says it's ok. But the focus still needs to be on the SERVICE project. How the scouts raise funds and the frustration of working within parameters set by others is just part of the learning. If the local council or district or troop leadership want to put limits on how the project gel's done, well that's unfortunate but the process of going around them or fighting them is going to be at least as consuming as trying to find alternate means of accumulating donations in the first place. I guess it comes down to what lessons the scouts need to learn. As far as crowd funding, when laws and fiances are being dealt with responsibly, there really shouldn't be a problem.

I'm afraid I don't know the best course of action here but I can share my own experience. I'd not been involved with scouts for sometime other than buying popcorn or donating to eagle projects and such. A few years back I married a gal and her son was in cubs already. I started taking him to his meeting and easing into being involved as it was a very new dynamic to be on the parent side of things in scouts. For a while he chose to stop scouts and involve himself more in sports. When he started making rather poor choices I put my foot down and said back to scouts. I didn't know how to fix the problem but I figured Scouts couldn't hurt and maybe more one-on-one time with me would be beneficial too. By that time he was old enough to start with a troop. We shopped around, first with my old troop. Very disappointing venture there, it was closing within a year or so and only that long because they wanted to get the last 2 senior boys through their eagle projects. Then a troop that had it going on, lots of boys of various ages, the Lutheran church that held the charter supported the troop very well, and my step-son already knew a few boys from school. So here is where I freaked-out. I was taking him to meetings and hanging around when they asked for volunteers then out of no where my son tells everyone I was an Eagle and the best scout around. Being introverted this shot my embarrassment up a notch but I just smiled and waved it off. However, the SM who had been running this well oiled troop for nearly 15 years and well past his own boys tenure makes the grand statement that I should be the next Scout Master with all my experience and all the parents looked right at me. A very uncomfortable few minutes while they waited for my response and I remained a deer caught in the headlights. The SM paid his dues and someone has to let him escape eventually, But I felt on the spot and completely overwhelmed. There is a big difference in helping boys tie knots or keeping an eye on them if the SM leaves the room and knowing parents, encouraging scouts, and working council members. Little came from it as I divorced and even though I said I would continue to take my step-son to scouts he chose to quit. My involvement with the troop dwindlwed and stopped as well. Now I know Moms and Dads that are ready to go gung-ho for their kids in anyway and other parents want to be supportive of their kids, but I have seen plenty of parents step back when they feel like something is about to get dumped in their lap. Some people have the "Pilgrim's Zeal" from the get go and others need to mosey in at their own speed. When the different types mix it doesn't always go so well. For me I need to go one brick in a wall at a time and feel secure in what I'm doing, others are taking arm loads and figuring it out on the way. Timing and pace have always been key to preventing burnout but it can really be as important and help with recruiting parents as well.

Glad your boy reconnected and was able to participate in Lodge again. I remember a fellow named Number Seven, seems like he did go on a bit from time to time. Usually when work needed to be done or some emergency was going on. Troop drama, Lodge drama, social networking drama...it's enough to make you want to run off to some mountain top and be a hermit or something. But politics and drama have been around for a long time and I suppose realistically they are here to stay. Best we can do is make sure the scouts' critical thinking is sharpened enough to cut through the nonsense when needed.

Honestly I think there might be a rant coming so forgive me if this goes into chapters or novellas. I haven't been active in OA since the 90's, I know my old lodge has merged a time or two since then, and as a parent now I really don't know what my role or participation in OA will be in the future. But I do remember why I accepted being tapped. I was made to feel special. When I got my arrow of light and joined a troop I was ready for the big stuff. The 50 milers and such. And just as I came in all the senior scouts went out. A few got their eagle, more transferred out to other troops, and others just stopped coming. All of the sudden the Scouts and Tenderfoots WERE the senior scouts. I was ready to learn camping and wilderness survival, I didn't want to be the next Rambo but I sure wanted to be able to if I had to be. And all the experienced teachers evaporated. So I studied hard. I could tie any of the knots put to me blindfolded and behind my back. Of the 8 or so different types of tents the troop owned I could set them all up in 5 minutes flat. I might not have had a grizzly named Ben, but I wanted to be just as at home in the woods as Adams. I was quiet and shy, introverted to the point of being mute in school from 6th through 12th grade. But at meetings or on the trail I had confidence and did and said what was needed. When the OA dance team came around I thought THAT IS AWESOME! I want to do that. And when I learned you had to be voted in I blew it off as one more thing that wasn't for me because voting meant a popularity contest and I might have been gaining leadership but I wouldn't think of myself as popular. No matter how much my SM stressed that we were voting on the best campers in the troop, the best service people, the best ect.. I still assumed others would vote the popular charismatic person. So when I got tapped I was shocked. My troop understood my interest and recognized my contributions. Not my Mom or Dad, not a SM that might have pity on me, but my peers. It meant a lot to me. The ordeal was nothing. Working all day at my favorite Summer Camp was cool. I got to see areas I hadn't known existed and became pals, equals of sorts with the councilors I'd known for years, if only in brief 1 week encounters. Did I like digging holes for new outhouses? No. Did I enjoy eating the one egg in the morning? No, I about vomited because I hate eggs, always have. For the first time I was shoulder to shoulder with SM's and ASM's and senior scouts as an equal. We were all Ordeal and even if we couldn't talk..we could smile or wave or high five. I've spent far worse weekends in a hotel on vacation with wife and kids than I did for my Ordeal weekend. It's a day of bonding in service. Which is quite different from hazing. After that I went to a few Conclaves, the NOAK in 92, helped a few Arrowmen with the Eagle serve projects. By that time I was 15 or 16 I was pushing hard to get my Eagle so the Lodge took a back seat. But I have always been proud of my lodge patch on my uniform when I received my Eagle. I didn't just plod along on a course set for me. I proved myself, and my peers recognized the difference in the quality of my "Path." Now I don't recall why I didn't get Brotherhood and maybe it's waiting for me as an adult as an ASM, But I do recall my frustration with not having more elections in my troop until well after my time with the troop had passed. The other scouts didn't like the idea of an ordeal. Of extra work. Everything I saw as a new challenge to test myself they saw as a negative. I had a poor opinion of myself and I thought if I can do it anyone should be able to and I was frustrated because they didn't even want to try. And I think that sentiment has grown in the years since I was a boy. Instant gratification and a sense of entitlement are very political terms and come easily but they seem very fitting to the situation. Can OA make the boys scouting experience harder? Certainly, just as a rotten SM who has been at it too long can. Can lodge and troop functions and outings choke a schedule? Yes, just like family and work and any hope of a hobby does for us adults. It all still falls under learning and growth. You get out of scouting what you put into it. If you want it to be negative it sure can be. And just as easily you can put positivity in and reap positive results. I'm sure it sounds ignorant to those who view OA in the negative but my bottom line is: If there is an aspect you don't like then get involved and help make changes. If you don't want to be involved then don't be, but let the boys make their own decisions about it.

This thread has long since been left behind but like many things in life and scouting I think it will circle around again. So my2 bits worth: I hate carrying a hiking stick in when I'm fresh footed and energized, yet so very happy for it on the way out...or at least nearing the end of the trail for the day. Decorating staffs can be a great teaching moment for Totin' Chip cards. Teaching scouts to weave a quick-deploy grip out of paracord brings home the "Be prepared" slogan. In so many ways they can be used on the trail, in the camp, and even during service projects. Banning them seems over the top and teaching the scouts the uses of a tool highly rewarding. I have collected images across the web and grouped them in a Pinterest board here: https://www.pinterest.com/charlesmcguffey/boy-scout-of-america-hiking-staves/ Now a hook in the eye, a butt to someones brake-light...well 10 times as many accidents can come from having a hiking staff around than if it wasn't there. But that is what happens with groups of kids. I remember being on a hike when i was maybe 14 with my troop. One of the boys thought it would be fun to kick a rock down hill. It was a bit bigger than a bowling ball and probably at least 20 pounds. And as it cut across several switchbacks and alarm went up for the rest of the troop below. No one was hurt but by the time the rock had made it to the trail head and parking area it had begun to jump higher and go faster building momentum, right until it slammed into the back of an ASM's truck. The ASM didn't have kids and had joined as a friend of the SM. The boy who kicked it down hill was the nephew of the SM. In the end the matter was settled out of scouts between friends and family I suppose. But the rest of that 5 mile hike and 3 day weekend campout the rest of the boys were waiting for a bear of an outburst from all the adults. Saftey was stressed, responsibility and conservation was covered, but no real consequence was shown. BUT we all had learned the lesson. Sometimes no matter how cautious you are with kids, no matter how strict you are, or even how hard you drive yourself crazy trying to prevent bad things from happening to them, someone is going to do something foolish or ignorant before the concept of safety is drilled into their heads. As they say, everyone is born for a reason, unfortunately some are born to be examples of what not to do. So back on topic, If you are a parent and you don't want your child hurt from a swinging staff, remove them from the activity. If you feel the activities are inappropriate take into account the setting and environment and what other supervision is taking place and reconsider your position. If its a troop meeting, inside, or close quarters then any adult should recognize the bad choice occurring. If it's outside on the trail, take the time to discuss how to use the tool correctly. if they don't know better then someone has to tell them that first time. Discuss it with the other supervision concerns so that you both have input on the situation. If it continues and you are still concerned, then run it up the line....to the council if you really feel that strongly about it. I've known troops to use staffs in a modified burpee of sorts as discipline measures or just part of morning calisthenics. Some PL's are inspired to teach their patrol the positions and movements of the staff for display and flag teams similar to what military personnel do with rifles. There are positive and structured activities that allow the scouts to carry their staff, but supervision will always make the difference. Parenting and scouting are hard and there isn't one true way to do it just yet. Do the dance, 2 steps in doing to much, 2 steps out not doing enough, a spin here runs a scout to the first-aide kit, a jump there gets them to a productive adulthood. \

I've put together a pinterest board on hiking sticks and scouting. I've taken all the pics from the web so perhaps it's nothing new to anyone, still might be worth a look. http://www.pinterest.com/charlesmcguffey/boyscout-hiking-sticks/

the pictures didn't post in the forum here for some reason. I tried again but got an actual error message this time. I was able to post them in my profile under the visitors log. http://www.scouter.com/member/43602-longhaired_mac/media

Sorry about the blurring, couldn't quite keep my hands steady this evening.

I had a 4 stuck for abit but for several weeks, maybe even a few months I've had a big red 2 that is rather annoying at this point.

Sorry, My hiking stick or my Sons?