WonderBoy

...and a healthy percentage of parents too. How do you recruit needed and necessary volunteers when you spend more time explaining what they can't do with the kids than what they can (or should) do with them? I'm "WonderBoy" because I keep wondering what happened to the fun experiences I was able to have as a Cub and Scout...

Not even a theoretical- A friend asks me to bring his son home from a Den meeting, as he's running around with his other kids while his wife is working. And I, barely, remember to drop him off first so as to not violate YPT. Now, same kid and his brother (also a Scout) are also on my sons' soccer (football, for the rest of the world) teams. Suddenly I can't exchange rides with this family for out of town games because the soccer game is now a Scouting event because everyone in the van also happens to be a Scout? If I can't lead my boring everyday life without violating some part of the G2

This is such a great policy. It cuts to the heart of the matter (or problem, if you prefer), without needless, overly detailed specifics and yet still allows (or implies) some flexibility. I'd suggest it could even be further boiled down to "Be in the moment", but that may be too new age for some folks. Part of the problem, as I see it, is that more and more tasks are being condensed into generally one device: our smart phones. It's easy to say, "no radios" or "no handheld games" in camp. But camera are perfectly fine. And so are books. But now my camera and my books are in my phone (well

I like to use a term our brothers across the pond use (more generally), and refer to it as my, "kit".

This is the type of stuff that makes me think of giving up being a Scouter. When I have to expend more mental energy figuring out whether or not I'm following the ever increasingly complex rules than I expend thinking about programming... the cost/benefit ratio is way out of whack...

Not a "What-If". As the stay-at-home parent I started carrying a bike messenger style bag instead of a diaper bag. Post-diaper, I still often grab it. Pen, pencil & small flashlight on the strap. Larger flashlight and lock blade w/ seatbelt cutter & window breaking point clipped just inside the flap. Small first-aide kit, small kit of AC chargers, DC battery back-up, cables for phones (anyone's not just mine) & dry cell batteries (AA & AAA's). Wet wipes, bag of bendy straws (remember, started as a diaper bag), a few napkins and empty plastic zip-loc bags. A small weather r

Not to be dismissive or snide, but that's an adult problem. And in my (however limited) experience, the "average" Pack is probably closer to 40 kids or less. What I worry about is the kids (OK, the parents) having to spend an additional $37.96 per year (at current Scout Shop pricing) on a hat, slide, neckerchief, and (maybe) belt buckle every year. I personally don't feel there's $37.96 in "value added" by having kids switch those out every year. Boy Scouts (soon to be "Scouts, BSA!") certainly don't change out anything with every year they're active. Or with every Rank they achieve. Why do we

Or maybe a Scout is thrifty and we go back to everyone, except the Webelos, wearing a yellow neckerchief and hat?... Just sayin'...

The economist in me smiles at this statement. This truth applies to almost anything we do. That said, and I'm not trying to defend some of the boneheaded things coming out of Texas, the great U.S of A. is a VERY big place. It's sometimes hard to remember that what's "natural" or "apparent" to us locally doesn't apply or have the same meaning to someone across town, across a District, or across a Council, much less across a country as big as ours. A Scouter's experience growing up in a local Pack, bridging over to an attached Troop and eventually finding a home as a Scouter all with an involved

Grrrrrr.... Personally, staffing requirements for me locally would be easier if the requirement was for a female CM/ACM only. It'll be a lot easier to recruit ONE female to be a ACM than however many we'll need (up to 6?) for den leadership. Plus that would finally give me an ACM to groom (does YPT allow me to use that word?) to take my place as CM. I know many Packs have a lot of female leadership, as evidenced by the 50/50 ratio at Roundtables, but our Pack has pretty much exclusively males in uniform. In spite of my efforts to cajole more women. And here we are accepting girls in

Nothing like a deadline to really bring things into focus... Just ask any Life Scout approaching his 18th birthday... (I hope your results exceed your planned expectations.)

So many programs would be so better off if we did a better job remembering that. We learn so much better (adults & kids alike) when we're having fun. For me, in a great program the advancements are a byproduct of the learning which is itself a byproduct of adventure and fun.

Making the tan uniform an option for Webelos was a brilliant move when it became an option. Just ask any parent of a growing Cub Scout who intends on becoming a Boy Scout (Scouts, BSA after Feb 2019). Making it a requirement... is just more proof that National Supply plays a big part in the pyramid marketing scheme that is modern day Scouting. (And don't get me started on having a separate hat, slide, neckerchief and, in some cases, belt for each year. If a Scout is truly thrifty, they can make do with the perfectly serviceable uniform they already have. Just my $0.02)

I feel your pain. Just last night before we started our Pack meeting, a Committee member and I realized we had differing understandings of the forthcoming rules. In spite of having just attended the same Roundtable where the discussion focus was Family Scouting. It's no wonder my District & Council are suggesting not to encourage any sign-ups of girls until August. So does this mean that all boy dens now require at least one male leader too? Or is sexism a one-way street?

Having worked around a lot of greasy motorcycles and trailer hitches back in my days administrating a motorcycle training program, I took a hint from one of my instructors who's day job was running a greasy semi-tractor up and down the road. Murphy's Oil Soap. The original, not the specialty stuff. Spot soak full strength with some gentle rubbing and then wash in the warmest water you're comfortable putting your uniform in. And to echo for the umpteeth time, don't use heat to dry until you're absolutely sure the stain is out.

I think this is an important point. Leadership and skills for life are not exclusive to Eagle Scouts. And there are plenty of former Scouts out there who would be more ardent supporters for a club they belonged to, (Scouts), over one they didn't (Eagles). The best Den Leader in my Pack "only" continued through Cub Scouts. Three years in, I JUST discovered that his Assistant is an Eagle Scout. (Don't get me wrong, the ADL is a great guy, but the DL clearly has better leadership/management talents.) If we really want to shine a light on the benefits of Scouting to the general public,

I think I have one too, down in my basement. An old dark green Explorer/Leadership Corps shirt. You had to buy the little embroidered strip with the appropriate label (Explorers or Scouts) for your use separately.

My guideline has usually been the "ideal" troop makeup from "back in MY day" of my old council contingent to a National Jamboree. Four patrols of eight Scouts, plus 4 leadership Scouts (SPL, ASPL, QM & Scribe?) for 36 Scouts. This was accompanied by four adults: one SM and three ASM, one of which had to be between 18-21. One of the ASMs may have been focused primary on helping the Quartermaster, but my ancient history is a little fuzzy at this point. Obviously not everyone's situation matches these numbers and this was back when two deep leadership was just good practice and not policy etc

I'll second most of what bsaggcmom said. But rather than pinning (or stapling) patches, I'd recommend a temporary fabric adhesive. I use a product by Odif called "505 spray and fix" designed for "sewing applique & quilt craft". You spray it on the back side of your patch and then place it how/where you want it. It sticks weak enough to reposition if needed but strong enough to hold in place while sewing. And it washes out with the first washing. Also, keeping the stitch per inch setting (longer stitches) on your machine lower (less than 10?) makes it easier to remove the seams late

A lot of smiling faces doing a lot of cool stuff! Good job Skip!

Thanks Eagle94-A1! That fills in the missing pieces for me. I was pretty sure about the neckerchief and slide, but I wasn't too sure about the headgear back then. Heck, even today it's not obvious what the "correct" official headgear is for a Cubmaster. As near as I can tell it's the green Boy Scout ball cap, but the Cubmaster is the only one in the Pack to wear it. While I still have my original ODL "mk1" (LOVE that term, btw) and can still button the shirt, my wife says I may not wear it in public. But I REALLY don't like the zip-off pants and I'm none too impressed with the newer

Maybe some of our "greybeards" can help me with some vintage uniforming questions. (And, yes, my own beard is pretty grey these days.) My uniform collection consists of original ODL, brown button shirts and the matching pants with the cargo pockets on the side. I'm familiar with what was correct accessories and patch wear for a Scout/Scouter of that time but I never paid any attention to the Cub Scout side at the time. Now that I'm a Cubmaster, I'd like to know what was period correct wear. What hat, neckerchief and slide, specifically, would have been worn by a Cubmaster back then. Was

I've also been unable to upload an avatar from either Firefox or Safari on a Mac.

Thanks! Calumet Council and Michigamea Lodge were my original home.

Greetings all! I've been lurking around for quite a while now and finally broke down and registered in the forum. After about eight months of OJT as the Assistant Cubmaster, I've just recently taken over as our Pack's Cubmaster. I've got one son who's a Webelo 1, another who's a Wolf and, I suspect the real reason I was asked to be Cubmaster, a third son who's still at least two years away from becoming a Lion. If I don't screw things up too terribly the Pack could have me around for longer than our average Cubmaster. As a youth I was an active Cub Scout and Boy Scout in the southern C