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After a decade of being closed Treasure Island Scout Reservation may actually have a future for Scouts again. It is not exactly the same, as it has been sold to a private developer who plans to open it as a commercial campground, but the deal will allow Boy Scouts to camp there for free. For those that do not know, Treasure Island is where the Order of the Arrow was born. After a couple of floods, it fell into disrepair and was closed. It has been for sale for some time and most previous potential buyers were looking to develop it for something other than camping. The original OA circle has been moved in whole to the Summit, but it is nice to see a piece of Scouting history may still have some Scouting life left. https://patch.com/pennsylvania/newhope-lambertville/former-boy-scout-island-delaware-river-reopen-campground

And giving to Scouting is not tithing. I find a level irony in your views. On the one hand, you have consistently argued for the complete obedience of the unit (and Scouts and SM) to the CO, since the CO owns the unit (fiscal interest). On the other, you are jaded and cynical about others with fiscal interest being recognized.

I use a combination of battery packs and solar to recharge my packs. I like one large, multi-charge battery, and 2-3 batteries that I can get a few charges out of each. The large pack is my go to, and the smaller ones can get a complete charge faster.

Is there a way to merge these two threads? I thought I was having Deja vu all over again.

OA Troop Rep Adviser must be 21. I believe that is because 18-20 is still considered youth in the OA.

Definitely, take them out and show them off. I use mine and loads of other memorabilia to teach Scouting Heritage. It is electric to see the Scouts eyes light up and hear the ohs, ahh's and wow's (and a few snickers at things like the red beret and garters) when they see the piles of old stuff.

This just made me think of Fredrick Russell Burnham. Besides inspiring and mentoring BP, he was later involved in Scouting. I believe his grandson was active as an adult volunteer in BSA and his great-grandson is an Eagle Scout. Not exactly a line of Eagles, but an interesting line to follow given FRB's place in the birth of Scouting.

I do believe quality is important, but it is also a slippery slope. How is it defined? Who defines it? Is it different for each Scout? I think it better to define the requirements in measurable terms. For example, "active in the troop" means X% meetings, y% of campouts, z% of service projects. To be credited with completing PoR X, the Scout is expected to do the following; A, B, C. In your example, I have no problem defining a proper painting job to include those elements IF they are needed. In fact, the Paining MB does a good job of making those part of the requirements and leaving some room for judgment. As for quality, I will go back to the Oath and Law. Did the Scout do his best? As a Scout, there were MB's I excelled at. If my work had been held as the standard of quality, it would have been unfair to others. There were MB's I struggled with. Had the quality of my work be judged on the standard of some of my peers I would not have received those MB's. Each Scout is different. The “quality” of their work will differ. Requirements should be standard and defined. They should mean something and not be arbitrary. Case in point. A real-life situation I have witnessed first-hand. Pioneering MB, two different ASM's as counselors. One was hung up on the "quality" of the fraps (among other things). The fraps had to lay just so or he would not let the Scout move on. Other than esthetics, his quality requirement added nothing to the lashing, no more strength, no better hold, it lasted no longer. The second ASM focused on the "quality" of the lashing. Did it hold? Did it last? Was it strong? The quality of the aesthetics was not a barrier for the Scout to fulfil the requirement. Most of the Scouts under the first ASM didn't finish the MB, at least not with him. They didn't have fun because they rarely were able to get past just doing lashings on two poles, they rarely built anything. With the second ASM, most Scouts finished the MB, most continued to build projects after they completed the MB. The quality of their lashings continued to improve, and they taught other Scouts. The first ASM truly believed he was teaching the MB the right way and that aesthetic quality of the frap counted. But it turned into a barrier for the Scouts to complete the work. Quality is important, but it is an arbitrary value that is in the eyes of the beholder. Requirements are far less arbitrary and give the Scout a defined goal to work towards.

How are they contradicting? I am not seeing any reference to qualifications for OA rep adviser in the first link.

In theory, six generations would be possible, but extremely unlikely. Five would definitely be possible. I would imagine there are a number of 4th generations and plenty of 3rd gens.

Who is the instigator? Is the boy afraid to be without the dad? Or is dad afraid to let the boy go? Frankly, our rule is we just don't allow it, it is not healthy for the boy (or the adult). However, now and then we have a youth that just cannot function, so we work with them. But it is really a very very rare REAL problem. It is mostly a discomfort that is quickly overcome by sticking to the "rules". A conversation (likely several) about where the fear comes from will often fix the issue. EDIT: Oh, 100 yards is a suggestion, but a great one. It is usually easy to do if you are backwoods camping or private land. Less so for locations like National parks that have defined "campsites" and impossible for Camporees etc.

Welcome back!

Glad I could be f assistance.

Yes, the whole tucking the collar in is why I really miss the collarless shirts. I loved the old OD green uniforms with no collar. But I believe I was in the minority.

If my brain had been working properly I would have added the link in my original post. http://nesastore.corecommerce.com/Neckerchiefs/2018-nesa-eagle-neckerchief-eagle-awarded-in-2018.html NESA is usually pretty good about getting things turned around in quick order.