IndyScouter

On 11/25/2020 at 5:37 PM, MattR said:

I wish them luck but $7M?

Yes, you heard right.  I saw the plans last summer and you could have heard my chin hit the ground.  I will write more about this later but right now I am still too mad about the decision to move on this project.  I want to finish my day of Thanksgiving on a positive note.

23 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

Don't have to worry about that, never possessed anything above a Franklin, although I did hide one of those in an old metal 35mm metal film canister while on camp staff back in 74.  End of summer rolled around, and for the life of me, I could not remember where I hid it.  🙁🙁

 

What camp did you say you worked at again?  I think a treasure hunt into unknown woods sounds more fun than teaching my classroom of masked students next week.  Hmmm...I could make it a field trip!  😁.  I just need 30 shovels and a tape measure for social distancing.  

22 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

Love it!  I wonder if we can outfit our students like this when we return to class at the end of August.  We were just notified yesterday that masks are mandatory when classes resume. 

Great idea.  We start next week and I am heading to the dollar store and see if I can't get a complete set for my classes.  I might have to change my curriculum to underwater basket weaving.  😁

7 hours ago, Chisos said:

And I thought this was going to be a discussion of the merits of Wall vs. Baker tents...

Seriously though...the college where I teach uses Canvas.  I'm knee deep in it right now getting ready for fall.  I could see how it might work for online MB's...the separate the requirements out as modules, allow for upload of documents/videos/etc. to verify completion, etc.

But, I agree with @The Latin Scot that it may be overkill.  I'm not sure what all is involved in the "back end" on setting it up, but from what I've heard from our IT and instructional design folks it does take quite a bit of legwork. 

Wow,  I thought I was only old timer here.  Most of the "youngins" I know have never heard of a baker tent(or wall tent).  Probably thought it was were the kitchen staff slept.  😁😁

I am a high school math teacher who has used the Canvas platform for several years through our local school corporation. I download all my power point lesson plans, word documents, etc into "my clasroom" and my students can access them when they are absent, when our school goes to all e learning days for snow days(northern Indiana) or more recently when Covid hit back last March.  The teacher can also write quizzes/tests that students can take to show mastery on that topic.  I also used It for one on one tutor (canvas conference) during E learning where the student and I could hear each other and share a writeable screen( I stopped doing this recently and changed to Skype for Business this last spring due to the fact that many of our students were more familiar with Skype.)  It takes some time to learn the platform but once set up it can be a useful tool for online classes.   Not sure how students get connected to your page since our IT gurus did all that work in the summer.  I am sure I have forgotten a few details but that should give you some ideas of my uses.  

It seems like there are some Canvas demos online that we saw before the school adopted the program.  After adoption, our school IT gurus created training videos that have great tips to make pages work for the teacher.  

I would only suggest you use this if you plan to use for several years.  I would hate to see you invest many hours of set up time and then use it for one event.  Just curious how you plan to use the app.  

Sorry to hear that.  I hope you will get another chance in the future.  Thanks for working on the front lines...not an easy job ever but more so this year. Good luck with the certification.   I pray you stay safe and healthy.  

Hey ItsBrian,

Did you ever get to camp this summer? 

On 7/28/2020 at 10:59 AM, SSScout said:

Over the past few years, I have been surprised/pleased and honored when folks learn my name and say'  "yeah, I knew your (Mom (or) Dad).  He/she were good people.   I remember when...."  

It is said that no one really dies until no one else remembers their name.    Write up the stories for your kids to remember gdad by. 

I hope after the tears, you can easily smile. 

See you on the trail. 

SSScout,

I wish I had thought about writing down the stories earlier this summer.  I am just about ready to go back to work(teacher) and I could have used some of my free time for writing stories.  Ok, I will try to outline as many stories I can remember now and save the grunt work for winter or summer break.  Great suggestion too!

On 7/28/2020 at 8:23 AM, qwazse said:

My condolences. As someone whose parents were called to the higher trail some time ago, and whose in-laws joined them recently, I can assure you that that the best way to honor the departed is to retell their stories.
For my dad, who was on my troop committee and active in the VFW, it took me a while to find the best way to do that ... given that I had moved some ways from home. Eventually an opportunity came to me. I had my kids’ troop/crew “adopt“ one of the city’s larger cemeteries to decorate veterans graves with flags for Memorial Day. During that evening, I explain that I’m doing this on faith that someone is doing the same by graves of my dad and brothers. Then while walking around making sure everyone has the supplies they need, I tell the youth (and young vets present) some of the ways he encouraged patriotism among youth in our community.
My goal is simple: to instill some of his values in them.
 

Sounds like your dad would be pleased if you did something similar.

 

Qwazse,

Thanks for the advice.  My daughter and wife already roll their eyes and shake their heads at me when I tell one of my dad jokes.  I have always had a tendency to tell very bad puns and have always blamed it on my dad's sense of humor.  Did not think of it until now that I have been telling them about his "life lessons" too.  Great way to memorialize the man he was.

On 7/28/2020 at 6:19 AM, ALongWalk said:

My condolences to you for the loss of your father. I am so thankful that Scouting has had so many men and women like him who give so much to the movement. Is there one place related to Scouting that he truly loved? If there is, maybe have a memorial service there with his fellow Scouters and Scouts invited.I will be interested in reading other responses. 

Thanks for the kind words.  I inherited all my dad's scouting patches, files, pictures, etc and decided to get them out to see if he had one particular area of scouting he cared about more than others.  Found tons of great memories...some that I had forgotten about and some that I had no idea about.😊  One particular item was a container that had 2 hand axes,  2 scout knifes, a whet stone, a metal file, a compass, a roll of twine, a mess kit, a small Coleman stove(coffee pot size), matches, various scout handbooks and a box of skill awards. I had forgotten that he brought this container to EVERY campout, no matter what the agenda for the weekend was going to be about. I never really bothered to look inside during all those years and see what it was.  In my opinion he created a multiple skill award box to help any new scouts earn their first skill award.  If the scout finished it during that weekend, he probably handed them their skill award at the campout.  He wanted to get them hooked on advancement on the very first campout.  Crafty old devil.  Thanks ALongWalk for helping me make that discovery.

Hey fellow scouts,

I am new at starting a topic in this forum so please forgive me if I don't do this correctly.  In June, my father died after living to a ripe old age of 80.  Dad was an active leader in our troop and after my brothers and I moved on to college he stuck around to help as a leader for other troops and the district.  I feel like I should honor his time in scouts in some special way.  It got me to thinking that I am sure some of you have seen or participated in some special ceremonies for scouts or scouters who have passed away.  I have a few ideas of how to praise him privately(he never liked being praised in public) and give myself some closure as well.  I would love to hear any stories you can pass along.

21 minutes ago, Snowball said:

When I googled what are employers looking for this is what I found.

What are employers looking for

• Communication skills
• Honesty
• Loyalty
• Dependability
• Teamwork
• Flexibility
• Self-reliance
• Eagerness to learn
• Confidence
• Work ethic
• Determination
• Problem-solving skills
• Positivity
• Ambition

This sure sounds like what a youth gets out of Scouts to me.    These days many kids have low self esteem so my thought is to use the tag line, "What makes you stand out?" Getting them to think standing out is not being the star athlete, first in your class academically, etc. but it can be helpful, loyal, flexible, dependable etc.   

Having been in the program for many years all the way through to Eagle, scouting taught me so many of the items you listed and more.  I can't tell you how many times I used my knowledge and/or experiences from my earned merit badges, camping and hiking troop events, and my cub scout camp staff days to complete my current life tasks.  The chance to be a responsible youth leader in scouts prepared me to be a good leader and follower in life.  That would be the carrot for parents.

For the youth side, an active troop promotes itself through the activities they do.  The second troop we joined and stayed pushed going to monthly activities.  We always did at least one campout or summer camp, hike or district event per month.  No exceptions!  The adults also found time to set up higher adventures for the experienced youth and either attended Philmont(1970's), several jamborees(1980's - 2000's) or one 4 to 5 day 50 mile canoe/hiking trip during my tenure as a youth.  How can you not be attracted to a troop that stays on the move?  

Sorry about rambling on.  I did not make this specific(boy versus girl) but I believe that it should not matter which gender you are trying to bring in.  Adventure is fun to all.

On my...I just about wet my pants reading these comments.  Oh no...I better not get those senior diaper ads!

5 hours ago, ItsBrian said:

Our protocols even state to use candy (last year we used lollipops) as a placebo for HS+ kids. Haha

Really!  That is cool.  Might want to make me drop by and see the first aid office.  You know... just to make sure I was fully cured. 😁

Congratulations!  I would read your friends recommendations and get comfortable with your council physicians orders for various treatments. I bet 75 to 80 % of the injuries are solved with a simple band aid and some comforting words.  Not a bad idea to also have a health care officer backup person.  It seems like injuries to campers always came in pairs and usually they were in opposite ends of the camp.  The back up person can be trained in simple first aid so they can take of any simple problems while you take care of any major first aid cases.   We even had a golf cart dedicated for the first aid officer and a portable first aid kit with a bucket containing bottle of bleach and gloves waiting at the door to respond quickly to camp injuries that should not be moved until someone evaluated their condition.  Make sure you train your staff on your expectations too.  They can be very helpful at clearing spectators from the injury site while you arrive and tend to the injury.  

I don't envy your position this year with all the virus concerns.  I do hope the virus situation will improve in time for the camp season.  You might have to include new procedures from the physician about this issue that way if any parents ask you can say you have a plan in place.

Good luck and let me know how your summer went. 😁

13 minutes ago, SSScout said:

Whatever happened to "Clamp Pies", made in "Pie Irons"?

Dessert:  buttered bread, canned (or home made) apple, cherry or peach filling.

Lunch:  Ham and cheese , rye bread.

Breakfast:  French Toast,  eggy bread and maple syrup and bacon bits. 

Dinner?  

https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g4609/pie-iron-recipes/

Hmmm...loved those pie irons meals.  We used them all the time at our cub scout summer day camp.  We did the apple/cherry pies the first year.  I think we switched to grilled cheese the second year.  The third year we went to a local mall pretzel company(Aunt Annies) and asked them for their recipe for pretzels.  They were more than willing to give us their secret and we had pretzels with cheese sauce that year.  Very popular with all age groups.  I like your breakfast idea.  Why is my nose smelling maple syrup????  😊

Thanks for the belly laugh!  Needed to read that after a long, hard day of reading sad and depressing news.

9 hours ago, SSScout said:

Cub Scout Day Camp.   Our Council required a certified RN or PN or EMT for Medical Officer.   

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.    We once had a Cub who refused to drink anything that did not have a sweet flavor. The first day, our Director and MO consulted, and called the parents and told them, either the Cub drinks plain water, or YOU stay with him thru camp and provide the sweet liquid or he goes home.   He did not return the next day. 

My prime suggestion,   keep a good log.  Note every visit from Johnny Cub, Ms Parent or Janey Sibling.  Even to say "hello".  Note the time, the name and the why and the what happened.  Saves trouble and scratched heads later. AND it is probably a legal requirement. 

Totally agree with pushing water at camp.  We had one camp in our council that started treating every minor headache, stomache, etc with sips of water and a short period of rest out of the sun.  They found that most of the cub scouts were ready for action after 10 to 15 minutes with no further problems or medication needed.  Some scouts just push themselves to play hard and need an adult to give them a short break.

At our camp we always used the BSA first aid log book to document ALL cases brought to the first aider... No matter how small the issue was!  Even a scratch was documented by the camp first aider.  The BSA log book had blanks for date time reason for injury and treatment given and signature of who treated the camper.  Our staff was also trained to watch out for leaders who were treating any campers with a band aid or medicine on their own.  The scout had to go to the first aid building and the "injury" had to be documented in the log book!  The parent then usual got an earful from the first aider about the proper procedures. The log book also helped us find any patterns to injuries in specific areas of camp.  Our first aider and camp director would sign each book at the end of the week after they reviewed the entries and together discussed any changes to the program that could be made to lessen the number of injuries of campers.  We included notes in the log book about any changes made to our program due to injuries.  The council kept each log book on file for 20+ years in case of any questions arose from treatments.  This seems like over doing the process but much better to document now, then try to remember what happened days, weeks, months or years ago. 

PS...since we were a large day camp operation(400+ scouts a week/8 weeks per year) we even had a separate log book for medications that parents sent with campers to take on site.  

Hope that helps!

On 11/28/2019 at 6:06 AM, Rick_in_CA said:

As for PR, I know many of the people on this board has seen it, but perhaps many of you haven't. This is from Scout South Africa, and this is that kind of advertising that the BSA needs.

 

Thank you Rick_in_CA for this video. I am fairly new to the site and had not seen it before now.  This clip is GREAT!  After I started it, I thought it was just another safety video and I almost clicked it off but the last few seconds of the video changing from past to present made it very powerful.  It sums up all of how I view my training as a youth in Scouting.  Not all lessons I learned were as powerful as this video but as I continue through life there are constant reminders that my trail to eagle was a series of life skills/lessons that I could use along the way to make the road of life easier.  It was not just a check box list of accomplishments.  I felt that I became a more productive citizen due to these lessons.  Each time I see another lesson already learned from my past, I say a small prayer of thanks to my scout leaders who spent the time to guide me to the future.  

I agree with Rick on using this video as PR for Scouting.  I am sure many scenarios just like this situation can be made to explain to the community how scouting can be an asset to youth of today.  What parent doesn't want their son or daughter prepared for the future? 

Hmmmm...Dutch oven treats made during an October weekend campout.  Brings back memories of the old troop.  My mouth is watering already.

11 hours ago, prof said:

I camped there several times! Nice place. Will be missed. 

An important item from the article is that Red Wing is one of three camps that the council will divest from.

Camps Bear Creek and Wildwood are also to be divested. 

Sad Day for the CAC

I agree Prof.  Hate to see some of the old CAC camps be sold off.  Spent many weekends on camp outs and Firecrafter rituals at both Red Wing and Bear Creek as a youth and an adult.  I feel sad for the scouts who have spent years keeping the scouting spirit alive at each camp.  

I need some help trying to identify the following set of felt patches.  They all originated from Camp Chank-tun-un-gi(now called Camp Belzer) located in Indianapolis.  I am trying to find any history that anyone can provide about these vintage felt patches.  I am guessing they were all pre-1948 since the camp name changed in honor of "Chief Belzer".   There could be additional patches with this same design.  Any information the forum can provide would be helpful.  

1 hour ago, Summitdog said:

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the councils are very active in giving scouts the opportunity to work towards their shooting sports badge(s).  As a certified CA Hunter Safety Instructor, a BSA Merit Badge Counselor for rifle, shotgun and pistol (Venture), I have been developing a two day Hunter Safety Course for scouts that will allow them to be signed off on the Rifle Merit Badge and receive partial for Fish and Wildlife Management.  My local council was initially not very receptive to the idea but there may be some appreciation for it developing. 

Scotty

I will encourage you to keep up the push for your course.  As I stated in my post, our council had adults who saw the importance of gun education in the 70s and proved that it could be a great benefit to the youth if we'll done.  It was only at my first National Camping School in the early 80s that I saw National bring out the first demo of a gun range and how to teach it to the youth.  At the same school one of the school instructors 👍pulled me to the side after the demo and asked me how our leaders were doing with the program.  Based on what I saw they had used our successful program to teach others.   There always has to be one to lead the way. 

I think we should always continue teaching our youth about gun safety.  At our local cub scout day camp we started doing so since the mid 70s.  We felt that exposing the cubs and webelos at an early age to a BB gun was extremely important.  They needed to see adults treat the guns with respect and see that an unloaded gun by itself is not dangerous.  It is what the handler intends to do with it that can be the dangerous part.  We did not have shooting issues in the schools at that time period but it was more of an issue of a child finding a gun for the first time and the curiosity it can bring.  We wanted our campers to know what they should do if they found one and how to use one in a safe manner under safe conditions.  

Excellent.  You can actually solve a long standing question that many of us having been having the last few years.  One of the staff photos had been marked as 1982 and I was fairly certain that it was 1983, the year that you worked.  I am going to attach the staff photos for that year.  I do believe I found you in the back right of the photo.  Can you verify you see yourself?  As long as you are certain that you worked only during 1983, then we will work on making sure we change it back the way I remembered it.