ccjj

Camp Tapico in Kalkaska, Michigan is a patrol cooking camp. There is no dining hall. They offer the usual camp programs, a cope course, and tons of mosquitoes. Sometimes, its a race between the deer flies and the mosquitoes to see which are more annoying. ccjj

Tall Pine Council's Camp Tapico in Kalkaska Michigan is a patrol cooking camp. There is no dining hall. My sons troop has gone there many years, and has had plenty of time for cooking and merit badges and camp-wide games and events. Last summer they went to an out of council camp with the choice for dining hall or campsite cooking. They were one of 2 units that cooked their own food. (Both out of council.) As of now, our boys seem to prefer campsite cooking. They get to pick their meals, and experiement with different cooking styles. ccjj

I respectfully disagree with that statement GernBlansten. My son is 17 and has not lost the spark. He is too active with other things to concentrate on working on his Eagle all the time. Yes he does need some pushing, but he is still VERY active and has not lost the spark. He works with the younger boys in our troop, plus he helps out in the pack I am still with. He volunteers at any event our council asks him to. He is currently working at Boy Scout camp for the summer. This is a boy who joined Scouting in December of 2000. Earned Scout in April of 2001, Tenderfoot in May of 2001 then Second Class in June of 2001. Then that is where he sat. His former troop believed in the ultimate boy lead troop. If the SPL said they were going to play basketball for 1 & 1/2 hours each week, that is what they did. Well, he was bored. We started a new troop up in the fall of 2002, and he was one of the first 5 boys. Things were being organized, and the boys were being taught leadership skills. By summer of 2003 he made First Class. July of 2004 he earned Star, and July of 2005 Life. Yes he took longer than the required, but he was/is having fun. Will he earn Eagle? I sure hope so, but if not, I know that he has had a blast along the way. Does he still have the spark, you bet. He even plans to stay in Scouting after turning 18. He wants to help some of the younger boys in our troop on their trail to Eagle. So, just because a boy doesn't earn Eagle by 16, I don't think he as always lost the spark. ccjj

My son is 17, and just needs to get his project wrote up, and signed and finish Personal Management and Personal Fitness. Am I pushing him? Almost. I am reminding him every couple of days to get things done. I would hate to see him get this far, and not finish because he got lazy. His grandpa is the one who is pushing him the most right now. And, I think that will push him along more than I can ever do. ccjj

Well, I leave bright and early tomorrow morning to take my son to work at our councils summer camp. He will be gone until around the 8th of August. Unfortunately, due to my regular job, and being the Summer Camp Administrator for our Cub Scout Camp, I doubt I will be able to visit him. But, he will survive, and hopefully have fun. ccjj

And I thought it was just my computer. At least now, I know that I am not alone in this slowness. ccjj

When my son earned his Bobcat, it was pinned on his uniform upside down. He "tried" to do his good deed after the pack meeting. He got into the car before me. As I sat in the drivers seat, he put his hand out the door area to help me get my seat belt. I shut the door. On his hand. He started yelling, and I couldn't see why. Finally, he said his hand was caught in the door. I quickly opened the door to release his hand. Someone from the pack happend to be outside and saw/heard what was going on. The nearest hospital was...across the street. I decided to take him in and get his hand looked at. Fortunately, I only bruised the fingers on his hand. As we were sitting in the ER, he did ask if it still qualified has his good deed. And of course, I said yes! ccjj

I am going thru this right now. We are having a sign-up night this week, and if we can't get enough parents to sign-up also, I am going to recommend that they join the pack in the neighboring town, which is part of the same school district. I am currently the CM. The boys of the Committee Chair and the Webelos leader will be crossing over this year. Last year,we had 2 Tigers, 1 Wolf (the other transferred already), 5 Bears and 4 Webelos. We will see what happens this week. ccjj

My council also does BALOO as an overnight. The participants come out Saturday morning and leave Sunday morning. That way we can have an evening campfire program, and then just enjoy some adult fellowship. Sunday morning there is usually one session, plus a Scouts Own. We (as a staff) are usually on our way home by 11:30am. ccjj

1. Shhhh.... 2. Most Scouts don't realize that the walls of the tent are not soundproof. You can learn alot (mainly that you do not want to know) as you sit by the fire after the Scouts have headed to bed. ccjj

Our council gives free rank badges if your unit is 100% Boys Life. Bobcat for Cubs and Scout rank for Boys don't count. ccjj

I lost my mother at a young age. And yes, Mother's Day was and still is hard at times. Back then, kids were really cruel to a young girl with no mother. But, my teachers encouraged the entire class to make something for someone who is "like a mother to me". I usually made something for my dad, and my next door neighbor. She was the one who really helped me to get through everything. I wish the best for these boys and all who have lost a parent. It is hard, but eventually life does get better. ccjj

We have a troop in our area, who doesn't want anything to with the Webelos until January of their second year. Then, they expect the boys to join their troop because they come from their feeder pack. Now, we have 2 other troops in the same area, who do things with the pack all the time. They invite the Webelos (1 and 2) camping, they offer boys as den chiefs, they interact with the pack. Now, if you were a boy, which troop would you be interested in? I personally think that troops should start getting to know the boys early in their Scouting careers. That gives the boys exposure to different troops and styles. Just my opinion. ccjj