Dizzy ona cliff

Here among the pines majestic

adventures full and free

we are on the trail of scouting here at Circle B

From the tribes of old Shoshone comes our ancient lore

we will follow their traditions

scouts forevermore

It is a very good thing to have adults with a variety of talents advising a troop provided that they can figure out who fits where and how to work together. Hopefully you will have someone with some good outdoor skills and someone that is good at encouraging the older boys to take responsibility. Your silent leader may be fulfilling the role of the geezer with the stern glare (maybe just a doer not a talker) or he may not know what he should be doing. The main role of an adult leader is that of patiently providing a good example to the youth by using the methods of scouting, which include abiding by the oath and law while using the patrol method to learn leadership and other skills while having fun.

If for some reason you are planning to go North on I-35 to Wichita and then West to Colorado there is a Scout Hut with a kitchen and shower in Stillwater, OK, which is about 540 miles North, that would be free for your use provided the day does not conflict with other activity.

Jeff

The adult sinkathon sounds like fun, but sometimes at Conclave time the ice has just barely melted from the pond.

The quest is a competition held at conclave between the lodges in the section. Events include some team and individual athletic games and contests of knowledge. As a prize the victorious lodge gets to keep the Golden Arrow (a large arrow that is about five feet long and golden) until the next Conclave.

If any in your troop has some musical talent then maybe for entertainment at your next Court of Honor have them perform a few scout songs and toss in the song Father & Son by Cat Stevens.

Other than being sturdy, it is good to tip the seat slightly to the rear for both comfort and quick drainage. The back angle and distance between the seat and back are also very important for comfort. Three supports is probably adequate to keep the 8, 10 or 12 foot length from sagging. Speaking of sagging, if the angle is comfortable you should also avoid butt crack exposure in the gap between seat and back.

I am going to Shasta.

http://event.oa-bsa.org/

Beyond membership in the BSA and paying your dues, one must also continue to abide by their obligation to the order through service and concern for the welfare of others. Those who work with Cub Scouts and take youth camping fulfill this duty well even if they are rarely able to participate in lodge activities.

The time you have to take your son to camp will only be with you for a limited time, spend it with your son while he is little. If you do not get to go to Philmont while you are a Cub leader then in just a few years hiking on an expedition with your son when he is a scout will more than make up for missing the training.

Does the CO provide for your meeting place and space for storage?

How do you show your thanks and support for the CO?

Do you know to what troop your Webelos will go when they cross?

As for me I try to stick to the basics of morality as defined by love of God and love of one another. However since people come in many varieties of personality types, some will desire complicated diagrams and some who are simple minded types like myself try to interpret as we go.

When I ponder what it means to love God I must consider what path of travel is just and kind. When I ponder love for another, not only must I consider what action shows love, but who I include as the other, be it my next door neighbor, Washoe the chimpanzee or the turkey that is now in my oven.

One thing that I enjoy about scouting is the variety of people, some with whom I can not agree, but unlike many religious groups we can gather around a common table to raise a cup of bug juice or a Nalgene bottle of iodine water to BP with our thanks.

I totally agree with just sticking to family, especially since for most of the scouts a variety of general basic knowledge is better than specifics.

Also, I always like to include the plants that are of interest either as a potential hazard, such as greenbrier, or could be useful while camping, such as red cedar.

I may be wrong but I do not think that you can tell a boy how to have a positive mental attitude. PMA is not just the first rule of wilderness survival but life in general, and it seems like it is usually developed through gaining confidence in a fun and supportive environment.

Has this scout become involved in day camp staff, summer camp staff or OA? Is there some some task that would require much hard work on his part, and through his efforts would bring obvious joy to others?

Boys need to learn how to deal with conflict in a positive way, but lacking experience they usually do not know how.

I have intervened when the youth leaders were overwhelmed by the situation, sometimes by talking to individuals one at a time in regard to their purpose in life, and sometimes I have provided a lecture to the entire troop regarding the relationship between their actions today and future world peace. It takes time, but eventually they figure out that the lectures get shorter as their behavior gets better.

Jeff

I just skimmed the list but had a couple of thoughts.

Many years ago we had some cubs carving soap at day camp and sent several off to the first aid station to get their fingers bandaged because the soap stuck to the blade and so they would absentmindedy wipe it off with their fingers.

Also it is good to have the boys planted in a stable location such as a picnic table which can help to control spacing and keep them from using their own leg to support the item on which they are working.

I also like to ask individuals the question of would you do (example of something stupid) with a knife, which seems to be helpful as long as it does not just give them new ideas.

Jeff

If you are filling out a BSA form and can not remember the date that you were last trained for YP then it is probably time to renew.

Use a little steam from a tea kettle and then let it cool and dry on a flat surface, maybe with a weight on the brim. However since we are scouts and not military, unless you want to take a steam iron and long extension cord to summer camp it is best let it take on a little character.

Hey and welcome.

I have heard of some diabetic conditions that can mimic the consumption of alcohol, which makes it difficult to accuse a parent of inappropriate behavior.

I remember that back in the day when my son was a Tiger I was usually blissfully ignorant, but just a few years ago we had a scout dad that some noted had the characteristics of one who needed a couple of beers to get his son to the meeting. Although we unfortunately did not address the issue of driving, we did have troop leader with the guts to point out to the guy that it was not appropriate to hang around the troop meeting reeking of beer, and so the guy stayed in the parking lot.

As a Tiger Den I suppose that one of your meetings could be a field trip to the local law enforcement office on the topic of public safety and parents could participate in a breathalyzer test.

The troop has one aluminum Dutch Oven and about six cast iron. During the past ten years the aluminum oven has been passed from Sharks to Rats to Pioneers and now Dragons. The aluminum oven has always been about the same color as the cast iron so in dim light I could only tell the difference by weight.

We have always treated the aluminum the same a the cast iron with just some hot water, a good wipe and a light oil, and I have no complaints. I am no gourmet but I am thinking that with a typical seasoning, rather than the dark brown of cast iron, your aluminum oven should be about the color of a quarter that has been buried in the soil at camp for about fifteen or twenty years.

It can be time consuming, but a staged first aid recognition and response situations for hypothermia, dehydration, choking, sprained ankle & etc. can be fun.

Since you are planning for high adventure some kind of low impact & efficient skills competition would be neat such as cleaning a cooking pot with minimal water and food debris, finding an item in your pack while blindfolded, finding treasure by map reading & clues.

Considering that a five mile hike with new scouts can take four hours to accomplish since they tend to stop every few minutes to look at a bug, play in a puddle or other such fun in the woods, I bet that 20 miles will take a couple of days.

Back in the day when I was a Bear Den Leader one hour a week with the boys was all that I could handle and the thought of camping with them would have been just scary. So other than the council organized parent/son events I did not worry about camping until we did it with scout troops as second year Webelos.

The most important thing that I remember doing with Bears was organizing a one year meeting calendar based on the requirements in the book, recruiting parents or others with some expertise or stuff that would enhance the requirements, and finding fun meeting places or occasional day trips.

Games that end without serious injury are also an important part of each meeting and so it would be great if you can get a Den Chief who is at least 12 or 13 years old from a local troop.

Remember that although you had fun doing a lot of adventurous stuff as a scout, Bears are quite happy building giant heads out of paper sacks, collecting bugs, cooking pancakes on a buddy burner and pounding nails in wood, so dont go beyond the basic Bear necessities.

Jeff

It is good thing to get a scout back and so we should make him welcome. Although I would not really test him on previous work, I would check to make sure that he has not forgotten the basics such as knots, fire building, lashings, first aid and etc. so that he does not look stupid in front of the new scouts that he could be asked to teach.

Jeff

Kahits,

It sounds like you have a good handle on the organization needed for the chapter, but developing the youth to be self-motivated and responsible will still take time and patience. Since most youth that I have known are lacking the brain development to be organized and self-motivated, I constantly fight the urge to take over and do the job myself. For example, I have been waiting for about four weeks for articles to dribble in for the newsletter.

In regard to ceremony, it does take a consistent turnover of leadership to maintain the sense of tradition and skill. I wish that I could send my son to you since he is a great leader of ceremony, and he has been itching to get out of town and find a studio out west where he can make pottery.

Jeff