OldGreyEagle 5 Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 I was paging through my son's (!) issue of Boys Life and I saw a story of a troop that helped clean up a water way by removing trash from it. And true to form, all the scouts and leaders were in full class A's down to the neckerchief. A few pictures of scouts hauling garbage leads me to ask, what are the rules to be in Boys Life and isnt this a bit nuts? At least the article about white water shows the kids in PFD's and helmets although I suspect a class A is on underneath. Anybody know Boys Life policy on pictures? Link to post Share on other sites
k9gold-scout 10 Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 Our troop was featured in June '01 issue and the only uniform was a red troop t-shirt. There was no direction given from the staff at Boys' Life. Since it was a backpacking story our scouts wanted to all wear our troop shirt. We knew for many months they would do a story on our trip but we did not know that it would be used. Link to post Share on other sites
sctmom 11 Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 OGE, I thought the same thing when I saw that! (great minds think a like). Another article in there showed boys in troop t-shirts, some didn't even have on the official BSA pants. I can't imagine wearing the uniform shirt and neckerchief while cleaning up the water way. I'm glad the boys could be identified as Boy Scouts by anyone who passed by but the full uniform didn't seem approriate. Link to post Share on other sites
ASM7 10 Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 OGE As a troop, we try to impress upon the scouts the importance of wearing the class A uniform for meetings and ceremonies. However, we also impress upon them to wear the proper clothing for certain activities. The Scoutmaster Handbook states, "There may be activities within some scouting functions that are not suitable for uniform wear, such as doing camp kitchen work or cleaning out a creek bed." I think it is more important to teach them safety. That is why we don't purchase cotton T's for class B's anymore (cotton kills) and have elected to go with AKWATEK, produced by Comfort Technologies Inc. in Gastonia, NC. It is a polyester fabric that has the molecular structure changed and makes the fabric wick body moisture away. Keeps cool in the summer and warm in the winter, doesn't shrink or fade and it's much softer. It can be woven in any format (ie. jersey, picque). The Army has adopted this material for workout T's. Check it out! The Class A just doesn't meet some requirements for all outdoor activities. Don't get me wrong. I support wearing the class A at the right time. Link to post Share on other sites
dan 10 Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Cotton Kills?! How? Cold and Heat or is there something more? Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted June 21, 2002 Author Share Posted June 21, 2002 Dan, I think our exuberant pal ASM7 is as proud of his home town product as he is down on cotton, and I cant take to much issue with home town pride, welcome to the forum ASM7. I understand the benefits of polyester over cotton, better insulation, better drying time, etc. However: At our last Klondike Derby I realized that with my polypropolene union suit (look it up youngsters) BDU pants, Class A uniform shirt acrylic fleece vest and sweatshirt topped by a Gore-tex parka I was wearing more unnatural fabrics than I had at anytime since my disco days of bright yellow, Day-glo lime and deep blue 100% polyester leisure suits with a polyester shirt that was so thin I could wad it up in my closed fist and you couldnt see it ::Striking impressive disco dance pose, left arm fully extended with a single finger pointing up while right arm, also fully extended has a singer finger pointitng down, AKA "the Travolta":: Anyway, I appreciate polyester, I just wish Mrs OGE didnt have so many pictures of me with a perm while sporting lapels that rival the wing span of a 747 wearing platform shoes so high that FAA notification should have been required whenever they were taken out of my closet. Link to post Share on other sites
sctmom 11 Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 OGE, You just gave me one of the best laughs I've had all week -- picturing an "old grey eagle" in his disco suit doing THE Travolta disco pose. So when we see the "fashions" of some young boys today we should realize that in 20 to 25 years their kids will look at the pictures and laugh, saying "I can't believe you dressed like THAT". Around 1990, my then teenage nephew swore he would NEVER wear bell-bottoms. Haha. A few years later he had some on that looked like Gilligan. About cotton --- being from Georgia, I still have a hard time realizing that cotton is NOT king. The thought of wool makes me start itching and sweating. I do actually own wool hiking socks now. I do like the new lightweight synthetics for long johns -- not as bulky as cotton. Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted June 21, 2002 Author Share Posted June 21, 2002 So, a few years back atone of the ASMs was haranging an older scout over his style of dress. The scout had the top of his hair colored yellow (on brown hair, hugely oversized hockey jersey with extremely wide pants with the crotch about knee level. The scout had stoped by the meeting while on his way to a graduation party. So the ASM ran up side and down the other about how he looked, finally he looked at me and said what do you think? So I looked at the scout and said why do you dress like this? He replied, "the ladies like this style", I said so you dress like this to get girls? He said yes. Then I looked at the ASM said, hey, I'm with the kid (the scout beamed). Just as the ASM was mouthing a WHY? I said, hey, I wore a navy blue suede coat (still have it), elephant bells (the kind that entered the room a full 20 seconds before you did) and had shoes that featured live goldfish in the heels and I am gonna tell him he looks riduculous? The kid and I got along a lot better after that Link to post Share on other sites
ASM7 10 Posted June 26, 2002 Share Posted June 26, 2002 Dear Old Grey and Dan Our biggest hometown product is cotton. Most of the cotton T's that you wear probably came from Gaston County, so the statement "cotton kills" is very bold. It holds moisture against the skin and can be very dangerous in cold environs. I'm not associated with AKWATEK but our troop does a lot of extreme camping. Extreme meaning both ends of the temperature spectrum. After witnessing cold weather injuries to too many experienced scouts and scouters, we try to educate our scouts in survival in these conditions. However, temps don't have to be extreme to experience hypothermia. The Army did extensive research and testing of this material along with all the other fabrics that have wicking properties. The heads above choice was the one that we chose also. It's marketed by many names and you may have some of your own. Sorry if this imformation sounds like an ad, but is intended to give information to others from our experience. We also use polypro. If you want more info just personally email me. address in my profile. Thanks for the welcome Link to post Share on other sites
evmori 11 Posted June 29, 2002 Share Posted June 29, 2002 OGE, Elephant bells! I loved those! I had one pair that were about 15 colors and I loved them! By the way, so did the ladies! Stayin' Alive Stayin' Alive! Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now