Its Me 10 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Ok, its now my turn in the barrel for an AOL ceremony. I like one of the on line Ceremonies where the little Akela shoots an arrow into the air to show other braves the way. Here are my questions. I want to tell the indian story dressed as an Indian Medicine man. Too much? Disrespectful? Tell me how to make a flaming arrow. What gifts should the boys recieve? I saw one AOL event where they got an arrow and a framed certificate. Is this the norm? Link to post Share on other sites
scottteng 11 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Medicine man would be ok but a chief outfit is probably better. Akela is the leader the cubs follow you can throw in some of the medicine man visionary things too.The chief costume should be rentable if need be. Think of it as medicine man is staff officer chief is line officer. The pack can award the boys whatever is in their budget to provide an arrow and certificate is nice some give a scout handbook or mess kit as well. Go to your committee and ask for a budget remember what is done for one should be done for all. Flaming arrow tape a light stick to an arrow. Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Our pack did the arrows on a plaque carved like the sunburst on the AoL badge. We made them to reduce costs and to make them unique to our pack. They turned out very well and the boys (and parents) were impressed. Took some time to do though. You can purchase them made to order, plaque and all, on the web but it'll cost you. You can buy arrow kits from your scout shop but again, they're more expensive. Sorry I can't help you much with the other two questions. We nixed an "indian tap-out" ceremony that one dad wanted to do because it was a) cheesy/stereo-typical in its portrayal of "indians" and b) maybe inappropriate (he suggested something more like slapping the kids rather hard than a simple "tap"). I think it might have been a variation on some OA ceremony that he remembered from his youth. But I can imagine situations in which some kind of native-american themed activities would be appropriate. Link to post Share on other sites
Gonzo1 10 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Its Me, We just had AOL ceremony last week and cross over tonight. I contacted the local Order of the Arrow chapter, they sent 3 Arrowmen and did a great job. They dressed in 1700's Cherokee regalia, did some face paint, and told a nice, inspiring story. Very dignified and well done. The chapter advisor informed everyone what would take place, you could hear a pin drop. Our awards were hand made by a neighbor who is an ASM in a nearby troop. He made a wood plaque, mounted one side of a deer antler to it and tied a hand-made arrow to the antler. PM me with your email address and I'll email a photo. Link to post Share on other sites
SemperParatus 1 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 IM, Good luck. I used to have a former Olympic archer (neighbor) do the flaming arrow for each AOL recipient. He had small cloth wrapping his arrow tips, soaked in an alcohol mixture. Every shot was a bulleye. We stopped it when the hay bale behind the target caught fire once causing quite a stir. So here is a variation I came up with. Little Akela (preferably Den Guide) tells a story of the great medicine man/indian chief that had died long ago...blah...blah...and now roams the forest in search of his brave scouts. At some point he shoots an arrow of light (spray painted gold) deep into the forest. During this time, you are hidden in the opposite direction of the arrow's flight. Dressed in native american garb, you have a matching arrow tucked up in your sleeve. After some time of more blah...blah, you slowly enter the cermony circle...raising your hand...you slowly pull the arrow out from the sleeve and present it to the archer. Then you start your own blah blah. It is very visual and the kids are usually speechless from the entry. Just another log for the fire. Link to post Share on other sites
Its Me 10 Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 Well here is what I have learned from experimenting with flaming arrows. A 7/16" woode dowel rod with no fletches (feathers) has a completely unpredictable trajectory when shot from a 70# compound bow. Max height for the wooden dowel 100'. An aluminum arrow with fletches when shot straight up with a compound bow nearly disappears from sight. Estimated height ~400' A childs recurved bow with a 20# draw will manage to get the 7/16" dowel rod about 60' of height. When shot from the child's bow the wooden dowel even without fletches has a near enough predictable trajectory. An alchol flame burns a dull blue with some yellow. The flame does not go out when shot from the child's bow. However, the dull blue flame is not very visable as it travels. Tiki torch lamp oil burns with a more yellow flame. On one test the flame was exstinguished when shot from the child's bow. On the second shot the tiki torch oil stayed lit. Link to post Share on other sites
yellow_hammer 10 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 An arrow that travels down a wire into the target never misses and travels slow enough that the flame does not go out. We did an indoor ceremony in which the boys were "tested" by holding their arrow over a flame. If the arrow burned but was not consumed, they passed. The arrow was wrapped loosely with flash paper and the boys loved it. Link to post Share on other sites
eagle-pete 11 Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 A Word of Caution Many moons ago I met an old Cubmaster who was experienced with AOL ceremonies. He passed on to me some very good advise - Be very careful with fire during ceremonies, especially those that involve a "pass or fail" test for the Cub Scout. You should know EXACTLY what you are doing. This kind of demonstration should be practiced, rehearsed, staged, practiced again, and then rehearsed again. You can probably guess the potential problem you have with a "pass or fail" ceremony like this. If something goes wrong you have just failed your Cub Scout. If you choose to perform a ceremony which involves fire burning in such a way as to pass or fail the test, be certain you know exactly what the fire will do. I would also have a plan 'B' in case for some reason the ceremony goes awry. Eagle Pete Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 I gotta ask this. Where do you folks have your AOL ceremonies, that you can do these flaming arrow stunts? Around these parts, AOL ceremonies generally take place in January/February when it is really cold out. They're almost always held indoors. Usually in schools or churches. Not the place for flaming anything. Scott I know you're in FL and Gonzo you're in GA so this may not apply, but what about you fellow northerners and midwesterners? Where are you doing this, midwinter? Link to post Share on other sites
eagle-pete 11 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Lisa You're right about weather being an issue for ceremonies which include fire. I would typically hold ceremonies with fire involved in the summer. Also, we are an LDS unit and do not strictly follow the school year as far as cub advancements. Our cubs advance on or after their birthdays and we can potentially have Webelos earn their Arrow of Light any time of year. Yes, we do hold ceremonies for more than one boy whenever possible. Those boys who happen to earn the Arrow of Light during months of fair weather can have an outdoor ceremony which may include fire. If a boy completes the Arrow of Light requirements during colder months, we perform indoor ceremonies. These typically do not include live fire (can include artificial if done right). I have done very impressive AOL ceremonies indoors with Native American Indians and/or the OA. Both the indoor and outdoor ceremonies are very nice and the boys love them. If a boy (or parents) requests a particular ceremony which requires an outdoor setting, but the weather still does not permit it, I have been known to wait (if they boy really wants to) until weather improves, as long as it isn't too far off - no longer than a month. Eagle Pete Link to post Share on other sites
Gonzo1 10 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Lisa, It still gets cold in Georgia. It was in the low 30's when the AOL ceremony took place. We had an ice storm last week and the schools closed for a day. Link to post Share on other sites
Its Me 10 Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 We are the west coast of florida. It should be around 50 at night and upper 70's during the day. Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Ah, ok, that all makes sense. Seeing as, earlier this week it was -10 with a wind chill of -30, 50 degrees sounds pretty nice right about now! Heck, yesterday it got up to 20 and we all thought it was warm. Link to post Share on other sites
Gonzo1 10 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Lisa, Brrr, what part of the country are you in? I used to live near chicago, so I know about the cold and winter camping. G Link to post Share on other sites
Lisabob 13 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 I'm in Michigan. When it was that cold the other day and I was trying to feel good about it (hey, at least the sun was shining) I ran across the blog for last year's Antarctic Scout. Reading some of his descriptions did make -10 feel a bit less chilly. Here's the link if anybody's interested. http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/antarctic/about.html It's Me, sorry - didn't mean to divert the conversation. Back to AoL! Link to post Share on other sites
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