working on a book - would love input

[writer 10]

I visited the New to the Forum section, and I hope it's OK to post here as well.

 

I'm working on a book about Scouting. It's a history/nostalgia/up to current book. It's bascially an overview of BSA over 100 years coming up on 2009.

 

My dad was very involved in Scouting. He made Life but went to the Naval Academy at age 17, so he did not complete Eagle. I'm sure he always regretted that. But, he did go on to earn the Silver Beaver. His sons (my brothers) made Eagle, and my sons also. My dad died last summer right before my boys finished up the Eagles. I see the book as a tribute to my dad.

 

I'm looking for ideas, stories, photos and contacts. I'd love to include lots of people and groups.

 

Feel free to contact me at cookingpublisher@consumerhelpweb.com. I'm sure a lot of folks here have great stories and also contacts that would make this a book that would be really special.

 

Thanks for anything you'd like to share!

 

 

[writer 10]

When I reread I know it sounded like the 100 yr mark is 2009. I know it's 2010. The 2009 would be a target publishing date. Tks.

[jambo 10]

Sorry to see your dad pass away...he would have been a good recource for your book. Here is my second input !

 

So you are going to write a book on World Scouting? That is great ! You have to write from all different prospectives. You should do a lot of interviews....of current scouts...of old timers...the philosophy of the professionals....the concept of boy run troops and why they are not working mnay times ...the summer camp operations verses the troop camp operations....high adventure dreams....how cub scouting has ruined the organization...how woman Scoutmaster is destroying manhood of the boy....Why training could be improved... without announcement you should infiltrate some great rich units, and then some financially deprived units....is scouting ranks to difficult...Observe Council, Regional, and National operation....why there is no democracy in the BSA,,,Scoutmaster have no vote , or decision in it's operations...How does international Scouting compare with USA...travel to Geneva, Switzerland and see how they operate...Have the aims of Baden Powell been accomplished...visit international camp Kandersteg...what type of Scouting will we have in our space age environment of the future ...are we going to be called " Space Scouts " ?

 

Include a lot of pictures, from all over the world...I better go...or I will be the author. jambo

 

PS.Read my orher sites, and you will get an idea where I am coming from.

 

 

[writer 10]

Hi Jambo,

 

The book is going to focus on BSA - Scouting in the U.S. It's kind of a celebration of the good things about Scouting. I understand that there are problems and concerns with the program, but an anniversiary edition usually covers the successes. In our family, we have a lot of great memories from Scouting. That's what I want to spotlight. A book about the flaws would be an important text as well. It's just not where my heart is as far as the project.

 

I clicked your name for profile but didn't see the sites you mentioned. Am I missing something?

 

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try to get lots of different people covered but with a more narrow focus. I wouldn't have the budget for an international book - but perhaps in the future.

[Miki101 14]

"...how woman Scoutmaster is destroying manhood of the boy..."

 

Careful Jambo...it is extremely probable that the first Scoutmaster in the United States in 1908 was a woman.

 

Just thought that I'd mention it...

 

David C. Scott

[Eamonn 61]

Hi

Welcome to the forum.

I wish you nothing but the best of luck.

One of the best books I remember reading on Scouting was a book that followed one Troop (It was an English Troop)

It followed the Troop and the leaders from the early days of Scouting up to the time the book was published.

Sadly I can't remember the name of the book, I borrowed it from the Fulham Public Library.

It was maybe a little "Norman Rockwell-ish??"

Tellin the story of the very dedicated leader who starts the Troop, builds the first Scout Hut, which of course burns down!! He of course rebuilds it, only to see all the young men he has trained go off to war ... They of course return and rebuild the Troop.

I kinda think a book that covers the history of the BSA would lack the personal touch and might be better left to the people who have the material close at hand.

Not to say that there aren't some people who do a great job on their own.

Just my thoughts.

Ea.

 

[CrewMomma 10]

Writer:

 

Sounds like a great project to write a book about all the positive aspects of the BSA program. You can mention that there is controversy within the BSA Program but you don't have to dig into the nitty gritty of the details.

 

Not to stir up any controversy here but:

 

"...how woman Scoutmaster is destroying manhood of the boy..."

 

is just plain ignorant.

 

Catherine Pollard was the first "legal" female scoutmaster. After being the scoutmaster of her troop for years because no male had stepped up, she was finally legally recognized in 1988. This was after her application was turned down in 1974 and 1976.

 

(One of my woodbadge tickets was to do a report on Woman in the Scout leadership positions, very educational!)

[writer 10]

Hi Ea,

 

My style is very conversational. I'd be telling the story with lots of anecdotes plus photos. The book would cover some high spots, changes over time and meaningful moments in time reflective of the overall program. Think along the lines of a scrapbook - pieces that ring memory bells, interesting facts, some trivia. It would not be a comprehensive history of Scouting. It would be a celebration of the first 100 yrs with a collection of memorabilia.

 

An example that comes to mind is a link here where a Scoutmaster tells the story of a Scout in his troop who was in a wheelchair. That single story captures a lot about the program and what it can mean. Those few personal paragraphs would say more than page after page of recitation.

 

In talking about merit badges, I'd cover some changes over time. But, the central focus would be stories - like a Scout who earned every merit badge.

 

I guess it would have kind of a Chicken Soup feel but with more sidebars for info.

[writer 10]

Hi Crew Momma,

 

I might mention some shifts over time but likely not scandals. Those can be important in thinking about strengthening the program, but this book is a "feel good" book. There are so many good things that come from Scouting. I'd like people to pick it up and remember the good times.

 

Again, I'm not saying the program is perfect. None are. An academic style study of the program would be beneficial. It's just not where I want to head.

 

I would like to honor my father and others like him who put so much time and heart into Scouting. I want stories from the hands-on leaders and the kids. A memory book vs. a history book. Some history to put it in perspective. But, a lifestories slant.

[briantshore 14]

Jambo has some really off the wall thoughts. I agree after many years that I was wrong about women (infultrating) the bsa. At first I was very upset. I have since learned that there are good and bad leaders of both genders.

I would like to know what he means by Cub Scouts have ruined Boy Scouts! Did he experiance Boy Scouts 78 years ago, before Cub Scouts started, to give a true profile?

[Kudu 186]

"I would like to know what he means by Cub Scouts have ruined Boy Scouts!"

 

Baden-Powell warned against using the word "Scouts" for Wolf Cubs (or Girl Guides). Boys associate the word with scissors and paste Den mommy baby stuff, and parents associate the word with pleading for more parental involvement.

 

My last Troop did not have a "feeder Pack" so all of that worked to my advantage when recruiting in the public schools, once I understood why boys drop out of Cubs and why parents didn't return my phone mail.

 

Writer is looking for positive ideas and stories for his book so we should spin off all of the other topics if anyone wants to discuss them further.

 

I for one would like to hear more from David Scott about the first Scoutmaster in the United States

 

Kudu

 

[Miki101 14]

There is a lot of question surrounding who was #1 in Scouting. Mainly, its among several troops in different parts of the country. One can query google and find a handful of troops claiming to be the first. Pawhuska, OK seems to top the list for the biggest self-promoters for that designation. It all gets down to semantics as to when someone chooses to define the start of Scouting nationally or internationally, and at what stage in the US, and whether it was with English documentation or certificates from the BSA after June 1910.

 

For this discussion about the first scoutmaster in the US, I choose to pick the date of January 15, 1908 because that was the date the first installment of Scouting for Boys was issued back in England and that, for all intensive purposes, was the actual birthday of Scouting worldwide. (Brownsea was an EXPERIMENTAL camp with EXPERIMENTAL Scouts. There was NO to Scout Oath to pledge oneself to so they could NOT have been Scouts, period.)

 

Anyway, at that time in late 1907 - early 1908, an American lady from Kentucky named Myra Greeno Bass was overseas in Europe at the time with her husband. It was recorded that she returned and started the first Scouting troop or should we call it a patrol because it was made-up of about 15 boys? They did not have uniforms but they had Scouting literature from England. That was by April or May 1908 or so. Can it be argued that she was NOT the first scoutmaster? Sure, just make the question Who was the first Scoutmaster registered by the BSA. It would not be her, and that was a man.

 

However, I cannot find any reference in any scholarly source as to anything earlier than her (and, for the record, Wikipedia is not scholarly). The fact is that a lot of this who was the first stuff is based solely on heresay and tradition, rather than on actual documents. Im still researching her claim, however.

 

If anyone has other information about the subject, please let me know.

 

David C. Scott

 

[captainron14 11]

David,

Can you post a link to this info?

I had heard of the Kentucky story, but not that Myra Greeno Bass was a "Scoutmaster", but that that it was the first troop in the US. Just because she may have helped bring scouting to the US (at least a form of it to Kentucky), doesn't mean she was the "Scoutmaster".

The odds are not good that that were the case. The early 1900s were not a big time for women leading boys, or being held as a great example for the young men.

Women were not allowed to be Scoutmasters in the BSA until the 70s I believe.

It is an interesting theory, if true would be a very rare exception in those times.

[Miki101 14]

Thanks Ron,

 

Now define Scoutmaster.

 

 

 

[captainron14 11]

David,

I would define a Scoutmaster as the adult leader of a troop of Boy Scouts.

That being said, with what is known about society in the early 1900s, the woman was more than likely the "Organizer" of this troop (or part of a group/early CO). But that's just my opinion.

That by itself is still a great accomplishment, not only the creation of a "Scouting" unit, but the foresight to see a program in a foreign country and recognize the value of the program to boys back in the USA.

 

Now, how about that "link" to that web page you cite that you have gotten your info from (wiki?)