allenj

I received my Beads in 1976 from the old WB course. Back then you had to have two years experience as a Boy Scout Leader. Cub Leaders were not accepted. As far as Female Leaders, The mere suggestion could get you Tarred and Feathered. Basically you became BOY Scout for a week. You lived in your Patrol, Cooked and ate what you were issued. Everything you needed you made. You became very close to the men/boys in your Patrol and guarded your Patrol Flag from those thieving other patrols. You learned songs, skits, and other activities that made your patrol stonger. The course also was heavy in Pioneering, hiking,Patrol Competitions,and problem solving as a patrol. That week was one of the best times of my life. I'm not saying that the New WB isn't a good course but I am sorry that they did not keep the Old WB alive. If a Council or even a District was so inclined, they could develope such a course based on old Scout Handbooks(mine is the 1948 edition)and Fieldbooks. One other Old Fart observation I would like to address is what made Scouting so attractive to thse English boys in the beginning. Many of them could look forward to serving in the British Army anywhere in the frontiers of the Empire. Having fun while learning skills that might someday save their lives would have been heavy draw. timandfas iW

WalMart carries Dickies canvas work pants in an olive color. They cost $25.00 and will wear forever.

This drama is so familiar. All I can say is "Seen it all before." In the late 60s and early 70s I was a College Student on the GI Bill. I remember the protests, the sit ins, the campus riots, all of it. While there were a few dedicated Anti-War and Socialist individuals, most of the participants were there for the PARTY. It is the same today. Most of them don't care about the economy, jobs, or social justice. They don't care that they are being used by Liberal Polititions and the Labor Unions. IT'S FUN ! And just like last time I wouldn't be surprised if half of New York's pot dealers are right there.

I was a DE in the Detroit Area Council from 1973 until 1977. Believe me when I say that this was not Scoutings finest moment. The Chief Scout Executive was Alden Barber who made it his and the BSA's goal to enroll a "Representative" one third of all eligible boys in the Scouting Movement. This program was called Boypower '76. The idea was to have the goal achieved by the Bicentenial. The movement became a numbers game with program taking a far back seat. Because of reactions to the political and social unrest at that time, there were many sources of Federal and State funds available for inner city programs. Some of these funds went to Para Professionals to develope scout units. A scandal occurred in the Chicago area when it was found that Federal Funds actually were used to register non existing boys. At year end it only cost ten cents for a one month registration. It was only through the dedication of District and Unit level Volunteers that the BSA survived.

What happened to Pedro?

Last year I made a 3'x5' Flag for our Troop at Summer Camp. Our regular Troop Flag is about 30 yrs old so we want to be careful with it. The Flag we made was nylon with nylon letters ironed on. The center was a gold nylon Fleur De Lese(?). We wanted to have something close to scouting but wanted to avoid any copywrite issues. The flag was a huge success and had many positive comments from other Troops at our Council Fall Camporee. Again, we only use it at camp. We use or real flag for meetings and Courts of Honor. If you do made your own flag, I'd recommend using another design for the center. Good Luck.

Up until the late 1920s Patrols were identified by colored ribbons on the right sleeve. Each animal was represented by specific colors. Either two or three ribbons were worn. These can be seen in many old photos. Patrol patches came in about 1927 I believe. The traditional colors for the three BSA programs were Yellow for Cubs, Green for Scouts,and Red for Explorers. Before the ODL uniforms,knee sox were worn with garters which had colored tabs representing the program of the wearer. As for the Webelos pins, I'm not sure but I don't believe it matters were they are placed.

Back in the mid fifties when I was a Scout, most of our Leaders were Vets of WWII. It wasn't that long after the war and the military experience was still somewhat fresh. I remember on the way to a winter campout our Scoutmaster wore a German fur-lined hat he got at the Battle of the Bulge. At any rate, our troop consisted of four patrols.We had a formal formation to begin and end every meeting. Patrol Leaders saluted and reported to the SPL who did an about face and salutrd and reported to the SM. We also learned basic drill movements. (I have seen early Scout Manuals on Basic Drill for Scouts) Why are we so afraid of using anything remotely Military when it makes commonsense in working with a group of boys? I remember that it added a sense of formality and dignity to or troop. Also, Uniform inspection was standard at every meeting.

Assuming the Program Leadership Needs are adequate. (ASMs etc.) you might consider becomming a member of the Troop Committee. You can still become involved without being at every Troop meeting or activity. The MCs support the Troop in many ways without direct contact with the boys. This route would give you the opportunity to learn the operation and dynamics of the Troop, and give your son the chance to develope his boy/leader relationship with the SM and ASMs. I'm sure there will be many opportunities for you and your son to share scouting activities together.

My wife and I are both retirees from the Mich. Dept. of Corrections. She was a secretary and UAW member. In the 21 years she worked there she never saw a UAW Rep. Great service for 21 years of dues. I was a Corrections Officer.,MCO/SEIU. I didn't have to belong to the union but belong or not, I had to pay their dues. In my opinion the Government Employee unions are rip off artists. An example: Our uniforms were supplied by the State. They were polyester and made by prisoners.(You might have one sleeve longer that the other, or no buttons, but generally they were adequate). Wash and wear. As part of out contract the State paid us $500.00 a year for the upkeep of our uniforms. That came to about two million dollars annually. Another thing the unions were good at was getting peoples jobs back who did not deserve them. I saw people do things that endangered themselves and coworkers and the union let them stay on the job. I could go on but whats the use.A State Governor has the guts to do whats right then gets vilified for it. The unions and donkey politicians scratch each others back.

Several months ago I bought a complete set of these patches, icluding Tigers, at the Scout Shop at Lake Huron Area Council. Their phone number is (989)662-0242. Good Luck

My first car was a '52 Plymouth I bought in the Service. It looked great and then I found out it was mostly Bondo. Live and learn

As another "Old Fart" I can easily relate to the previous post. In Detroit in the 50s we were used to layoffs and strikes in the auto industry. Most of our dads were car workers and sometimes money was tight. I went to a Catholic school and we had to wear dress shirt, dress pants and a tie every day. As soon as we got home from school we had to change clothes. Our troop was fully uniformed; Shirt, pants, square neckercheif, garrison hat and SPATS. All of our leaders were WWII vets so uniforming was important to them. Uniforms didn't cost an arm and a leg back then but many times the troop found ways to help families that were hurting. Uniforms were also passed around. I got mine from my cousin and who knows how many boys had it before him. We never took our uniforms on campouts or outings. They were much to important. I know things have changed since then but darn we looked sharp. Now with price of our "Imported" finery I can sympathise with young families trying to make it. I'm definitly not fond of jeans and uniform shirts but I'm not paying the bills. Too bad no one makes olive colored jeans. Old Fart out.

As a retired Corrections Officer who has worked in both Maximum and Minimum Facilities, I guess my opinion about "Rehabilitation" may differ from most people. Rehab comes from within and if the will to change isn't there no amount of money or time invested will matter. The only thing you can do is make a program available. You must also keep a somewhat detached distance with the individual. Getting too close can open you up to manipulation and can sometimes cause a pressure in the relationship whereby the person is trying to please you instead of taking responsibility for themselves. Sometimes it is really disappointing to see real potential going down the drain but it is their life, not yours.

When I re-entered scouting with my boys in the mid 80s I was surprised to see the the Webelos ribbons on the right sleeve. I thought that this was a rather dumb idea as they presented a perfect handle to grab onto while the boys played the inevitable Grab--s. As predicted, I saw several torn shirts as a result. It was only recently that I found that the Webelos ribbons had a historical precedent in the BSA. In the fist decade of the BSA, Patrols, as now, took the name on animals. However, Patrol Patches didn't come until later so Patrols were identified by 2 or 3 colored ribbons worn on the right sleeve. There was a National policy that standardised which colors identified which animal. These ribbons can be seen in old scout photos of BSA and English Scouts. As for the Web. colors today: Some of you oldies may remember the old green uniforms before the ODL uniforms. We had knee sox that required a garter to keep them up. The garters had a ribbon tab on the side which identified the program. Yellow for Cubs, Green for Boy Scouts and Red for Explorers. Just an interesting item