Greying Beaver

This may not be the official use for the belt hook that is supposed to be for a pocket knife, . . . but it seems to me that the unofficial use is the remove it from the belt, tie it onto a 4' length of string. It makes a great cat-toy. =>! g.b.

I had to laugh at your posting. The "critter stuff" is part of the fun that keeps on going after you get your beads. You will be surprised at just how often you speak at a TC meeting or Roundtable meeting and find yourself calling up something from your WB coursework. So now, brother Bear, . . . . My wife, "Cutest Bobwhite" said that she is so small and flies so fast that you won't see her poop on your head (She says that a lot.). One of my scouter buddies is a Eagle and says that he will steal your supper and . . . (see above.). Me? I'm a Beaver. I'll just show up and fix things so that your property gets declared a wetlands and then you have have a federal governmental beaurocricy(sp?) make life so pleasant. See? Isn't this fun???? Good luck on your ticket work. Get it done and over with a.s.a.p. -g.b.

When B-P was asked, "Be prepared? For what?" He answered, "Well, for anything . . . . " Here is an excellent example of what he meant, when the SM needs to guide the PLC in a more positive direction, and what gran'ma meant when she said, " Got company coming? Put on a big spread." The Unofficial Modus Operendi of the Boy Scouts of America is " If you're not having fun and you don't have food, you're doing it wrong." Make that " . . . enough food . . . ." Try this and start now: Have one of your ASM's visit the pack's Webelos den(s) at their den meeting. At least one of the parents of each of the boys will be there. Have the ASM explain to the parents about the Patrol Method and the boy-led unit concept. Two or three visits will go a long way towards having the den migrate to your troop. BTW - Tell the parents that they will be welcome on campouts and that they will be eating with all of the other adults ;-) -g.b. This is an excellent example of a "boy-led" troop. Good job!

Well, . . . lets see, . . . other than making firebuilding (All you get is two (2) wooden matches, remember?) a requirement for the Scout rank (If that scout in North Carolina had had a small box of matches in his pocket - like we did when I was a scout

" . . . cots for each boy . . . ."? For a weekend campout?! Whatever happened to a groundcloth and sleeping bag? I sense a troop that camps by the Troop Method. The only concession to the Troop Method that our troop uses is a large gas burner to heat water for the three-pot method of washing dishes and larger pots to accomodate everybody on the campout. We also have the highly-coveted position of "Gnome" who sits by the pot with the soapy water and inspects every pot, pan, plate, cup, and fork/spoon to insure that they are cleaned and wiped clean before being put in the soapy water. It helps keep the soapy water as clean as possible and usable for both Saturday breakfast and Saturday supper (Friday supper is brought from home; Saturday lunch and Sunday breakfast are not to require cooking.). That frees up a lot of time for advancement and skills classes. Except for campouts on private property where ground fires are allowed by the owners, we do use propane gas stoves, one per patrol. A patrol chuck box, one for each patrol, a dutch oven per patrol, and a propane gas lantern (Eveybody goes through a safe skills session for the stoves and lanterns!), and that is about all troop gear that is brought on a campout. Now we have a big storage room filled with program- and advancement-related equipment, but those are brought on an as-needed basis. Knowing which boys need what requirements worked on and what other equipment needs to be brought gives the PL'sand TG's a reason to be on top of what is going on in their patrols. The only other concession are a couple of big(!) dining flys, one for the "Rocking Chair Aviators" and the other just to be . . . uh. . . prepared (Yeah! That's it!). Tents? We like to sleep out under the stars regardless of whatever anybody says. Our groundcloths are 10'x 8' plastic tarps with the sleeping bag laid out along one of the 8' edges. If it rains, the rest of the tarp gets pulled over the sleeping bag and the scout/scouter in it. The moms have a 4-person tent where they change. Finally, we try to keep it down to two large ice chests for the entire troop. And the personal gear goes on top of the troop gear in the troop's trailer that is rarely more that 1/4th full. -g.b.

I have taken our council's course qualifying me to chair Eagle BoR's. From what you have written, I would have no problem with your son's service project as it stands. It appears that the teacher might be trying to change the rules in the middle of the game and get more from your son's project than was originally agreed. Get the teacher to sign off on the project's completion a.s.a.p. and hold the BoR. Then pull out all the stops at the Eagle Court of Honor! -gb

. . . Whew! Okay, two-deep leadership is in place; now they need to go to work on the buddy system. That being said, I'll bet that they had a great time and have a bunch of great stories to tell. Besides, they weren't really lost. They knew exactly wherre they were all the time. They were "right here" all the time. I am very happy that they were found in good health and appearntly, good spirits

John-K.C. - We Beavers are a rare breed in deed. As soon as I have climbed to the top of my beaver lodge (waddle-waddle-waddle), I shall stand in for my fellow "First(

Oh, for crying out loud! That soft whirring sound that you hear is Bill Hillcourt spinning in his grave. "Green Bar Bill" was asked by the National Council to revamp the BSA program back in the 1920's. One of the first things that he did was eliminate almost all of the hatfll of awards (medals, tokens, etc.) for completing advancement requirements. Learning the Oath and Law is a requirement for AoL, The den leadre's job is to modivate the boys, not dangle carrots in front of them. Scouting doesn't work that way. Congratulating the forst boy to recite the Oath and Law is an occasion to praise him in front of his peers. That shoud be reward enough.

Now just whose pockets are being lined in this situation? Show'em the door and get back on sound financial footing a.s.a.p. This is what happens when parents do not take an active part in the organization. Seen it happen in BSA units, too.

Call your District Advancement Chair. Tell him/her what is going on. Call you Districe Commissioner. Do the same thing. This is not the way to run a troop advancement program. Last resort: Find another troop in a big hurry. GB

Unfortunately, . . . "Active" means "Annual registration fee paid." As long as the registration fee is paid before the troop re-registers, the youngster is on the troop charter. There will be those boys who are registered, not take part in any patrol or troop activity, but when it comes time to sign up for summer camp, they come up with the money and show up are the date, time, and place to leave for summer camp . . . in uniform. They go, have a good time, finish a rank, or earn a couple of merit badges, come home and disappear until the next summer camp. The extreme of this is a parent who appears out of the blue with checkbook in hand, his son is not registered with the troop, and writes out a check for the total the cost of registration, troop dues to date, and all camp and transportation costs. And he threatens to make things ugly if his son doesn't go to camp (This actually happened about four years ago.) The end of this story was that the boy was miserable at camp and was never seen again, but the father had insisted that the boy have a summer camp experience, like it or not. The father as correct, and dead wrong for doing it. Like I said, "Active" means "Paid up".

Hi, Seed. No, you can't be fired. National Supply has coulotts for women leaders. If your local scout shop does not carry them, ask them; they can be ordered for you. Takes about a week, maybe less.

Agreed. Our district is changing its format this year to get away from virtual patrols at camporees. One course for NSP's and another one for regular patrols. I have judged events at camporees and have seen these virtual patrols come up to me with at least three different patrol patches on their uniform sleeves. Yeah, right. Different courses for NSP's and regular patrols. That is the best way to build patrol spirit instead of putting the emphasis on winning at all costs. G.B.

Hi SWScouter. The content of my posting was a quick overview of LDS scouting in my part of the swamp. My UC Basic course was presented at an LDS church by an LDS scouter wearing silver loops. Of the 12 who took the course, only three of us were not LDS'ers. We were the ones in the uniforms that had not been bought a few days before the course. We had knots, flaps, and beads; they didn't. There was a section on the buddy system and 2-deep leadership on outings. That is presented in SM Fundamentals. So why at UC Basic? I spoke to the trainer after the course. The LDS church is very upset about what happened last summer out in Utah. Scouting is their official youth ministry program. The buddy system is not normally used because the troops are small, and 2-deep leadership is not observed for the same reason. The LDS has a long history of "changing its spots(blacks were not allowed to join the LDS church until a few years ago; now they are - go ask an LDS'er.)". The national LDS church leadership is worried about their congregations losing charters if anything like last summer happens again. An Eagle Scout is an Eagle Scout. The LDS'ers know not to mess with requirements, especially for Eagle. Then they would lose their charters and they know it. Should there be a designation as "LDS Eagle Scout"? It would make a good topic, but I ain't goin'there. Not me. You first. And a WB'er is a WB'er. It, like the ranks system are national programs. LDS'er have to venture "outside the community" to go to WB. If you know WB'ers who are LDS'ers, good on them. They have bought into the program and not just doin' as their Bishop told'em to do. The latter is too often the case and the LDS scouting program is the poorer for it. G.B.