RememberSchiff

I got hung-up at illegal.

Who cannot relate to this. Your unit is planning an event - a fundraiser, an Eagle Court of Honor, a Pine Wood Derby., something BIG! You reserve the facility from the school district, VFW, or church months in advance. All i's dotted, all t's crossed, you are in, only to have the rug pulled out just days before the event . . a wedding, a political rally, a semi-final game, ...arrrrggg. Plan B? A Star Wars event at Freedom High School put on by Boy Scout Troop 501 has been abruptly canceled, following reports that the high school told the troop they could not have full access to the gymnasium, despite a previous agreement.. Star Wars Days is a convention featuring artists, toys, collectibles, anime, sci-fi, fantasy, children’s activities, cub scout activities, Boy Scout merit badge opportunities, costume contests, photo ops and more. Proceeds go to support local Boy Scouts. This would have been the fourth Star Wars Days event. “The Freedom High School football team is competing in the state semi-final on Saturday, and some of the preparation for that requires use of the gym,” More details https://potomaclocal.com/2018/11/29/boy-scouts-cancel-star-wars-event-after-schools-set-restrictions/

Periodic species surveys - what trees we are losing/gaining California Nursery Historic Park Tree Inventory In the summer of 2006, members of Boy Scout Troop 143 (Fremont,CA) surveyed and identified trees within the California Nursery Historic Park in Fremont California. The Troop identified 412 individual trees comprising 112 different species. In addition to identifying the trees, they also secured ID tags to a majority of the mature trees present. This is an important civic project that would not have been accomplished without the time, intelligence and effort of the Scouts.More details and tree map http://www.fremontica.net/CNCo/tree_inventory2.php?landmark=yes Maine Invasive Species Network "... training boy scouts to recognize signs and symptoms of ALB (Asian longhorned beetle), EAB (Emerald Ash Borer) , and HWA (hemlock woolly adelgid )" https://extension.umaine.edu/invasivespecies/2012/05/14/fpos/ RS note: hemlock woolly adelgid is killing off our wonderful Eastern Hemlock trees which cool the forest , offer winter shelter,... over 600 MBF of hemlock that was used in the Summit Bechtel Boy Scout Camp for bath houses. This hemlock was infested with woolly adelgid. Along with the hemlock over 1 million feet of hardwoods were cut for sawlogs and over 5000 tons of pulpwood and fence rails. https://www.treefarmsystem.org/steve-antoline-of-west-virginia Hornaday Silver Award project Scout Peter Livengood who did survey as part of his work towards Hornaday Silver Award ("...think of it as an Olympic Medal for conservation work by a Boy Scout") recommend link below, written by scout is an entertaining and informative read regarding surveying Kentucky state park understory . http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2018/09/boy-scout-part-iii-restoring-understory.html Another $0.02

4. Identify species and their parts (leaves/needles, fruit, roots, inner bark) that are edible. Where does maple syrup come from?

@Tom243 welcome to scouter.com

Nov 28, 1918: Scouts — where are the walnuts? The government must have the proper material for its gun stocks and it needs black walnut. Scouts must not fall down on the critical project and need to complete their canvas of the areas. Scouts should have a black walnut hike every Saturday after school. From Jordan Independent MN https://www.swnewsmedia.com/jordan_independent/news/local/looking_back/throwback-thursday-years-ago-turkeys-were-scarce/article_04269629-8b9e-5c68-906c-b4c5c0102edc.html

In court on Tuesday, Thomas Murphy faced Andrew McMorris' mother while dozens of scouts from McMorris' Troop 161 filled the hallway outside court, wearing red ribbons to honor the friend who dreamed of being a pilot. "We're trying to get through the holidays without our child," said Alisa McMorris. Source text and court video https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Drunk-Driving-Suspect-Court-Boy-Scout-Killed-Crash-Long-Island-501383891.html

Depends on your meeting place and outdoor access. A gym would be great as would a nearby park, woodland area. Lest we forget Scouter Kudu's scouting site http://inquiry.net/outdoor/games/index.htm

While others headed to malls, scouts from Long Island (NY) packs and troops hiked to Temple Tikvah, Hillside Islamic Center, Notre Dame Catholic Church, New Hyde Park Baptist Church, Vaishnav Hindu Temple, First Presbyterian of New Hyde Park and Christ Lutheran Church. “Gain something that you can’t get at the malls, something that is not perishable,” said Jerry Katz of the Nassau County Boy Scouts. “You can find out what you have in common with each other,” said Cub Scout Maddie Rothstein. “Yes, I’m learning. I’m learning about God,” said 6-year-old Logan Cook. For some it was their first visit to an Islamic Center. The children took off their shoes and opened their hearts. “They guide us to understand how we need to serve each other, this is what scouting, what religion is all about,” said Shaykh Ibad Wali of the Hillside Islamic Center. Deven Kirpalani, a Nassau County boy scout, was proud one of the stops was his Hindu temple. “We are tying this all into the ten commandments, and we are bringing this into our daily lives and into our scouting lives,” Deven said. “Sometimes go to churches with my friends and then sometimes they might come to my temple, ” said Cub Scout Sarah Scotch. Scouts and their leaders hope a day sharing tolerance and acceptance will promote unity among nationalities and faiths, coinciding with the start of the holiday season. Boy Scouts of America will soon be dropping the word “boy” from its namesake program, since the tradition now includes girls. https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/11/23/boy-scouts-take-part-in-peace-hike-visit-variety-of-religious-institutions/

My recollection of Scouting/USA , "boy" was removed as it was considered a slur to the minority males being recruited. I did some wiki research and found more. (I had forgotten? ) Scouting/USA was a "communicative name" chosen by the Boy Scouts of America in 1971 in an effort to rebrand itself.[1][2] The Scouting/USA symbol was unveiled at its biennial National Council meeting. [3] The organization retained the name Boy Scouts of America as its legal name, but planned to use the new name on literature, billboards, insignia, business cards and stationery and for most other promotional material.[1] They abandoned this effort by 1980. With the inclusion of girls in the Exploring, and in an effort to appeal to underserved communities (i.e. Latino, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians) the national headquarters said, "The word 'boy' is objectionable to minorities, our young adult (male and female) leaders and naturally to the young women enrolled in our coed Exploring program."[1][5] Additionally, the rebranding was meant to identify the organization with the country it worked in, the United States, rather than a continent, America; and be inclusive of all of its programs Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Exploring.[1][6] Despite some reservations among its members and the community, the BSA went ahead with the rebranding. "Forward Together/Scouting USA" became the theme of the 1977 National Scout Jamboree.[7] The BSA also tried to reinforce this by emphasizing that everyone in Scouting should be moving forward together.[8] ... The Girl Scouts were not happy as reported in Feb 23,1977 by New York Times. “The identity of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is pretty firmly fixed in the minds of Americans,” a spokesman for the Girl Scouts of the United States of America said. “Nov if you use just the term ‘Scouting,’ people might think it's one big organization, and that ain't so.” The spokesman said that the concern of the Girl Scouts was that contribuitions and other support for the girls might diminish. “People may think that if they give to ‘Scouting’ that's taking care of the girls,” the spokesman said, But that won't be the case.” Executives and lawyers of the Girl Scouts had tried to talk the Boy Scouts of America out of using the new name, but to no avail, the spokesman said. The spokesman for Scouting/USA said the name change had been under study for seven years. There was some internal opposition, he said, but three years ago the national board gave its approval by a vote of 70 to 1. Leaders with the GSUSA accused the BSA of chauvinism, moving forward with the name change without consideration to how it would affect the girls.[4] The GSUSA also claimed that the public would assume that GSUSA was a part of Scouting/USA, which it was not.[4][10] Pittsburgh Press March 20, 1977 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18039971/scoutingusa_response/ Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it - George Santayana It's like deja vu all over again - Yogi Berra

Interesting how the 10th Annual Report (1920. page 115) categorized Merit Badges for which Pamphlets were prepared. I. Subjects that have to do with outdoor activities. II. Subjects that have to do with outdoor activities of a vocational nature. III. Subjects which have to do with the modern application of mechanics. IV. Subjects which have to do with the preservation of health and the saving of life. V. Subjects which have to do with the so-called "Trades". VI. Subjects which have to do with knowledge gained mainly from books and laboratory under instructors. VII. Subjects which have to do with some form of Art.

Straying off-topic, please standby as I split this evolving discussion to the I&P forum, - RS Thank you for your patience. I created a new topic in I&P

We do this as well. Unfortunately, we have a couple of District people who add an essay requirement. for EBOR. Arrrgh.

If the Scout Shop offers a "compression sock" version, I think Santa will deliver me a couple of pair.

Interesting read in Smithsonsian Oct, 2018 issue How the History of Merit Badges Is Also a Cultural History of the United States. .... if you look more closely at each embroidered round, you’ll discover that the scouts have been anything but static over the last century. The ever-changing roster of Girl Scout and Boy Scout merit badges forms an accidental history of American childhood, a record of what it has meant for girls and boys to “be prepared”—the eternal scouting motto—through two world wars, the Cold War and the War on Terror, through the birth of television, the dawn of the Space Age and the arrival of the internet. Often these boys and girls were our advance scouts: Boys earned a merit badge in automobiling in 1911, when barely one percent of the population owned a car. Girls earned one in Civics in preparation for the vote; it was renamed the Citizen badge with the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. Read more at source link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-merit-badges-cultural-history-united-states-180970306/

@mrkstvns welcome to scouter.com

@JohnMiller welcome to scouter.com.

Interesting read http://mchattielaw.com/2018/11/09/scouts-trademark-infringement/

@tripexistence welcome to scouter.com .

Not long ago, an experience shooter was just quizzed and demonstrated he/she could safety shoot for group as a prereq for entry into an instructor course. The add-on BIT ,was /is usually part of an instructor course. In BIT, you learn how to "introduce a speaker" so be sure to take notes. Originally these courses were meant to train instructors who were volunteering to teach newcomers in low cost courses now it is more about the business of firearm training for profit. Depending on your area, NRA instructor and skills courses can be hard to come by, more expensive than in the past, and I think you also have to renew your instructor training or run a certain number of classes. My $0.02

I don't know how many veterans continue to serve as Scout leaders. They usually do not mention their prior service until the troop attends a Veteran's Day service or at a Scout gathering when veterans are asked to stand and be recognized...briefly. The BSA Adult Application does not ask Are you a Veteran? Perhaps it should. Maybe a new right sleeve strip VETERAN to be worn under the US flag or Veterans wear their scout uniform with the US flag blue stars forward? Wasn't there a VETERAN strip ? A more immediate and continuous recognition? My $0.01 this Veteran's Day,

The first auction of Neil Armstrong’s personal memorabilia and artifacts — including fragments of the Wright brothers’ 1903 flyer the famous astronaut took to the moon and back — brought in more than $5.2 million. Fetching the highest price — $468,500 — was an identification plate from the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle from which Armstrong emerged in July 1969 to become the first man to set foot on the moon....his Boy Scouts field cap went for $12,000. Approximately 3,000 lots — some consisting of more than one item — are being auctioned in three parts. Before the first three-day sale began Nov. 1, Mark Armstrong said his father’s mementos included ones “that make you think, items that make you laugh and items that make you scratch your head.” Armstrong’s sons, Mark and Rick, put the items up for auction. The remaining lots will be sold on two dates in 2019, the 50th anniversary year of the Apollo 11 mission. https://www.whio.com/news/what-are-pieces-the-wright-brothers-famous-flyer-worth-auction-found-out/I91ZUL8iCVLFti6TZ5xxKL/

@TLK welcome to scouter.com

Back in the day, camporee Cracker Barrels were noted for poker and fellowship (I guess it is called networking today). Most were WW2 or Korea veterans who understood "we're in this together..." Problems were discussed , resources accessed, and cooperative solutions developed outside of the camporee schedule. The next day, scouts or scouters from another troop might magically appear bearing skills and knowledge we were lacking like patrol method, Morse code or lashing. Imagine the PL of the patrol who won the camporee competition stopping by to teach our scouts. My $0.02

@Mohunter welcome to scouter.com