SWScouter

My pack uses the segments and so do I with my den. We get them from Ideal Emblems, it advertises in Scouter magazine. The segments cost me 35 cents each. The pack pays for those segments for pack activities and the den pays for den activity segments. Some examples of how we use them: - Boy earns Bobcat badge, receives bobcat segment - Boy earns Wolf badge, receives wolf segment - Boy in flag ceremony, receives flag segment - Boy attends scout mass, receives church segment - Boy is denner, receives denner segment - Den goes to BBall game, boys receive BBall segment - etc. Twelve segments go around a 3" patch, I think 17 go around the second time. I try to get them for most things the den does or for most of the belt loops or pins the boys earn. I think the boys really like them, I know mine does. He's working on the fourth ring for his vest. A fifth ring won't fit but will put the segments around where they will. One nice thing about scouting is that I've learned how to use my wife's sewing machine. SWScouter

Go to http://www.scoutstuff.org then go to scout Necessities, then Cub Scouts, then Cub Scout Uniform - assemble uniform. Fill out the sizes (doesn't really matter what) and click the asseble uniform button. Next, enter your zip code and click the Print Shopping List button. All the official boy scout supply stores near you should be listed. SWScouter

My son is a Webelos 1 this year. His blue uniform just fits and the shorts are getting a little tight. I told him I would get him the tan and green uniform after he earns his Webelos badge. Well, his comment back to me was that he wants to stay in the blue because it looks better. Who am I to argue fashion?

I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank those of you who have taken the time to attend Wood Badge this season for a number of things. BW, You're very welcome! Actually, I think it is I that should be thanking all the Wood Badge Staff. I was thouroughly impressed with the enthusiasm, preparedness, and goodwill presented by the Wood Badge staff at the course I attended this past August. They made it a truly wonderful and beneficial experience. It was obvious that the staff had spent a huge amount of time and effort preparing for the course and ensuring that it would be more than worthwhile for the participants. I can't say enough, so before I get way too sappy let me offer the following: To BW, and all of you who have served on Wood Badge staff, thank you for your efforts and dedication. It truly is appreciated. SWScouter

"What extactly is a debt card????????none of these people have heard of it." Do you mean a Debit card? A debit card is used similar to a credit card except that the account the card is tied to would have a positive balance. Then each transaction would deduct (or debit) from the account balance. Normally debit cards are attached to checking accounts. I think "debt card" is a fairly reasonable name for a credit card, at least for those people that carry a balance month to month. SWScouter

"A year or so later, about the time I was going for Brotherhood, I fessed up to a friend on the ceremony team that I didn't know what the "password" was. He said nobody really knows what what it is, that's why they mumble when they tell you. He said he remembered it because it very loosely sounded like the name of a character on a TV show at the time. We both had a good laugh over it." I think any boy on the ceremony team would know the admonition. It's in both the Ordeal and Brotherhood ceremony booklets. I would hope that any boy in the ceremony would have a copy since he needs to memorize the part he's portraying. Definitely it's easier to find out what the admonition is now than it was thirty years ago. I've done google searches for it and it can be found though it does take some perseverence. SWScouter

Hi, I have a similar situation with my den this year. My den is first year Webelos. One boy is repeating third grade instead of moving on to fourth. The last time I talked to his Mother, he was having a hard time getting used to being in a different class and misses being with his former classmates (4 years together with most of them). His Mother would like him to continue with Cub Scouts but she is concerned about him spending time with former classmates in the den making the change in school more difficult. Her son doesn't want anything to do with repeating the Bear program. At this time, he is not continuing with Cub Scouts because of all this. Maybe he'll continue as a Webelos next year with the current Bear Den. I don't know. I have told the boy's Mother that he is welcome in the den anytime. My current plan is to give him a couple more weeks to adjust and then talk to his parents about him continuing then. We'll see. This doesn't have the age issues mentioned above. The new joining requirements are also mentioned in the Sept. Scouter magazine. SWScouter

No, I'm here, you are there.

When I look back on my scouting youth, I have two regrets of things I didn't do. I remember sitting on my bed reading Boy's Life. I'd read an article or see an add for Philmont and think how absolutely great it would be to go. I remember daydreaming about Philmont very clearly. I also remember reading about the Religious emblems available and thinking how cool it would be to earn one. Again, I very clearly remember daydreaming about earning the Ad Altaire Dei. I'm not an Eagle Scout, sometimes I wish I was but not as much as I regret not saying something to someone about going to Philmont or earning the Ad Altaire Dei. So, if I could send a message back to me as a youth, I would tell myself to tell my dreams to my parents or someone else that may help me make them a reality. I would tell myself to take action because a dream will only be a dream if it is kept inside myself. SWScouter

Hi, Is there a biography out on William Hillcourt? I read the short autobiography on this website and was wondering if there is a more in depth biography available. Thanks, SWScouter

PDF files for the awards can be found for a short time at http://webpages.charter.net/chadc/html/cub_scouting.html

"Arrowmen deride the "clean" sash and see it as a sign of an inactive member. They delight in deriding sash "condoms."" I've seen this before. It really bugs me. Arrowmen with this attitude just don't understand what the Order is all about. Or, at least, their view is a lot different than mine. It seems they are ignoring the obligation, "...ties of brotherhood are lasting...", "...seek to preserve a cheerful spirit...". Yea right. At least they're doing service. SWScouter

I suppose this is sort of on topic or not, but it's been discussed to some exent here. I have one knot on my uniform representing the Den Leader Award. I am currently working on earning another knot for the Webelos Den Leader Award. It's one of my goals to accomplish by the end of this coming May. Why am I aiming to earn this award? Is it for vanity or a self pat on the back? Maybe, I suppose, to some extent. But the driving force behind this goal is that if I accomplish the requirements for the award, I will be providing a better program for my den. Or, maybe the converse states it better. If I don't complete the requirements for the award, I will not provide as good a program to the boys as I should have. The requirements aren't really that difficult. One years tenure, training, and several performance items such as 3 meetings per month for 9 months, meeting with an Assistant, having a den chief, etc. But they all deal with providing program for the boys, and that's why it's my goal to earn this award. Are the cub scouter knots a joke? I don't think so. I think it's more of a joke for a cub scouter not to make the effort to do the things needed to earn the awards. Are they easier to get than, for example, the Scouter Training Awards? I've looked at the requirements for both and I really don't think so. They do take less time, one year instead of two, but I don't really think that makes them easier to earn. SWScouter

"Within the BS Handbook what does Stop, stand for?" A quick guess: Stop (Sit?) Think Observe Plan

First, thanks for the comments, they are helpful. "Near beer would be allowed, but what's the point?" There must be some point to it otherwise there would be no market for the stuff. Granted it's not my cup of tea, or, should I say, draught of beer. "If it were consumed for personal choice, why make it public? Nothing would stop this fellow from drinking this substitute in private and not making a big deal out of it." It really wasn't made public nor was any big deal made of it. He just went and drank it in the evening. Personally, I would worry more if he went off and drank it in hiding. Really, this whole thing was just a question on if I handled this in a reasonably correct manner. "If the individual really could not be without the taste of beer for a weekend he needs to be somewhere other than a scout activity. Hopefully seeking professional help." This just seems a bit too presumptuous. Though I can't say for sure, I highly doubt this man has a drinking problem. Some people just like to have a beer in the evening, others like to have a glass of wine at dinner. For example, my wife likes to have a beer when she cooks dinner. I know she doesn't have a drinking problem. Thanks again for the comments. SWS

Here's another scenario. Last March, I organized a Pack campout. At the campout, one of the adults brought and drank one bottle of "near beer." I guess he figured he couldn't camp without any "beer" whatsoever. Since he only had one and it was essentially non alchoholic, I let it slide. Should I have requested that he refrain from this? I'm tempted to be more specific at the next camping trip and state no alchoholic beverages nor alchoholic like beverages.

"I trace the decline in civility to the invention of the telephone -- the computer's only made it worse." Hmmm, and to think I always attributed it to the use of self service pumps at the gas stations...

Well, as of last week, I used to be an Eagle, and a good old Eagle too. ...and I'm going to work my ticket if I can. W4-10-04.

Hi Everyone, I thought I'd give a brief introduction of myself. I joined Boy Scouts as a youth in 1971 in the Highline district, Chief Seattle Council. That district no longer exists. I would have joined Cub Scouts but I think I asked my Mom on a bad day. She said Cub Scouts was stupid and to wait til I was old enough for Boy Scouts. My take on it now, is that she didn't want to be stuck as the Den Mother as I believe she was for my older brothers. Oh well, I can deal with the life scars that gave. :-) I reached Star but was really never too motivated for advancement and never received much guidance either (I don't recall a single person earning eagle in my troop for the six years I was in). I was inducted into the OA in T'Kope Kwis Kwis lodge. I was a PL, ASPL, and SPL. As a scout, I mostly enjoyed the camping. I have fond memories of Camp Parsons. Canoeing on Ross Lake, and a glorious 50 miler one August in the Olympics. I remember lots of backpacking trips in the North Cascades and around Mt. Rainier. Bicycling in the San Juans and along the peninsula. When we backpacked, we never took tents. Each person had a 10'x10' sheet of plastic and it seemed to work just fine for us, even in the damp Pacific NW. I went backpacking for the first time in a long time a few weeks ago with my 11 year old daugter. I used a lot of the same equipment from when I was a scout 30 years ago. We had a blast. Of course, there was "No Way" she was going to sleep anywhere but in a tent, so I did find a nice little tent for us. In 2001, my son became a Tiger Cub Scout. The next year I became the Den Leader and now I'm the Webelos Leader for his den. I'm also helping out with Cub Scout Roundtable and am planning to help with training. Next week I'm looking forward to going to Woodbadge. I think that this is plenty for now, though maybe not so brief. Cheers.

The best camporee I attended was with the Highline district of Chief Seattle council in 1972. It was at the army's Yakima Firing Range in Eastern Washington. First, the army transported all the participants to the camporee. We were all in the canvas covered army trucks sitting on wooden benches along the side. So much for seatbelts. At one time, the convoy pulled over and everyone got out to stretch their legs. One of the military yelled, "Hit the bushes!" You can imagine hundreds of scouts lined up alongside the highway taking a leak. At the Firing Range, the military put on quite a show. Big guns were firing from 20 miles behind us, over our heads to the targets in front of us. Then came the attack helicopters, mortars, and ground assault. It was way cool. I haven't been to a camporee since 1974, but I don't know how anything could top that camporee. How often does the military demonstrate it's might to a bunch of kids!