The Latin Scot

So it wasn't just me then! LOL I was pretty sure I had lost it; I'm far too young to be going senile!

Aw, hey now, I LOVE our logo! Of course it may be due to my bizarre love for the letter "W" but I have always thought the imposition of the W on the flear-de-lis was always rather clever.

I remember the time when I actually envied councils with cool names like "Baden-Powell Council" or "Trapper Trails Council" and other fancy stuff like that. This is one of those times I am grateful my council is simply called Orange County Council, with a CSP that shows the beach and says Orange County Council, California. Impossible to get wrong, lol.

Why are you "leaving her to her own choice?" You are the parent! Children at this age are not yet old enough to make appropriate choices that will keep them safe and healthy; your job as her mother is to train her in how to make the right choices in the first place, and to help her know what the right choices are. Put her in her jacket and lovingly, but FIRMLY, explain to her WHY she is going to wear it, and that she IS GOING TO WEAR IT. Don't deny her the blessing of having parents who care enough about her to ensure her comfort and safety, whether she is willing to accept it yet or not.

I myself actually lay my necker flat and then fold the edges in small, 1" folds until I have about 8" of triangled fabric left. Next I carefully bring it around my neck and smoothly bring up the slide, watching that it goes up without pulling in any weird places; I then adjust until everything looks neat and tidy. It took me forever to customize the space in my favorite slide so that it was tight enough to stay in place, but large enough not to squeeze and wrinkle the fabric too much. Now, considering my near-lunatic obsession with getting my neckerchiefs to look just so, you can imagine my angst as I watched the parade of neckerchief ineptitude unravel in front of me at this Court of Honor. If I had worn pearls instead of my necker, I would have at least had something to clutch in horror at the sight of it.

Oh that's right, I totally forgot about that! That ABSOLUTELY explains this entire thing; the church had a great program going but as most of the leaders had to pay their own way, it was getting harder for some to cover the costs AND make the time for the training program. So yeah, it's totally reasonable for Philmont to try and find a way to make up the revenue they would have gained from those two weeks. I can't blame them for that!

I couldn't tell you for sure, but historically we're partial to handcarts, so that would be my first guess.

I agree with @ItsBrian, being SPL takes time and work, but nothing prohibitively overwhelming. As for taking time off to focus on your Eagle, that at least makes a little more sense. In any case I'm sorry about your struggles; it's hard to break out of those cycles once they become habitual.

I never did report back on the Court of Honor! I went with the white NESA neckerchief which was PERFECT, since it was nice enough to look spiffy (white on tan/green = VERY classy!), but not the same as the blue neckers the boys were awarded that day. It looked great, it didn't draw attention from the boys being honored, and it was in all a lovely gift from the Scout and his family that gave it to me. I did have to stifle a few laughs during the ceremony though; each boy had a moment when his old neckerchief was removed as our COR attempted to place the new blue Eagle necker over their collars ... with hysterical results. They tried flipping the neckers in the air a few times and then loosely tying them in a knot (they had slides there mind you!), and they ended up looking like little blue tableclothes strewn haphazardly over their shoulders with big bows in front. By the last two attempts (there were 5 boys) they did get them looking half-decent, but it was still both humorous and painful to watch the whole thing unfold (ha ha). I think I need to train our leadership on how to wear the neckerchief properly; I admit I am a bit OCD about getting mine to look just right, but since I am the ONLY leader who regularly wears them, I think it would at least be worthwhile to teach the others how to neatly put the neckerchief on somebody else.

From Scotland, really? That's fantastic, welcome to the forums!

Interesting. Whenever an organization makes an announcement about an upcoming announcement, I get mildly suspicious, lol.

Interesting. I guess I'm down for the whole retro-vibe, although it's still drably executed. As for the color "changes," they've actually been pretty consistent with coordinating color schemes for a long while now, with the one exception of the Wolves wearing yellow hats and neckers as a holdover from the days when all Cubs simply wore blue and gold. Otherwise the Wolves have been using red as their color for many years now. I suppose it was inevitable that they would eventually switch entirely to their red color scheme, but I will miss seeing Cubs in the classic blue and gold in any case. As long as my Webelos stick to the plaid and don't go to a straight green any time soon, lol. EDIT: I also feel somewhat irked that the Webelos Handbook does not feature the Arrow of Light, nor even mention it, as it should. It's frustrating that the highest rank in Cub Scouts doesn't even make an appearance on its own handbook.

If I may ask, where did you get this photo and information? Mind you, it's not entirely surprising, but what is the source of this picture? I confess the cover is ... well, boring to say the least. I hope they don't go with this monochromatic style in the end, but curious to know more. At least they are incorporating the addendums into it, but as the leader of an all-boy unit, I hope they don't go overboard with the gender-integration images inside. And what about our old friend Ethan? Will his twin sister Edna be joining us now? sigh ........ I know it's been said a million times over, but this whole inclusion thing is really ruffling my feathers again, lol.

The one in front looks just like one of my Webelos Scouts actually. I think it's the begging expression on his face.

I have 8 boys in my den. Only 2 are presently legal American citizens; the others are immigrant citizens of Mexico, China, and Taiwan. But I tell them that since they will grow up in this country, and live under this nation's laws, they should consider themselves Americans, and that they have a responsibility to this country that is giving them and their families so many of the opportunities they enjoy. If they live here in America, I tell them, then they should feel a part of the great tapestry of this country, and that comes with inherent duties which they should feel the need to fulfil. Not only do the boys respond well to this idea, but I have had parents thank me for helping their sons feel that they have a place here that they didn't feel they had before, and I have had a few mention that their performance at school and their relationships with their peers has improved since developing the idea that they have a legitimate and important place in this country. I think that's one of the most important things Scouting can do for those who are new to our nation.

Earning the Atomic Energy merit badge at the San Onofre nuclear power plant was incredibly exciting, but personally, my favorite was actually Mammal Study - I have always been a passionate naturalist, and so this badge was right up my alley. Same with Reptile and Amphibian Study, when I got to take care of a neighbor's pet tree frog for a month! And of course Reading was fun, since I have always been and always will be a major bookworm, so this was an easy and exciting badge for a reader like me to earn.

When I was in Scouts back in 1999, we spent a day at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant (before it was shut down) over by Camp Pendleton. We went through the whole facility, including demonstrations of how powerful the outer shells were, the amount of energy it could generate, and more. We wore hard hats, got special badges, and completed the Atomic Energy merit badge, as it was called back then. It was the last badge I earned, and it was definitely one of my more memorable experiences in Scouting.

I concur; it's only sensible that adults who are present at activities for that much time be registered as leaders.

Our district charges $170 for the week, or $150 if you register at least 30 days before the event. Having attended with my Den for the past two years, I can't say it's entirely worth the cost.

That's just what we do; my assistant has all the woodworking tools, and one of my Webelos who lives up the street from my has a nice big garage and a father who is ready to open it up for us to use. In two weeks it will be open for a few hours on a Saturday so that any boys in the pack can come work on their car, and there will be one more Saturday closer to our derby in April when they can come in if they missed or didn't finish during the first week. If you don't have people with the tools and space readily on hand, you could talk to local shops or hardware stores and see if any of them are willing to open up their resources to families in advance of your derby. And then invite them to the races when you have them! Some recognition for them in honor of their help would be a great way to involve your community and get your program out their. Always look outside the box when you feel stuck. ;-)

The thing is, that kind of natural separation is entirely normal at that age. It's simply the way most pre-teen kids think, and so it would be unhealthy to force any legitimately co-ed program on these ages. That's why I hope National is true to it's word and creates a separate program for girls that steers as far away from the boys program as is possibly. No girl/boy patrols, no sharing troops - a total separation of boys and girls in their own programs, even if the girls are working on the same requirements. As far apart as they can be is best for these ages, developmentally speaking.

I don't have a copy of Scouting with a Neckerchief, although I know the item you are referring to. I haven't seen a copy in print but only know it from multiple references online. I would imagine somebody here would have it, right? Anybody? In any case, they didn't have as much published supplementary material in the early days as they have now, when we are practically drowning in new material being published almost monthly. As for collarless shirts, yes I have seen many, many examples of those. But for certain, in the very latest Guide to Awards and Insignia, the official policy states on page 13 under "Special Regulations:" The unit has a choice of wearing the neckerchief over the collar (with the collar tucked in) or under the collar. So at the very least, as of the past few years both options are 100% authorized by the BSA.

Actually it was! I am looking at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Handbook which I have in front of me right now (it's good to have a solid library), and in the uniform illustrations, all of them have uniform diagrams featuring the neckerchief being worn over the collar. In fact, let's not overlook the fact that on the very cover of the 3rd edition, there is an illustration of a Scout in profile - with the neckerchief over the collar! And just about every early painting by Norman Rockwell shows Scouts wearing the neckers old school style - with the neckerchief over the collar. And with all due respect, they are pretty darn authoritative if you ask me. Rockwell was a stickler for accuracy and his paintings almost never deviate from the proper way to wear the uniform at the time of their execution, and during his long tenure as Chief Scout Executive James E. West demanded complete uniform accuracy in all offcial BSA illustrations and publications. So, yes, it was not only authorized, but in fact it was the norm to wear the necker over the collar for many, many years.

Yes, if you look at materials from the 20's and 30's, it was expected of boys to wear their neckerchiefs over the collar, a look I very much enjoy. When I take my boys on service projects or especially rigorous outdoor activities, I only require them to wear the necker so that they can be recognized as Scouts. At this point I have emphasized the appropriateness of this option so often that most of the boys in our pack and troop can quote with a degree of precision the exeprt from the guide to uniforms and insignia regarding the appropriate wearing of the neckerchief without the rest of the uniform. EDIT: I am including this link to a webpage I found extremely educational regarding neckerchief wear; it isn't official BSA material, but I found it authoritative enough in its own right. http://inquiry.net/uniforms/neckerchief/swn1.htm

Personally, I think a lot of packs could stand to tone down their "elaborate events" - they become almost like wedding receptions what with all the pomp and money thrown into them. I think that learning to simplify things and creating a more modest approach to rank advancement at the Cub level is an important lesson for many packs. Yes, we should be celebrating achievement and advancement - I always do with my den - but it should be to a degree that's appropriate to their age and accomplishment. The grand advancement ceremonies and Blue and Gold banquets with the huge costs and extravagant decorations are too much if you ask me. In my opinion, being compelled to simplify can only be a good thing.