Chief Decorah

It's nice to have supportive parents, isn't it? Seldom does a child reach any goal, let alone earn Eagle, without that support, and since Weyauwega is forty-five miles down the road from me and in our Council, it's nice to hear another "local boy makes good" story. Congrats to him for his achievement, and thanks to his parents for guiding him along the Trail.

Hey le Voyageur, Are you a "Pointer"? I've got a cousin who was there in the late '70's, graduated in Biology, etc. He's an expert when it comes to snakes, amphibians, et.al.

A short question for clarity... Is being chartered to the school, and being chartered to the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of a school, the same thing? Seems to me that being chartered to the PTO would be different, thus allowing latitude in membership, than being chartered to the school itself.

I've already added my two cents worth higher up this thread, but I've got to ask... Rooster, are you trying to turn this earring conversation into a debate on uniforms and the appropriateness of Scouts wearing dresses? (A little humor among Scouters) :-)

Sounds like it would work well in a Dutch oven too. Thanks for the recipe!

I called it! The hazing/teasing conversation is off and running! lol Some clean fun done in the spirit of Scouting isn't all bad. Moderation... moderation...

There's more important things for Scouters to do that to worry about earrings and ponytails. Personally, I don't wear earrings, have a ponytail or tattoos (and neither does my son). However, some of the finest people that I know in Scouting have one, two or all three of those. Might not be my cup of tea, but so what? The boys and adults can show their respect to the BSA by wearing the uniform properly, having the BSA patches, etc. in the proper places, and looking sharp and proud while wearing it. I agree with previous posts which say chains, necklaces, etc. on the outside of the uniform do distract from the uniformity of the troop.

Sounds like you're on your way to Mom of the Year! Kids want discipline and need discipline and they need to know boundaries, otherwise they're no different than water on a flat surface - no direction. Wearing the uniform properly reflects the individual's respect to the BSA.

This may turn into a full blown discussion about hazing/teasing, etc. like the conversation that took place regarding shoreline and left-handed smoke benders. I hope it doesn't. Your son SHOULD be excited to join Boy Scouts, but he SHOULDN'T have to be concerned about teasing from older Scouts in his Troop at summer camp. I don't want to come off as someone over-protective of his son because a lot of that is normal, everyday stuff. It all depends on the delivery. If it's offered as fun, and taken in the right spirit, Scouting will be fun. If everyone's having fun (repeat everyone), it'll be a great Troop to join. From your post, it sounds like you've found a good Troop, but it also sounds like he'll hold his own in the give-and-take department. It's my hope he has a long and enjoyable Scouting experience.

I don't know if I have enough power of persuasion, or any of the great Scouters that frequent this forum are willing, but I'd like to make the following suggestion - let's move on. We've beaten this issue worse than a $3.00 mule, and as far as I'm concerned, the mule is getting tired. There are far too many issues within Scouting that can be discussed constructively for the betterment of Scouting for us to spend countless minutes, hours, weeks, and even months dedicated to the beating up of people who don't wear the proper pants, belt, underwear and the like. It's as if not being BSA from head to toe makes us less of a Scouter. I just got home from our Troop meeting and I'm still sitting here in my Scout shirt and Dockers pants. (My BSA issue pants were dirty). We had a great Troop meeting, we re-registered all our boys and adults, we met with our older boys about joining Venturing, we presented awards and I spoke to the Troop about our planned trip to Northern Tier, all in non-BSA issue pants. You know what? It didn't matter. Scouting is Scouting. Here's where my power of persuasion may fail, but I hope it doesn't. I'd like this thread to die a peaceful death - now. I know at least one of you will probably continue the annoying practice of "cutting and pasting" and take selected portions of my post and keep it alive. To that person, it's my hope that you don't. I have the utmost respect for all of you. Let's move on. So... here it goes... AMEN.

OR NOT.

There are Eagle Scouts who are Eagle Scouts, and there are Eagle Scouts who completed the requirements. Is there any doubt about which best describes the subject of this thread? Scouting is about experiences, camaradarie, growing up, leadership, fun, camping, hiking, learning... I could go on and on. Earning badges of rank, as well as merit badges, are best earned as a result of a Scout's participation. As for earning his Eagle by twelve years old, I smell a fair amount of "pencil-whipping". Not a chance...

What are your biggest challenges preparing for the trip? What parameters did you set for Scouts to participate? How much did your trips cost? What did you do for fundraising? Did you have any problems getting adults signed up? Any interesting stories related to forgetting something important? How did your Troops choose light-weight equipment? Our trip to Isle Royale is going to cost somewhere around $300 (and we're in Wisconsin). I can only imagine the cost for Troops traveling to the National bases, as well as other high adventure places. Sorry to ask so many questions. It's our Troop's first high adventure trek and these are things that have come up. Hopefully, it leads to some good discussion.

What kind of High Adventure trips do your Troops take? Do you go mainly to the BSA National bases (Northern Tier, Sea Base and Philmont) or do you go other places? My guess is, with only three national bases, Troops are taking many different types of high adventure trips to many different areas around the country. Our Troop is going to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior next summer for a week long backpacking trip. We'll be hiking 50 miles and earning the 50 Miler award on the trip. Slowly, but surely, our trek is coming together with new lighter-weight gear purchases, hike planning, food ideas, cooking gear and the like. It's very challenging, but we're really looking forward to the trip. I've seen Venture Crews and other Troops taking bike trips to Great Britain, backpacking in the Rockies, canoeing in some wilderness territories. Any experienced High Adventure trekkers care to share their experiences with the group?

My sentiments exactly. Humor is part of what makes the world go 'round, and it certainly helps Scouting go 'round. It can, however, go too far, and that's where good adult leaders come in. They know when things are about to go too far before they happen. We, as adult leaders, need to allow our Scouts to have fun with each other so long as they don't turn it into something ugly or personal. Sending someone to the next campsite for a left-handed smoke bender or to the waterfront for shoreline are both classic, harmless jokes that, done in the proper spirit, will allow everyone to have a good laugh around the campfire. A Troop that has fun (keyword - fun)together will be a stronger Troop.

One could incorporate Orienteering into the Grocery Shopping merit badge and find the shortest distance to the spam case.

Maybe not a merit badge, but is there any interest out there in Signaling? Used to be a lot of fun lashing a tower together and then sending flag signals to the other patrols.

Ahhh, the left handed smoke shifter... an oldie but a goodie! Many moons ago when I worked at Scout camp, I taught Pioneering Merit Badge. Every week, there always seemed to be one Scout who was a disrupter of sorts during class. Wednesday was deemed the Day of Humbling. My buddies at the trading post and waterfront were in on this. I would send the disrupting Scout to the trading post for some "shoreline" that we needed for an important lashing project. (The trading post was not too far away). The guys at the TP were to say "Boy, we're all out, but if you go down to the waterfront, you'll find some there." (This was a fair hike from the TP). When the guys at the waterfront showed them where the "shoreline" was, there was usually a priceless look of "Boy, did we fall for that one!" After they came back to Scoutcraft, we all had a good laugh at their expense, but they usually continued with a little better attitude.

Eagle, A quick question - $175.00 for resident camp? Wow, that seems like a lot. Our resident camp, which is a Cub World complete with multiple theme buildings, is $95.00 for four days and three nights, food, etc. A week at Boy Scout Camp is about $165.00. What do your boys get for their money? (I apologize for being off the subject of the thread).

DD, Do you mean to say that since I think "Morally Straight" means "following the Scout Law and caring for and about others" is outdated? I'm not sure what you meant by your statement of me watching the parade a few blocks behind. It seems to me that a person of good morals has those attributes. As for the Hoary Raptor comments, they seemed to come out of nowhere and my first thought was perhaps they were of a negative nature. I stand corrected.

I happen to think P_Swigs is on the right track with his statements about comments in this thread, although he worded his commentary a bit strongly. While this IS the Issues and Politics forum, I have found some of the posts by Scouters to be a bit puzzling. It starts with the questions posted by OGE. Seems kind of strange that a veteran Scouter would post questions like that, even if could be an effort to "stir the pot" and encourage conversation, as P_Swigs suggests. Then to have Dedicated Dad come in referring to Experienced Hoary Raptors and asking questions like "Is the unrepentant practice of perversion good, right and true?" and his later dandy about asking the author of the Scout Oath if homosexuality is morally straight, and then offering one word posts that link up with the definition of the word perversion? Seems to me like Dedicated Dad, if he's as responsible of a Scouter as he says, could be more responsible in his posts. (Do you really think that the author of the Scout Oath had homosexuality in mind when he wrote it?) I happen to think P_Swigs' first post on the meaning of the Scout Oath is pretty much right on the money. The Scout Law and living a decent life and caring for, and about, others is what being morally straight is to me.

Most of our Pack and den meetings are held at school where, of course, no smoking is allowed. At camp, however, it's a different situation. Rules at our Council camps allow smoking only in the parking lot. That's usually a fair distance from the campsite, so that's a deterrant in and of itself. It's usually not a problem during summer camp with so many people around. Off-season is a different story. The few people in our Troop who smoke and attend outings take the opportunity to go down the path a short distance and light up. They at least try to be discreet about it. The problem is, technically, they're breaking a camp rule. However, with the above said, the boys know that the men are smoking down the path and you should hear how the adults get criticized about what they're doing. Kids, these days, have been raised in the D.A.R.E programs and have been taught about the bad things related to smoking and alcohol. It's a lot different from how it was when we all were kids. The fact is, adults smoking is accomplishing positive results with the boys seeing it as a negative. Chippewa, you wanted to know how we handle the smoking during Scouting events? We address it to the adults before hand and let them know that smoking is prohibited within the area near the Scouts. It's seldom, if ever, a problem. If it is, that person is addressed individually and reminded to take his or her smoking to the proper location. I've never had to be heavy-handed with anyone. They understand the situation.

Thanks Robin! Your post gave me a good chuckle to start the week!

Robin, What a great idea! I'm going to use that one!

It's as much song as skit, but you can always have fun with "The Twelve Days of Christmas". You could be the "Five Golden Rings" and ham it up each time, then the boys could each be a part of the song. Just a thought.