gwd-scouter Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 This past Monday, had a Scout go for his Tenderfoot BOR. The Scouter in charge of the BOR has been an adult leader in our Troop, serving as an ASM for a while and for the past few years on the Committee. When he reached to shake the hand of the Scout, the Scout did not link his pinky finger. This is something I've seen LOT's of Scouts and Scouters do, but can't find any reference as to why they do it. Older Scouts in our troop have been quite surprised to look it up in their book and find out it's just a regular left-handed handshake! Anyway, when the young Scout was told by the adult that he was not doing the handshake properly, new Tenderfoot Scout said, "But Mrs. B says you don't link pinkies. It's just a regular hand shake but with left hands." Scouter adult grabbed Tenderfoot Scout's handbook, flipped through the pages and said, "guess I stand corrected"! I know it's not a big deal, but I really got a kick out of it when new Tenderfoot told me after his BOR! (This message has been edited by gwd-scouter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 OH MY The pinky thingie is a scout handshake but not the Boy Scout Handshake. I really cannot tell you what the handshake is, it is a secret! The brotherhood would be upset, if this secret gets out! Quick someone move this post to the OA thread, opps I did it now didn't I! Sounds like a really good scout, that could do that in a Tenderfoor BOR, good for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 No, no, no... If you go back and look in earlier editions of the Boy Scout Handbook, you will find splitting the pinky finger WAS the Boy Scout Handshake. You made the handshake off the left hand doing the Scout Sign. I gather the weenies at National were too old to split their fingers when they came up with the most recent change to the handbook. There is also an OA handshake. I won't go into that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwd-scouter Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thanks John-in-KC for giving me something to look up. Yes, indeed, the 1972 8th edition of the Handbook does change the handshake from pinky split to the full hand. Calls it the International Scout Handshake. From reading about that 8th edition, sure sounds like the Boy Scouts did a lot of damage to the program between 1972 and 1979. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavah Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Yah, the change was made to make the BSA handshake the same as the one used by Scouts around the world. But OA kept the pinky thing as its secret handshake. Never liked the pinky thing. Seems like half the time yeh had to wiggle around to get it right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 At some point I will go and find an early "Scouting for Boys" and see what B-P had to say on this... 1972, hmmm? Only 34 years, and the tradition isn't quenched yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynda J Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 I always love it when a boy teaches an adultsomething and the adult admits it. When my boys were Webs, they did the Flag Ceremony for a PTO meeting. They carried the flags in with the American Flag on the right side of the room and crossed over and posted it on the left side of the stage. When they returned to the back of the room there was a man standing there that very rudely informed them that they had posted the American Flag on the wrong side. Just as I was going to say something one of the boys said "I am sorry sir but you are wrong. The American flag is always posted on the left side of the stage facing the audiance's so it on their heart side. That is what our Scout books tell us and they are right". He then reached out shook this guys hand, and walked away. I was so proud of him. Not only for knowing why the flag was posted on the left but for having the courage to confront the adult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exibar Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 sorry for re-viving an old thread. but it took me a while to find something on the handshake. I too, had the experience that the original poster had. I was with the Troop telling the kids different things and somehow the handshake came up. The older boys used their pinky, but one of the tenderfoots said they've never seen such thing. He promptly grabbed his book and showed me the picture... I told him "well what do ya know! Must be an oldtimer scout handshake then" and I pointed to the grey in my beard. Mike B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SctDad Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I guess that I fall into the old timer catagory then. I learned the handskae with the pinky thingy and that is how I always remembered it. Although I will have to admit it, I had to relearn the OA handshake. I say it is time to petition national and bring back the heritage of scouting. But we all know where that will lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srisom Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Beavah National OA dropped the special handshakes a couple years ago. Now only the regular Left Handshake for everyone. Can't have anyone singled out now, can we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle92 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Also learned it with the pinky, but as mentioned it was changed in the 1970s, and if memory serves, that was b/c WOSM requested it. Seems that if you go back to BP, it was just the left hand shake, no pinky, and that is how scouts all over do it still. So I doubt BSA will change it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exibar Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 hehe,it's funny that it's no longer the "official" handshake, yet all the old timers (myself included even with only 5 years in scouting) want to shake hands with the pinky. I gave such a quick and smooth pinky handshake to one old ScoutMaster and he complimented me on it ;-) It's the little things that make the difference right? We're in a great organization, and the handshake is "old time tradition" so why remove it? Just because the rest of the world doesn't use the pinky means that we have to stop it? BAH!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John-in-KC Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I don't care what WOSM says. It wasn't broke. It should not have been fixed. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrentAllen Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 srisom, Are you sure about the OA? My 2008 OA Handbook shows the old handshake as correct, and that is what we teach in our Lodge currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwd-scouter Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 Wow, my old post revived from 3 1/2 years ago? Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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