Tain't The Way We Young'ns Did it....

[SSScout]

Some other  posts mentioning chainsaw projects and cotton sleeping bags makes me wonder if a thread about how WE did stuff in Scouting, way back when,  and isn't  it a wonder we are here to tell the tale...

I will start off with a story I heard (because I was too young to participate) about.   Our CO had a Cub Pack, a Scout Troop AND a Sea Scout Ship.   The Ship was well known around the council, it being led by an old Chief Mate.  One summer , they decided on an adventure, so they built a wood raft with  55 gallon drums lashed  under it . Sailed down the Potomac and out into and up the Chespeake Bay.  

[skeptic]

Did they drum up any new members?  

[SSScout]

Very active for many years, but folded about 2000.   

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

Please don't throw any stones, but what was so dangerous about making the raft and sailing it? Is that a heavily trafficked shipping lane with oceangoing ships or something? I did the same thing at summer camp as an ordinary landlubber scout with the difference that we sailed a lake. Patrol competition. It was super fun. Still seems safe to me. We all had horseshoe collar life vests, and of course we were about to be missed and immediately spotted if the raft were to fall apart out on the lake.

[Eagle94-A1]

Sea Scout story reminds me of one an ASM told me of, and peaked my interest in Sea Scouts. His ship was located in Norfolk, VA. They did not have a designated vessel to use, so they went looking for one. They found a WWII PT boat in Bangor, Maine, but they had to work on it, get is USCG approved, and transport it back to  Norfolk. They took the train to Maine, worked on it for a few weeks, spent a week getting approved, then steamed from Maine to Norfolk. I think all total it was 5 or 6 weeks spent getting the boat. Forgot to mention, none of the adults went with them, just the Sea Scouts.

 

1 hour ago, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

 Is that a heavily trafficked shipping lane with oceangoing ships or something?

 Yes, heavy traffic, especial US Navy in some areas.

[skeptic]

It is often difficult to admit much of what we did then, prior to the seventies during the high point of Scouting participation was a bit dangerous.  But most of us also were pretty aware it was.  Still, helmets for bikes, seatbelts, not riding in the back of open trucks, and swimming in n inspected water all were more dangerous than we realized.  On the other hand, that very thing made us more aware of our surroundings and challenged us to deal with obversities at times.  But the concept that somehow we can make life, and its living, completely safe and sanitary is ignorant.  Time again for my favorite stance; Balance along with the concept of Common Sense.

[InquisitiveScouter]

Here's another one...

In the early 80's there was a US Army Ranger program for youth at Mt Yonah in Dahlonega, GA. (It is still going, but much different today... https://www.nega-bsa.org/Ranger)

We had a few of our older Scouts attend.  Of course, they became immediate "experts" in climbing and rappelling 😜 

They wanted to showcase their new-found coolness, and the venue our Troop selected was our annual Scout Show.  We worked with the fairground managers and our local power company, and sank four telephone poles into the ground there.  Then we got the lumber, hammer and nails, and built a 30 foot rappelling tower.

It was the hit of the Scout Show.  We had an assembly line of Scouts helping people tie a Swiss seat harness. (A requirement only recently removed from Climbing Merit Badge.  And, no, there was no Climbing MB back then.) Visitors would then climb up ladders to the top, and rappell down a doubled-up Army-issue twisted nylon rope, with a single carabiner.  No helmets.

A few of us demonstrated Australian rappell.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAnxYKUVNVI&ab_channel=SkillsforClimbing

(That's not a video of us, of course.)

Again, thank the good Lord, no one got hurt.  But, knowing what I know now about safe climbing practices... we were dangerous, and put a lot of folks at risk.

[Eagledad]

When women were brought in as Troop leaders, I remember the sudden fear of axes in wood tool’s training. Many commented that saws would be their troops go to tool. I reminded them that the saw caused more trips to the emergency room than any other wood tool in scouting. 

One of the things I loved about scouting was the teaching of using tools properly and safely. I remember well how to use the hammer and saw properly at my first Cub Scout Den meeting at the age of six. From the simple poncho to mighty axe, a few simple instructions and some practice turns 12 year old middle schoolers into experts. And I passed along many  of those skills onto my scouts.

As I explained to timid troop leaders in woods tools training, fear is contagious and is extinguished with training. Then I trained them to use both the axe and saw safely.

Barry

[Jameson76]

2 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Here's another one...

In the early 80's there was a US Army Ranger program for youth at Mt Yonah in Dahlonega, GA. (It is still going, but much different today... https://www.nega-bsa.org/Ranger)

We had a few of our older Scouts attend.  Of course, they became immediate "experts" in climbing and rappelling 😜 

They wanted to showcase their new-found coolness, and the venue our Troop selected was our annual Scout Show.  We worked with the fairground managers and our local power company, and sank four telephone poles into the ground there.  Then we got the lumber, hammer and nails, and built a 30 foot rappelling tower.

It was the hit of the Scout Show.  We had an assembly line of Scouts helping people tie a Swiss seat harness. (A requirement only recently removed from Climbing Merit Badge.  And, no, there was no Climbing MB back then.) Visitors would then climb up ladders to the top, and rappell down a doubled-up Army-issue twisted nylon rope, with a single carabiner.  No helmets.

A few of us demonstrated Australian rappell.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAnxYKUVNVI&ab_channel=SkillsforClimbing

(That's not a video of us, of course.)

Again, thank the good Lord, no one got hurt.  But, knowing what I know now about safe climbing practices... we were dangerous, and put a lot of folks at risk.

There still is a BSA Ranger program run by NEGA over the summer at Frank D Merrill and Mt Yonah.  Had scouts attend over the last several years

https://www.nega-bsa.org/Ranger

Edited January 12 by Jameson76

[Jameson76]

So on things we could never do now, in the early 80's the only requirement for climbing and rappelling was money for equipment.  You could call REI in Seattle (at the time you had to call 8 - 5 PST) and they would ship you what you wanted.

We tied swiss harnesses and off we went.  Kids had a great time.  In the summer after we climbed the troop would go down the hill and swim in a river to cool off.  

Once we were rappelling on a large face (175' - 200').  When I went down to be the base the length of rope was fine.  As the young scouts came down, as they did not weight as much, the rope ended about 15' above the end.  It was a slope, so they came off the blue line and we caught them as they jogged down the slope.  Good times.

Going to assume that would be frowned up nowadays

[MikeS72]

20 hours ago, Eagledad said:

I remember well how to use the hammer and saw properly at my first Cub Scout Den meeting at the age of six.

Rogue Pack??  

I joined Cub Scouts in 1961, when the joining age was 8.  It was not long ago (relatively speaking) that Cubs went with the Tiger Cub program and even more recently that the Lion Dens were added.

As for things we can no longer do, you only have to look at certain aspects of OA ceremonies that have been changed over the years due to risk factors or to Wood Badge where I remember my patrol being given rope, a canvas tarp, and a pile of brush and we had to figure out how to get everyone to the other side of the pond in the area of our council camp where the course was held.  No one could get wet during the attempt, let alone drowned.

 

Edited January 13 by MikeS72

[curious_scouter]

Main thing we did that would be a no-no today was cramming EVERYONE into a single shelter when winter camping.  It was a great way to stay warm, but having done it for many years as a youth I thoroughly understand the logic behind the "within 2 years" rule of YPT.  The information sharing was unfiltered. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

28 minutes ago, curious_scouter said:

Main thing we did that would be a no-no today was cramming EVERYONE into a single shelter when winter camping.  It was a great way to stay warm, but having done it for many years as a youth I thoroughly understand the logic behind the "within 2 years" rule of YPT.  The information sharing was unfiltered. 

I learned a lot of new words and ideas 😛😜😜 

[curious_scouter]

14 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

I learned a lot of new words and ideas 😛😜😜 

Same.  lol