Memories Of The 1981: The Slideshow

I am still having fun with my Flickr account. Travel back in time and watch this slide show of Boy Scout Troop 68 pictures from 1981. If you wish to see the pictures individually check out the photo gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8515713@N06/sets/72157622054953898/

Enjoy.

Rocket To Scouting

Bob, our Scenic District Executive, told me that he would be in town on Thursday for the school's Health and Wellness Fair. He had reserved a table during the three hour event to promote Scouting, which was a good idea. Membership in the local program had been declining over the last few years so we could use a little extra promotion. Maybe this could stir up a little interest and bring some boys and their parents to school night to join Scouting on Monday.

The fair began at 5:00 pm and would run until 8:00. I went there straight from work and arrived about 5:20. It did not take long to find Bob's table. There were only about a dozen groups set up in the school cafeteria. The Boy Scout table was right next to the Girl Scout's table. I said hello to Bob and the representative from the Girl Scouts.Jason, one of the committee members from the Cub Scout Pack was also present.

As we were standing there talking about Scouting it did not take long to notice that most people walked right by the table without stopping to check out the display or talk to us. I was almost like they were avoiding us, like we had the flu or something. It was making it difficult to get the word out about the Scouting program and school night.

Something needed to be done. We needed something to draw the boys (and their parents) to our table. We talked about how it would have been nice to have a movie or slideshow playing, but none of us had brought anything like that to the event. I ran to my car to get my iPod which had photos of various Scout activities, but the screen was too small to be of any value. Behind the table I noticed a toy air rocket that Bob had brought to the fair. He did not have anything in mind to do with it, but I thought it might be just the thing to bring the kids (and their parents) to our table.

It worked like a charm. After I shot the rocket a couple of times, and discovered how far the thing could shot (which was pretty far), the kids started coming over to try it themselves. It gave Bob the chance to talk to the parents and I talked to the boys and girls. I usually asked the boys what grade they were in, and then told them which part of the Scouting program they could be join during the meeting on Monday. We were passing out a lot more flyers.

I think that Bob and I both learned that having an activity to engage the boys and girls will make a huge difference in the amount of people drawn to a table. Hopefully, this will pay off on Monday when we have school night and kick off the year for the Cub Scout Pack.

On a final note, a few boys were having so much fun playing with the rocket that I promised to bring it along to the meeting on Monday. Maybe I will use it as a door prize for the boys who sign up for Scouting.

Reality Check

If you are or have been a scoutmaster you may have had young boys in your troop that really look up to you. Everything you say is truth. Everything you do is amazing. You are their "Scouting Idol". They will follow you everywhere, do whatever you tell them. As I scoutmaster I try to do my duty as well as I am able. I admit, at time it feels great to be truly awesome in the eyes of a young Boy Scout, but it is pretty tough to live up to that standard. Here are a few examples of my "awesomeness" this year as a scoutmaster, at least in the eyes of my Scouts:

- hitting the black center of the target with all five shots at the rifle range during summer camp. Most Scouts are happy to hit the center of the target with a couple shots.

- hitting the apple with an arrow at the archery range. Although, to tell the truth, three of my Boy Scouts did this last year, but none of them did this year.)

- getting a hole in one at the first green of the miniature golf course, to which one of the Scouts commented about how playing a game with me was so unfair.

- teeing off on the camp's disc golf course and throwing the frisbee so well that it flew through a grove of trees to land only ten feet from the basket. The boys were simply amazed. (So was I, to tell the truth.)

But then, reality crashed in and the awesomeness leaves me, like later on that same miniature golf course when it took me seven putts to sink the ball on one hole. Or when I missed the target at the archery range. Those type of things bring a scoutmaster back down to earth.

A huge reality check came not long ago when I was playing disc golf with Sergio, an alumni of Troop 68. He and I were playing at a local course for the first time. The first several holes went well for me. Then we discovered water traps in the form of streams, marshes, and bogs. My game suddenly became all wet, literally. It was like the water had a strong magnetic pull on my discs.

To make a long story short, by the time we finished the eighteen holes my socks and shoes were caked with mud. I tried washing them off at the park but ended up throwing the socks in the trash. I drove home barefoot because I did not want the smelly shoes back on my feet. The worst part of the game was when I lost one of my throwing discs in a bog with shoulder high grass. After ten minutes of searching I finally gave it up for lost. It was literally like throwing ten dollars away.

On the up side, I still won the game, even if by only one throw. Even after the reality check I guess I proved I was still awesome. Don't you agree?

Around The Scouting Campfire #9

Has your troop, patrol, or den ever had to develop a new skit or patrol for a campfire program? The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 created several new ones over the decades, mainly in the 1980's and 1990's. The Scouts would take a song, chance the words a bit (or a lot), add some actions, and suddenly had a popular campfire skit.

Star Trekking, by the Firm, was one of those songs that Troop 68 turned into a campfire skit. It became so popular that the troop wrote a sequel to it and called it Star Trekking: The Next Generation. During this episode of Around The Scouting Campfire, Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, talk about how the troop developed these skits for the enjoyment of troops across Minnesota and beyond.

Steve and Buttons thank PTC Media ( http://www.ptcmedia.net ) for allowing this program to be a part of their family of Scouting related podcasts. We would also like to thank the Boy Scout Store ( http://boyscoutstore.com ) for sponsoring this show. be sure to check out their website.

And finally, we would like to thank you, the listeners, for downloading Around The Scouting Campfire and sending us your emails. You can contact Buttons at buttonst68@yahoo.com. You may contact Scoutmaster Steve at stevejb68@yahoo.com.

Please rate the show and/or leave a comment at the iTunes store or at PTC Media forums.

Download episode by clicking HERE.

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This podcast is found on iTunes at
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and is a member of the family of Scouting themed podcasts at PTC Media found at
http://www.ptcmedia.net/

Show notes:
Blog post on Star Trekking at A Scoutmaster's Blog:

http://www.melrosetroop68.org/2006/08/campfire-skits-star-trekking.html

Videos featuring the Star Trekking Songs:

The Scouts performing on a local television show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivt4AWGBWhE

The Staff of Many Point Scout Camp performing Star Trekking can be seen on Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #47.

The young Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 can be seen doing Star Trekking: The Next Generation on Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #54.

The Troop's New Program

The Patrol Leader Council planned it. The committee approved it. The parents and troop members were told about it, and liked it. The Boy Scout Troop 68 program for 2009-2010 is now official.

The theme for September is campsite safety, with Totin Chip and fire safety being the key points. The troop will attend a merit badge weekend at Parker Scout Reservation as their activity for the month.

The theme for October will be Personal Fitness and will touch on that merit badge. A weekend camping trip will be held south of town. It is also the month of the Scouting For Food Drive, and the month of the troop's fall fundraiser.

In November, the troop will switch from personal fitness to personal management as the meeting theme. The monthly activity will be an all day event which will include skating, a pizza party, a theatrical movie, and late night bowling.

During the December meetings the Scouts will be reviewing special awards available through the Boy Scouts of America. The troop will spend a day downhill skiing at Powder Ridge and follow that with their annual Christmas Party. The year's final court of honor (award night) will be held this month, along with the troop auction.

Citizenship will be the theme for the meetings in January. An overnighter is planned for the month's activity. Past overnighters have included table tennis, darts, chess, and Wii bowling tournaments. And, of course, their will be movies.

The B.S.A. will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in February 2009. Troop 68 will begin the month by celebrating Scout Sunday and plan to have several displays about Scouting set up around town. The theme for the month will be Scouting Heritage. A weekend outing at Camp Stearns is the planned activity.

Family Life merit badge will be the theme for March. The activity will be a camping weekend at parker Scout Reservation, located north of Brainard. The troop will hold a court of honor near the end of the month to recognize Scouts for their achievements.

The boys will be practicing their first aid skills during the month of April. The troop plans to attend the Central Minnesota Council's Ripley Rendezvous which will be held at the Camp Ripley National Guard base.

During May, the Scouts will be honing their roping skills and work on pioneering. Troop 68 will spend a weekend at one of their favorite camping spots, Camp Watchamagumee. The Order of the Arrow's spring conclave will be held this month.

The month of June will begin with a paper drive and end with a community project by helping to clean up the city park after the festivities. A camping trip at King's lake is planned. The year's second court of honor will be held.

There will only be one troop meeting during July as the troop prepares to spend a week at Many Point Scout Camp, located north of Park Rapids.

Troop 68 is planning to cover a new topic in August as we explore the excitement a geocaching and GPS gadgets. A weekend at Minnesota's Sibley State Park will finish our program year.

What A Wonderful World, The BSA Way

I recently saw this video posted at the Scouting News blog and felt I had to share it with all of you. According to the Youtube site: Doug "Satchmo" Stone performs his unique Boy Scouts themed take on Louis Armstrong's classic "What a Wonderful World."

Watch it, rate it, and spread the word about it.

Ambitious Eagle Project

The Eagle Project is one of the biggest challenges to attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. For many Scouts it is probably the first time they have ever had to plan, prepare, and conduct such an activity. Dozens, even hundreds, of hours will be spend on a project. Papers need to be signed, people and groups contacted, materials bought, and refreshments need to be provided. It is quite a job for a teenager to carry out. Yet they do, and communities benefit from the projects.

There has recently been an article passed along in Scouting groups about an Eagle project that helped a group of children half a world away. Alex Griffith, a sixteen year old from Maryland, decided to help an orphanage in Russia when it came time for his project. It was the same orphanage that he lived in before he was adopted by Dwight and Jenny Griffith as a young child. To understand the enormous nature of this project here is an except from an article on the CNN website:

Alex devoted 2 ½ years to his Krasnoyarsk Playground Project. In addition to recruiting more than 500 volunteers in five countries, he raised more than $60,000 by soliciting help from local Rotary Clubs and joining forces with other Boy Scouts for candy sales, car washes and barbeque fundraisers. Alex oversaw every aspect of production, from designing and purchasing the playground to shipping equipment overseas.

The whole article can be seen at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/09/10/cnnheroes.alex.griffith/?imw=Y
Be sure to check out the project's website for the facts and figures from this project: http://www.krasplayground.org/ (By the way, the picture shown with this article is from this website.)

This was an awesome project. And tell the truth, another awesome aspect of this project is that CNN decided to list Alex as a CNN Hero. It is great to see a national news agency picking up a positive story of Scouting.

MSPP #73: Flag Disposal Ceremony

In the previous post to A Scoutmaster's Blog, I wrote about the local American Legion's Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags, and the Boy Scouts' participation in the ceremony. Mel-TV, our local community television access station, was on hand to film the event. The station's co-ordinator was kind enough to let me borrow the video tape so that I could make a podcast video from it. I edited the footage down and added photographs that I took during the event.

Even though I edited out some footage I did not feel was needed, the video was still a bit longer than I would have liked it to be. But I wanted to be sure to include the whole ceremony and add several of the pictures. I would be curious to know if your Boy Scouts have participated in such a ceremony, and what their part was during it.

Leave a comment using the link below, or at the PTC Media forums. You can also rate the videos of Melrose Scouting Productions at the iTunes Music Store. By leaving a comment you will help us achieve a higher rating in iTunes. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

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Flag Disposal Ceremony

The Melrose Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were recently invited to participate in a United Sates flag disposal ceremony by the local American Legion. Three of our six Boy Scouts were able to attend, along with one of the Girl Scouts.

The ceremony began shortly before dusk. Members of five American Legion clubs were in attendance, along with some local citizens who brought flags to be retired. The ceremony was very dignified. Unfortunately, due to the wind and my location, I was not able to hear much of what was being said.

The Scout's part of the ceremony was to unload the flags from the vehicle and present them to the American Legion members who inspected the flags before their final disposal into the fire barrel. The Scouts were also allowed to place a few flags into the barrel, which I think helped to bring the impact of the ceremony closer to home.

The local media was also in attendance. The Melrose Beacon and the Sauk Centre Herald sent reporters. The local television cable access station, Mel-TV, was on hand to videotape the event. I look forward to seeing if the Boy Scouts made it into any pictures posted in the newspapers or were captured on the video.

Memories Of The 1970's: The Slideshow

I recently scanned the pictures I have as a Boy Scout of Melrose Troop 68 in the 1970's. Then I uploaded them to my Flickr account so that I could make a slideshow to share with you. The pictures are of Scout Sunday in 1975, my photo story for the photography merit badge that I never quite completed, and pictures from summer camp at Parker Scout Reservation in 1976 and 1977. Don't laugh too hard when you notice the clothing worn back then.

A Century Of Values Tour

The Century Of Values Tour comes to the Central Minnesota Council today. If you have not heard about this you really should check out their website at http://www.acenturyofvalues.org/

I have been waiting for months for the RV and mural to arrive in our council. The council is planning an open house this afternoon from 4:00-7:00, and I plan to go there once I get done with work. Various activities are planned and the Jamboree troops are holding a rib dinner fundraiser. It should be a good time.

I plan to bring my still and video cameras with me so keep out a look out in the near future for more information in the blog, and a podcast about the event.

Ten Reasons To Be A Leader

Three years ago I wrote a blog post that became one of the most read posts I have ever written. It was during the time when many packs and troops were conducting recruitment drives and school nights. The article listed some reasons on why a parent should get involved as a leader in Scouting.

Well, it is that time of year again, so here is that article again for all the new readers to this blog, and to refresh the memories of those of you who have been with me for awhile.

Boys around the country will be joining Boy Scouting for the first time this month. And new parents will be asked to help their troop or pack by becoming an adult leader. There are many reasons not to be a leader, but let me give you ten reasons why you should become a Scouter. (These are not in any sort of order.)

1) Be a positive influence in a boy's life. I think we can agree that there are many youth out there who can benefit from more of this in today's world.
2) Learn new skills. You are never too old to learn a new skill. And to tell the truth, I don't think a person can ever learn too many skills.
3) Teach boys new skills. There are few things in life that will make you feel more proud then when you watch a boy or young man using a skill that you have helped them to master.
4) Make new friends. Not only will you form friendships with the boys, but you will also form new friendships with other Scouters.
5) Help your community. You provide this service through your unit's service projects and by helping boys grow up to be better adults.
6) Spend time in the Great Outdoors. You really do need to get out of that recycled-air, stressed-filled office environment at least once a month.
7) Have a good laugh. Working with Scout age boys can be fun and funny in many ways. Just remember to laugh with the boys, not at the boys.
8) Go traveling. There are thousands of places to go that provide a great Scout Outing. And do not forget the opportunities to go to a National Jamboree, Philmont, or the other high adventure bases.
9) Get some exercise. We could all use more exercise. Just try keeping up with a group of Boy Scouts.
10) Be a kid again! Scouting gives adults the chance to have just as much fun as the Scouts themselves. Make sure that you do!

Well, those are ten of my reasons for being an adult Scout Leader. I am sure that some of you reading this could add some more to the list. I invite you to leave a comment and add those reasons.

Memories of 1980: The Slideshow

You may have read about my 1980 experiences in Boy Scout Troop 68 in previous blog postings. Today I present the pictures taken during that year. So sit back, chuckle a bit, and enjoy the show.