A Scoutmaster's Blog

Step right up! Have we got a bargain for you. This episode of the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast has not one, but two, (yes, you read that right) two performances by the members of Melrose Troop 68. Once again this footage comes from the troop’s 2001 Laughs Lunch Show.

Four Boy Scouts walk onto the stage for the first part of this video. They lead the audience in that old time favorite campfire song, “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More”. The second part is performed by the assistant scoutmasters of the troop. Eymard has made his camp famous beef stew. The other leaders cannot wait to eat a plateful of it. Unfortunately, things do not go well from there.

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Let us go back in time. A simpler time of when there were kings, queens, and a peasant who wished to marry the beautiful princess. That is the plot of this hilarious campfire skit performed by two Boy Scouts of Troop 68 during their 2001 Laughs For Lunch Show. It is one of my favorie skits, and I bet you will enjoy it also.

With just a few props and a bit of practice your Scouts can use this skit to entertain troops and families during courts of honor or campfire programs.

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Can you name the three current high adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of America? Everyone can name Philmont Scout Ranch. Most people know about the Florida Sea Base. But did you know there is also a high adventure base in Minnesota? Yes there is! It is the Northern Tier High Adventure base, and it is the subject of this episode of Around The Scouting Campfire.

Scoutmaster Steve begins the show with information about the Northern Tier program. He tells us a little about a 2002 trip his troop took through the Charles Sommers Canoe base. Mike Linnemann, one of the Boy Scouts who attended the trip, shares a poem written by the crew members. Buttons has some canoe jokes for us before he shares some quotes by Lord Baden-Powell. The show ends with a scoutmaster minute about being thrifty.

Steve and Buttons thank PTC Media (http://www.ptcmedia.net) for allowing this program to be a part of the family of Scouting related podcasts. We also thank the Boy Scout Store (http://boyscoutstore.com) for sponsoring this show. Be sure to take a moment to check out their website. Finally, we would like to thank you, our listeners, for downloading Around The Scouting Campfire.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 used to like to song songs, mix them up a bit, and write new lyrics to them. They would then perform these “new” versions at campfire programs or during their annual Laughs For Lunch Show. This episode of Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast features one of those songs.

The troop has been spending one spring weekend a year at Camp Watchamagumee (private land north of Melrose). It is one of the Scout’s favorite places to camp. We usually have a great time there, but one year things did not go very well. A local farmer had cattle grazing on the forty acre site. Usually, the cattle are not a problem. We leave them alone and they leave us alone. Not that year. The troop was away from camp for awhile to play some softball. When we arrived back at the site the cows had invaded the camp and had damaged equipment along with a few other problems. It was the one time we left camp due to cattle issues.

A couple years later we decided to take the song “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” and rewrite the lyrics to describe what happened during the weekend in which the cows drove us away from our campsite. Everything in the song did actually take place. This video was taken from the 2001 Laughs For Lunch Show performance. I forgot where the cow costumes came from, but they did add a little something to the song.

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If you have been watching this blog and podcast for awhile you have seen many skits and songs performed by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68, but you have seen very little performed by the troop’s adult leaders. Well, the time has come. With episode #88 of the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast you are about to see something that only people from Melrose have seen before.

Boy Scout Troop 68 was doing very well in 2001. There was over 30 Boy Scouts and a lot of adult leadership. This leadership formed their own patrol for troop camping trips and outings. They named their patrol the Jedi Patrol. Their patrol call was “Do, or do not. There is no try.” They even had a patrol flag. Of course, this was all designed to set an example for the other patrols, but the adults did have fun with it while it lasted.

During the troop’s 2001 Laughs for Lunch Show, the Jedi Patrol decided to participate and sing a song. What would they sing? Was there any question? It would have to be Weird Al’s spoof on Lola, which he named Yoda. The patrol practiced a couple times. Most of them knew the melody, but there was not enough time to memorize the words so they would carry music stands onto the stage. The rest is history.

Can the members of the Jedi Patrol sing? Can they do it in harmony? Do they mess it up? Watch the video podcast and decide for yourself.

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The Eagle Scout theme continues with Around The Scouting Campfire #15. The show begins with Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, looking through the Troop 68 photo albums. This leads to Scoutmaster Steve explaining his methods of creating a slideshow to be shown at an Eagle Scout’s court of honor. Michael, an Boy Scout from Troop 68, shares his thoughts and a story or two about how he became an Eagle Scout. Buttons shares some facts about Eagle Scouts, along with a few jokes. Then it is time for a scoutmaster conference about a Scout being cheerful.

Steve and Buttons thank PTC Media (http://www.ptcmedia.net) for allowing this program to be a part of the family of Scouting related podcasts. We also thank the Boy Scout Store (http://boyscoutstore.com) for sponsoring this show. Be sure to take a moment to check out their website. Finally, we would like to thank you, our listeners, for downloading Around The Scouting Campfire.

It is hard to believe that it has been over twenty years since some volunteers at Mel-TV 3, our local community access television station, recorded a show in which five men were interviewed. Each gentleman was very involved with the local Scouting program. It turned out to be a fun and informative show. It was filmed with VHS tape unfortunately and is showing its age.

A few years ago I decided to transfer some of those old tapes of Scouting programs to my computer and burn them to DVD before they deteriorated any further. “The Leaders Of Scouting” was one of those shows. Once I had it on the computer I decided to break the nearly two hour show into five smaller segments and post them to the Melrose Scouting Productions video podcast. The first segment was posted nearly 21 months ago. I guess I should have been a bit more diligent about posting them on a more timely basis. But never fear! Today I post part five, the final portion of the television show.

Mike R. began his adult Scouting career when his son John joined Cub Scout Pack 68 in Melrose, Minnesota. When John crossed over to the Boy Scout troop, Mike followed and became a committee member, and soon accepted the committee chairman position. During this time Mike also served as a unit commissioner. Dr. Hedglin, the show’s host, has a great time asking Mike R. about his positions in Scouting. The other guests are still on hand so the show soon involves all five guests as they reminisce about their time in Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting.

As this series comes to a close I would like to take a moment to once again thanks all five guests: George O., Joe T., Mike H., Gerry W., and Mike R. I would also like to thank Dr. Hedglin for hosting the show. He did a great job. Thanks also goes to the Mel-TV 3 volunteers who spent an afternoon filming the program.

I hope you enjoyed The Leaders of Scouting series on the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. Please post a comment and let me know what you thought of them, and if you would like to see more of this type of program.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

Show Notes:
The Leaders of Scouting episodes:
George O. – Episode #46
Joe T. – Episode #51
Mike H. – Episode #61
Gerry W. – Episode #72
Mike R. – Episode #87.

Thank you for watching Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast.

The Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast proudly presents another video from the Boy Scout Troop 68 Laughs For Lunch Show archives. This post features a skit in which a director hires an extra to play a small part in a film. The film is about a legendary ship which hits an iceberg. The extra has only four lines to say but unfortunately cannot get them correct on the first take. The director becomes frustrated, and hilarity follows. Even though this video was recorded in 2001, it holds up very well. The skit would be a great one to perform at any campfire program.

Does your troop have fun performing in front of an audience? Have they ever done this skit? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.