A Scoutmaster's Blog

I found an interesting blog post by Gene Kinsey called Living the Grand Life. A recent entry was about a book titled, The Dangerous Book for Boys. I have seen this book in the stores, even picked it up and looked at it. It was quite interesting.

Gene writes in his blog, “I think our experiment in changing the nature of boys hasn’t worked too well. Boys need a little danger. They need to learn to build a fire even if they sustain a little burn. They need to learn how to use a knife and an ax, even if they cut themselves.” and “they need to learn it in a context of responsibility.”

How true that is. I have seen how our current society in this country has been trying to change boys into (shall I dare say it?) a bunch of sissy girls. Boys are not allowed to be boys any more. Boys need to have a little danger in their lives.

Scouting provides an outlet for boys to try building fires, play with a pocket knife, and climb cliffs in a fairly safe environment. Yes, Scouts get nicked, get bruised, and sometimes even get hurt. But in Scouting we try to teach boys how to take risks responsibly, and we try to teach them to be safe, honorable, and dutiful.

Oh yeah, we also teach them basic first aid skills.

I was sixteen years old when I saw the full page newspaper ad for a new movie about to be released. The ad was a great piece of artwork. It created a desire in me to see this movie as soon as possible, which surprised me because I had seen a couple of production artwork storyboards a few months earlier in a magazine which did not impress me at all. The movie? Why “Star Wars“, of course. The only movie to really make an impact on my life.

I saw the movie for the first time at the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Paramount had the largest screen of any theater in central Minnesota in the summer of 1977. I will never forget the feeling of watching the seemingly endless star destroyer flying across the scene in the opening shots of the film. It was awesome! I had never seen anything like this before.

I was totally enthralled by the story, the characters, and the special effects. In less then two hours I had become a Star Wars fan for life. I had become a Star Wars geek.

It did not take long before the collecting began. I started with newspaper ads and articles. It soon expanded to comic books, toys, and action figures, as my spending money would allow. I have amassed quite a collection over the last thirty years. It dominates three rooms of my house and contains over 500 action figures, countless other toys, and a lifesize statue of Anakin Skywalker in podracer gear. I have seen the original movie over 11 times in the theater and countless times on video and television.

What do the Boy Scouts of my troop think about my Star Wars collection? Most of them think it is cool. Several think I am weird. A couple probably think I need need treatment. All in all though, it has been great to share my Star Wars experience with them. It gives us a common subject to relate to outside of Scouting. When it comes to Star Wars I will always be that sixteen year old awestruck teenager.

Just how obsessive about this movie am I? On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself a six. Yes, I do have a large collection of Star Wars memorabilia. However, I do not know all the words to every Star Wars movie. Nor do I dress up like the characters when I go to theaters to see the movies.

A fan of Star Wars? Definitely! But I am more a fan of Boy Scouting. Scouting takes much more time in my life, and more dedication. While I may have more materials things relating to Star Wars, Scouting is the thing that is closer to my heart.

May the force be with us all… in Scouting.

The Boy Scouts of America began in 1910 when the US Congress approved its national charter. Did you know that the motion picture industry started near that time? I think it is amazing that there has not been more films about Scouting during the last hundred years. The number of Scouting related films that I have seen I can count on my hands.

The first movie I saw about Scouting is probably the most popular Scouting-related movie of all time, Disney’s “Follow Me Boys“. I saw it in 1984 during a trip to Philmont Scout Ranch for a week long scoutmaster’s training course. I thought it was a great movie and was in awe of Len Siddons’ twenty year tenure being a scoutmaster. It is my favorite Scout movie and I own it on DVD. (A-)

I saw the movie “Mr. Scoutmaster” on television in the early 1980’s. It is a 1953 black and white film about a television star who becomes a scoutmaster to get in touch with teenage boys who watch his television show. Of course, things do not go well for him because he is actually quite out of touch with the young men. I have not seen it aired on television very often so I am glad I taped it back then. (B)

“Scout’s Honor” was a made-for-television movie that aired in 1980. It starred Gary Colemann as a young orphaned boy who joined a Cub Scout Pack and became a hero. I have not seen it since it aired but do remember it being a cute movie. (B-)

“The Wrong Guys” is a comedy released in 1988. It featured several stand up comedians who played grown members of a Cub Scout den who have a reunion and go out on a camping trip. It was a humorous movie but did not become a big hit in the box office. (B-)

Two Scouting related movies were released in 1989. “Troop Beverly Hills” starred Shelly Long as a leader of a Girl Scout troop who’s idea of camping involved staying at a plush hotel. (B) “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was not a movie about Scouting, but it did feature a young Life Scout Indiana Jones during the opening scenes. (A-)

The latest Scouting movie was released in 2005. “Down and Derby” is a film about how obsessive some fathers can be about a Cub Scout pack’s annual pinewood derby. It was well done and gave a humorous look at the world of derby races. (B)

I am sure there has been more movies about Scouting made over the years, but these are the only ones I have seen. I bet it will be another five to ten years before I see a new movie about Scouting.

I still remember the first time I saw the movie “Follow Me Boys.” I was attending the Philmont Scout Ranch Training Facility for a week long Scoutmaster Fundamentals course. It was in the summer of 1984.

As I sat there that night watching the film with Scout leaders from all over the country, I kept thinking to myself, “Wow! A scoutmaster for twenty years. That would be quite an accomplishment.” I was twenty-four years old at the time. I had not been a scoutmaster for three years yet. A twenty year stint seemed like an impossibility back then.

Well, it is now 2006. In September I will have been the scoutmaster of Troop 68 for 25 years, far surpassing Lem Siddons term of service.

Have any of my boys fallen off of a cliff? No. Have my boys tried building their own clubhouse? No. Has anyone offered to donate a valuable piece of property to my troop? No again. My troop is a real troop, not a Hollywood version of one.

However, Scouting has given me many memorable experiences. I have been hiking in the mountains of Virginia, canoeing in the BWCA of Minnesota, exploring caves and mines in Wisconsin and Minnesota, been the scoutmaster of a troop at the 2001 National Jamboree, and have attended five treks at Philmont Scout Ranch.

Best of all, I have had the opportunity to know nearly 250 young men through Scouting in Melrose. I have made many friendships, some even lasting long into their adulthood. Fifteen of the boys have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. And just like Lem Siddons, I consider all of them to be one of “my boys”.

No, my years of being a scoutmaster may not have been as interesting as Lem’s in the movie “Follow Me Boys”. Mine have been more interesting and more fun.