A Scoutmaster's Blog

I just discovered this video on Youtube featuring behind the scenes pictures from Scout Camp: The Movie, which is being released on dvd this month. I am looking forward to seeing this movie. I think the troop will be having a movie night after I get a copy.

And here is a short clip from the movie featuring the Boy Scouts as they arrive at the beach for their swim checks.

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It appears that there will be a new movie making its way around the country this year. It is about spending a week at a Boy Scout summer camp and is called, oddly enough, Scout Camp. From the preview it looks to have some humor and some serious moments. I have read it a Scout forum that the movie is written by guys who were Scouts themselves growing up, and it does not follow the guide to safe scouting very well. Oh the horrors!

I am hoping this film comes to central Minnesota. I would like to see it and perhaps bring the troop along. After all, there are very few movies made about Boy Scouting. I love one line from the preview, “I’m fine. I am the scoutmaster.”

Here is the preview of the movie:

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Ah, the closing campfire program at summer camp. The final bit of fun and laughs. The place were awards are presented from a week of adventure. The last gathering of the campers and troops. And, if your troop is doing a skit or song, it could be the last time at camp for the Scouts to experience excitement or anxiety. Luckily, the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have enough experience to fall more into the excitement group instead of the anxiety group.

The four young Scouts of Troop 68 (the older ones were at Philmont this summer) threw around a few ideas during the week for a skit to do for the closing campfire. The Buckskin Staff of Many Point Scout Camp had encouraged each troop to come up with a song or skit for the program. My four Scouts finally decided on the Invisible Bench skit.

Everything was fine, until Friday morning when the senior patrol leaders met with the camp’s program director and were told that skits should have a “Superheroes” theme to them. My Scouts went into a near panic mode. They did not know any Superhero skits. What could they do now?

During the morning program and afternoon activities we threw around several ideas and finally decided on the Invisible Bench skit. Only it would now be the Invisible Plane skit. The boys would portray various Superheroes gathering to join Wonder Women on an adventure. They would wait in the invisible plane until she arrived. Various superheroes were chosen to be in the skit, along with a quick intro for each one. After a few practices we Scouts were ready to perform.

The Scouts from Troop 68 were called down to do their skit during the middle of the program. I thought the boys did a good job, as did all the troops who did a skit. There was some impressive talent during this year’s program. And of course, I had my video camera there to record it so I could share some of it to you.

This post to the Melrose Scouting Production Podcast features the Invisible Plane skit, and the Supersize skit done by another troop from the Central Minnesota Council. I have to apoligize about the lighting. It was getting pretty dark by the time the troops performed their skits. And for some reason my camera decided to “hiccup” a couple times at the start of the Invisible Plane skit. Recording Boy Scout functions can be frustrating at times.

I invite you to leave a comment using the link below, or at the iTunes Music Store, or at the PTC Media forums. Drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

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

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The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have been performing a little skit/song called Star Trekking since the mid-eighties. (See blog post from August 2, 2006) It has been quite popular with most campfire audiences. In 1990 (wow, eighteen years ago) the troop performed this skit on a local television station station. This video was taped by one of the parents, luckily. Two and a half years ago I placed the video online at YouTube for the world to see. Since then, the video has received over 39,000 views, and averages somewhere around 50-60 views per day.

Well, it seems that several of this year’s Buckskin staff at Many Point Scout Camp has seen the video. Some more then once. One Friday, the last full day of camp, our camp commissioner visited our campsite and asked me if I was the one in the video that was on YouTube. I said I was and gave him a quick explanation how that all came about. He was grinning from ear to ear when he asked me to sign his cap, and then asked me if I would perform the skit with some of the camp’s staff during the Friday night closing campfire program. I agreed, but wondered when we would have time to practice. After all, the staff would be busy all day. He replied that I should meet them at the camp lodge at 9:00 that evening.

The campfire was scheduled to start at 9:30 pm. Not much time to practice.

I was at the lodge at 9:00, which was a one minute walk from our troop’s campsite. Only half of the staff that were to be a part of the skit were there. The rest showed up as they arrived from their program areas. Unfortunately, we did not really have much time to practice. In fact, all we had time to do was to choose who would play what roles, go over each person’s lines once, and practice the refrain. We did not even get to run through the song one time. This could be interesting, I thought to myself as I walked back to my campsite. Luckily, most of the participants had viewed the skit on YouTube and had a good idea how it was done.

I brought my camcorder along to the campfire program and was able to find another staff member to record the skit. When the time came, I left my seat in the audience to join the staff at the side. As we walked out to center stage I could not help but think of the possibility of the train wreck that was about to occur. After all, we really had not practiced together.

I did not have to worry. The staff came through with flying colors. And better yet, the hundreds of Scouts and adult leaders in the audience loved it. The cheering at the end of the skit was overwhelming. We had pulled it off, and pulled it off well.

Once I returned home from summer camp I had a problem with the camcorder. It began eating my tapes. One of the tapes it tried eating was the one that had the footage of Star Trekking. I had promised the staff that I would put this video online for them to see. I needed that footage. I bought a new camcorder, and luckily was able to retrieve the video from the campfire program. In fact, I should be able to get a few podcasts from the footage. Unfortunately, the footage is pretty dark since it was filmed after sunset.

So here is that video of Star Trekking, performed at the Many Point Scout Camp closing campfire program on July 18, 2008. This video is dedicated to the 2008 Buckskin camp staff, and to the camp’s Ranger Scott, who appears in that YouTube video.

Please leave a comment here using the link below, at the iTunes Music Store, or at the PTC Media forums. Or drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

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

Thanks for Sharing!

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Aquatic activites are a huge part of Boy Scouting, at least here in the land of 10,000 lakes. The aquatics beach at summer camp is probably the busiest area of the camp. You will find Boy Scouts swimming, sailing, rowing, canoeing, and snorkeling. Water polo and greased watermelon are two popular team activities.

Safety first is always on the beach staffers’ minds. Safety Afloat and the Safe Swim Defense are the rule, not just something to think about. The number of staff members at the beach front is probably greater then any other area of program activities.

Since these rules are enforced it can leave Scouts who are not good swimmers out of some of the activities. For example, if a Scout who has not passed his “swimmers” test wishes to go canoeing with the troop he will need a canoe partner who is a certified lifeguard. If a troop has a few non-swimmers then this could create a logistics problem.

So what happens if your scoutmaster is a non-swimmer? Well, I can talk about this from a first person perspective because I am that non-swimmer scoutmaster. (Yeah, I know. A scoutmaster in the land of a quadrillion lakes who cannot pass the BSA swimming test. Pretty bad huh?)

Let me explain. I like swimming, but I have never been a strong swimmer. I probably could be a stronger swimmer if I would actual go swimming more often then once or twice a year, but I really do not see that happening any time soon.

I have a “condition” that usually keeps me out of the water. No, it is not a skin condition or something that others can catch from touching me. My body temperature drops very easily. I only go swimming when it is a hot day, with little wind, and in very warm water. All three conditions need to be met by Mother Nature.

When my body temperature drops I begin to shiver uncontrollably. My muscles tense up through my body. Sometimes, in the worse cases, it becomes painful. And it takes a while to warm back up again. So, I seldom go swimming with the boys. I know my limits.

Unfortunately, this means I miss out on many of the aquatic activities at summer camp. I will swim with the troop on a nice hot day but usually I am found in the non-swimmers areas. I can only go canoeing with the Scouts if there is a staff member available to be my partner. I have never gone sailing with the boys.

Yes, it bothers me that I cannot participate in these activities. I understand the reasons for the BSA’s policies, but to tell you the truth, it does make me feel worthless as a scoutmaster at times. I have even though about resigning the position of scoutmaster and let someone else take over who could be with the Scouts through all these activities. But then the troop moves on to the climbing tower, or the archery range, and I forget all about what I missed, until the next time we go to the beach.

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Four Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 attended a week of summer camp at Many Point Scout Camp near Pondsford, Minnesota, during the week of July 13-19, 2008. They worked on advancement during the morning hours, had various troop activities in the afternoon, and participated in open programs during the evening.

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