A Scoutmaster's Blog

I read a news article on Yahoo News that saddened me, and I am sure that many Troop 68 Boy Scouts and alumni will also take note of the news. Gary Gygax has died.

What? You say you do not know who Gary Gygax is? Why, he is the co-creator of a little game called Dungeons and Dragons.

I began playing D&D when I was in college in 1979. When I became the scoutmaster in the early 1980’s I introduced the Scouts to the game, and it became an instant hit with them. I have been the troop’s unofficial game master for over twenty five years. The boys enjoy playing the game as much today as they did twenty years ago. In fact, it is the number one activity that the Scouts ask for outside of regular troop activities. Many former troop members still come over a couple times a year to get in a game.

I have thought about writing a few articles for this blog about how the game of Dungeons and Dragons has affected the Scouts of Troop 68 for quite awhile now, but just never got around to it. I may have to give that subject some serious thought.

The guys are already leaving messages on the troop’s forum that we need to play a game in honor of Gary Gygax’s passing, so I guess I better start thinking about some game scenarios.

It has been a month since the last podcast was posted, but there is a reason for that. I wanted to make a film with Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, that showed him participating with Boy Scouts on an outing. I felt it was time for Buttons to leave the safety of the house, and play a game with the Scouts.

The weather was perfect as the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 gathered for their winter outing on Friday, February 22. The seven Scouts and three adult leaders were looking forward to a weekend of winter fun.

Camp Stearns is owned by the Northern Star Council, which is headquartered in the Twin Cities. The camp is located east of Fairhaven, Minnesota. The camp borders on a few lakes, has some great wooded camping areas, and plenty of open areas for various activities, including a disc golf course.

The Melrose troop stayed in one of the heated buildings during the weekend, but they spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the mild winter temperatures on Saturday. In the morning the Scouts worked on various advancement requirements, including an orientation course.

The troop headed out to the rink after lunch for a game of broomball. The temperature was warm enough, and the action was intense enough, that winter coats soon started to pile up along side the rink. The Scouts had a great time playing this non-skating version of hockey. The boys even took the time to film a few scenes for a new video which should appear online sometime in March as part of the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. The video may also appear on Youtube.

The highlight of the weekend came after chapel service and supper. It was time to head to the hills! The sledding hill, that is. Camp Stearns has a great sledding hill that is lit for evening use. And boy, did the Scouts from Troop 68 put it to use. The Scouts were able to move along at pretty good speeds, and able to get some pretty good air from the jumps. (See the picture) Of course, there were a couple good wipe-outs to go along with it. The long steep hill prompted one Scout to comment that there should be a tow rope to get back up the hill. The evening ended with watching a movie before heading off to the sleeping bags.

Even though it is -18 degrees outside (I am in Minnesota, you know) I did get outside to watch the last moments of the bright moon moving to hide into the shadow of the earth. In fact, I even set my video camera outside to record it. Once the camera warms up again I will watch it and see how it turned out.

One thing about being the webmaster for the troop is trying to find the time to keep the web site up to date. It is not an easy task, and I have fallen behind a bit, but today I did get the chance to do some work on it.

I am happy to report that the 2007 photo gallery is now complete. The gallery contains over 100 pictures taken during the year. There are photos from the Laughs For Lunch Show, courts of honor, the Ripley Rendezvous, troop activities, and summer camp. It is quite a collection, but only a fraction of the 1200 photos I took during troop functions this year.

You know, before the digital photo era, when I used something know as 35mm film, I would be doing well to take a couple hundred of photographs each year. Now, thanks to memory cards, I take a few hundred photos just at summer camp. Isn’t technology wonderful?

Check out all the pictures of 2007 by clicking HERE. And then leave a comment about what you think of them.

Twas the day of the party
for the Scouts of the troop.
Time for films, pop, and goodies,
and pizza (but not soup.)

One by one they arrived at
the scoutmaster’s door.
They took off both their shoes
then sat on the floor.

The decision of which movie
to watch must be made.
It’s a film about pirates for
which the scoutmaster paid.

The lights where turned off and
the Scouts settled down,
and the movie began in
full digital sound.

Ninety minutes later
the movie was paused
for the pizza had arrived
to the shouts of “huzzah!”
(The Scouts did not really shout that
but I needed something that rhymed.)

Then the Scouts formed a circle
on the living room floor.
Time for the gift exchange!
This was not time to snore.

The die were passed and rolled for
fifteen long minutes.
Each Scout wanted that one gift,
but could he roll right to win it?

There was candies and cookies,
a skateboard, and games.
There was not a bad gift so
there was no one to blame.

Soon the gifts were exchanged,
all the presents unwrapped,
and the movie was finished.
It was time for a nap.

The Scouts picked up their gifts and
zipped their jackets up tight
wishing “Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.”

Since the beginning of time, or at least since the early eighties, Boy Scout Troop 68 has held a Christmas party. It has become such a tradition that the Patrol Leader’s Council would never think of planning a year’s program without the party. Everyone enjoys it too much to drop it.

During those first years the party was held at someone’s house, usually a house with a basement recreation room. One family had one of those new fancy things called a video cassette player/recorder (vcr). It was a big odd looking box that played tapes of movies. That began the tradition of playing movies and watching them on the television, because soon almost every house had a vcr tape machine. These days we use dvd players.

The party would be held at one family’s house for a couple years and then move on to another family’s. When the troop’s membership grew to over thirty Boy Scouts we had a hard time finding a home to host the party. We finally moved to the city hall meeting rooms which gave us plenty of room. Our membership is down again so now the party is held at my home which makes it a lot easier for me. I do not have to haul stuff, like presents, to the party site anymore.

The party begins at 6:30 in the evening and ends about 11:00. We begin by watching one of the two movies. (Have you ever tried to find a movie that appeals to both 11 year olds and sixteen year olds? It is a challenge.) Then comes the pizza, snacks, and soda. A gift exchange is held for those who wish to participate, and wish to risk the roll of the dice. The evening raps up with the second movie, although some of the Scouts decide to play games instead of watching the film.

The party is a great “no pressure” troop activity. There is no knot tying, no advancement requirements, and no skill learning. Uniforms are not worn. It is just a time to have fun and be with friends. Everyone goes home with at least one present.

And sometime during the course of the evening we pause to remember the real reason for the season.

Last week the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 held their monthly activity which happened to be the LPMRB. What is that, you ask? Long day of Pizza, Movie, Rollerskating, and Bowling. It is basically a twelve hour activity that has been a popular troop activity for many years. (The L of the LPMRB was originally for Laser tag, but the BSA does not want Scouts playing that game any more.)

The activity begins at 12:30, Saturday afternoon, when the Scouts gather at my place. We then drive to the Skatin’ Place in St. Cloud, about 35 miles from Melrose. The troop rollerskates, or inline skates, for about three and one half hours, also playing the occasional arcade game. There were not many people at the rink this year. There were times when the Scouts were the only people skating, which in a way was nice since we did not have to skate around other skaters.

Godfather’s Pizza was the next stop on the list of places to go. This year we only needed to buy three large pizzas to fill the bellies of the nine boys and two adults. We had a little time to kill after eating so we did a little shopping at a dollar store and browsing through a skateboard and snowboard store.

When we arrived at the movie theater complex it did not take long to decide on a movie. Over half of the eighteen movies showing were R rated. Most of the PG-13 movies were not suitable for the age group of our Scouts. We ended up watching Dan In Real Life which was a pretty good movie. Even the younger Scouts enjoyed it.

We arrived back in Melrose with over an hour to to kill before our session of bowling would begin at 11:30 pm. I thought the boys would play table tennis, darts, or boards in my basement but we all ended up in my living room watching a dvd of Weird Al music videos.

I was getting tired by the time we arrived at the bowling alley. I quickly discovered that my bowling skills had deteriorated since last year’s event. Either I have to spend less time playing Wii bowling, or more time actually throwing a bowling ball. By 1:30 in the morning the last parent had arrived to pick up their son. The boys had gone home. I was ready for a good night’s sleep.

Yes, the LPMRB makes for one long day but the Scouts really enjoy it. Maybe this event does not fit the usually outdoorsy type of Scouting activity, but the boys have a great time with each other and enjoy the camaraderie. Once in awhile you just have to leave the tents and knots behind and do something different.