A Scoutmaster's Blog

Over ten thousand Boy Scouts and leaders gathered at Camp Ripley in central Minnesota for this year’s Ripley Rendezvous. I will be writing a blog entry about this event later, but in the meantime you can check out this article found in a local paper: St. Cloud Times.

(Sorry, but the Times does not archive its articles for very long.)

Several years ago our troop held a weekend camping trip at a public park at Lake Koronis in Minnesota. Activities included swimming, volleyball, football, and a massive water balloon fight. A few fathers attended this activity to provide leadership and transportation. This camp location was so popular that Scouts of all ages were in attendance. We had an excellent turnout.

The outing was a blast! Everyone, Scouts and adults, had a great time. As we sat around the campfire Saturday evening I asked the campers what they liked best about the outing. One of the older Scouts gave me an answer that caught me by surprise, and it is something I have never forgotten. His highlight was when the fathers played football with them (the Scouts). I saw a few other boys nodding their heads in agreement.

That simple statement hit a nerve with me. It suddenly occurred to me how seldom today’s teens get to play with their fathers. Teenage boys love to play. It is a part of their nature, part of how they identify themselves, part of how they learn to cooperate with others.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, fathers do not seem to have enough time to play with their sons. They work long hours, have more work to do when they get home, and often are too tired in the evening to do much more then sit in front of the television with the kids. Oh, and mom would like a little of his time also. Of course, this assumes that there is a father living at home.

Today’s teenage boys are not much better. They spend half of their day in school. Many are involved in school sports or some other extracurricular activity. Some have part time jobs. They need to spend time with their buddies, and maybe even with a girlfriend. Then add video games and the internet into the mixture.

Each generation has their excuses for not spending time with other, which made the impact of the Scout’s statement that weekend all that much stronger to me.

Hey Dad! You need to get out and play with your son! He will only be a teenager for several years, years which pass by very quickly. He will soon be leaving to go to college, make a life for himself, and probably start his own family. If you think it is hard to find time to play with him now then just think about how hard it will be once he moves out.

Hey Son! Put down that video game controller, grab a football or basketball, and take your father outside to play. Sure, it may seem like dad has forgotton how much fun it was to have fun and play, and you may need to help him relearn how to be a kid again. He has a lot on his mind but he needs to let it go once in awhile and have fun sometimes too.

This is one reason why I think Scouting is such a great program. Fathers and sons can spend time with each other outdoors and play together. Scouts, you may need to ask you father to join you on an outing or two. Dads, you need to get out of that lawn chair and run around a little. I think I can safely say that it would be a win/win situation for both generations.

In the last blog I wrote about Cwazy Rabbit Patrol and how they earned a pizza that was paid for by their scoutmaster. This turned out to be the first of three instances in which the spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit made itself known to the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68.

The troop went to a week long summer camp adventure at Many Point Scout Camp in 2005. Four boys attended along with myself and my assistant scoutmaster. Also attending camp that week was Paul, a friend of mine, with his troop of boys from Minneapolis. Paul has been a Scouting friend of mine for over twenty years.

Paul and I planned a few activities for our troops to do together during the week. One activity was a medallion hunt. Paul brought the coin, gave it to me, and put me in charge of the activity. I hid the coin in a public area of the camp and wrote ten rhyming clues which would be given out and meal times. The first few clues were pretty vague, of course, but then they started getting more helpful.

After they received the ninth clue one of my Scouts was sure he knew were the medallion was hidden. He ran to that place in camp and looked for it but was not having any luck finding it. Then a rabbit caught his eye. As boys will be, he momentarily forgot about the medallion and began following the rabbit. He followed the rabbit until he was behind the trading post. Then the Scout glanced up and noticed the medallion taped to the back of the 2×4 on which hung the trading post sign.

The Cwazy Wabbit seemed to have helped the boys from Troop 68 win their second competition.

In 2006, we attended Many Point Scout Camp for summer camp as it celebrated it’s 60th anniversary. This year, the camp staff had hidden a medallion as a special activity for the anniversary. Three clues would be given to the Scout campers during the week. The troop that found the medallion (actually it was a silver colored lantern) would receive a special prize at the Friday evening closing campfire program.

Wednesday night, after receiving the third clue, the Scouts from Melrose Troop 68 thought they knew the location of the medallion. The rushed off the that area of camp in which they thought it had been hidden. They searched the area. Just as they were about to give up one of the boys found the lantern. When he yelled for the other boys to join him he saw a rabbit hop out from under the nearby building. The spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit had made itself know once again.

Unfortunately for me, the scoutmaster, I had made a deal with the boys that if they found the medallion we would stop on the way home on Saturday for pizza, and that I would pick up the bill. I think the spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit enjoys emptying the wallet of the deal-making scoutmaster.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have had an interesting connection with rabbits during the last three years. In fact, I think rabbits could become the troop mascot if things continue…

It began late in the winter of 2004. The troop attended the council’s annual Ripley Rendezvous which takes place at Camp Ripley in Minnesota. Five Scouts from the troop attended. Two of them were newly graduated Webelos Scouts, two were boys who had not yet reached Second Class, and one was an experienced Scout.

The program at Ripley is based on patrol competition. Each of the twenty-some stations would test the patrols on their Scout knowledge, teamwork, and patrol spirit. The top three patrols of each of the four districts, along with the top three patrols overall, are recognized for their achievement at the Saturday evening program.

This year the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 were actually from three different patrols so they formed a new patrol for the outing and called themselves the Cwazy Wabbit Patrol. The came up with a pretty good patrol call before they left for the stations Saturday morning.

I knew this was a very inexperienced patrol so I made a deal with them Friday night. If they would take a spot in the top three patrols on Saturday night then I would buy the pizza on the way home Sunday morning. I thought I had made a pretty safe deal. I was sure there would be no way this patrol would take first, second, or third place.

It is amazing what boys will do to make their scoutmaster buy pizza.

When the Saturday night program began I was not very worried. Yes, the boys had done well at the stations during the day, and most of the station captains were impressed with the patrol’s call and spirit, but there were a lot of patrols at this year’s event.

It was time in the program to announce the winners. I am sure my jaw dropped when the Cwazy Wabbit Patrol of Troop 68 took first place for the Scenic District. The boys were very excited and were grinning from ear to ear as they went to the stage to accept their ribbon. I have a vague memory of someone saying how good the pizza would taste on the way home as they left me to approach the stage, or maybe I just imagined that.

The second shock came when the Cwazy Wabbits were called on again to come to the stage to accept the ribbon for second place overall. I knew then that it would be a long time before I would hear the end of this from the Scouts. But my smile was just as big as theirs was as the received their honors. They had made me proud. The boys’ faces were smiling the whole time they ate their pizza on the way home Sunday morning.

The spirit of the Cwazy Wabbit had made his first contact with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 from Melrose.
(to be continued…)

It seemed like a good idea at the time. It was the summer of 1989, or 1990. The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 were about to attend a week at Crow Wing Scout Reservation. This year would be the first time we would allow the boys to bring lawn chairs to camp.

It was NOT one of our better ideas! The older boys decided that it was now very comfortable in camp. They did not get their work done. They did not want to participate in programs anymore. They just wanted to kick back, relax, and be lazy.

Of course, this did not sit well with the scoutmaster (me) or the assistant scoutmaster. By midweek all of the boy’s chairs had been stored away in the adult’s tent. Oh, there were words said and yelling done, but the boys needed to do their dishes and clean up their campsite, not sit around all day.

A day or two later we gave the chairs back to the boys, thinking that they had learned their lesson. We were wrong and had to take the chairs away again, this time for the rest of the week.

The low point of the week for me came during a moment when I was walking away from the older boys campsite. One of the boys threw a full, unopened half pint of milk at me that just missed my head. I stopped in my tracks and counted to ten. I think it was the one and only time that I have ever counted to ten. I resumed walking away from the campsite. I knew that it would not be a good idea to confront the boys at that moment. If I did it would only make matters worse.

By the end of the week we were all looking forward to going home. My new assistant scoutmaster did not know if he would ever go to another week of summer camp again. All in all, it just was not a good week of camp.

Due to the problems that week a new policy was started in the troop. A Scout would be able to bring a chair to camp but it could NOT have both a back rest and legs. That policy stated in effect for over ten years.

A few years ago we began allowing the boys to bring lawn chairs to camp once again. They are aware of the previous “lawn chair incident”. So far, things have gone smoothly and there have not been any problems.

What happened to the assistant scoutmaster who’s first week at camp was almost his last week at camp? This year he will be attending his 17th week of summer with the troop. What about those older boys who’s attitude made for a rough week of camp? I am happy to report that things worked out well over the following years and that we are all good friends, even to this day.

It is surprising what a slow count to ten, and a few years’ worth of patience and work can do. Isn’t Scouting wonderful?

In two weeks I will be at Many Point Scout Camp, once again spending my summer vacation with the Boy Scouts. Do I mind? Not usually. It can a fun and sometimes interesting experience.

This will be the 25th year I will spend my summer vacation with the Scouts. I have done it for so long that it just would not feel like summer without at least one week with the Scouts.

Sometimes I would spend the week with the boys at summer camp. In the 1980’s, we would go to Crow Wing Scout Reservation, Tomahawk Scout Camp, or Many Point Scout Camp. Now that Crow Wing has been closed and sold off the troop has made a tradition of attending Many Point.

Then there are the years when a high adventure trip gets in the way of attending summer camp. I have been to the Charles Sommers Canoe Base in Minnesota, the High Knoll Trail of Virginia, and the 2001 National Jamboree. Oh, I better not forget the five times I participated in a trek at Philmont Scout Ranch.

Of course, if I were married and had a family I do not think I would, or could, have attended all these outings. I would think the wife might have some input into how I would spend my summer vacations.

In previous posts I have written about the Scouts of Troop 68 performing at campfire programs. Usually, the Scout do quite well and everyone has a good time.

But not everything always goes as planned….

We travel back in time to the mid 1980’s….

We arrive at Crow Wing Scout Camp in Minnesota. It is Wednesday night and the area campfire programs have begun. A young patrol from Troop 68 walks to the front of the campfire to perform the song “I Wish I Was A Boy Scout.” They have practiced. They are ready to perform.

The patrol starts singing the refrain, and then things begin to fall apart. As the boys act out the song one Scout forgets his lines. The Scout next to him tries to whisper to him to help him out but the whisper is loud enough for everyone to hear. Another Scout does the wrong actions to his verse. One Scout starts to sing off beat to the rest of the patrol. Before the song reaches the fourth of the six verses the skit is beyond saving.

But the Scouts and leaders watching the performance are laughing hysterically. The harder the young Scouts try to do things right, the more they screw up, and the funnier the song becomes. The laughter drowns out the other sounds around the campfire ring.

The boys of the young patrol are feeling terrible as the sit down with their troop. How could they have messed up that badly? But guess what, the best was yet to come.

One song or skit from each of the three area campfires held that night will be chosen to be a part of the Friday night closing campfire program. The Scout campers of this area laughed so hard during the “I Wish I Was A Boy Scout” song that they chose the young Troop 68 patrol to be in the Friday night program.

During the next two days the young Scouts work hard to perfect the song and actions. It actually looks pretty good Friday afternoon.

Friday night has arrived. The young patrol is ready. They are called down to perform their song…

and it is Wednesday night all over again…

and once again the audience roars with its laughter.

The young patrol members feel bad about screwing up for the second time. But you know what? Who cares? The Scouts from the various troops and the camp’s staff enjoyed the song, the patrol members did their best, and everyone goes back to their campsites with a smile on their face.

The Scout Oath states, “On my honor, I will do my best…” That’s all anyone can ever ask of you. And sometimes, your best might even be better then perfection could ever be.

I think it all began during the troop’s first week of summer camp at Crow Wing Scout Reservation in 1981. “When all what began?” you ask. When the Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 became known for performing at campfire programs, that’s what.
I can I can take some of the blame for getting things started. I was the assistant scoutmaster at the time and I had taken my tenor guitar to summer camp. There was an afternoon in the middle of the week that we did not have much to do so we started singing some songs around the campfire.
We started changing the words to some songs, you know, just playing around with them. One song, a country song called Running Bear, was a song about two Native Americans who fell in love. Unfortunately, they were part of two tribes who did not get along well. We changed a few words to the song and suddenly it was about two members of the camp staff falling in love.
I think it was sometime during the week that we performed the new Running Bear song to a couple of staff members. Before we knew it, we were asked to perform it during the Friday night closing campfire program.
The whole troop marched down to the front of the campfire circle when it was out turn to sing. The two members of the staff, who we were about to sing about, were in attendance. I do not think they knew what we were about to sing about. By the end of the song the male staff member was blushing and hiding in the trees. The female staff member thought it was funny and was laughing with the rest of the staff and campers.
Thus, the Scouts of Troop 68 and myself discovered the joy of performing for an audience, and the thrill of the audience enjoying a good performance.
Since that first campfire the Scouts of Troop 68 have performed in many summer camp and camporee campfire programs. We have even hosted a couple of them. The troop has also done ten yearly campfire-style programs for our community. (More about this in another article.)
We have had a lot of fun hamming it for the crowds over the years. I would suggest that all troops give it a try and enjoy the trill that comes with entertaining other Scouts and leaders.