A Scoutmaster's Blog

Philmont Scout Ranch is a magical place. Just anyone who has been there. Most people want to go back again and enjoy the experience a second and third time. I have been lucky enough to participate on a Philmont trek five times with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68. Someday I may try a sixth trek.

Many of the camps through-out Philmont are staffed These staffed camps include programs for the campers. Themes include Indian Lore, gold mining, rock climbing, and the life of a mountain man. If you attend Philmont you need to be sure to include these programs in your stay. They are both informative and a lot of fun.

There are also many campsites through Philmont that are staffless and without any programs. These camps offer the crew a chance to kick back, relax, and really enjoy the wilderness of Philmont. Of course, boys being boys, they only kick back for so long before starting to look for something to keep themselves busy. Exploration of the nearby territory will keep them busy for a little while. I would also suggest you bring a few games to play.

Keep in mind that you will be carrying these game materials with you from campsite to campsite so a few things must be considered when choosing games. The game should be simple, lightweight, and limited in the number of pieces. After all, you will be carrying it on your back for ten days in a pack with a limited amount of room. Philmont games should not be electronic. You do not want to carry the weight of extra batteries in your back, or disrupt the relaxing songs of birds with the sounds of Mario racing through the next level.

My first suggestion for a Philmont game is a deck of cards. Cards are lightweight, small, and can be used to play many different games. You can play cards by yourself, with a friend, or with the crew. Cards can be played outside during a nice sunny day, or in the tent during an afternoon shower. A few decks of cards can keep a whole crew busy for hours.

My second suggestion is to bring a flying disc or two along, otherwise known as a frisbee. Simple catch is the most common game with the firsbee, of course. Crews can also play team games such as 500 or Ultimate. I have seen two crews playing each other in Tip and having a lot of fun competing against each other.

Hacky sack has been a very popular game during the last trips I have taken to Philmont. The bean filled sack is very small, and very lightweight. It can be played with two people or the whole crew. I have even seen Scouts play hacky still wearing their packs during a rest stop. I have discovered that most adults are not very good at this game, myself included.

Well, there you have it, three games small in size and weight that are great for a Philmont trek. Any of these can provide hours of entertainment for a bored crew. Of course, if you have been to Philmont you probably already know about these games. If you are a first timer be sure to bring them.

What other games has your crew played at Philmont?

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, is a puppet that was given to me by my parents one year in the 1980’s. I played with it for awhile, even brought it along on a few Scout functions. It was a fun puppet to have around. Kids loved it. Adults thought it was cute.

The hardest thing about using the puppet was not playing with it or making it do things. That comes easy to me. The hardest thing about Buttons was coming up with a voice for him. It had to be a voice that fit his looks. I also realized that the voice would also play a major role in the type of personality that Buttons would have. After playing around with several voices, and rejecting most of them, I finally decided on a deep throat-style voice based on a surfer-type dude’s way of talking.

Buttons has never been the same since. The voice defined his personally like I thought it would. Suddenly this puppet became alive. Kids would howl with laughter. Adults would smile, and even giggle once in a while. But there was a price to pay for using that voice. It was very hard on my throat, and I could usually only say a few sentences at a time as Buttons.

When I did the first videos with Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, they were short videos. I wanted to see how the puppet looked, how the voice worked, and if he would look real enough to pass what I wanted to accomplish. After viewing the videos I was pleased with what I saw. I began to expand the videos, and take Buttons away from the den. He toured my family room, went around town filming in parks and at school. People saw these videos and enjoyed them.

It was time to take Buttons to the next level. It was time for him to perform with a live person. Michael is the Cub Scout brother of one of my Boy Scouts.
When he saw a video of Buttons the first time he broke out laughing and could not stop. I thought it might be fun to try doing a video in which he would have to interact with the puppet. I knew he would have a tough time trying to keep a straight face, but to tell the truth, I did not want him to be too serious.

This podcast video is the first video in which Buttons shares the limelight with Michael, the radical Cub Scout. Michael tries to teach Buttons the Cub Scout Promise. And tries, and tries. Buttons proves to be a slow learner. Michael has a hard time not giggling. It has become the most popular video featuring Buttons, the radical Boy Scout.

Watch it HERE on our troop’s website, or download the PODCAST, and then leave a comment about it. Thanks for watching.

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.

If you have been a Boy Scout leader for any length of time then you have probably given your troop a “lesson in stupidity” at least once, whether you wanted to or not. It is inevitable.

In the previous blog I wrote about one of the lessons in stupidity I gave to the troop about ten years ago. Recently, during a cooking demonstration at a troop meeting, I gave the boys another unplanned lesson.

The demonstration involved making an apple cobbler using a dutch oven. After lining the oven with tin foil and adding the ingredients, we placed the oven in the campfire ring. One Scout began using a shovel to place coals on top of the oven, but just placing one or two coals at a time. This one-sy two-sy thing was too slow for me. (Impatience is the number one cause of lessons in stupidity.)

The shovel being used was the type that had a ring that could be loosened to change the angle of the shovel blade to the handle. I decided it would be quicker to have the blade at a ninety degree angle to the handle for moving the coals so I asked the Scout if I could have the shovel for a moment. I unscrewed the ring, and even though I had just watched him moving hot coals with the shovel, I grabbed the blade to change it’s angle, and immediately let go of it as I discovered how hot it had become.

D’oh! Ouch!

I could have slapped my forehead for being so stupid, but I was already in enough pain. I ended up with a nice big blister on my index finger of the right hand, and a small blister on another finger. Needless to say, I was extra careful during the rest of the meeting. So were the Scouts.

I sometimes think that we Scout Leaders need to give these “lessons in stupidity” to remind ourselves that we are not the almighty know-it-all leader of the troop. These lessons humble us. After all, we are mere humans. We feel pain. And we do stupid things once in a while.

Have you given any “lessons in stupidity” lately?

Anyone who has been a Scout Leader for awhile will have a few stories about Scouts acting without thinking about the consequences. I like to use some of these incidents as lessons for Scouts in later years, sometimes changing the names a bit to protect the innocent.

Of course, we as scoutmasters, and other Scout leaders, can be just as careless at times. We will get impatient and do some really stupid things in front of the boys of the troop. I am no different. I have done a few stupid things myself. I like to take the stories of these incidents and turn them into “lessons in stupidity”.

One of these lessons happened nearly ten years ago when the troop was camping near Duluth, Minnesota. It had been a busy Saturday so everyone was looking forward to relaxing around the campfire in the evening, both Scouts and parents. Unfortunately, the wood was a bit damp and did not want to keep burning. (Do you see where this is going?)

I did not see any flames in the fire ring, although there was a little smoke rising from the wood. I grabbed the can of white gas that we used in the stoves, told the Boy Scouts to never, ever do what I was about to do, and poured a little gas on the fire. After all, there was no flames, you know.

Well, there must have been a few hot coals buried in the wood pile because as soon as the white gas hit the wood I found myself engulfed in a fireball of flame to the astonishment of the Scouts and the concern of the parents. Luckily for me, it was a short lived blast, not quite hot enough to start my clothing on fire or burn my skin. It did singe my eyebrows though. I looked at all the blank stares from the boys sitting around the fire and replied, “That is why you never put gas on a fire!”

I was very lucky to escape injury from that lesson in stupidity. It has become a story I tell the new boys whenever we discuss fire safety. Troop alumni still like to tease me about that incident.

Last night during our troop meeting I gave the boys a new lesson in stupidity, but that story will have to wait until a future blog entry.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 went to Philmont Scout Ranch the first time in 1986. They enjoyed the adventure so well that plans were made to attend the ranch again in 1989. Seven Scouts and two adults from the Melrose troop would attend the second trip. One of the Scouts and one of the adults of this crew would be making their second trek.

I am not going to write about this trip very much with this blog entry. However, if you would like to see several dozen pictures of what Philmont was like in 1989 you can check out the troop’s photo galleries of the trip by clicking here.

As we did for the 1986 trip, we put together a slide show for the parents and others troop members, which was later turned into a video. This video becomes today’s entry to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. The script was written by one of the Scouts, and it was narrated by a few of the crew members. Let us know how you enjoy it by leaving a comment.

Watch (download) the video by clicking HERE.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 participated in a trek at Philmont Scout Ranch for the first time in 1986. I like taking a lot of photographs when I am out with the Scouts so I came home with over 200 pictures ready to be developed. I also wanted the parents and families to see what we did while we were on the Philmont trip so I wrote a script and used many of the pictures in a slide show, complete with narration and music.

Shortly after the trip, I also started taping Scouting activities and producing video programs for the local cable access television station. It did not take long before I turned the slide show into a video for the station. It was crude, being a video of an actual slide show, but it got the show on the air.

Years later I would have a computer capable of re-editing the program and making the production look much better. I scanned the pictures of the trip into the computer and re-made the program, keeping the soundtrack but replacing all the video with clearer pictures. I was now able to add more photographs. I was also able to pan across the photos, and zoom in and out of them. The program became a lot more fun to much and looked much more professional then the video of the slide show.

This entry to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast lets you download and view this reconstructed production. It presents a trip into the past of Philmont Scout Ranch, and our troop’s first, but not last trip, to this Scouting paradise.
Watch Video
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Last weekend the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 joined the Scouts of eight other troops at our council’s camp, Parker Scout Reservation. They did not gather for a council or district event. These troops came together to provide their Scouts an opportunity to work on various merit badges. The eighty-seven Scouts were given the chance to work on up to four of the eighteen merit badges offered during the outing which lasted from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. The simpler merit badges were offered during the evening hours. The tougher merit badges were done through the morning and afternoon sessions. The councilors were provided by the troops who attended.

The merit badge subjects included quite a variety of topics. There were some Eagle required badges including First Aid, Communications, and the Citizenship awards. Other subjects included badges not usually found at summer camps. These included Auto Mechanics, Electricity, and Computers. The boys even had a chance to earn rarely earned badges such as Archeology, Chemistry, and Textile.

Nine Boy Scouts from Troop 68 attended the weekend. The boys realized this was a “work” weekend instead of a “fun” weekend. They knew it was a chance to earn merit badges and get a jump on their advancement. Each of the boys completed two, three, or four merit badges. Only a few partials were brought home.

The weather did not provide us with a nice sunny, warm weekend. (See the previous blog entry.) Luckily, the buildings around camp were reserved for the weekend. All except the Auto Mechanics and Archeology merit badges were able to be done indoors.

This was the second year that Troop 68 participated in this program. The boys enjoyed the classes and were thankful for the opportunities. The troop and I would like to thank John Chance for organizing the outing, the Cold Spring Venture Crew and other staff members, and the sixteen merit badge councilors who gave up their weekend to work with the Scouts. Thanks to everyone who helped, the nine Scouts from Melrose earned a total of 30 merit badges.