A Scoutmaster's Blog

Back in February I posted about some Scouting related blogs I have come across. Well, five months have past. I have found that a couple of have their names since then. I have also discovered a few more that I would like to share with you. Check them out and see what you think of them.

Akela’s Adventure (Cub Scouting Podcast): http://akelasadventure.com/
The Leader’s Campfire (Cub Scouting Podcast): http://www.leaderscampfire.com/
The Scouting Vine (Scouting News): http://goodturn.newsvine.com/
A Scout’s Campfire: http://www.scoutcampfire.com/
Troop 11, From The Committee Chair: http://troop11bsa.org/barnes_blog/
Rikki’s Scouting Resources (Scouting in Australia): http://rikkiresources.wordpress.com/
Scouts From The Big City: http://houstonscouts.blogspot.com/

The picture of the patch is from the USSSP website. It is an (unofficial) award that you may earn through the internet. Check it out.

If you know of any other good Scouting Blogs then drop me a line.

Sometimes, when we are camping, things get too wet and the rain never seems to stop. While playing around the internet tonight I found a little song, sung to a tune we all know, that fits the worst case scenarios. I just had to share it with you.
(This song was found at the SR-367 website.)

Scout Westpers Play Song

Softly falls the rain today,
As our campsite floats away.
Silently, each Scout should ask
“Did I bring my SCUBA mask?
Have I tied my tent flaps down?
Learned to swim, so I won’t drown?
Have I done, and will I try,
Everything to keep me dry?”

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 began arriving at the meeting place at 8:45 on Sunday morning, July 15. They were packed, in uniform, and excited. They were ready for a week of adventure at Many Point Scout Camp located north of Park Rapids near Podsford, Minnesota.

The eight Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 and their leaders arrived at MPSC near 1:00 Sunday afternoon. After checking in at the administration building the troop headed to the Seton Campsite in Buckskin Camp to begin setting up their gear and tents. As a light rain began to fall the boys headed to the beach for their swim checks. After supper the Scouts took part in a camp orientation. The evening campfire program by the camp staff, was enjoyed by everyone.

A typical day at camp is divided into three parts. The Scouts work on learning skills and earning merit badges during the morning hours. The afternoons are filled with various troop activities. The camp’s program areas are opened in the evening for Scouts to have fun where ever they like.

The Scouts from Melrose found themselves at the beach after lunch on Monday. Some of the guys worked on the swimming skills while others had fun on the camp’s Aqua Trampoline. After the boys dried off it was time to head to the rifle range to shoot 22 rifles. The boys demonstrated they could shoot pretty well. Some of the boys had very nice groupings. The boys spent the rest of the afternoon around the campsite playing ball and games.

Sailing was the first troop activity Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, the wind was not very brisk so the boats moved very slowly. The next activity found the boys at the camp chapel to work on their SuperTroop project. The Scouts and leaders straightened a few benches that had moved and become crooked.

The big activity Tuesday afternoon was the camp’s Ironman Triathlon. This three part competition consisted of canoeing, swimming, and running. Scouts could participate individually or as part of a team. The young Scouts from Melrose decided to compete as a team. Three boys were the troop’s canoers. Jonah was the swimmer. Zack was the runner. The boys had a good time and did very well.

The two oldest Boy Scouts from Melrose did not compete in the Ironman because they spend the afternoon and evening at Many Point’s Flintlock High Adventure Camp. They participated in a new camp activity called the Challenge Outpost. The Outpost is an eight hour activity in which a group of Scouts try to overcome various challenges, similar to the television show Survivor, only in this program no one gets kicked off the island.

The Scouts went canoeing during their first activity session Wednesday afternoon. This was followed by a few games during Ethics In Action that challenged the boys in problem solving. As the temperature rose to the upper 80’s during the afternoon the boys appreciated that their troop swim that was scheduled. Several of the boys had fun when they checked out the snorkeling equipment.

Watch for this blog for a future post as I finish covering the Boy Scouts week at Many Point Scout Camp.

By now you know of Buttons, the radical Boy Scout. You have probably read the recent post about Eymard, the eighty year old assistant scoutmaster. What happens when they meet in the woodlands on a Troop 68 outing and conduct an interview? Well, it ain’t no Larry King style interview, that is for sure.

Eymard was a very good sport about the whole thing. He and Buttons exchanged some good natured teasing and had fun doing the interview. They discuss Eymard’s duties as an assistant scoutmaster, his age, cooking skills, knot tying, woolly worms, and other subjects.

Meanwhile, in the background, the Boy Scouts are preparing for the annual Camp Watchamagumee Egg Drop Competition. They are gathering natural materials to package an egg. During the competition the egg and package will be dropped, higher and higher, until only one egg survives.

It has been a couple months since we have made a video with Buttons. I hope you enjoy it. We had fun making it. And hopefully, within the couple of weeks, there will be another new video featuring that radical Boy Scout. If you have any ideas for a video featuring Buttons we want to hear about it. Drop us a note.

Download Podcast
Watch Video on the troop’s website.
Subscribe through iTunes.

Here are a few good quotes about Boy Scouting I found through the help of the internet:

“We must depend upon the Boy Scout Movement to produce the MEN of the future.“ Daniel Carter Beard.

“A Scout is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens.” Robert Baden-Powell.

“The simplest way of saying this for the very young Scout is to do a good turn to someone every day: that is, to be a giver and not a taker.” Juliette G. Low.

“In the 30 years that I’ve been doing this for a living, I’ve never had a parent say to me, ‘I regretted the time I spent with my son or child in Scouting.'” Roy L. Williams, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America.

and one fun one….
“Being in the army is like being in the Boy Scouts, except that the Boy Scouts have adult supervision.” Blake Clark.

He was already sixty years old when his youngest son became a Boy Scout in Troop 68. When the troop needed an adult to attend a week of summer camp he volunteered his time. This year, Eymard celebrated his nineteenth year of attending summer camp with the Boy Scouts. That becomes truly amazing when you realize that Eymard is now eighty years old.

Eymard was never a Boy Scout as a youth. As one of ten children raised on a central Minnesota farm he never had the chance, or the time, to be a Scout. To tell the truth, I do not think Eymard ever thought about Scouting.

Eymard’s son, Peter, joined the troop after a friend talked him into trying it out. Eymard had recently retired from farming and had built a home in Melrose. Peter enjoyed Scouting and it did not take long before Eymard begin helping with activities.

Eymard was 61 years old when he attended a Boy Scout summer camp for the first time, an age at which must men want nothing to do with camping, tents, or a group of teenage boys. Unfortunately, that first summer camp at Crow Wing Scout Reservation was almost Eymard’s last week of camp with the troop. The older boys acted so badly and were so lazy that I myself considered resigning as scoutmaster. It was a true sign of Eymard’s commitment to the program that he continued to help out at troop functions and became an assistant scoutmaster.

While his son was a member of the troop, Eymard attended various training sessions offered by the district and council. By the time his son retired from Scouting (after earning his Life Rank) Eymard was totally dedicated to the Scouting program. He stayed on as assistant scoutmaster and became the troop chaplain. He continues to attend weekend outings and the annual week-long summer camp regularly.

Eymard has a great time working with the Scouts, and they respect him. He ejoyes helping the younger boys attain the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. He has fun teaching the Scouts how to cook meals from scratch. If they is a little free time during the day you may find him playing cards with the boys. No Scout of Troop 68 will ever forget eating Eymard’s fresh popped buttered popcorn while sitting around the campfire.

Eymard and I have made a good team during these past nineteen years. We value each other’s opinions and are always giving each other some good natured teasing. New boys to the troop pick up on this and quickly accept Eymard as one of their friends.

Eymard has received the “Scouter of the Year” award from the Scenic District. He recently commented that he will continue to be active in Scouting for as long as he is able. I look forward to Eymard being an assistant scoutmaster for many years to come. Hopefully, we will be able to celebrate his 100th birthday during one of our court of honors.

Scott was a typical Boy Scout in many ways. He began as a Tiger Scout, became a Bobcat, then a Wolf, and then a Bear. His father was his Webelos den leader. Both of them graduated into Boy Scout Troop 68. Scott would go on to earn seventeen merit badges and his Life Rank. His father became an assistant scoutmaster and troop chaplain.

Scott attended summer camp at Many Point Scout Camp a few times as a member of the troop. He liked Many Point so well the he and a friend of his became Councilors in Training (CIT) one summer. After he graduated from high school Scott began to spend his summers at Many Point working on the staff. During those years he would switch camps in which he would work, one year at Buckskin, the next at Ten Chiefs, and a few years at Family Camp. The beach areas were a favorite of Scott’s so it came as no surprise when he became the Aquatics Director of one of the camps. Scott loved being outdoors and could not get interested in a job in which he would have to spend his summers in some air conditioned building.

As the years went by Scott continued to work at Many Point. He saw many young men and women come and go as staff members. He began to spend more time each year at camp, arriving earlier, and leaving later, then the camp staff. He began taking on more duties and responsibilities. It did not take long for Many Point to become Scott’s unofficial home.

When the camp’s head ranger announced that he would retire, and that the assistant ranger would step up to replace him, Scott wasted no time in applying for the assistant ranger position. It was a position that Scott had had his eye on for a few years. It came as no suprise to me when I heard that Scott was offered the position and had accepted the offer.

And so Scott, an alumni of Melrose Troop 68, became a full time ranger for the very camp he had attended as a Boy Scout. Many Point had become his official home. I was happy for him, and proud of him. It had reached the goal he had set for himself.

This week eight boys from Troop 68 attended Many Point Scout Camp. Tuesday morning, while the Scouts were having breakfast in the dining hall, Scott stopped by our table to visit with us, catch up a bit with the adult leaders, and meet the troop’s newest Scouts. He told us he really loves his job, and that there could be a wedding in his future, to a girl he met while working at the camp. I wish him the best as he looks toward his future.

As a scoutmaster, it is great to visit with former troop members. It is especially pleasing to hear that they are doing well with their lives. A Scout leader always hopes that the brief time a boy spends in Scouting will have a positive impact on his life. In Scott’s case, in was more then just an impact. It became a career.

It is that time of year. Time to pack up and head out to a week of summer camp with the boys from Boy Scout Troop 68. Once again we will be attending Many Point Scout Camp located in northern Minnesota near Pondsford. The troop will be heading out Sunday morning and getting back early Saturday afternoon. This also means that there will not be many blog entries added during the coming week. I will be in the middle of nowhere without internet access. Not that that would matter anyway because I do not own a laptop. I do plan to bring pad and paper to camp to write blog entries while sitting around the campsite, sipping on root beer and eating marshmallows.

I think the troop has attended Many Point Scout Camp for nearly 20 years. The boys have a great time there. The staff is fantastic and work well with the boys. We stay in Buckskin Camp, so we get to eat in the dining hall, which also means I will be eating better this coming week then I do at home. (Keep in mind that I am single.) I will probably gain a few pounds while at camp, which is something I really do not want to do. Oh, if I could just keep my hands off the homemade Granny Bread!

During the early stays at Many Point, Troop 68 was at the height of its campfire song creation phase. The boys and scoutmaster (me) would take songs and change the words to make campfire songs out of them. After staying at Many Point a few times we decided to create a song about the camp. We wrote the following lyrics based on the Village People’s “YMCA” song. It became a hit the first time we performed it at the Friday night closing campfire. We have repeated the performance a few times over the years.

Interested in what the lyrics are? Well, lucky you. I decided to post them here just for your enjoyment. I bet you may be singing them to yourself before you are done reading the last verse.

MPSC
(sung to the tune YMCA)

1) Young man, When you need to get out,
I said, young man, get away from the crowds.
I said, young man, don’t just sit there and pout.
Get up and camp with the Boy Scouts.

That’s where, you can shoot 22’s.
I said, that’s where, there’s always something to do.
I said, that’s where, you can eats lots of stew,
get belly aches and turn shades of blue.

(Refrain)
It’s fun to go to the M.P.S.C. You’ve got to go to the M.P.S.C.
You can tie a few knots, you can cook your own meal,
You can do whatever you feel.

M.P.S.C. You’ve got to go to the M.P.S.C.
Young man, young man, don’t just sit on your tail.
Young man, young man, get yourself on the trail.

2) Voyagers, is the place you should be
if you want to, cook your food as you please.
Then there’s Ten Chiefs, out among all the trees,
without a shower facility.

Buck Skin, is the camp where you call
patrol members, to eat in the dining hall.
Project Cope is, the place where you do it all
even experience free fall.

3) Young man, the bathrooms are quite unique.
I said, young man, wait till you get a peek.
I said, young man, it’s the place that you seek
When you can’t wait any longer.

Then there’s, the bedroom facilities
Where you can get, a bit caught up on your zzz’s
Where the canvas, let’s in all the bugs and fleas
Unless you’ve got mosquito netting.

(Are you singing yet?)