A Scoutmaster's Blog

Whenever Boy Scouts and adult leaders gather at a camporee, jamboree, or training session there is probably going to be some patch trading going on at a table or on a blanket on the ground, especially if the event includes Scouts from around the country or from around the world.

My introduction to patch trading was when I attended a Scoutmaster Fundamentals training course at Philmont Scout Ranch in 1984. I had heard stories about how seriously some people take this hobby, but it was only when I saw grown men sitting around a table with open three ring binders full of clear plastic pages of patches that I truly realized how big this hobby was. So many designs. So many colors. So many patches! I decided then that I needed to start a collection of my own.

I put Scouting patches into three main groupings: the council shoulder patch (csp), the Order of the Arrow Lodge flaps and patches, and the activity patches that you receive for attending a camporee or maybe selling popcorn. I like collecting the csp’s and the Order of the Arrow flaps. The only activity patches I am interesting in collecting are the ones given for an activity in which I participated.

When I attended the 2001 National Jamboree as scoutmaster of Troop 1417, I got the chance to see how popular this hobby has become for both the youth and the adults, and how much fun it can be to collect. The Scouts of my troop were excited after an evening of trading, and would often show me the patches they added to their collection that day. It did not take them long to discover which patches were very popular and which patches were not very popular. It was fun to see all the trading blankets laid out along the roadways of the jamboree and the hundreds of people making deals for the patches they wanted. The trade would always end with a handshake which signified that both participants accepted the trade.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the Boy Scouts of America has a policy that restricts trading. Boys must trade with boys, and adults must trade with adults. The boys and the adults are not to trade with each other. There must have been some problems with adults trading unfairly with boys, or visa versa. By the way, there is a blog about patch trading called Boy Scout Memorabilia Collecting. Check it out.

I am not a die-hard patch trader. I am more of a collector. I do have a couple hundred csp’s and lodge flaps in my collection which fit into three large three ring notebooks. My favorite patches are the ones I collected from the 2001 National Jamboree.

During the last two years I have done most of my collecting from the internet. I have bought a few patches on eBay, but most of the new additions have been received from trading a dvd-r for patches. The dvd-r is a compilation of Scouting commercials and promotional films that I have collected over the last two decades. I trade the dvd-r for two patches, a council shoulder patch and an OA lodge flap. The trades have worked well. I have received some very nice patches, and the other person has received a dvd-r that they have put to use a variety of ways, including entertainment at district and council dinners.

I would expect that soon I will be starting my fourth notebook. After all, there are a lots of patches out there that I do not have yet!

I came across an old blog about Scouting today. It looks like the blog has not been updated for quite awhile, almost two years now. There is one post I thought you might find interesting though. It is a story about the leadership a scoutmaster provided to the Scouts of his troop, and how that leadership affected the life of one of those Boy Scouts. I suggest you check it out. It can be found at the Genealogy Merit Badge blog.

This Boy Scout Troop really knows the meaning of doing a Good Turn. They are giving up a trip to Disney to help rebuild a church. Here is a portion of the article:

Boy Scouts Give Up Disney World to Help Rebuild Church

Posted: Nov. 2 6:26 p.m.

Henderson — Time at Disney World could not compete with helping others for three Boy Scout troops in Vance County.

Every year, Boy Scout Troop 691 in Henderson joins with two other troops for a chicken cook-out fundraiser. The proceeds go to pay for a trip to Disney World for the boys.

This year, however, the scouts volunteered to donate money they will raise Saturday to help Union Chapel United Methodist Church rebuild its sanctuary.

Lightning likely sparked a fierce fire on Aug. 10 that burned most of the 178-year-old church to the ground. Among many other items, the church lost its stained glass windows, which were brought from Europe and dated to the early 1800s.

Larry Medlin, described how his 11-year-old son, James, who so far has earned his second-class scout rank, came up with the idea on his own after hearing about the fire. “James said, ‘Daddy, let’s raise money to help them build their church instead of going to Disney,'” Larry Medlin said.

To read the rest of the article click HERE.

Here is a bit of a treat for you. I dug into the video vaults of Troop 68 and pulled out this little gem. Frisbee Follies, A Summer Camp Adventure was one of the first videos made by the Scouts of Troop 68. The Scouts made it during their week-long stay at Many Point Scout Camp in 1988. It was filmed with a vhs video camera almost twenty years ago, thus it is grainier then new digital footage would be.

The footage was filmed during two afternoons. The Scouts and I made up a rough outline of the plot (of which I admit there is not much of one), grabbed the camera and started shooting. It was pretty much filmed in order, and many scenes were sort-of made up as we filmed them. I was the director, cameraman, and editor. I learned a few things while putting this video together, like music in the background of a couple shots would have been nice.

The basic plot was to see how we could eliminate the frisbee players one by one through various mishaps as they chased a frisbee across the camp. I will admit that a couple eliminations where a bit on the weak side, some of the chase scenes are a bit dull, but a few shots turned out better then we could have ever hoped for. My favorites are the monkey bridge and the tether ball mishaps. Just to let you know, no Scouts were harmed during the filming of this project. It just looks that way. If fact, when we saw the footage ourselves the first time, we were amazed that no one was hurt.

I hope you enjoy this first attempt at producing a short film. We did it for ourselves, but we also played it on our local television cable access channel. Let me know what you think about it. Have my videos gotten worse, or better? You be the judge.

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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.