A Scoutmaster's Blog

Last week the Melrose City Council passed a proclamation recognizing the one hundred year anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the thirty year anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 68. Five Boy Scouts, and the scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster, attended the meeting. It was great to see the council support Scouting within our community. After the council unanimously passed the proclamation the senior patrol leader stepped forward to accept a copy from the mayor. It made for a nice photo opportunity.

Here is what the proclamation states:

WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America has served our youth since 1910. Thanks to dedicated adult volunteers, more than 100 million young people have learned Scouting’s lessons of patriotism, courage, and self-reliance over the past 100 years, and millions more have benefited from the service, inspiration, and leadership of the Boy Scouts.

WHEREAS, former Scouts have gone on to become leaders in all fields, including business, education, and government. The values they have learned through Scouting have given them the confidence to make ethical choices and to realize their full potential as active and responsible citizens.

WHEREAS, America’s young people have always been treasured as our most precious resource. Since Scouting has had a strong positive influence on young people, it has played a vital role in shaping America’s future.

WHEREAS, The Boy Scouts have clearly shown that it is possible to be innovative while remaining faithful to their principles.

WHEREAS, the Melrose Boy Scout Troop No. 68 and Cub Pack No. 68 are celebrating their 30^th Anniversary.

WHEREAS, this national youth movement has made serving others through its values-based program its mission.

THEREFORE, I, Eric Seanger, Mayor of the City of Melrose, Stearns County, Minnesota, do hereby recognize February 8, 2010 as the 100^th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. The Council urges all citizens to join them in recognizing the dedication and hard work of the members of this organization.

FURTHERMORE, I, Eric Seanger, along with the entire City Council and citizens of Melrose, commend the dedicated volunteer Scout leaders and institutions that assist the Boy Scouts in benefiting the youth in our community.

IN OFFICIAL RECOGNITION WHEREOF, I hereby affix my signature and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Melrose this 18th day of February, 2010.

Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, return in episode twelve of the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. Listen in as the guys talk about how the Scouting program was discovered by William D. Boyce during a trip to London in the early 1900’s. There are quotes from Lord Baden-Powell. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 perform the radio skit. Buttons reads the last letter to Scouts from Lord Baden-Powell. There is even a short story from an early National Jamboree.

The story of how Scouting came to America is from the 1943 edition of the Boy Scout handbook.
The Radio Skit can be seen at Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #70 – http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Buttons’ reading of the last letter to Scouts from Lord Baden-Powell can be seen at Melrose Scouting Productions #50.

Boots Hanson was the first caretaker of Many Point Scout Camp. In fact, he and the other council leaders created a new style summer camp in which Boy Scouts would camp together with members of their own troop. His hard work and great love of the outdoors and Scouting brought this new idea to reality. According to the Many Point Alumni website (http://mpalumni.nsbsa.org/lanternslight/SU1991.pdf):

Click here to DOWNLOAD this podcast.Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at the RSS feed: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other great Scouting podcasts at PTC Media, including The Leader’s Campfire and Around The Scouting Campfire.

Last week I wrote about the displays I planned to place around town for Scouting Week. Three of the four were set up. I have not got around to the fourth one yet. I thought you may enjoy seeing pictures of the exhibits so here they are: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevejb68/sets/72157623361768222/

Let me know what you think about them.

February 8, 2010, marks the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. This year is also the 30th anniversary of Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68, of which I am the scoutmaster. We usually set up displays around town during Scout week so I have some serious work to do in the next couple of days.

Four local businesses have given us permission to place exhibits about Scouting in their lobbies: Central Minnesota Credit Union, Freeport State Bank, US Bank, and the City of Melrose. Each display is designed to fit on an eight foot long table. The displays include literature, books, patches, memorabilia, and photographs.

During the last patrol leader council, we discussed themes for each of the four exhibits. We wanted a different one for each place so people would get to discover more about Scouting. Besides, I do not have enough stuff to do four displays of the same theme. This year’s themes are:

High Adventure – This will highlight the BSA’s high adventure bases but will concentrate on Philmont Scout Ranch. It will include mugs, plaques, posters, and photo albums.

National Jamboree – Since this is the year of the National Jamboree we added this as a theme for one location. I attended the 2001 Jamboree as the scoutmaster for Central Minnesota Troop 1417 so most of the display will feature items from that trip, including the uniform and tee shirt, photo albums, patch collection, and a new shadow box with various memorabilia.

Scouting History – I have collected quite a bit of Scouting memorabilia during the last thirty years and some of it will find its way into this display, including a 1932 Boy Scout handbook and fictional novels from 1911. Last night I put together a shadowbox featuring Boy Scout rank patches from the 1980’s, the current patches, and the special 2010 anniversary rank patches. (See the picture above.)

Boy Scout Troop 68 – This will probably be the largest of the exhibits since I have collected the most on this subject. The hardest part will be deciding which of the thirty photo albums will be a part of the arrangement.

The displays will be set up this Friday and Saturday. Each of the businesses is allowing the exhibits to be in place for two weeks. I have been told that past displays have been popular, especially the photo albums. I will take photos of each of the displays and post them online for you to see. Check back to this blog for an update with the link.