A Scoutmaster's Blog

It looks like there is going to be a sequel to the film Scout Camp: The Movie. It will be called The Klondike. A website has been posted for people who would like to be a part of this new film by donating money (as little as $10) to the financing of the project. I am thinking about it since I enjoyed the first movie. The website can be found at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/threecoinproductions/scout-camp-the-klondike-a-comedy-with-merit . Check it out. Here is a video from screenwriter Jake Van Wagoner and writer/director Garrett Batty introducing the project. They hope to premiere the movie at the 2013 National Jamboree!

By the way, if you did not get a chance to hear our interview with Garrett Batty when Scout Camp: The Movie was released you should check out episode #67 of The Leaders Campfire podcast.

Your have seen the presentation in the first video. You have heard from the former members of Boy Scout Troop 68 during the next two videos. Now it is time to hear from the retired scoutmaster. In this, the final of four parts of the retirement party, we finally get to hear what Steve has to say after 30 years of serving as the scoutmaster of his home troop. He talks about the Scouts, the parents, the leaders, the committee members, and brings his assistant of 24 years up to the podium.

Steve has not retired from the Scouting program. He still serves as the troop’s treasurer on the committee, attends the occasional troop meeting, and tags along on an outing now and then. He makes sure he is available if the new scoutmaster has any questions.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes, or on the forums at PTC Media.

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has unofficially been the mascot of the Melrose Scout Productions podcast and the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. He has even made guest appearances on the MISS Show and Akela’s Adventure. This puppet has his own Twitter and Facebook accounts. It has been awhile since he has been in a podcast, and he has not been very active online lately. I guess he has been busy doing other things.

Last month, the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 went to Camp Stearns for a weekend. Although Buttons did not attend he did come up during a discussion during one of the meals. I was quite surprised when one of the Scouts admitted he did not like Buttons very much and found him to be freaky. When this Scout’s father wanted him to stand next to Buttons for a photo during the scoutmaster retirement party in February the Scout refused, until he father TOLD him to stand next to the radical one.

When I asked the Scout why he did not like Buttons he compared it to how some people find clowns to be scary. It reminded me of a comment made by the caretaker of the American Legion as we decorated for the retirement party. This grown woman also found the puppet to be a little unnerving and told me to be sure to take it home after the ceremony. She did not want to walk into the meeting hall the following day and scare herself if she found Buttons standing off to one side of the room.

The only time I have ever noticed anyone afraid of Buttons is when he has been around young children. Sometimes the little ones come running up to him, but others times they stay close to their parents and are shy around the radical one. It has been rare to find a Boy Scout or adult who wants to avoid him.

How do you feel about Buttons, the radical Boy Scout? What does your Cub Scout or Boy Scout think of him? Leave a comment and let us know.

Last month I finally broke down and bought an iPad (the newest version). I have been having fun with it. It looks great and works well. I have to admit, playing Angry Birds on an iPad is a lot more fun then playing on an iPod Touch. I have downloaded dozens of books that are in the public domain, especially all the fictional novels I can find written about Boy Scouting during the early years of the movement. Most of the stories about Pee Wee Harris, Roy Blakely, and Tom Slade are waiting on my iPad’s hard drive waiting to be read.

I have also downloaded a couple of Scouting related apps.The first one was MyBadges, written by Kevin Butler. It is an app which quickly puts the requirements for Boy Scout ranks, merit badges, and other awards on the screen. I have used this app while sitting on a board of review and found it to be quite handy, although one Boy Scout may not agree with me since I found a current requirement that was not listed in his handbook which was about 5 years old. Kevin has been doing a pretty good job of keeping his app current with the latest BSA handbook.

Which brings me to a problem I found. I was going to download the Boy Scouts of America app of The Boy Scout Handbook. After all, I am still involved with Scouting and thought it should be on my new gizmo. I went to the App Store to download it and stopped dead in my tracks. I have not purchased it, and will not purchase it. Here are the reasons why…

First of all, The B.S.A. has not updated the Handbook App since November 7, 2009. Yes, you read that correctly. 2009! For an organization that wants its members and volunteers to stay up to date they have really dropped the ball here. Heck, they come out with a new printed handbook every year. Why should I pay $9.99 to download a handbook that does not even contain the latest requirements for ranks and training?

And the price of $9.99, which just happens to be the same price as a physical handbook, but yet does not let me (or a Boy Scout) write in it and keep track of things like we can in a real physical copy? I think the price should be a couple bucks cheaper but I think I understand the reasoning behind it. After all, I was going to buy it until I started looking closer at it.

Third, the app is only available as an iPhone App. Really? Come on B.S.A., get with the program. Over 50 million of these devices have been sold. I am sure I am not the only Boy Scout volunteer that owns an iPad. I had thought the B.SA. was trying to be more modern and catch up to current technology. It seems to me they have been dropping the ball in a major way with this app.

Fourth. And speaking of dropping the ball, have you read the reviews about the latest version of the e-hanbook? (Which, keep in mind, came out in 2009.) They are not glowing, I can tell you that. The main gripe seems to be that it is not much more then a pdf version of the handbook. Excuse me national office, but if I am going to pay for an ebook, I would like it to be an ebook with at least a fair amount of accessible features. The book should be interactive, like the B.SA. says a Scouting program should be for its boy members.

So, I will not be purchasing the B.SA.’s Boy Scout Handbook app. At least not yet. I would like to, but the national office needs to work on this program and at least update it, if nothing else. Or could it be that this app is not a big enough seller for the B.SA. to care about? That would be a shame.

I would be interested on hearing from you if you use the Boy Scout Handbook app. Do you think it is useful? What is your general impression of it. Write a comment and share your user experience with us.

If you have been following this blog and the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast you know that two of the four parts of the scoutmaster retirement party video have been posted. Here is the third part. It features more alumni of Boy Scout Troop 68 as they step up to the podium and share their memories of Scouting with Scoutmaster Steve. It features six more gentlemen, of which three earned the rank of Eagle Scout. A few of them are from the first decade of Scoutmaster Steve’s 30 year tenure. One is from the last decade.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes.

I received some very sorrowful news tonight. Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 has lost one of its members (alumni) last weekend. David Ostendorf died in a plane crash in California. He was 24.

Dave was a Cub Scout of Pack 68 and graduated to the Boy Scout troop in March 1999. He and his Webelos den formed a new patrol and called themselves the Hazardous Hawks. He attended numerous troop outings and camping trips, including week long stays at Many Point Scout Camp. As he grew older he enjoyed assisting at the yearly council Webelos Woods training, teaching the young Scouts about knife safety. He earned the Star Rank before leaving the troop in 2004.

David was born on April 1st, 1988. His parents own the local bakery. He has two sisters and a brother, Brad, who was also a Boy Scout. David was living in California where he worked as an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Dave was a good Scout and a great personal friend. He will be missed by me, his family, and all that knew him.

When the scoutmaster of Troop 68 retired at the end of 2011, the troop committee thought it would be a good idea to throw a retirement party. The party, which was held in February, was well attended. Former troop members from the past 30 years came from as far as a hundred miles away to visit with their retired Scout leader and other troop members. Some of the members had not seen each other for many years. There was a lot of reminiscing and catching up.

Of course, there was a recognition program (which was featured in the previous video of Melrose Scout Productions). Then came the time for anyone to go to the microphone to speak about being a Boy Scout or sharing a story from years gone by. Many of the former troop members took advantage of the opportunity to talk about their Scouting experiences and to maybe speak from the heart of what being a Boy Scout in Scoutmaster Steve’s troop meant to them now that they are adults themselves.

This video is the second of four parts of the retirement party. It is the first of two which feature the former Boy Scouts of Troop 68 as they came to the microphone. One father also decided to share his feelings about the Scouting program in Melrose.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes.

Can it be? Has it already been five years? I guess is has. On April 4th, 2007, I posted the first video to the Melrose Scout Productions podcast.

I began the podcast because I had a number of Scouting related videos to share. Podcasting was still fairly new at the time, and there was not a lot of Scouting videos online, like there is now. Even the B.S.A. had not embraced podcasting. (Some would argue they still have not.) I thought there may be a small niche of viewers that would like to see my videos.

The first two videos of the Melrose Scout Productions podcast featured a puppet called Buttons, the radical Boy Scout. The next three videos took the viewer along on a couple of the troop’s camping trips. There are currently 115 videos featuring songs, skits, Cub Scout and Boy Scout activities, and interviews. There are also some slideshows that were shown at Eagle courts of honor. I guess you could say there is a pretty good variety.

When I started the podcast it had a slightly different name: Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. A couple years ago I needed to change Scouting to Scout because the B.S.A. sent a note that they owned the trademark to “Scouting”, but oddly not “Scout”. Whatever. If I was to rename it today I would probably call it the Melrose Scout Video Podcast.

Now that I have retired as the scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 68, I questioned how much longer I could keep the podcast going. Well, I have no plans to quit yet. I am still a member of the troop committee so I will still be attending some of the outings. I also have a lot of video tape sitting next to the computer waiting to be edited. I have a feeling that the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast will be around for at least another year or two.

I hope to have enjoyed the podcast and videos. Which ones have been your favorites? Which ones do you not care for? Leave a comment and let us know.