A Scoutmaster's Blog

Since 1986, Boy Scout Troop 68 of Melrose has held a Christmas Party. The parties were first held in someone’s home but sometimes the parties were held in other venues, especially when the troop’s membership began to grow. A few parties were held at the city hall. This year’s party was held in a church facility and followed the troop’s last court of honor for the year. We invited the second year Webelos to attend the party.

Each Scout was asked to bring a snack for the party The troop provided the pizzas and the beverages. No one went home hungry from this activity. We had food left over.

The first activity was the gift exchange. All the gifts were placed in the middle of the tables. Scouts took turns shaking a pair of dice. If he shook doubles he picked a gift from the center of the table to place in front of him. Once each Scout or adult leader had received a gift the real fun began.

In the past we would open our gifts at this point to see what they were. This year, the Scouts voted to try something different. The gifts would not be opened until the end of the game. Participants had to guess what was in the packages and determine which package they wanted to try to receive.

The Scouts set a ten minute time for the game. Once the time began the dice were passed around the table. Each participant would shake the dice. If he shook doubles he could trade the gift in front of him for a gift in front of another Scout. Whatever gift was in front of you at the end of the ten minutes would be yours to take home. Most Scouts liked what they received but I did notice a couple trades going on after the game ended.

The Scouts moved onto various other games during the evening. Shortly after 9:00 pm we watched a movie. The Scouts choose Home Alone for their entertainment this year. There were a couple Scouts who had not seen this movie yet.

We wrapped up the festivities around 11:30 that evening. A winter storm was on the way and we wanted everyone to be home before it began. The Scouts had a lot of fun during this last troop activity for the year.

Melrose Area Scout Troop 68 holds a Troop Auction following its December court of honor. This auction is a tradition that has been held for over 30 years. The first was held in 1987.

The Scouts use “Troop Bucks” they have earned during the year to bid on prizes. Troop Bucks, which are not real money, are earned by attending outings, earning merit badges, and earning ranks. The more active a Scout is during the year, the more Troop Bucks he will earn. The Troop Bucks are handed out during the December court of honor. Any bucks not spend may be saved by the Scout to use in next year’s auction.

There were fifteen prizes for the 2022 auction. The total cost of the prizes was only $120. Some of the prizes were donated. Surprisingly, the most expensive prize was the Boy Scout Handbook at a $25 cost. The item sold for the lowest bid happened to be a Scout web belt. Bids were place in $5 increments.

Once the bidding began it was fun to watch the Scouts. Some items were quite popular and had a lot of bids. Sometimes you could tell a Scout or two was bidding just to raise the stakes, hoping they would not get stuck with the item. Sometimes a Scout really wanted the item but did not have enough Troop Bucks to bid high enough to get the prize. In total, the Scouts bid a combined $3440 for the prizes.

So, what were the prizes and what were the final bids? Boy Scout Handbook – $160. Troop 68 Tee Shirt – $230. BSA Web Belt – $65. BSA Bolo Tie – $125. Merit Badge Sash with Clip – $350. Five piece Mess Kit – $125. Lock Blade Knife – $400. LED Flashlight – $175. Smartphone Adjustable Stand – $205. Pair of Carabiners – $150. Rawling Baseball – $175. Sharpening Stone with case – $310. Fleece Throw Blanket – $330. Gamer 3 Ring Binder (with a hidden $20 bill) – $450. Laptop Bag – $190.

More fun came after the auction ended. Some Scouts were trading their winnings with other Scouts. It seemed that all the Scouts were happy after the trading ended.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Area Troop 68 held their last court of honor for the year on December 10 at the Harvest Church in Freeport. Nine of the ten members were in attendance, along with their families and two Webelos from Cub Scout Pack 68. The troop presented 14 merit badges and 3 ranks during the award ceremony.

The evening begin with a flag presentation which was followed by a Scout Law ceremony. A few Scouts received year pins for their membership in the troop. This was followed by the presentation of the merit badges. Receiving merit badges were:

Braden Z: Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World. Alex G: Citizenship in the Nation, Family Life, and Personal Management. Isaiah G: Citizenship in the World, Hiking, and Family Life. Dawson W: Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Climbing, Genealogy, Programming, and Scouting Heritage.

After a couple skits (short plays) were performed by the Scouts it was time for the presentation of the Ranks. Three Scouts had earned a Rank since the last court of honor in September. They were: Dawson W – Tenderfoot Rank. Braden Z – Second Class Rank. Isaiah G – Life Rank.

The court of honor ended with the Scouts singing Scout Vespers, followed by the retiring of the colors. After the ceremony the Troop held its annual Troop Auction during which the Scouts used their “Troop Bucks” earned during the year to bid on various prizes. The Scouts rounded out the evening with their Christmas party.

The year of 2022 is coming to an end which means that Scouting units of the Central Minnesota Council need to complete their recharters. It also means that those of us who serve as adults leaders have decisions to make.

I, for example, have roles in two local Scouting units to consider. First, do I stay on as the cubmaster of Melrose Area Cub Scout Pack 68 for another year? Second, do I remain as the scoutmaster for Troop 68 for 2023? I can tell you from personal experience that holding these two positions at the same time can be challenging. Every Monday and Tuesday is filled with meetings of these two units, plus the weekend activities.

I took on the role as cubmaster a year and a half ago as the state came out of the covid lockdown. While many Cub Scout Packs did not survive the lockdowns, Pack 68 did, but just barely. The Pack began their new program year in September 2021 with only three Cub Scouts. My first priority as cubmaster was to try to build up the membership. The Pack committee chairman and I worked to get the word out about Cub Scouting. We scheduled to visit the two school open houses in town to spread the word. We were able to increase our membership to 12 active Cub Scouts. The next step was to provide a good program.

Our scoutmaster of 2021 decided to step down from the position at the end of that year. None of the parents were stepping up to take the position. I held a meeting with the parents and the Scouts to discuss the problem. I offered to take the position for 2022 but since I was currently serving as the troop committee chair someone would have to fill that role. A new committee chair was found so I stepped into the role of scoutmaster one more time.

Now we arrive at the end of 2022 and it is time for me to decide whether I should remain in both roles. I think both units have been happy with my performance in each role, and I believe we have had a good year in both units. After all, no one has offered to take over either the cubmaster or the scoutmaster positions.

I have decided to stay on as the cubmaster for Pack 68 for one more year. The Pack committee chair and I worked hard this fall to increase the size of the Pack to 26 Scouts and I feel a responsibility to stay with the Cub Scouts at least until the fall of 2023. Hopefully, by that time, someone will step forward to take over the role so that I have a few months to work with him/her before the end of the year.

I have to mention that I have to give the Pack committee a lot of credit. They have made the role of cubmaster very easy for me through their hard work and commitment to the program. They are the main reason I will remain as the cubmaster for one more year.

I had to think harder about staying on as the scoutmaster of Troop 68 for another year. I have now been an adult leader of the troop for over 42 years. Over thirty one of those years has been as the scoutmaster. The thought has crossed my mind this fall that it is time for me to completely step away from the Boy Scout program and let the current generation take care of the troop. I keep thinking to myself, I have served my time.

The Scout Troop currently has nine active members. We have a good program in place. We will welcome two Webelos Scouts into the troop in February when they graduate into Boy Scouting. Six Scouts plan to attend the 2023 National Jamboree. We have a good committee and they have worked hard this past year to keep my duties as the scoutmaster simpler.

Unfortunately I am not that 21 year old scoutmaster any more. My body reminds me of this regularly. I still enjoy working with the Scouts, but I do not enjoy the behind the scenes work anymore. And I will be honest, some of the decisions made by the National Boy Scout office are making it harder for me to stay with the program.

Do I sign up as the scoutmaster of Troop 68 for one more year? Yes I will, for one more year. Why? The first and main reason is the boys. I want to work with them through their 2022-2023 program. The second reason is that the committee continues to be dedicated to the program. Third, there is a strong possibility that we will have someone ready to take over the role of scoutmaster in the summer of 2023.

So, it looks like I will remain as the Cubmaster of Pack 68 and the scoutmaster of Troop 68 as we move into 2023. Welcome to another year of Scouting!

The goal for the October 2022 outing for the Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 was to play three disc golf courses in one day. The plan was to start playing in St. Cloud at the Calvary Park course (18 holes), move to the the Millstream Park course (18 holes) after lunch, and finish the afternoon at the North Park course in Albany (9 holes). Unfortunately, plans need to change sometimes.

Disc golf is usually a popular sport with Troop 68, but due to high school sports, hunting seasons, and family plans there was a small group of Scouts who signed up for the activity. There would be only three Scouts and one friend attending, along with three adult leaders.

It was a cool morning when we arrived at Calvary Park. The Scouts decided to play as one large group instead of breaking up into two smaller groups. I did not have a problem with that but I knew it would increase the amount of time to finish the course. Depending on how well we played we may have to alter our plans a little. The other consideration was that this group did not have a lot of experience playing disc golf.

Due to a number of factors it did take longer to play the Calvary Park 18 hole course. We were about 45 minutes late heading to lunch. It was time to alter our plans for the day. I suggested that we skip the Millstream Park course in St. Joseph and head straight to Albany. The Albany course has nine baskets but 18 tee pads. We could play all 18 holes at Albany instead of just nine, which was the original plan. Since the goal was to be fished playing disc golf by suppertime the Scouts agreed to the change.

We had a lot of fun. We talked a little smack. The Scouts with the top three scores each received a new disc golf throwing disc as a prize. Since we had four new discs, each of the Scouts and the one friend went home with a new disc.

Overall, it was a great activity. The four boys had fun. They improved their game skills, and each went home with a new disc. What more could you ask for?