A Scoutmaster's Blog

I am a member of a few Scouting related groups on Facebook. These groups include Boy Scout Collectables and Scout Patch Collectors. Both are fun to belong to, and once in awhile you can find some nice items for sale or trade.

Recently, a post was made from someone who had a batch of rank patches and advancement cards for sale. The old rank patches from the 1980-1990’s caught my eye. After a few messages being sent back and forth I decided to buy the set of patches and cards for $60 shipped. True, that is not a rock bottom price, but it was comparable to the price I would pay the the Scout shop. The current patches we could use in the troop as the boys attained their ranks. The older patches, and one set of the older cards, I would keep for my Scouting collection. Unfortunately, I did not receive the Eagle Palm Pins.

The older rank cards are going to be fun to use. I asked the troop’s patrol leader council if they would like to use the cards for their current advancement until they run out. They thought that would be a fun idea. They liked the idea of the “retro” rank cards. I wonder if we should set a time limit though. A time period may add an incentive to the Scouts to finish their ranks. The goal could be the end of the year. Of course, they will be used on a first come, first awarded basis. I will have to ask the troop leaders what they think of the idea. I also plan to use the merit badge cards for the Scouts who earned badges at summer camp.

Would your Scouts enjoy getting retro cards with their ranks? Leave a comment and let me know.

Friends of Scouting. The annual visit of a council representative to troops and packs throughout the country. The annual visit for the council to ask parents and families to help with the expenses at the district and council level. Some units welcome the council representatives with open arms. Other units, not so much.

I do not mind the F.O.S. visits. I understand the need for the council to visit the units. Oh, there have been a few times over the last few decades that I was upset with the council for one reason or another and almost told them they could forget coming to our troop court of honor, but I never denied them the opportunity to talk to the parents.

There is one thing I look forward to seeing whenever it is time for the Friends of Scouting campaign. I am always curious to see what the incentives will be to entice people to donate at the various levels. The right incentive could just boost that donation up to the next level after all.

The Central Minnesota Council offered a different framed Normal Rockwell print for several years in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I collected them all. The mugs and tumblers really did not grab my attention very well.

This is the tenth year the the council has offered a special council should patch (csp) for meeting the first level of incentives. Each year has featured a different point of the Scout Law. This being the tenth year so the patch features the theme Brave.

As a collector of shoulder patches this FOS patch has always had my attention. I like the look of this year’s patch. The red color will really stand out on the Boy Scout uniform sleeve, and I like the action picture of Scouts white water rafting. I do not wear these patches on my uniform. I place them in a three ring binder with the other council patches of the Central Minnesota Council and the Noguonabe Lodge that I have collected over the past 40 years.

What does your council offer during its annual Friends of Scouting campaigns? Do they offer any special patches?

Pinewood Derby time has arrived for many Cub Scout Packs across the country. Thousands of derby cars have been made, or are being finished. Each will be a work of art. Many will have original designs. Some will race for speed. Some will try for the Best Of Show award. A few will probably not cross the finish line. The point of the derby is for the parent and Cub Scout to spend some time together to create the car, and then have fun racing against the others of the Pack.

Most Cub Scout Packs give trophies to the fastest cars. In Melrose Pack 68 we did something a little different this year. We awarded trophies to the two fastest cars in each den, thus giving the Scouts a greater chance of winning. Two trophies were also awarded for the Best Of Show. Of course, this means a lot of boys will not go home with an award so we gave each Cub Scout a patch for participating. The patch we choose this year is shown above. I think it is a sharp patch. The boys really seemed to like it.

In addition to the patch each Scout also received a special “race car cookie” baked by one of the grandmothers. I can testify that they are the best race car the boys have ever eaten! The cookie pictured below did not last long after the picture was taken.

My good friend Bob recently send me a photo of a new patch available from the council office. The patch celebrates the 75th anniversary of Parker Scout Camp, our council’s camp. Of course, I needed one for my collection. He picked one up for me and dropped it off Friday afternoon.

I have a lot of memories from Parker Scout Camp. I attended summer camp there for three years in the 1970’s. Our troop has used the camp for many weekend outings during the last three decades, including winter camps and district camporees. The Naguonabe Lodge holds most of their Order of the Arrow functions at the camp.

While the camp closed as a summer camp after the 1970’s it is still used a lot for weekend Boy Scout outings, Cub Scout day camps, and youth and adult training sessions. In fact, I heard it once said that the camp probably gets more use now than it did during the summer camp years.

The camp was established in 1941 by Clyde Parker. It is located north of Brainerd on North Long Lake.  The camp has gone through a few names changes over its 75 year history. I think its first name was Camp Clyde. When I went there for summer camp it was called Parker Scout Reservation. Now it is simply Parker Scout Camp. The camp is unique in that it has a castle on the property, with modern conveniences of course. The castle is popular with the Cub Scouts during day camps. Troops can rent it for weekend outings.

Information about the camp can be found at http://www.bsacmc.org/parker-scout-camp .

I was in the local Scout Shop last weekend and saw something new posted near the merit badges. There is an award called the Complete Angler that can be earned by Boy Scouts who love to fish. The requirements seem fairly simple. Earn three required merit badges and earn this special patch. What are the merit badges, you ask? They are a) Fishing, b) Fly-Fishing, and c) Fish and Wildlife Management.

I know that a few Scouts in our troop have earned the Fishing merit badge. Several of them have earned the Fish and Wildlife Management badge at summer camp. I do not recall any of the Scouts earning the Fly-Fishing merit badge. We do not see very much fly-fishing done in central Minnesota. Of course, that does not mean the Scouts cannot earn the badge.

The picture shown contains interesting information about each of the three merit badges so I invite you to read it. Has anyone in your troop earned the Complete Angler award? Or is this the first time you have heard about it? What do you think about the patch design?

Several years ago the Central Minnesota Council added a new incentive to the annual Friends Of Scouting (FOS) campaign. If you met a certain donation level you would receive a specially designed council shoulder patch (CSP). Each year would feature a different point of the Scout Law. Twelve points meant twelve patches that could be collected. Being the patch collector that I am, I was hooked from the very first year.

This year marks the ninth year of this promotion so the 2016 patch has Thrifty as its theme. The csp features a vintage Boy Scout at the bank, ready to add some money to his saving account. There is a “ghost” design on the left side of the patch of a squirrel ready to store his acorn for future use. Even the animal kingdom practices being thrifty.

This means there are only three years left of the Scout Law council shoulder patches. I wonder what the design of the next one, Brave, will look like.

Other incentives of this year’s Central Minnesota Council FOS drive included an electronics cleaning cloth, a Ripley Rendezvous water bottle or frisbee, and an Eagle Scout statuette.

To tell the truth, when I wrote about this year’s Naguonabe Lodge’s National Order of the Arrow patch sets last June and July I thought the three part article would be all there would be to write. Surprise! This last month the lodge came out with its fourth patch set option. I did not see this coming, but then I am not very involved with the lodge these days since Troop 68 currently does not have any OA members other than for myself.

This new two patch set is an all red “ghost” set that features the same design as the previous wold head design that also includes the 100th anniversary logo. Our lodge has not created many ghost patches in the past so it kind of makes this a little more special. I am not sure why the red color was chosen, but if I find out I will post an update to this article.

The patch set costs $25.00, and I understand that only one set per person is allowed since only a small quanity was printed. The lodge is using this as a fundraiser. I am not quite sure if the funds raised will help to pay off current bills or if the lodge is preparing for a future activity or project. I guess I really do not care what they use the money for. I just want the set for my collection! I usually will not pay that much for a patch set, but I do want to support my lodge.

What do you think of the patch set? Did your lodge create a ghost set for this year’s National Conference?

I attended the 2001 National Jamboree as the scoutmaster of Troop 1417. I had a great time. I had a great troop. And I collected quite a few patches from the event. In fact, I still collect patches from the event when I find some for a reasonable trade or cost.

One set of patches that I was not able to attain at the Jamboree was the seven piece Marvel shoulder patch set from the Theodore Roosevelt Council of New York. Each of the patches featured a different super hero: Spiderman, Thor, Wolverine, Captain America, Ironman, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four. The patches were extremely popular at the Jamboree and soon became hard to find, and very hard to get when you did find them. The National Office may have stated that patches should be traded one for one, but after a couple days you did not find that rule being followed very well. Once I discovered how many patches it would “cost” me to get them I decided to let them go and trade for other CSP’s.

Well, time moves on and years pass by us. Occasionally I would check out eBay to see what I could find for 2001 Jamboree patches and memorabilia. Once in a while I would find a good deal and was able to add to my Jamboree collection. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the Marvel patches for sale at what I considered a reasonable price. It did not take me long to press the BUY button and add this set to my notebook.  I should point out that I did not buy the patches as one set, but bought them individually over the span of a few weeks. I paid anywhere from $5 to $10 each.

Have you been to a National Jamboree? Did you collect any patches? What were your favorites?