A Scoutmaster's Blog

In the previous post to A Scoutmaster’s Blog, I wrote about the local American Legion’s Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags, and the Boy Scouts’ participation in the ceremony. Mel-TV, our local community television access station, was on hand to film the event. The station’s co-ordinator was kind enough to let me borrow the video tape so that I could make a podcast video from it. I edited the footage down and added photographs that I took during the event.

Twenty years ago the volunteers at Mel-TV, our local cable access television station, filmed a program in which five men who were Boy Scout leaders were interviewed about their Scouting experiences. I took that old vhs tape and transferred it to a dvd. I thought to myself as I was transferring the program that many of the things being said by those gentlemen still apply to Boy Scouting today. I thought I would break this show down into parts for the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast, each part featuring one of the interviews.

This podcast video features the fourth interview from The Leaders of Scouting. Gerry W. began his adult Scouting career as a Cub Scout Pack committee member when his son became a Cub Scout. He moved to the Boy Scout committee when his son graduated into the troop. He soon became the outdoors chairman, making the arrangements for the troop activities. During this interview Gerry talked about being on the troop committee, going along on various troop outings, the values found in the Scouting program, the stunts he and the scoutmaster pulled, and his pride in seeing his son work through the ranks of Scouting.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose would like to provide this (comical) public service announcement video to help you prepare yourself and your family when you are out having fun this summer. The Scouts demonstrate the three levels of pickpockets that you may find when walking the streets or mingling in large crowds: the beginner, the amateur, and the professional. Be sure to watch the professionals closer as the Scouts perform it in slow motion.

Have you ever been traveling in your car listening to the radio when you suddenly reach an area in which stations begin overlapping each other’s signals? The is the premiss of this skit performed by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 during their 2006 Laughs For Lunch Show. Each of the five Scouts represent a radio station that keeps getting interrupted by another station’s programming. The five radio stations include Fantasy Land, a Twins baseball game, a cooking show, a gangster show, and an advertisement for the Boy Scouts of America.

 Everyone loves to hear a story. Especially a story that has a some comedy with a little grossness mixed into it. Add a moral to the story and you have something to tell the Boy Scouts around the campfire. But what if the moral of the story includes a bad pun? Then, you have a groaner and you better be prepared to run for your life! The story of the Forest of the Yellow Fingers is one such story. 

I am veering away from the usual song or skit video found on the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast to bring you something created by Eagle Scout Doug Gray. A couple years ago Doug’s father, Fred, asked me for some assistance in finding some Scouting videos that his council could not find for him. Fred recently wrote me to share a few videos created by his son. Here is a portion of that email:

The rank of Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting’s highest honor, is something to be taken seriously. The family, troop, and Eagle Scout will spend a lot of time planning the Eagle Court of Honor. In recent years, a video of the Eagle Scout’s years as a Cub and Boy Scout has become a common part of the ceremony. It is easy enough to put one together with today’s digital photos and computer programs. I should know. I have put together many of these slide shows over the years.

You may have read the previous three-part posting of Boy Scout Troop 68’s adventure at the Central Minnesota Council’s Ripley Rendezvous this year. Yes, we had a few problems, but to tell the truth, we also had a pretty good time, and that is why I have chosen to post this video to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast.

The video is a slide show of the activities in which the Scouts participated. It begins with a few pictures from the First Class Emphasis program, and then moves on to the shooting ranges. One of the highlights of the trip for the Scouts was the visit to the military museum, and there are a lot of pictures of that. The video ends with pics from the carnival style games played Saturday night. All in all, it was a good weekend for Scouting.

Leave a comment here using the link below, or at the PTC Media forums. You can also rate the videos of Melrose Scouting Productions at the iTunes Music Store. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.