A Scoutmaster's Blog

I have just finished my second year as the cubmaster for Melrose Pack 68. It was fun and I enjoyed it. The Cubs have such a different view of life then Boy Scouts. I am still getting used to working with them. I must be doing a decent job because the committee wants me to stick around for another year.

As the cubmaster, I try to talk to, and listen to, each of the boys when they come to me during a meeting. I try to give each of them at least a couple minutes of my time, which I fell is quite important. A year ago, I caught a quick comment by one Cub Scout who mentioned that he has never had a comic book. I collect comic books so the next time I went to the nearest comic book store I asked the owner if he could give me a good deal on some comic books I could give to the Cubs at the next pack meeting. He gave me enough for the pack free of charge, of a few varieties. The Cub Scouts thought they were great.

I decided to do it again this year at the end of the May pack meeting and graduations. The first Saturday in May is free comic book day. I went back to the store a few days later and talked to the owner about doing the same thing again this year with the Cub Scouts. He still hand some comic books left over from Saturday. We went through which ones would be appropriate for the age group, and once again he gave me enough to hand out to the Cub Scouts. The Cub Scouts were quite excited to pick out their choice of five different books I had brought to the meeting, which included SpongeBob, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Captain America.

What kind of extra little things have you done in your pack to make things more fun and special for your Cub Scouts? Leave a comment and let us know about them.

As I stated in the last post to A Scoutmaster’s Blog, Boy Scout Troop 68 owns a Boy Scout drape that it has used for many years. When I became the Pack 68 cubmaster I noticed very quickly that the pack did not own a flag or anything decorative for its pack meetings. It did not take long for the pack committee to approve the purchase of a Cub Scout flag. I had an extra U.S.A. flag in my house and two old flag poles. The Cub Scout dens love taking turns at being the honor guard and presenting the flags at the beginning of the pack meeting.

The flags added a little color to the meetings but I wanted more to decorate the ceremonies. I recently talked to the commander of the Melrose American Legion, the sponsor of the Cub Scout Pack, and asked him if it might be possible for the Legion to buy an eight foot long Cub Scout drape for the pack meetings. He liked the idea and told me to write a letter requesting the purchase. I need to do that one of these nights.

I really wanted to have this drape for this month’s graduation ceremony, so even though the Legion will probably pay for the drape after they approve it, I already went out and bought one. Yeah, I know I may have bought it a bit early, but I really did not want to wait until next month. If the Legion decides not to reimburse me for it, well, I just hope they do.

Does your Cub Scout Pack use one of these for its pack meetings? How do you display it?

I was a little nervous before that meeting on Monday, September 29th. It was to be my first time as acting as a cubmaster. Being a scoutmaster was no problem. I did that for 30 years. But this was a whole different age group, and a new set of parents and family members. Could I keep the interest of these 6 through 10 year olds during the meeting, and keep them and their families entertained? I was about to find out.

We began the evening at 6:30 by breaking the pack into their dens to create posters representing their group. Then, about 7:00, we began the pack meeting. The three Webelos Scouts lead the opening by acting as the honor guard and bring the flags forward. Well, the one flag forward. And an empty pole. We had a United States flag but we have not been able to find the old pack flag yet. The Webelos Scouts decided they wanted to march the empty flag pole as a symbol for the missing pack flag. It confused a few parents who did not know what was going on until the end of the meeting when I explained it. Once the flags had been posted we said the Pledge of Allegiance and repeated the Cub Scout Promise.

The first order of business was to have each den of Scouts bring up their poster and explain what they had drawn. I had the Webelos Scouts go first so they could set an example for the younger dens. This went quite well and the boys were happy to explain their posters. Unfortunately, anyone sitting more than two rows away from the front probably did not hear the Tigers and Wolves very well.

It was time for a song, time for these boys and their parents to make some noise. It was a chance to test their singing voices and to see if they could keep up with me. What was the song? The Hole in the Ground song. Repeat after me. As verses were added the song got longer and faster. And louder. We had a good time. Too bad it did not get recorded.

Fifteen boys were in attendance that evening. Five returned from last season, and ten were new to the program. I asked the new Scouts to come forward so the committee and I could present them with patches for their uniforms. We gave them the troop numbers, the council shoulder patch, and the World Crest patch. Before handing out each of the patches I explained the meaning of the patches to the Cub Scouts and their parents. From the smiles on the boys’ faces it seemed as if we were presenting them with their first awards.

Since their were no real awards or beads to hand out during this first pack meeting of the season the committee had decided to hand out neckerchiefs and slides to the Scouts. I started with the Tiger Den and moved through them all to the Webelos Den. I think a few of the Bear Scouts were already eyeing up those fancy Webelos neckerchiefs. Once again, the boys were grinning from ear to ear as they received their neckerchiefs. It was another “award” of recognition for them.

The meeting ended with the three Webelos Scouts retiring the colors, followed by announcements from the pack committee.

I had a great time. The boys told me they had a great time and gave me a thumbs up. I guess I did pretty well. The committee talked to me afterwards and offered me the position of cubmaster. I tuned them down stating that Monday nights is still Boy Scout night night for me. Maybe if they would have left the meeting on Tuesday nights….

They asked me why I did not say something before they had created their schedule for the year. I just smiled. Inside I really wanted them to find a cubmaster. To my surprise, one of the committee members sent an email out two days later to say she may have found someone to take the job.

I did have fun as the cubmaster for that one night. And to tell the truth, I began thinking to myself that maybe I should have accepted the position, but my heart still lies with the Boy Scouts. But you know, maybe I could do both. No, I should just continue helping out on the committee level and being the liaison between the troop and the pack.

But I did have fun that night as the cubmaster of Pack 68.

As I mentioned in the last post to A Scoutmaster’s Blog, I have been helping to reorganize the pack leadership. We now have what I feel is a strong committee of four committed parents. I also plan to stay on the pack committee to lend my assistance and support during this program year. I guess that means we have a committee of five.

Last night we held a pack committee meeting to prepare for next Monday’s pack meeting, the first one of the new year, and the first one featuring the new leadership. Unfortunately, one adult leadership position is still unfilled. While we were planning the pack meeting agenda one of the committee members asked who was going to be running this meeting. After all, we still do not have a Cubmaster.

I raised my hand and said I would act as Cubmaster for this first pack meeting. I also explained that was the reason I was trying to get the committee to come up with a detailed agenda. If I was going to be the acting cubmaster I wanted to know exactly what I needed to prepare for. We all know what the Boy Scout Motto is, correct?

I could see a sigh of relief go through the committee when I offered to be the face of the pack meeting. I think we have a good agenda planned. Something patriotic. Something Cub Scouting. Something about the dens. Something to recognize the new Scouts. Something to present to every Cub Scout. And even a couple of loud songs for the boys and families to sign along.

This is going to be completely different for me. I am used to working with 11-18 year old boys. I have noticed that  Cub Scout age boys are a completely different breed of cat. I will admit that I am a bit nervous. Can I do a good job of pulling this off? I think I can, but we will all find out on September 29th.