A Scoutmaster's Blog

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 were a little nervous when they arrived at the Melrose City Council meeting. They really did not know what to expect, and neither did I as their scoutmaster. The troop was at the meeting because the city council was going to pass a proclamation recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the 30th anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 68.

When the time came for the city council to pass the proclamation, the city’s mayor, Eric Seanger, spoke a few words about how the city appreciates the hard work of the Boy Scout troop. He then invited a member of the troop to come forward to accept the proclamation. Our senior patrol leader received that honor. I took a couple of pictures, one which ended up in the local paper.

Unfortunately, because the council had to attend another meeting with the local township boards, they did not have time to read the proclamation. Since we had an outing the following weekend I recruited a few Boy Scouts to read it in front of the video camera. I received a copy of the city council meeting from Mel-TV, our community access television station, and went to work editing everything together to make this video for the Melrose Scouting Production Podcast.

The proclamation can be read at http://www.melrosetroop68.org/blog/?p=667

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Unless you have been hiding in a cave somewhere you have probably heard that the Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. The United States of America Congress granted a charter to create the B.S.A. on February 8, 1910. Since that day there have been over 100 million boys who have joined the organization.

The B.S.A. has been planning some fantastic events to celebrate the anniversary. There has been a colorful float in the Rose Bowl Parade, a partnership with Dale Coyne Racing, the historical merit badge program, and the upcoming 2010 National Jamboree, just to name a few. Councils, districts, packs, troops and crews are also planning special events.

I have an idea. Let’s try to bring this to the public eye in another arena. Online. On YouTube. Let’s pick a couple videos that have a Scouting theme and then, on February 8th, we have our Scouts, families, and friends watch those videos. Let’s see if we can’t get enough hits that day to bring those videos to the YouTube front page. Could we make one or two videos go “viral”?

If this is to work we need to get the word out to as many people as possible. We will need the involvement of packs, troops, and crews. We will need the councils and districts to spread the word. We need blogs to blog about it and people on Twitter to tweet about it. We will need hundreds of thousands of people to watch these videos on February 8th if we are going to make an impact.

I would like to make a few suggestions for the videos we could watch: one B.S.A. promotion video, one video showing Boy Scouts performing a skit, and one showing Scouts having fun on an activity. If you have a suggestion please leave a comment below.

The B.S.A. Promotion video – This one was suggested to me when I asked for suggestions on Twitter. It is titled “Feel Proud” and features Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts doing community service projects to a catchy musical tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9csn7asa8Nc

Boy Scout Skit – I am choosing a skit which is one of my favorites, The Furniture Store. This video was performed by the Boy Scouts in my troop during one of their community shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbWYdwSPOJo

Scouting Activity Video – I thought this was a cute video of Cub Scouts doing their version of the Cub Scout Promise, rap style. And it is only a minute long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIob4dY2XLY

So there you go. Get out and spread the word! And watch video on Monday, February 8th.

During the my last year of tech college my classmates and I would discuss what we wanted to do with our lives once we were out on our own. What kind of job did we hope to get? What kind of community would we like to settle down in? What organizations would we get involved with, if any?

I am sure that you may have heard by now that the United States Mint will be issuing a commemorative coin in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. As authorized by the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, the United States Mint will produce silver dollar coins in proof and uncirculated qualities. The United States Mint website now has a page devoted explaining the design of this special coin. The site states:

“The obverse (heads side) design depicts a Cub Scout in the foreground with a Boy Scout and female Venturer in the background saluting. Inscriptions are CONTINUING THE JOURNEY, 1910, 2010, IN GOD WE TRUST and LIBERTY. This design represents the Boy Scouts of America of today, as the organization has recognized the need to include other programs for younger boys (cub scouts) and older boys and girls (venturers), reflecting the great diversity of our nation. It is a dramatic representation of how the Boy Scouts of America has evolved over the past century to form a strong foundation of leadership, service, and community for all the youth of America.

The reverse (tails) design features the Boy Scouts of America’s universal emblem. Inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, BE PREPARED, E PLURIBUS UNUM and ONE DOLLAR.”

http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/commemoratives/index.cfm?action=2010BoyScouts

I plan to purchase some coins when they become available in the spring. There will only be 350,000 of them made. So I suppose I better buy one, two, or three hundred of them. Oh, wait. These one dollar coins will cost more than one dollar won’t they?

I recently scanned the pictures I have as a Boy Scout of Melrose Troop 68 in the 1970’s. Then I uploaded them to my Flickr account so that I could make a slideshow to share with you. The pictures are of Scout Sunday in 1975, my photo story for the photography merit badge that I never quite completed, and pictures from summer camp at Parker Scout Reservation in 1976 and 1977. Don’t laugh too hard when you notice the clothing worn back then.

Happy Birthday Scouting (BSA)!

Wow, has it been 98 years already? It seems like just a few years ago when that unknown Boy Scout in England helped William Boyce find his way in the fog of London. And look what the BSA has accomplished since then. Ten of millions of boys have been involved with Scouting. Hundreds of millions of hours of community service has been done around the country. And look at all the boys who earned Scoutings highest award, the rank of Eagle Scout. I ask, has there been any other youth group in the history of this great country that has accomplished as much as the Boy Scouts of America?

And to think, it all begin in the USA because of the good turn of one Boy Scout in England! It just goes to show that you never know what that daily good turn could lead to, do you?

And do not forget to watch the videos on Youtube that were listed in a previous blog entry. Let’s see if we can get something shown on the front page today.

Yes, I was a Boy Scout. For three and one half years I was a member of Troop 68 in Melrose, Minnesota. The troop had about a dozen members or so, divided into two patrols, the Falcons and the Cougars.

I am the oldest of three brothers. My brothers were Cub Scouts. Unfortunately, when I was Cub Scout age there was not an active pack in town. However, I did get to participate in a couple Webelos den activities with my brother Dan. At the time I wished I could be a Scout.

About the time when Dan’s den was ready to graduate into Boy Scouting a troop was formed in town. I joined the troop right away. I started out as the oldest member of the troop at 13 years old. The rest of the troop members were 11 or 12 years old. It did not take long for me to become the senior patrol leader, a position I held for most of the years I was in Scouting.

I have forgotten more about my time as a Scout then I remember. I am sure there are a few things best left unremembered. But there are also a few things I will never forget.

I remember going to summer camp for three years at Parker Scout Reservation. Two of those years were spent at the Bear Skin campsite. We (all the campers) would sing songs before supper in the dining hall. I earned pioneering merit badge although I had a lot of trouble trying to learn how to splice ropes. I saw a skunk and it’s little ones for the first time as it crossed the trail on my way back to the campsite. I remember one afternoon when my fellow troop members and I sat in a tent and discussed things that were important to us at the time, including the existence of God. I remember one patrol event which involved getting the patrol up into a tree as fast as possible. Friday night campfires were great, and my troop even performed a skit at one which involved Dracula, the werewolf, the mummy, and Frankenstein’s monster, but I don’t remember what it was about anymore. In other words, I had fun at summer camp.

One year my scoutmaster wanted everyone to wear his uniform to school for Scout Day. At the time, I was the only student in the high school who was a Boy Scout. I knew I would be the only boy in school wearing that uniform, but I wore it because I was proud to be a Boy Scout.

I prepared myself for the snide comments I expected to receive in school, but they never came. No one made fun of me and my uniform, at least not to my face. In fact, I had people asking me about the patches on my shirt and what they represented.

As the scoutmaster of that same troop today, I do not ask the boys to wear their uniform to school. Society has changed somewhat during the last 30 years. But you know, when you stop and think about it, Scouting is as much fun today as it was back then. Don’t cha think?