A Scoutmaster's Blog

When I retired as the scoutmaster of Troop 68 at the end of 2011 we only had a membership of 8 or 9 boys. The Cub Scout pack was also going through a tough time. There had been several years that we did not have any Webelos Scouts graduate into the Boy Scout Troop. Luckily, both groups survived and began to turn things around.

This year marks the second year in a row that the troop had Webelos graduate into Boy Scouting. The ceremony was held at the Melrose City Hall meeting rooms on Tuesday, March 27th. The Webelos Scouts were grinning from ear to ear as they crossed the bridge and joined the troop, taking their first steps in a new Scouting adventure.

The newly formed Ninja Patrol has already grown to four members. They have been having a blast as new Boy Scouts. They already have a disc golf marathon under their belts and went to the Central Minnesota Ripley Rendezvous at Camp Ripley in central Minnesota this weekend. In May they will have their first real camp out as a Boy Scout when they go to Camp Watchamagumee. Most of them have already signed up for summer camp in July.

The boys have quickly discovered the Boy Scouting is a far different program than what they had when they were Cub Scouts, and they seem to be loving every moment of it.

Cub Scout Pack 68 of Melrose held their first meeting of the new program year last week Tuesday at the high school cafeteria. After the opening ceremony, Cubmaster Mark sat down with the new and older Cub Scouts for a short talk. Then the boys split off by age group to different tables to create posters representing their dens. At least one parent sat down with each group to help get them started.

It was fun watching the Scouts get down to business. Crayons, markers, foam sheets, and glue were available to create the 18″ x 24″ tag board posters. The foam sheets allowed the boys to add a third dimension to their artwork.

The six Webelos Scouts went right to work. It did not take them long to agree to a Webelos Team Ninja theme. There was only one Bear Scout and one Wold Scout in attendance so they worked together to create a poster featuring a bear print and a wolf print. The first grade Tigers needed a little help getting started but in a short time they were just as focused on their masterpiece as were the Webelos Scouts.

Once the cubmaster saw that the boys were all busy he called the parents together in another part of the room for a short meeting. After several minutes I noticed a couple of the mothers glancing around the room with confused looks on their faces. I knew it was not about anything the cubmaster was talking about so I asked them what was on their mind. At least two of them were surprised to see the boys still working together on their posters without any adult supervision at any table.

That is right folks! The Cub Scout dens were completing a goal on their own without an adult looking over their shoulder and telling them what they should do. Even the first graders were working hard. Granted, the parents were still in the room but the boys were working on their own, by age group, each group working together on their poster. And they were having fun!

I honestly believe this may have been the first time these mothers have noticed their sons working and playing with other boys without having an adult watching over their shoulder and guiding their every move for more then two minutes at a time. Kind of amazing, isn’t it?

Welcome to the world of Scouting!

The internet has opened new worlds of information and new ways to communicate since it became popular two decades ago. (Gosh, has it been that long already?) During the last few years audio and video podcasts have become a popular method of delivering sights and sounds to the web audience.

Those of you who visit this blog know that it also serves as the home of the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast, or MSPP. This podcast features videos of Boy Scout activities and even campfire songs and skits. Is MSPP the only Scouting related podcast on the web? No, not at all. There are dozens of Scouting podcasts listed on the iTunes music store. If you do a search on Google or Yahoo I am sure you would find dozens, if not hundreds, more.

I was recently a guest on an audio podcast which discusses Cub Scouting topics. The Leader’s Campfire is hosted by two Cub Scout leaders, Mr. Bob and Cubmaster Chris. During the shows (thirty so far) they have covered a wide range of Cub Scouting, Tiger Cubbing, and Webelos topics. Occasionally they invite a guest or two on the show.

I was invited to be a member of a panel of leaders to discuss Webelos transition for the thirtieth episode. Bob, Chris, and I were joined by John, Lori, and Mac, who are Cub Scout leaders from around the country. The final product turned out to be nearly an hour long podcast about Webelos transition. I am not going to cover the details about what we discussed in this blog because I want you to go to their website and listen to it. I strongly suggest that Cubmasters and Webelos den leaders listen to this podcast, episode 30.

Personally, it was a great experience for me. I was able to meet five fantastic and dedicated Cub leaders from around the United States, and share ideas with them. Hopefully, those ideas will help other Cub Scout and Webelos leaders around the country.

This was the second time that I have participated in a podcast of the PTC Media network. The first time just kinda happened when one night when I found myself online the same time Mr. Bob and his son Ty were about to tape an episode of Akela’s Adventure. Ty, Bob, and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, had a great time discussing the activities Ty participated in while at Cub Scout Day Camp.

I invite you all to listen to The Leader’s Campfire, Episode #30. Should I be allowed to participate in another podcast in the future? Or should I retire my microphone and headset? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

And don’t forget, that anyone who leaves a comment to a “A Scoutmaster’s Blog” article this month will be entered into a drawing for a dvd-r featuring twenty Scouting promotional videos.