A Scoutmaster's Blog

The year was 1986. It was a good year for the Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 program. There was a large membership for Troop 68, and good turnout for the monthly activities and courts of honor. Winter camp, a primitive campout, the Ripley Rendezvous, a Scout-O-Rama, and a local camporee were just some of the events. It was the first year we sent a crew to Philmont Scout Ranch. I recently finished a video featuring pictures from the year which I hope to share with the troop alumni. I thought you might enjoy traveling back in time also and see what the troop program looked like in 1986.

Were you a Boy Scout in 1986?

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I may not have spent the week with The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 at Many Point Scout Camp this summer, but I did spend Friday with them, and I had a great time. Of course, when it came to meal time, I had to stand in line with the troop and wait to be dismissed to the dining hall with the Scouts. The staff always leads the campers in a song before the meal. This time the leaders picked their “faaaavorite song”, My Dog Rover. It is a simple to learn song that enjoys pun filled humor. I am sure you have heard it before at a camp somewhere, but if you have not here is a new song that your troop can add to its list a fun campfire songs.

What pun-named dogs would you add to this song?

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

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Leave feedback here, at iTunes, or on the forums at PTC Media.

Boy Scouts have been doing skits since the dawn of the program. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 sometimes do skits during courts of honor as a bit of entertainment for parents and family members. The old scoutmaster and the new Life Scout did just that during Troop 68’s June court court of honor. And they did not even practice it before the ceremony.

The Candy Store has been an old standby for decades in this area. I have seen several versions of it performed by dozens of Scouts and troop leaders. It is an easy skit to do, one that is mostly ad-libbed. Just be sure not to blow the punchline at the end.

How many times has your troop performed this skit. How many times have you seen it done during campfire programs? How well do you like it? Leave a comment and let us know how you feel about The Candy Store.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Don’t forget to leave a comment below, or at the iTunes store.

Your have seen the presentation in the first video. You have heard from the former members of Boy Scout Troop 68 during the next two videos. Now it is time to hear from the retired scoutmaster. In this, the final of four parts of the retirement party, we finally get to hear what Steve has to say after 30 years of serving as the scoutmaster of his home troop. He talks about the Scouts, the parents, the leaders, the committee members, and brings his assistant of 24 years up to the podium.

Steve has not retired from the Scouting program. He still serves as the troop’s treasurer on the committee, attends the occasional troop meeting, and tags along on an outing now and then. He makes sure he is available if the new scoutmaster has any questions.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes, or on the forums at PTC Media.

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has unofficially been the mascot of the Melrose Scout Productions podcast and the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. He has even made guest appearances on the MISS Show and Akela’s Adventure. This puppet has his own Twitter and Facebook accounts. It has been awhile since he has been in a podcast, and he has not been very active online lately. I guess he has been busy doing other things.

Last month, the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 went to Camp Stearns for a weekend. Although Buttons did not attend he did come up during a discussion during one of the meals. I was quite surprised when one of the Scouts admitted he did not like Buttons very much and found him to be freaky. When this Scout’s father wanted him to stand next to Buttons for a photo during the scoutmaster retirement party in February the Scout refused, until he father TOLD him to stand next to the radical one.

When I asked the Scout why he did not like Buttons he compared it to how some people find clowns to be scary. It reminded me of a comment made by the caretaker of the American Legion as we decorated for the retirement party. This grown woman also found the puppet to be a little unnerving and told me to be sure to take it home after the ceremony. She did not want to walk into the meeting hall the following day and scare herself if she found Buttons standing off to one side of the room.

The only time I have ever noticed anyone afraid of Buttons is when he has been around young children. Sometimes the little ones come running up to him, but others times they stay close to their parents and are shy around the radical one. It has been rare to find a Boy Scout or adult who wants to avoid him.

How do you feel about Buttons, the radical Boy Scout? What does your Cub Scout or Boy Scout think of him? Leave a comment and let us know.

If you have been following this blog and the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast you know that two of the four parts of the scoutmaster retirement party video have been posted. Here is the third part. It features more alumni of Boy Scout Troop 68 as they step up to the podium and share their memories of Scouting with Scoutmaster Steve. It features six more gentlemen, of which three earned the rank of Eagle Scout. A few of them are from the first decade of Scoutmaster Steve’s 30 year tenure. One is from the last decade.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

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or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes.

When the scoutmaster of Troop 68 retired at the end of 2011, the troop committee thought it would be a good idea to throw a retirement party. The party, which was held in February, was well attended. Former troop members from the past 30 years came from as far as a hundred miles away to visit with their retired Scout leader and other troop members. Some of the members had not seen each other for many years. There was a lot of reminiscing and catching up.

Of course, there was a recognition program (which was featured in the previous video of Melrose Scout Productions). Then came the time for anyone to go to the microphone to speak about being a Boy Scout or sharing a story from years gone by. Many of the former troop members took advantage of the opportunity to talk about their Scouting experiences and to maybe speak from the heart of what being a Boy Scout in Scoutmaster Steve’s troop meant to them now that they are adults themselves.

This video is the second of four parts of the retirement party. It is the first of two which feature the former Boy Scouts of Troop 68 as they came to the microphone. One father also decided to share his feelings about the Scouting program in Melrose.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or watch it online at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast channel at PTC Media.

Subscribe to Melrose Scout Productions Podcast through iTUNES  (and rate the show)
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Leave feedback here, at iTunes.

Can it be? Has it already been five years? I guess is has. On April 4th, 2007, I posted the first video to the Melrose Scout Productions podcast.

I began the podcast because I had a number of Scouting related videos to share. Podcasting was still fairly new at the time, and there was not a lot of Scouting videos online, like there is now. Even the B.S.A. had not embraced podcasting. (Some would argue they still have not.) I thought there may be a small niche of viewers that would like to see my videos.

The first two videos of the Melrose Scout Productions podcast featured a puppet called Buttons, the radical Boy Scout. The next three videos took the viewer along on a couple of the troop’s camping trips. There are currently 115 videos featuring songs, skits, Cub Scout and Boy Scout activities, and interviews. There are also some slideshows that were shown at Eagle courts of honor. I guess you could say there is a pretty good variety.

When I started the podcast it had a slightly different name: Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. A couple years ago I needed to change Scouting to Scout because the B.S.A. sent a note that they owned the trademark to “Scouting”, but oddly not “Scout”. Whatever. If I was to rename it today I would probably call it the Melrose Scout Video Podcast.

Now that I have retired as the scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 68, I questioned how much longer I could keep the podcast going. Well, I have no plans to quit yet. I am still a member of the troop committee so I will still be attending some of the outings. I also have a lot of video tape sitting next to the computer waiting to be edited. I have a feeling that the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast will be around for at least another year or two.

I hope to have enjoyed the podcast and videos. Which ones have been your favorites? Which ones do you not care for? Leave a comment and let us know.