A Scoutmaster's Blog

Mike called to schedule his scoutmaster conference for the rank of Eagle Scout. I had been looking forward to this call. He had finished his Eagle Project a week earlier, and his merit badges had been completed last May.

It got me thinking about this blog and the article I posted last September about scoutmaster conferences. There are a few additional points that I like to cover during an Eagle conference so I thought I would take the time to share them with you.

One of the first things we do is the uniform inspection. Troop 68 does not require a Scout to be in uniform from hat to socks, but we do require the belt, neck wear, and the shirt with all the patches in their proper place. Just as a person is expected to dress sharply for a job interview I like to see the Scout correctly dressed for his Eagle board of review and court of honor.

The Scout and I will spend several minutes talking about the merit badges he has earned on his way to the Eagle Rank. Which ones were the easiest to earn? The hardest? The most fun? Which ones did he enjoy the most? Which ones taught him the most? Why?

Holding a position of responsibility is a requirement that I like to talk to the Scout about. I not only like him to talk about the position he used for the Eagle Rank, but also discuss the other positions he has held during his tenure as a Scout. Which ones did he enjoy, or maybe not enjoy so much? What has he learned about leadership. Is it easy being a leader?

Of course, we also talk about his Eagle project. Projects seldom go as originally planned. It is interesting to hear about what did not go according to plan, and how the Scout was able to solve the problems that arose. Did he accomplish all his goals? I know the board of reviews will be covering this subject heavily so I try to prepare him during the conference.

My favorite portion of the conference is when the Scout looks back on his years in Scouting. I ask him what have been his favorite activities since joining the troop. What activities did he dislike? What are some of his best memories about Scouting? Who were the people who helped him the most during his years as a Scout? Is there anything he wished he would have done differently?

A scoutmaster needs to ask questions that are open ended, questions that require more then a simple “yes” or “no” answer. The goal is for the Scout to do most of the talking, not the scoutmaster.

As the conference comes to an end we take time to review his Eagle Project Workbook and get all the dates and information correct on his Eagle Application.

I enjoy the Eagle scoutmaster conference. It gives the Scout and myself a chance to really talk about what Scouting has meant to him. For the seventeen year old Scout it is probably the last time we will get to sit and chat about his last six years in Scouting. I just hope it will not be the last time we get to visit and chat. After all, he will soon be going off to college and begin a life on his own.

He was already sixty years old when his youngest son became a Boy Scout in Troop 68. When the troop needed an adult to attend a week of summer camp he volunteered his time. This year, Eymard celebrated his nineteenth year of attending summer camp with the Boy Scouts. That becomes truly amazing when you realize that Eymard is now eighty years old.

Eymard was never a Boy Scout as a youth. As one of ten children raised on a central Minnesota farm he never had the chance, or the time, to be a Scout. To tell the truth, I do not think Eymard ever thought about Scouting.

Eymard’s son, Peter, joined the troop after a friend talked him into trying it out. Eymard had recently retired from farming and had built a home in Melrose. Peter enjoyed Scouting and it did not take long before Eymard begin helping with activities.

Eymard was 61 years old when he attended a Boy Scout summer camp for the first time, an age at which must men want nothing to do with camping, tents, or a group of teenage boys. Unfortunately, that first summer camp at Crow Wing Scout Reservation was almost Eymard’s last week of camp with the troop. The older boys acted so badly and were so lazy that I myself considered resigning as scoutmaster. It was a true sign of Eymard’s commitment to the program that he continued to help out at troop functions and became an assistant scoutmaster.

While his son was a member of the troop, Eymard attended various training sessions offered by the district and council. By the time his son retired from Scouting (after earning his Life Rank) Eymard was totally dedicated to the Scouting program. He stayed on as assistant scoutmaster and became the troop chaplain. He continues to attend weekend outings and the annual week-long summer camp regularly.

Eymard has a great time working with the Scouts, and they respect him. He ejoyes helping the younger boys attain the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. He has fun teaching the Scouts how to cook meals from scratch. If they is a little free time during the day you may find him playing cards with the boys. No Scout of Troop 68 will ever forget eating Eymard’s fresh popped buttered popcorn while sitting around the campfire.

Eymard and I have made a good team during these past nineteen years. We value each other’s opinions and are always giving each other some good natured teasing. New boys to the troop pick up on this and quickly accept Eymard as one of their friends.

Eymard has received the “Scouter of the Year” award from the Scenic District. He recently commented that he will continue to be active in Scouting for as long as he is able. I look forward to Eymard being an assistant scoutmaster for many years to come. Hopefully, we will be able to celebrate his 100th birthday during one of our court of honors.

Several years ago our troop held a weekend camping trip at a public park at Lake Koronis in Minnesota. Activities included swimming, volleyball, football, and a massive water balloon fight. A few fathers attended this activity to provide leadership and transportation. This camp location was so popular that Scouts of all ages were in attendance. We had an excellent turnout.

The outing was a blast! Everyone, Scouts and adults, had a great time. As we sat around the campfire Saturday evening I asked the campers what they liked best about the outing. One of the older Scouts gave me an answer that caught me by surprise, and it is something I have never forgotten. His highlight was when the fathers played football with them (the Scouts). I saw a few other boys nodding their heads in agreement.

That simple statement hit a nerve with me. It suddenly occurred to me how seldom today’s teens get to play with their fathers. Teenage boys love to play. It is a part of their nature, part of how they identify themselves, part of how they learn to cooperate with others.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, fathers do not seem to have enough time to play with their sons. They work long hours, have more work to do when they get home, and often are too tired in the evening to do much more then sit in front of the television with the kids. Oh, and mom would like a little of his time also. Of course, this assumes that there is a father living at home.

Today’s teenage boys are not much better. They spend half of their day in school. Many are involved in school sports or some other extracurricular activity. Some have part time jobs. They need to spend time with their buddies, and maybe even with a girlfriend. Then add video games and the internet into the mixture.

Each generation has their excuses for not spending time with other, which made the impact of the Scout’s statement that weekend all that much stronger to me.

Hey Dad! You need to get out and play with your son! He will only be a teenager for several years, years which pass by very quickly. He will soon be leaving to go to college, make a life for himself, and probably start his own family. If you think it is hard to find time to play with him now then just think about how hard it will be once he moves out.

Hey Son! Put down that video game controller, grab a football or basketball, and take your father outside to play. Sure, it may seem like dad has forgotton how much fun it was to have fun and play, and you may need to help him relearn how to be a kid again. He has a lot on his mind but he needs to let it go once in awhile and have fun sometimes too.

This is one reason why I think Scouting is such a great program. Fathers and sons can spend time with each other outdoors and play together. Scouts, you may need to ask you father to join you on an outing or two. Dads, you need to get out of that lawn chair and run around a little. I think I can safely say that it would be a win/win situation for both generations.

I used to have a copy of a video that I think was called “On My Honor”. It was a BSA promotional video which featured narration by former President Gerald Ford. It was several minutes long, and a very well done film. It was one of my favorite BSA videos. Unfortunately, somehow, somewhere, part of my copy was taped over. I tried calling my local council to see if they still had a copy of it. Unfortunately, they did not. I was a little upset when I discovered it was lost to me.

So, I went to the internet to see if I could discover a copy of it somewhere. So far, I have not had any luck. If any of you who read this blog have a copy, I would be willing to trade a dvd of 15 various BSA promotional films and commercials for it. Contact me through this web site.

As I was searching the internet, I discovered a site that had a speech given by President Gerald Ford in 1974 when he received the Scouter of the Year Award honoring him for being the first Eagle Scout to become the president of the United States. It is a great speech and I thought you might like to read it also, if you have not already read it. Just follow this link:
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4601

I sometimes wonder what the “Great Master of All Scouts” had to say when this Eagle Scout President arrived at the Pearly Gates. I bet both of them had an ear to ear grin when they met!

We all like to brag about the great things that Boy Scouting can provide our boys and young men. I firmly believe that it is one of the best organizations in which a boy can be a member. However, it is not always and easy time for an adult leader.

Like any other club or organization, people do not always agree on things. Conflicts can arise. Shouting matches occur. And once in a while, there may even be a fight. As adult leaders in Scouting, we need to be referees, stop the arguments before they go too far, and in extreme cases, break up a fight.

I will never forget the first time I had to break up a physical conflict between two Scouts. It was in the early eighties. I was a twenty year old assistant scoutmaster at the time. Two older boys started argueing aboout something during a troop meeting held at a local school gym. It soon escaladed into more then shouting.

As their arms began to swing, I went into action. Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed both boys by the front of their shirts and was holding them up against the wall. I held them for a few moments until they cooled off. I looked up at them and told them to to stop it. Then I let them go.

Oh yeah, you read that correctly. I looked up at them. Both of them were taller then me. I think either one of them could have taken me down if he would have wanted to. I just acted, without thinking about my own safety, you might say. They needed to be stopped, so I stopped them.

I think I surprised the boys more then I scared them. I know I surprised myself. But no one was hurt and the conflict was now over. As we went back to our troop meeting, we keep a close eye on those two boys.

There have been several conflicts during the last 26 years. Luckily, they have been few and far between. And they never became something more then we could handle.

One of the best things we can do as adult leaders is to teach the boys how to handle disagreements and how to solve conflicts. The best way we can do this is by being a good example for the Scouts to follow. After all, how can we expect the boys to listen to us if we cannot control ourselves?

The Boy Scout Law states that a Scout is physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. The Scout Oath states that a Scout is Clean: in body, mind, language, and environment.

So why are so many Scouts using bad language and swearing? It is not too bad in my own troop but I have seen it pretty bad in some troops. I hear Scouts swearing. I read bad language on their messages left on internet forums and on their myspace pages. I see it in the sign language they use.

I put a lot of the blame for this on the adults, the parents, and yes, even some adult Scout leaders. I firmly believe that if adults use bad language then the youth they are associated with will also use the same bad words. After all, if the youth hear it from adults then what is to stop them from using it.

During the last twenty-five years that I have been a scoutmaster I have enforced a policy of “no bad language” in the troop. When a Boy Scout swears during a troop meeting or activity he gets to do fifteen push-ups, right there and then. I have had Scouts do push-ups at meetings, on campouts, in parking lots, and various others places.

When a boy joins our troop I sit down with him and his parents and explain several things about our program, including the policy about bad language and push-ups. You know, in twenty-five years I have never had a parent complain about it.

Of course, boys will be boys, and sometimes someone will start teasing the Scout who is doing push-ups. All I have to do to stop him is to ask him if he would like to get down on the floor to join the other Scouts. That usually quiets them down quickly.

I expect all adult leaders and parents who attend activities to follow the same rules as the Scouts. They are usually happy to comply. In fact, there have been several times when a father gets to show the boys how to do push-ups after he has a slip of the tongue. Yes, I even remember there has been two times that I have done push-ups over the years.

It is truly amazing. The Scouts in our troop watch their own language doing troop activities, and they listen to everyone else’s words. They also tend to watch what they say outside of Scouting when they know I am around. It just serves as proof that if an adult refrains from using bad language, and expects the youth to do the same, that they will usually rise to the challenge.

A case in point… I was bowling with a few Scouts one Saturday afternoon. In the lane next to us was Brian, a former troop member, and a few of his teenage friends. When I heard one of his buddies swear after a bad throw I glanced over to see who said it and caught Brian’s eye. Brian immediately turned to his friends and told them they should not use language like that.

I smiled. I had not said a word to Brian and his friends about it. In fact, I had not even looked sternly at the group of friends. But Brian took it upon himself to correct his friend. He rose to the challenge.

Set a good example for the boys and they will follow it.

Former President Gerald Ford, at age 93, has passed away. It was news that saddened me. He was the first president that I, as a teenager, really started paying attention to. I thought he was cool.

President Ford was our first and only president that was not elected to the office. He did not seek the position, but it found him. He accepted the duties and responsibilities and brought dignity back to the White House.

Some people have called him the accidental president, and in a way he was. Some called him the clumsy president. Every time he stumbled or fell we were able to see it on the evening news. Chevy Chase became a star on Saturday Night Live by mocking this former star college football player’s mishaps. President Ford was the lucky president, surviving two assassination attempts.

President Ford was also the healing president. After the lies and scandals of the Nixon presidency, Ford brought openness, dignity, and honesty back to the office. He was well liked by both Republicans and Democrats. During his brief term he helped the country put Watergate and the Vietnam War behind us and began to move this great country forward once again.

A lesser known and sometimes forgotten fact is that President Ford was a Boy Scout in his youth. In fact, he was an Eagle Scout, the only one to ever serve as President of the United States. When he became the president he brought his Scouting values with him to the office – trustworthy, loyal, kind, cheerful, and brave. He did his duty to God and country. He kept himself physically strong, stayed mentally awake, and was always morally straight.

Unfortunately, President Ford did not win the next election to remain president. Fortunately, he did not forget his Scouting roots. He narrated a video supporting Boy Scouting, its ideal, and values. I wish I still had a copy of the video. It would be great to see it again.

With the passing of President Ford not only has the country lost a great leader, but Scouting has lost a great role model, supporter, and friend.

“May the Great Master of all Scouts be with us until we meet again.” I hope the Great Master has accepted this great Scout into his great kingdom with open arms. I hope to meet him myself one day and share Scouting stories.

Well, it has finally happened. I guess you could even call it a milestone. I have been the scoutmaster of Melrose Troop 68 for 25 years! A quarter of a century. Over half of my life. I thought I was scoutmaster for a long time when boys started joining the troop who were born after I became scoutmaster. Now I have parents of Scouts who are younger then I am.

When I look back at those 25 years I have a lot of great memories. Oh, there are a few memories that are not so great, but I can honestly say that I have enjoyed most of my time spent with the program.

As this milestone approached I began to think about all the time I have spent on Scouting, and what the statistics would look like. I would like to use this blog to share those stats with you.

I have been to 18 week-long summer camps. I have been to Philmont Scout Ranch six times, five on a trek and one for scoutmaster training. I have been to the High Knoll Trail of Virginia, and Charles Sommers Canoe Base in the BWCA. In 2001, I was the scoutmaster of Troop 1417 at the BSA National Jamboree.

I have attended nearly 270 monthly troop outings. Over 170 of these were weekend camping trips and activities. I have been to 25 troop yearly planning sessions, over 270 committee meetings, and close to 275 patrol leader council meetings. I have lost track of how many district roundtables I have attended.

There has been over 100 courts of honor held during those years. I have seen fifteen Boy Scouts from Troop 68 receive the rank of Eagle Scout. Twenty-two other Scouts made it to the rank of Life Scout. Nearly 250 boys have had me as their scoutmaster.

These statistics represent the time I have spent with the Scouts of Troop 68. They do not include the time spent on the district, council, or national level.

After 25 years I can honestly say that I have enjoyed, and been honored, to spend this time with the Boy Scouts of Melrose. I would like to thank them, their parents, and everyone who has helped with the troop over the years.