A Scoutmaster's Blog

Yes, I realize that it is still July, but it is time to go toward your nearest Hallmark store and buy this year’s Snoopy, the Beagle Scout, Christmas ornament. It features Beagle Scout Snoopy along with a couple of his bird Scouts as they try to sell Christmas trees. Hallmark has named it “Holiday En-tree-preneurs”.  How long will they be in the stores? Keep in mind that these ornaments are available only in the stores, not through online sales.

I have been collecting these ornaments for several years now and always buy two of them, one for the tree and one to store away. Too bad the BSA does not list these in the Scout Stuff store during the holiday shopping season.

Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, have put together a special Christmas show for your enjoyment. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 sing Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer. Stories include the Christmas Scout, the legend of Santa Claus Camp, and Matthew’s Christmas story.

Steve and Buttons wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. They also thank you for being a fan and listening to the podcast.

Send us your emails. You can contact Buttons at buttonst68@yahoo.com. You may contact Scoutmaster Steve at stevejb68@yahoo.com. Please rate the show and/or leave a comment at the iTunes store.

You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at twitter.com/stevejb68 or twitter.com/buttonst68 .

We are in the final week of the Christmas season. This time of year always reminds me of one evening in August of 1992 when I was with my troop on a trek at Philmont Scout Ranch. We decided to spend an evening around the campfire celebrating Christmas and singing songs. Yes, it was odd, but it was also a lot of fun. During the fun each of the twelve of us took one verse and made a new version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. I have written this to the blog during a previous year, but I thought it might be fun to look at it once again.

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The Philmont Twelve Days of Christmas.
On the twelfth day at Philmont my ranger gave to me;
twelve meal packs (Tom)
eleven Sierra cups (Tim)
ten hikers hiking (Josh)
nine bottles of iodine (Nathan)
eight backpackers packing (Ross)
seven teriyaki helpings (Corey)
six good meals (Paul)
a five mile hike (Jason)
four hot showers (Al)
three dirty socks (Peter)
two Powerbars (Greg)
and one pemmican bar. (Steve)

Have you been on a Philmont trek? What would you have added as a verse to the song?

You can read more about our evening of Christmas at Philmont at
http://www.melrosetroop68.org/High%20Adventure%20Journals/Philmont92part6.html

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, introduces the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 as they sing Christmas songs during a couple of December courts of honor (from 2003 and 2007). Join the Scouts as they sing a couple of Christmas favorites: Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. (And stick around until the very end for an outtake of Buttons’ intro.)

Everyone at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast and Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 wish you and yours a safe and very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

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Here is a little puzzle for you and your Cub Scout. This Christmas tree contains the four latest Hallmark Beagle Scout Snoopy ornaments. Enlarge the picture by clicking on it, and then try to find them. One features Snoopy and his troop canoeing. Another shows them camping. One is the troop hiking. And the last has them roasting marshmallows over a campfire. Can your Cub Scout find all four of them in under thirty seconds?

Here is a little Christmas Poem I wrote a few years ago.

Twas the day of the party
for the Scouts of the troop.
Time for films, pop, and goodies,
and pizza (but not soup.)

One by one they arrived at
the scoutmaster’s door.
They took off both their shoes
then sat on the floor.

The decision of which movie
to watch must be made.
It’s a film about pirates for
which the scoutmaster paid.

The lights where turned off and
the Scouts settled down,
and the movie began in
full digital sound.

Ninety minutes later
the movie was paused
for the pizza had arrived
to the shouts of “huzzah!”
(The Scouts did not really shout that
but I needed something that rhymed.)

Then the Scouts formed a circle
on the living room floor.
Time for the gift exchange!
This was not time to snore.

The die were passed and rolled for
fifteen long minutes.
Each Scout wanted that one gift,
but could he roll right to win it?

There was candies and cookies,
a skateboard, and games.
There was not a bad gift so
there was no one to blame.

Soon the gifts were exchanged,
all the presents unwrapped,
and the movie was finished.
It was time for a nap.

The Scouts picked up their gifts and
zipped their jackets up tight
wishing “Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.”

This is the time of year when the unknown and unnatural walk the earth. When ghouls and monsters creep up to our lawns. When small boys and girls in costume knock on our front doors and say “trick or Treat!”  That is right. It is that Halloween time of year.

Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons decided to put together a special episode of Around The Scouting Campfire to celebrate this scary time of year. Each host tells a ghost story that you could use during your own campfire programs. Steve tells us about the cremation of Sam Magee. Buttons has a story about two Eagle Scouts who make a solemn oath. Don’t worry though. The stories are alright for the young listeners too.

Send us your emails. You can contact Buttons at buttonst68@yahoo.com. You may contact Scoutmaster Steve at stevejb68@yahoo.com. Please rate the show and/or leave a comment at the iTunes store.

You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at twitter.com/stevejb68 or twitter.com/buttonst68 .

It is time once again to make that trip to your nearest Hallmark store and pick up this year’s Scoutmaster Snoopy Keepsake Ornament. This year’s ornament, The Fearless Crew,  features Snoopy leading Woodstock and two of his friends on a wilderness hike. As they reach the hilltop the old Beagle Scout plants a Camp Snoopy flag into the ground. It is another great addition the Scoutmaster Snoopy series of ornaments.

I have already picked up two of these ornaments, one to hang on the tree and one to keep as a Keepsake. It will be a nice addition to the three other Keepsakes from previous years that I have including Snoopy and his friends canoeing, roasting marshmallows around the campfire, and  reading a spooky story before going to bed. (Do a search for “Snoopy” to see the articles of previous ornaments.)

The ornaments are listed at $14.95 each. It can be seen on the Hallmark online store but I believe they can only be bought at your local store.

So, do you have any of the Scoutmaster Snoopy ornaments? How many do you own? Which ones do you hang on your Christmas tree? Will you get one for your scoutmaster?