A Scoutmaster's Blog

The following is an excerpt from the journal I wrote about my first trek to Philmont Scout Ranch in 1986. I was 26 at the time, a scoutmaster for nearly five years. This portion of the journal tells about two of my favorite memories of that first trip – coming face to face with a rattle snake and getting lost.

The journal can be read at
http://melrosetroop68.org/High%20Adventure%20Journals/Philmont86.1.html

“We headed northwest, toward Stone Wall Pass. Stone Wall Pass is so named because it is a trail located between two mesas that has a two foot high stone wall built along one side of it. The story of the wall states that a single man built the wall, and went crazy while he was doing it.

Gerry was leading the way as we hiked along the pass. I was at the end of the line. We were all talking and having a grand old time watching the scenery and taking it all in when Gerry stopped dead in his tracks. He stopped so suddenly that we ran into each other before we knew what was happening.

Everyone started talking and chewing Gerry out until we found the reason for the sudden stop. A rattlesnake had been lying on the trail. Gerry saw it as he got within a couple of steps of it. As the crew ran into each other he was pushed closer to it then he had ever hoped to come to one. Meanwhile, the snake had only one thing on its mind. It decided to get off the trail and hide within the stone wall.

No one moved. We had all heard the stories of being bit by a rattler and no one wanted to risk being a victim by going past that part of the trail. I worked my way to the front of the line to take a look for myself. The snake had crawled into the stone wall. I could see it and it could see me. I also noticed that there were several stones stacked between it and the trail. Realizing that it was probably more frightened of us then we were of it, and that it was not coiled and ready to strike, I said, “Come on,” and started walking.

Gerry stayed with me walking down the far side of the trail. Then the others followed. Soon we were back in line. Gerry was once again in the lead and I reclaimed my position at the end of the line.

Suddenly, three whistle blasts were heard from the front of the line. Everyone’s heart stopped. Three blasts meant danger, perhaps even another rattler! “Caterpillar,” Gerry yelled as he pointed to the ground. I broke out laughing. The rest of the group however were ready to kill Gerry. Luckily for him they were able to control themselves.

The view that was spread out before us as we came out of the woods was almost enough to make you wish you could stay and absorb all its beauty so that you would never forget it. The trail before us stretched through a grassy meadow. From there it lead to Lover’s Leap Camp. In the background was a small mountain range. In that range was seated the Tooth Of Time.

The trail from Lover’s Leap Camp to Miner’s Park Camp is a fairly short and easy hike. Short, that is, if you find the proper trail to take. We checked out the map to see which was the right trail and continued on our way.

After a mile and a half of hiking we came to a fork in the trail. There was not supposed to be a fork in this trail. We stopped to think this about this problem. It had seemed as we were hiking that we were not heading in the right direction. None of the terrain seemed to fit what our map had showed us. Another clue that we were in the wrong place was the trail signs that read “Bear’s Cave” and “Crater Lake”. We were about a mile south of were we should have been. “This is great,” I thought. The first day on our own and we are already off target.

When we arrived back at Lover’s Leap Camp we looked all over for the trail we were supposed to be taking, but we could not find it anywhere. We examined the map again. The trail that we could not find seemed to cross a road about a half of a mile east of the camp. We decided to hit the road.

We arrived at Miner’s Park Camp exhausted. Our easy five mile hike had turned into an eight mile ordeal.”

Boy Scout Troop 68 of Melrose held it’s first court of honor of 2007 on Monday, March 26, at the Melrose City Hall meeting rooms. Over seventy percent of the troop’s membership received awards during the celebration. The award ceremony began the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. The “Climbing the Ladder To Eagle” opening was followed by the invocation given by the troop’s chaplain Eymard.

Roundtables need to meet a few requirements if you want Scout leaders to attend them. They need to be informative. They need to offer worthwhile training. They need to offer a wide variety of topics, not just the same old thing year after year. They need to offer something for the new leaders, and something for the experienced crowd. But most of all, they need to be fun!

I have attended many good roundtables, and many boring ones. Any meeting that expects me to sit there for ninety minutes listening to a lecture is NOT a good meeting in my book. If that speaker is someone with a monotone voice that likes to drone on and on then I will be fidgeting in my seat.

I know the national office publishes meeting suggestions for roundtables. I also know that not every roundtable staff uses them. Sometimes the national suggestions are not compatible with a district’s agenda. It does not matter if the staff uses the nation book or makes their own agendas, but they need to make the meetings worthwhile for adult leaders to take the time out of their own busy schedules. Otherwise do not expect people to show up to fill those chairs. Here are my suggestions for a decent roundtable.

First of all, have an opening and a closing ceremony. Use different ones every month. Give the pack and troop leaders new ideas to take back to their units. Keep in mind that when you use and opening and closing ceremonies you “actually” bring the meeting to a start and an end just like a troop meeting.

Try to offer at least two topics per monthly meeting, something for the new leaders and something for the old timers. You can either break the meeting into two halves, each half covering one topic, or break the group into two groups, one covering each topic. Be sure to invite speakers who are knowledgeable in the topic.

Play a game part way through the meeting. Yeah, that is right. A game! Expecting men to sit there for ninety minutes is the equivalent of torture. A short ten minute game lets everyone get up, stretch, and burn a few calories. It clears the cobwebs that may have started to form in the mind. Keep the game simple and something that could be used during a troop or pack meeting with the boys. Remember, we are at the roundtable to learn things to take back to the troops. Oh, and make sure the game is fun!

Before the closing ceremony spend a few minutes with any announcements. And do not forget to recognize any accomplishments achieved since the last roundtable. Yes, adults like to be recognized also, just like the boys, even if the recognition may be for something silly.

There, now you have my recommendations for a good roundtable. After these three entries about roundtables you can look forward to a new topic next time.

In the 1980’s, when I began attending monthly training meetings, the district had a great roundtable staff. They were well trained, prepared for the subjects, and they made the roundtables fun.

Paul was the roundtable commissioner. He had sons of his own in the Scouting program and had held several positions within Scouting, including scoutmaster. He seemed to be very knowledgeable about every aspect of the Scouting program. Paul was a Scouter that I looked up to. Over the next few years he became my mentor and one of my best friends in Scouting.

Once I had attended roundtables for a few years Paul invited me to join his staff. I was in my mid-twenties and did not feel very comfortable about training men and women who would be older then myself. I think Paul saw something in me that I did not see in myself.

During the next few years, under Paul’s guidance, I began refining my Scouting skills as an adult leader. One trick that Paul loved to do to me was to place me in charge of a subject for the next roundtable that I did not know a lot about. So, I had one month to learn about it. The trick worked very well, although at the time I did not always appreciate it. I learned a lot under Paul’s instruction. He soon encouraged me to be a staff member for the Scouting University and the weekend scoutmaster training sessions. We even experimented one year with a junior leader roundtable.

I soon became more comfortable speaking in front of groups of people, something I had hated doing in high school. My voice started cracking less and less, my palms became less sweaty, and I did not shake quite as much as I used to. I began to become more confident in myself as my knowledge in Scouting increased.

As adult leaders we always like to brag about how Scouting can help our boys, but I think we also need to remember what Scouting offers adults who are willing to apply themselves to the program. I, for one, have grown more as a Scout leader then I ever did as a Boy Scout. I am sure that I am not the only one out there who can make that claim.

Twenty years after those roundtable staffer days, I received the council’s highest award, the Silver Beaver. I invited my parents to the award ceremony. (I am not married so there was not a wife to invite.) I also asked my old roundtable commissioner, mentor, and friend to attend the dinner and be the person who would present the award to me. Both Paul and I were grinning wide as he placed the Silver Beaver award around my neck.

Should you attend your monthly roundtable meetings? You bet you should! And apply yourself to the leadership roles you have accepted. After all, look where it got me.

I began attending monthly district roundtable training meetings shortly after becoming an assistant scoutmaster in 1980. I was a firm believer that this ninety minute training session would help me in my new position. I still attend many roundtables, even though I have been in Scouting long enough to conduct the meetings myself. I still pick up a couple things here and there that are useful.

Those first years of roundtables were critical in my leadership training. Oh yes, I did also attend the weekend scout leader training session and the yearly Scouting University, but it was during the roundtables that I really got to know the other Scout leaders in my area.

I live in Melrose, a city of approximately 3000 people. Nearby cities are 6-7 miles apart with a lot of farm land between them. Interstate 94 runs through the south portion of Melrose. The Central Minnesota Council office is located in St. Cloud, thirty five miles from my home. A couple leaders from neighboring cities and I would carpool to the meetings. During that 30 minute drive we would discuss various Scouting topics and sometimes talk about current problems we had within our troops. The same thing would happen on the way home, although the meeting may have given us a new topic to discuss.

One advantage in attending these monthly meetings was forming new friendships with my fellow Scouters. I am pretty shy by nature so it was great to be able to share experiences and to have them there to help solve problems.

The members of the carpool soon decided to stop for supper after the roundtables since we did not have the time to eat properly between getting home from work and getting to the meeting. We made a habit of going to Bonanza in St. Cloud. These “after-roundtable roundtables, as I liked to call them, became another important element of my training and friendship making. It did not take long for other Scouters to discover our after-roundtable roundtables. There were times when we would have eight to ten leaders, in Scout uniform, sitting at a table in Bonanza, shooting the breeze and solving all of the problems in Scouting. We had a great time.

Currently, I am the only member of those early roundtable years that is still involved in Scouting, at least locally. Most of those guys have retired from Scouting or moved on to other locations. I, however, am still making new friends at the roundtables. A couple months ago, four of us stopped at a local dining place after the meeting for some snacks and something to drink. We talked about Scouts, the Order of the Arrow, and the council’s camp.

Who knows… Maybe the after-roundtable roundtables will become popular once again.

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has almost learned the Cub Scout Promise from Michael, the Cub Scout, in the newest video. This time the two get sidetracked and start talking about long hair and hockey. This is the third video featuring Buttons and Michael.

The video can be seen at
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOW_kXbrjpc
or
Troop 68’s web site: http://melrosetroop68.org/videos.html

Thank you for watching the videos. We hope to be making new ones this spring when the weather gets nicer as we take Buttons out into the campgrounds with the Boy Scouts. Leave a message and let me know what you think of them.

The troop’s spring fundraiser, a pancake and sausage breakfast to be held on Palm Sunday, had it’s kick-off Monday night as the Scouts used their meeting night to begin selling tickets in our community. This breakfast has been a great fundraiser for over 20 years, and usually adds over a thousand dollars to the troop treasury.

During the ninety minute first night kick-off we pair up the Scouts and, using maps of the city and parents for the transportation, send the boys into their sections to sell as many tickets as possible. We we had a larger troop of over 30 boys we could cover most of the town and sell enough tickets to pay the expenses of the breakfast. Now that we have a small troop of only ten members we may sell enough to pay for half of the expenses.

A percentage of the ticket sales in put into a kitty which is evenly split between the boys who work that first night. This credit is then used to pay camp costs. After the first night, the Scouts and parents continue to sell tickets on their own time. The boys receive camp credit for those sales also.

Several years ago a few of the younger boys came back after the first night of selling with tears in their eyes. Some of the older boys were very frustrated. Unfortunately, some people were very rude to the boys when they answered their door. Others made up excuses or out right lied to the boys to avoid having to buy a breakfast ticket. “I already bought my tickets,” was the most popular lie, which was impossible because the boys had just received their tickets. “I will be out of town,” was said before the boys could even tell them the date of the breakfast. “I will get my ticket from the girl scouts,” was my favorite. (Umm, excuse me. This is a BOY SCOUT fundraiser.)

The next time we had a ticket sales kick-off I made a game of it. I told the boys to remember the excuses given to avoid buying a ticket. When the boys returned we had a few good laughs over those reasons, instead of a few tears over hurt feelings.

My question to those people is a simple one. Why do you lie to the Scouts? We try to teach the boys to be honest and trustworthy and you lie to them, looking them in the eye as you do it. If you would just tell the Scout, “No thank you, I am not interested”, the Scout would understand, thank you for your time, and move on to the next home. Is that too much too ask? I would hope not.

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.