A Scoutmaster's Blog

There have been sixteen members of Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 that have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Each Eagle court of honor has been different, with each Eagle Scout planning the ceremony to his own liking. Some ceremonies have been simple, others have been quite elaborate. But none were quite like the latest one held last month.

Chris, our troop’s sixteenth Eagle, but the town’s seventeenth, scheduled his Eagle court of honor for Sunday, May 20, at the Melrose City Park pavilion. When I awoke that morning I noticed that it was not looking very nice outdoors. A quick check on the internet told me the forecast for the day included cool temperatures, wind, and a chance of rain. It did not sound like good weather for an outdoor court of honor.

The park pavilion has the kitchen and bathrooms located on its north end. The west side has a four foot high wall with roll up curtains above. The south and east sides have no walls and are open to the park. When I thought of the day’s weather and the openness of the shelter I was a little concerned so I called Chris’ home to ask about a plan B. I discovered there was not a plan B. I decided to dress warm.

The court of honor was the coldest and windiest one I had ever attended. I do not think the temperature ever made it into the sixties. The easterly wind chilled us even more as it blew through the pavilion. The clouds threatened rain but luckily did not live up to its thunder. Toward the end of the ceremony I did find myself shivering. But you know, the weather is not the thing I will remember the most about this day.

The most memorable thing about Chris’ Eagle court of honor was the upbeat attitude of everyone involved, and the jolly atmosphere of everyone in attendance. To put it simply, we had fun. It was one of the most humorous court of honors I have ever attended. Oh, it was solemn when it needed to be, but there were plenty of giggles along the way. This court of honor became a great example of how we can take a situation that is not ideal and turn it into something fun and memorable.

So you want to have a great campfire program, huh? Well, you have to have a great opening song, something to get the Boy Scouts fired up, something with a lot of energy. You need a song like the Many Point Scout Camp Rouser Song!

The MPSC Rouser Song is this week’s Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast (MSPP) video. The staff begins each week’s Sunday night opening campfire with this song which sets the tone for the rest of the evening. It is fast. It is loud. It is energetic. It is rowdy. It is everything a good opening campfire song should be.

This video was taped at MPSC in July of 2006. You can tell that the staff is hyper and ready to have some fun. In four weeks the Scouts from Troop 68 will be attending MPSC again. It will be time once again to join the camp staff in being as loud as we can possibly be!

Download Podcast
Watch Video on the troop’s website.
Subscribe through iTunes.

I have been fortunate. During my twenty five plus years as a scoutmaster I have had the privilege of seeing sixteen of my Boy Scouts attain the rank of Eagle Scout. It is always fun, and a little work, to sit down with them after they have completed all their requirements and fill out the Eagle Scout Application. Looking back on all those merit badges, terms of leadership, and dates of board of reviews always bring back memories for the two of us to talk about. We are careful to get all the dates right and all the information correct as the Eagle Scout candidate fills out a rough form.

There have been a couple times over the years in which the council has contacted me about merit badges listed on the application. They do not always have a record of them. They should have a record. After all, I can not get a merit badge to present at a court of honor unless I send the council an advancement form listing all the merit badges. I guess someone at the council missed recording it. Luckily, I have kept all the signed blue merit badge application cards. I make a copy of it (or scan it these days) and send the copy to the council. Problem solved.

In a recent blog BuffaloEagle from the Lone Star Scouter Blog wrote about the ten most commons reasons that Eagle Scout applications are rejected, as listed by the national office. I found it to be pretty interesting. Almost all of them deal with paper work and dates. I thought it would be great to post them here in this blog for my readers to see also. So, here they are. If reprinting this list saves one candidate trouble in the future it was worth posting it.

• No Council Number on Application. This requires the application to be removed from the daily work stack and placed in a special file until time is allotted to perform council lookups.
• Signatures Missing. This requires the rejected application to be mailed back to council. This oversight will cause a delay of at least four weeks because the postal service will be used.
• No Boy Scout joining date or wrong date. Failure to indicate Boy Scout joining date requires us to reject the application to request the proper date. This is because all requirements must be met after a boy joins Scouting.
• No Board of Review Date. We must have a board of review date to ensure all requirements were completed prior to the board of review. This date is also necessary since it is printed on the Eagle Scout credentials.
• Duplicate Merit Badges on application. A total of 21 separate merit badges must be earned. Any application that requires a correction to merit badges that are listed twice on the application will be rejected.
• Explanation for delay in board of review not furnished. We will ask for a letter when this time frame as described on the application is not met.
• Proper badges are not indicated in merit badge numbers 6 and 9.
• If six months leadership between Life Scout and Board of Review does not indicate sufficient time, we must return for correction.
• Valid leadership position between Life Scout and Board of Review. The only valid leadership positions are those listed on the 2000 printing of the Eagle Scout Rank Application. if it is not listed on the 2000 printing, it is not a valid leadership position. (NOTE: WE RECEIVE A LOT OF APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANT PATROL LEADERS).
• New Eagle Scout Rank Requirements (as of 1 April 1999) have not been met. Scouts having completed any Eagle Scout rank requirements after 1 April 1999, must earn the Personal Fitness merit badge and Cycling, or Hiking or Swimming merit badges. We must reject the application if it does not meet this new requirement.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 have had an interesting and fun time during their troop meetings in May. The theme was cooking, and a special guest paid them a visit during the last meeting of the month.

The Scouts experienced new ways to prepare food during May. The guys kept busy during the first meeting trying to cook a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns in a paper bag, and then trying to cook an omelet in a plastic bag placed in boiling water. During the second meeting they made tin foil dinners using carrots, potatoes, hamburger, and chicken patties. Deserts were the subject of the third meeting as the Scouts made apple cobbler and fritters.

Lance Stueve, race car driver at the local I-94 Raceway, brought his car to the troop’s May 21st meeting. As the boys stood around his race car Mr. Stueve discussed what it is like to be a racer, the fuel used, and the car itself. The Scouts were then given the opportunity to sit behind the wheel for a photo. The visit ended with each of the boys receiving a photograph and wrist band from Mr. Stueve and his son.

The troop would like to thank Lance Stueve for taking the time to visit with the Scouts. A video of the visit can be seen on YouTube and the troop’s website at http://melrosetroop68.org/videos.html

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, loves to talk to Scouts about the Scout Oath and Law. In this video he talks about being physically strong, one of the Scout Oath’s duties to self. When he does some pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups he discovers it is not very easy to stay in shape.

This was the third time filming Buttons in his series of films. And in some ways it was one of the toughest. The pull-ups and push-ups were pretty easy to film, but the sit-ups presented a challage to film since nearly the whole body of Buttons was in view. I do not have the budget of the Muppets, or maybe I should say I do not have a budget at all, so I do not have access to all the special made sets available to those puppeteers. I have to discover the best way to film the puppet without being seen myself. I think things have been working out pretty well so far.

This video happens to be my favorite film of Buttons that has been done so far. I like the way he really seems to be alive and shows the “pain” of staying physically strong. I hope you have as much fun watching it as I did making it.

Watch it on the troop’s website here, or download the podcast here.

Over ten thousand Boy Scouts and leaders gathered at Camp Ripley in central Minnesota for this year’s Ripley Rendezvous. I will be writing a blog entry about this event later, but in the meantime you can check out this article found in a local paper: St. Cloud Times.

(Sorry, but the Times does not archive its articles for very long.)

Philmont Scout Ranch is a magical place. Just anyone who has been there. Most people want to go back again and enjoy the experience a second and third time. I have been lucky enough to participate on a Philmont trek five times with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68. Someday I may try a sixth trek.

Many of the camps through-out Philmont are staffed These staffed camps include programs for the campers. Themes include Indian Lore, gold mining, rock climbing, and the life of a mountain man. If you attend Philmont you need to be sure to include these programs in your stay. They are both informative and a lot of fun.

There are also many campsites through Philmont that are staffless and without any programs. These camps offer the crew a chance to kick back, relax, and really enjoy the wilderness of Philmont. Of course, boys being boys, they only kick back for so long before starting to look for something to keep themselves busy. Exploration of the nearby territory will keep them busy for a little while. I would also suggest you bring a few games to play.

Keep in mind that you will be carrying these game materials with you from campsite to campsite so a few things must be considered when choosing games. The game should be simple, lightweight, and limited in the number of pieces. After all, you will be carrying it on your back for ten days in a pack with a limited amount of room. Philmont games should not be electronic. You do not want to carry the weight of extra batteries in your back, or disrupt the relaxing songs of birds with the sounds of Mario racing through the next level.

My first suggestion for a Philmont game is a deck of cards. Cards are lightweight, small, and can be used to play many different games. You can play cards by yourself, with a friend, or with the crew. Cards can be played outside during a nice sunny day, or in the tent during an afternoon shower. A few decks of cards can keep a whole crew busy for hours.

My second suggestion is to bring a flying disc or two along, otherwise known as a frisbee. Simple catch is the most common game with the firsbee, of course. Crews can also play team games such as 500 or Ultimate. I have seen two crews playing each other in Tip and having a lot of fun competing against each other.

Hacky sack has been a very popular game during the last trips I have taken to Philmont. The bean filled sack is very small, and very lightweight. It can be played with two people or the whole crew. I have even seen Scouts play hacky still wearing their packs during a rest stop. I have discovered that most adults are not very good at this game, myself included.

Well, there you have it, three games small in size and weight that are great for a Philmont trek. Any of these can provide hours of entertainment for a bored crew. Of course, if you have been to Philmont you probably already know about these games. If you are a first timer be sure to bring them.

What other games has your crew played at Philmont?

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, is a puppet that was given to me by my parents one year in the 1980’s. I played with it for awhile, even brought it along on a few Scout functions. It was a fun puppet to have around. Kids loved it. Adults thought it was cute.

The hardest thing about using the puppet was not playing with it or making it do things. That comes easy to me. The hardest thing about Buttons was coming up with a voice for him. It had to be a voice that fit his looks. I also realized that the voice would also play a major role in the type of personality that Buttons would have. After playing around with several voices, and rejecting most of them, I finally decided on a deep throat-style voice based on a surfer-type dude’s way of talking.

Buttons has never been the same since. The voice defined his personally like I thought it would. Suddenly this puppet became alive. Kids would howl with laughter. Adults would smile, and even giggle once in a while. But there was a price to pay for using that voice. It was very hard on my throat, and I could usually only say a few sentences at a time as Buttons.

When I did the first videos with Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, they were short videos. I wanted to see how the puppet looked, how the voice worked, and if he would look real enough to pass what I wanted to accomplish. After viewing the videos I was pleased with what I saw. I began to expand the videos, and take Buttons away from the den. He toured my family room, went around town filming in parks and at school. People saw these videos and enjoyed them.

It was time to take Buttons to the next level. It was time for him to perform with a live person. Michael is the Cub Scout brother of one of my Boy Scouts.
When he saw a video of Buttons the first time he broke out laughing and could not stop. I thought it might be fun to try doing a video in which he would have to interact with the puppet. I knew he would have a tough time trying to keep a straight face, but to tell the truth, I did not want him to be too serious.

This podcast video is the first video in which Buttons shares the limelight with Michael, the radical Cub Scout. Michael tries to teach Buttons the Cub Scout Promise. And tries, and tries. Buttons proves to be a slow learner. Michael has a hard time not giggling. It has become the most popular video featuring Buttons, the radical Boy Scout.

Watch it HERE on our troop’s website, or download the PODCAST, and then leave a comment about it. Thanks for watching.