A Scoutmaster's Blog

I have been podcasting for over five and a half years. I have co-hosted one podcast (The Leaders Campfire), produced an audio podcast (Around The Scouting Campfire), and continue to post videos to the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast. All three podcasts have had Scouting related themes. I have had fun podcasting and hope that those of you who have watched or listened to them have found them fun and informative.

This afternoon I did something I have not done for awhile. I went on iTunes and did a search for Scouting themed podcasts. There used to be several out there, mostly audio versions. I was a little surprised by what I found. I did a search for “cub scout” and 15 podcasts were found, but only three actually dealt with Cub Scouting: An Hour A Week (audio), Autism and Scouting Radio (audio), and my own Melrose Scout Productions (video). When I changed the search to “cub scouting” only two showed up: Autism and Scouting Radio and the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast (MSPP).

Next I tried a search for “boy scout”. Sixty one podcasts came up, but only five of these actually dealt with the Scouting program. One was produced by the Boy Scouts of America, and another was produced by Boy’s Life magazine. Both appeared to be dead podcasts with no episodes produced for quite awhile. Of course, MSPP was listed. When I changed the search to “boy scouting” I discovered that MSPP was the only Boy Scouting related podcast listed.

Now I know there have been other Scouting podcasts produced during the last few years, such as The Scoutmaster Minute and the Boy Scout Hour. I know the Scoutmastercg podcast is going strong and has a strong listenership. But these podcasts did not show up in the searches. Even my old Around The Scouting Campfire did not show up. Why? The only thing I can think of is that we all may need to check our podcast tags.

Then I started thinking. Are podcasts even relevant to Scouting anymore? Are adults leader searching them out and listening to or watching them? Do current leaders even know they exist? Do we need to do a better job and promoting them? If we do, what is a good way to promote them? The BSA does not seem to be podcasting any longer so maybe they do not feel there is a need for this medium.

I know the viewership of MSPP has gone down over the last year. I receive very few comments about the videos. If you look at the iTunes listing for MSPP you will notice that there has not been a comment left for nearly two and a half years. Comments  and emails are the only way we podcasters really have of knowing how people feel about what we are producing.

I have begun to wonder if it is time to retire the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast. I have already stopped producing Around The Scouting Campfire. Is it worthwhile putting forth the time and effort?

Here are my questions to you.
Do you listen to or watch Scouting related podcasts?
Do you subscribe to any?
Which ones do you subscribe to? How should we promote them?
Or have Scouting podcasts lost their importance, if they ever had any that is?
I look forward to reading your comments.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have been spending a spring weekend at Camp Watchamagumee each year for over twenty years. Many years ago we held a contest during the outing that has since become a Watchamagumee tradition – The Egg Drop Competition. The contest is played individually or by teams; it seems to vary from year to year. Each player, or team, is given a raw egg. Using only natural materials found around the campsite they are to create a package that will protect the egg when the package is dropped. No man made materials are allowed to create the package. The winner of the competition is the one whose package protects the egg the longest as we drop it from higher and higher heights.

I video recorded the event in the spring of 2012. This post to the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast features that event. I am not going to give anything away but I will state the the winning package was thrown from the top of a step ladder onto a concrete patio block. Did the egg break? You will have to watch the video to discover that answer. (This video is about 20 minutes long.)

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
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 here, or at iTunes.

I wrote an article last month about the new collectable lighted miniature buildings being sold on the scoutstuff.com website. There were three pieces available: the Ranger’s Cabin, the Trading Post, and the Church. I liked the looks of the ranger’s cabin and the trading post, but I was not really impressed with the church.

A couple weeks later I noticed the ranger’s cabin had been removed from the website. Boy, I thought, they must be sold out already. I wonder how many they made. It did not bother me because I did not plan to buy the pieces anyway.

Last Saturday, I called the council Scout Shop and just for the fun of it I asked if they still had a Ranger’s Cabin. They did, and suddenly I had a change of mind. I decided I wanted the three pieces. I had the shop set the cabin aside and told them I would pick it up on Tuesday before the roundtable meeting.

When I arrived Tuesday, they had the Ranger’s Cabin and the Church but they were out of the Trading Post buildings. They were trying to get more in so I bought the other two buildings. I could always buy the Trading Post online, I thought.

I checked the Scout Stuff website when I returned home and discovered the Trading Post was no longer available. Two of the three pieces were now sold out. I called the council Scout Shop Wednesday morning and was told that they were having difficulty finding more Trading Posts, but they were still trying. Two other people were also on they waiting list for the same piece.

Yesterday, Friday, I called the shop again and was told they still do not have an answer as to whether they will be receiving any more of the buildings. I explained that I would really like to have the three piece set. She understood, asked if I could give her another week, and told me that if she could not find any I could return the pieces I had bought.

Now the wait begins. Do I begin my lighted “Scouting Village” with all three pieces or do I return them and forget about starting a new collection? I guess I will have the answer next weekend.

Have you purchased any of the pieces? What do you think of them?

I will admit that I have fallen behind on listening to the Scouting podcasts to which I subscribe, so when I recently took a trip to the Twin Cities I decided to catch up on listening to a couple episodes of the Scoutmaster Podcast found at scoutmaster cg.com. In episode #137, Clarke Green interviews author Mike Malone about his book Four Percent, a history of Eagle Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America. I really enjoyed the stories Mr. Malone shared about three of the most well known Eagle Scouts (listen to the podcast to find out who) and some of the changes to the Eagle Scout program during the last hundred years.

After listening to this podcast I wanted to get a copy of the book. Unfortunately, it is only available as an ebook through Amazon and iTunes. While I have read a couple ebooks on my iPad, I prefer to actually have a real book in my hands. I also think it would make an excellent gift for an Eagle Scout. Mr. Malone stated that his publisher is planning to publish an actual book sometime in the future but there are still some things to work out before that can happen, including getting the rights to use pictures within the book. Until then, it is the ebook or no book.

First of all, let us get something straight. When I say camping I mean staying overnight in a tent or sleeping under the stars. I do not consider staying in a cabin, lodge, or barracks as camping. Camping is sleeping outside, not in a building. Now that we have that understanding…

I have not camped out even one night during 2012, and it looks as if this year will be my first year without a camping trip since 1979. I began camping with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 when I became an assistant scoutmaster in 1980. There were a lot of camping trips during the next 32 years, both long term and short term outings.

This is not to say that I did not attend any troop activities this year. I did attend a weekend outing at Camp Stearns in  March, but we stayed in a lodge. I did spend most of a day at Camp Watchamagumee in May but I did not spend the night. I did visit the troop for a day at Many Point Scout Camp in July but left when it was time for the evening campfire program. I was going to spend the weekend with the boys for a June camping trip at Kings Lake but it was cancelled due to a lack of participants. The August canoe trip was attended by several parents so there was no need for me to tag along. I was going on a weekend camping trip with some former troop members in May, but it rained that weekend and everyone backed out.

It seems strange not to use my camping gear. Usually, I would have to pack up for at least five or six outing each year. My rain gear remains dry. My cot remains folded and my mat remains rolled. My eating utensils remain clean. It is kind of weird, but it was my own choice. I wanted the Scouts, parents, and new adult leadership to understand that I really have stepped down as the scoutmaster and that they should not be relying on me to attend the troop’s outings as they have in the past.

Will I get back into camping with the troop during 2013? I am not sure yet. We will have to see how things turn out, but yes, I would enjoy camping with the Scouts again in the great Minnesota outdoors. I think everyone now understands that we have a new scoutmaster but that I am there if I am needed. Besides, I enjoy camping and I think I still have a skill set to offer the troop.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 chose geocaching as the theme for last August. A merit badge counselor came to one of the troop meetings and the monthly outing was based on that topic. The Boy Scouts had fun and seemed to enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

After the activity, the scoutmaster and his son stopped by my house to discuss how things went. It did not take long before we were on the geocaching.com website to learn how to create and record our own geocache site.

Over the last three months I have received five emails from geocaching.com informing me that people have been discovering our site and leaving comments. I am happy to report that all of the comments have been positive, even though one person was harassed by an injured goose While trying to find it.

I have not been back to our cache site since we set it up, so on Sunday I went for a walk and checked it out. I was pleased to see that most of the treasure hunters had signed our sheet. troop number patch was still in the 35mm case so I guess Boy Scouts from another troop have not yet discovered it.

Has your troop set up any geocaching sites?

The Pinewood Derby is a highlight of nearly every Cub Scout’s program year. The Cub Scouts love to race their homemade car down the derby track, and hopefully, their car will be the one to cross the finish line first to advance to the next level of the races. Even the siblings and parents, especially the fathers, really get into the races. It ends up being a great evening activity.

I attended the Cub Scout Pack 68 derby in March 2012. I took video during the races (which still has to be edited) and pictures before and after the races, including the presentation of the awards. This video entry to the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast features these pictures in a slideshow style format. There are a lot of smiling faces to be seen, along with a picture of each Scout and his car.

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
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 here, at iTunes.

Fifteen years ago I collected pieces of the Department 56 Dickens Village Collection, the Christmas Carol pieces in particular. For a few years I enjoyed setting up my buildings around Christmas time, and I believe people enjoyed it when they paid a visit to my home. It was a lot of work setting it up because I hard a fair number of building, trees, people, and other pieces. It also took up a fair portion of my living room. After a few years I quit setting it up and no longer added pieces to the collection. It now sits in a cabinet in the basement.

I noticed that this year the Boy Scouts of America store at scoutstuff.org has begun their own Scouting Village collection. This first year (?) begins with three pieces for Scouts and Scouters to own: the lighted Chapel House, the lighted Trading Post, and the lighted Camp Ranger Cabin. (Click on the links to go to the scoutstuff.org page.)

I like the Trading Post and the Ranger Cabin, but I have never been at a Scout camp that has a small enclosed church. Even here in Minnesota the Scout camp chapels are usually outing settings, like a campfire ring, or a building open on at least three sides to keep the outdoors feel to the service. In other words, your rain jacket may be required at your religious services. But maybe I am looking this the incorrectly. The website states, “A yard sign beside the steps proudly boasts the message “Scouts Meet Here.” so maybe this is meant to be a troop meeting place.

I wonder how long the Scout Shop plans to continue with this series, and how many pieces it plans to release each year. Are the pieces to be sold for one only year, with new pieces introduced each year? Will there be “people” pieces? Trees and shrubbery? Tents, beach fronts, and climbing towers? The buildings have snow on them so I would guess there will not be any beach front pieces.

I cannot help but think that this series is about ten years too late. Are the various village collections even popular anymore? Am I just out of the loop? Oh well, at least the Scouting Village pieces are reasonably priced at only $12.99 each. I think they could make for fun Christmas presents. What do you think about them?