A Scoutmaster's Blog

Boy Scout Troop 68 has a problem. We are looking for someone to become the scoutmaster. Unfortunately, no one seems interested in the position at this time. Having a small troop does not seem to be helping matters. Being in a community that has not been interested in having their boys in the Scout program has definitely made it tougher. (Only three of our eight Boy Scouts live in town.)

When I retired from the position after being the troop’s scoutmaster for 30 years I had a feeling it would be tough finding someone to take over. Luckily, one father stepped up to the plate. After five months he has decided to step down. I had a hunch this might happen. Why? Because he is also the Cubmaster of our Pack. Holding two “full time” volunteer Scouting positions would be tough for anyone to handle. Add to this that his sons are heavy into sports and extracurricular activities, and that he owns his own business, I knew it would be a challenge for him. But I have to give him credit. He gave it a good try. He did a good job. But there just was not enough time in the week to do it all, and do it well. He continues to serve as the Cubmaster.

So, the troop is once again looking for a scoutmaster. I have received several “hints” that a few people in the troop (Scouts and parents) would like to see me return to the position. I have no plans to do so. I am worn out and burned out. I actually began to hate going to Scout functions during my last year as scoutmaster. I do not want to return to the routine of weekly meetings and monthly activities. While I really enjoy working with the boys I do not want the responsibility any longer. I like my new position on the committee.

Sometimes I think thirty years was too long to be the scoutmaster. People got to the point where they would just assume that I would take care of things, and I usually did. People are now scared of the role. I am not quite sure why they should be. I took the position when I was a “wet behind the ear” 21 year old. I did okay with almost no experience. I had a committee that supported me. I was willing to take training, and that made a huge difference.

We have the month of June pretty well covered. I guess I will be the acting scoutmaster. Next month is summer camp, so the troop will not have any meetings. But by August we need to have someone step up to the plate. If we don’t, the council could get antsy and apply pressure to find someone quick. Or else. Troop 68 went through that in 1981. We went through four men as scoutmaster that year. (I was the fourth.) I would hate to see that happen to the troop again. I would really hate to see the troop lose its charter because no one was willing to take the position.

It would be sad to see the troop fold after 32 continuous years.

Boy Scout patch blanket

When you have been involved in Scouting for as long as I have (over 32 years) you end up accumulating a lot of patches. Some are earned by simply attending a Scouting event. Others are earned by being on staff for an activity. Others have requirements that must be completed before being awarded. And finally, there are those that you buy just because they look cool. There is a lot of truth in the saying, “A Scout (or Scouter) will do anything for a patch.”

I probably have nearly 200 Scout related patches. For many years I stapled them to a four foot by four foot sheet of paneling and hung it on the wall. The patches were placed in rows, by year in the order I received them. I was fun to be able to view all the patches at one time. It was a colorful item used in some of the Scouting displays I would place around town during Boy Scout anniversary week in February.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, I ran out of room on the patch board. I had teased the Boy Scouts that when the board was full it would be time for me to retire from Scouting. The last patch was stapled to the board in 2005. I remained as scoutmaster (until the end of 2011) and currently serve as a committee member. I guess you could say the board really did not have any say on when I would retire from the Scout program.

I now have a problem. I have a lot more patches that need a home. I also need wall space to hang photos, art prints, and other items. It is time for the old patch board to come down off the wall, but I really have no place to store it. It may be time to do something I have wanted to do for a long time. It is time to create a patch blanket. Or two. Yep, definitely two blankets.

Several Christmases ago my sister gave me a Scout blanket as a present. A few years ago a couple Eagle Scouts gave me another Scout blanket as a gift. Last year I received a third Scout blanket at another Eagle court of honor. I guess I have enough blankets to make this work.

Tonight I began taking patches off the board and started placing them on the first blanket, which happens to be a Boy Scouts of America 100th anniversary design. I am placing more patches on it them I originally thought I would be able to place on it. I think it is going to look pretty sharp. I am far enough along to see that I will need two blankets for all the patches.

There is one major problem with my plan. I do not sew. I hate sewing. I am not good at it. And I do not plan to get good at it. I think I will use some Badge Magic to hold the patches in place and take them to a person in town has a sewing business in her home. I realize it will cost me some bucks to have this done put I think it is going to be well worth it. I plan to ask her if she can put a couple loops at the top of the blanket so that I could hang it on a wall or rod. This way I could continue to use it as part of Scouting displays.

What do you think about my first blanket? Do you have a patch blanket? I would appreciate hearing your comments.

Here is what is left on the board yet.

It is amazing the things you can discover while visiting a museum. Yesterday, Monday, May 7th, the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 had a field trip at the Melrose Area Historical Museum. While we were there we took a look at the Scouting display and saw some new items added since the troop visited two years ago. Some of these items came from the first Eagle Scout of Melrose, Minnesota. His name was John Johnson. He earned his Eagle Rank in 1966.

As John got older he joined the Explorer Scout Post in town. One day he saved the life of a young child who was playing on the train tracks. John received the B.S.A.’s Honor Metal for his quick action. Boy’s Life magazine, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America, was notified about this. John was featured in the magazine during the mid-1960’s on the “Scouts In Action” page. A copy of the page from Boy’s Life is found in the museum.

I knew that John Johnson was the first Eagle Scout of Melrose. In fact, he was a guest speaker at an Eagle court of honor in 1992. But I never knew he saved a young child’s life and that he was mentioned in Boy’s Life magazine. Amazing what a person can discover at a local museum, isn’t it?

Here is a photo of the Boy’s Life page found at the Melrose Area Historical Museum.

The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 took their May 7 meeting night to have a field trip. They gathered at the Melrose Area Historical Museum for a tour of the facility which worked into their monthly theme of Historical Places. One of the museum curators, Roger Paschke, lead the Boy Scouts through the rooms while explaining several of the more interesting of the exhibits. The Scouts learned a little about the founders of Melrose, Minnesota. Mr. Paschke stopped the troop at the Charles Lindberg display for a short explanation of his famous plane trip and his links to Melrose. The boys enjoyed the “war room”, but quickly passed by the religious displays in the “chapel” for some reason. Other popular areas of the museum included the prohibition (moonshine and stills) area, the old printing press, the railroad displays, and the case with the old Scouting memorabilia.  The troop plans to go back to the museum later this month for a scavenger hunt.

Here are a few pictures from the field trip.

 The Boy Scouts learn about the ties Charles Lindberg had to Melrose, Minnesota.

 This is part of the Scouting display found at the museum.

 
 The group photo was taken in front of some of the old farming machinery found in the museum.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – “New Feature Film Aims to Pay Tribute to Scout Leaders” 

Utah based filmmaker Garrett Batty has announced development of SCOUT CAMP: THE KLONDIKE, a feature film tribute to Scout Leaders.  Principal photography is set to begin in October 2012.

When Batty wrote and directed SCOUT CAMP: THE MOVIE, he had no idea the reception the film would receive.  3 years later, the ultra-independent movie has become a must-see among scouting families, screening at the National Jamboree, and at scouting events all over the country.  “The reception has been wonderful, and the people I have met through the process are remarkable,” Batty says, as he considers those whom he has met over the past 3 years touring with the film.

Scout Camp: The Klondike Screenwriter Jake Van Wagoner with Director Garrett Batty film a fundraising campaign for their next film.

It’s that spark that has ignited a fundraising campaign for a brand new scouting movie, this time with a focus on Scout Masters. “Scout leaders deserve their story to be told,” Batty explains. “The time, energy and sacrifices that they make for scouts, and the little recognition that they get– There are some wonderfully relatable stories that would show a positive side of scouting that is not often shared the media.” Working with screenwriting partner and fellow eagle scout Jake Van Wagoner, they’ve come up with SCOUT CAMP: THE KLONDIKE, a full length feature about winter camping, that will finally give hardworking scout masters their time in the sun– or snow. A funding campaign for the independent film has recently been launched on Kickstarter.com, a site that promotes crowdsourcing to launch creative projects.

“We chose to go to kickstarter as a way to get scouts involved with the film,” explains screenwriter Jake Van Wagoner. Batty joins in, “We’re letting the audience get behind this film BEFORE it is made. As a thanks, we’ll put their name in the credits, or send them a limited edition patch, or even come be an extra in the film. The rewards are pretty amazing…” The kickstarter campaign allows anyone to pledge money to the project, from $10 or more, with different incentives given based on the amount you pledge. However, the film will only be made if the kickstarter campaign gets completely funded before it expires– in this case, May 24th. It’s an incredibly short amout of time to raise enough money to get the film started. “It’s really an urgent campaign, so we hope the audience will make a pledge, then spread the word.”

With a complete script, a ready crew, and 3 years of gathering scout stories from all over the country, they now look to take the film into production. More information on SCOUT CAMP: THE KLONDIKE can be found at www.scoutcampthemovie.com or find Scout Camp on Facebook.

It looks like there is going to be a sequel to the film Scout Camp: The Movie. It will be called The Klondike. A website has been posted for people who would like to be a part of this new film by donating money (as little as $10) to the financing of the project. I am thinking about it since I enjoyed the first movie. The website can be found at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/threecoinproductions/scout-camp-the-klondike-a-comedy-with-merit . Check it out. Here is a video from screenwriter Jake Van Wagoner and writer/director Garrett Batty introducing the project. They hope to premiere the movie at the 2013 National Jamboree!

By the way, if you did not get a chance to hear our interview with Garrett Batty when Scout Camp: The Movie was released you should check out episode #67 of The Leaders Campfire podcast.

Your have seen the presentation in the first video. You have heard from the former members of Boy Scout Troop 68 during the next two videos. Now it is time to hear from the retired scoutmaster. In this, the final of four parts of the retirement party, we finally get to hear what Steve has to say after 30 years of serving as the scoutmaster of his home troop. He talks about the Scouts, the parents, the leaders, the committee members, and brings his assistant of 24 years up to the podium.

Steve has not retired from the Scouting program. He still serves as the troop’s treasurer on the committee, attends the occasional troop meeting, and tags along on an outing now and then. He makes sure he is available if the new scoutmaster has any questions.

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Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has unofficially been the mascot of the Melrose Scout Productions podcast and the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. He has even made guest appearances on the MISS Show and Akela’s Adventure. This puppet has his own Twitter and Facebook accounts. It has been awhile since he has been in a podcast, and he has not been very active online lately. I guess he has been busy doing other things.

Last month, the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 went to Camp Stearns for a weekend. Although Buttons did not attend he did come up during a discussion during one of the meals. I was quite surprised when one of the Scouts admitted he did not like Buttons very much and found him to be freaky. When this Scout’s father wanted him to stand next to Buttons for a photo during the scoutmaster retirement party in February the Scout refused, until he father TOLD him to stand next to the radical one.

When I asked the Scout why he did not like Buttons he compared it to how some people find clowns to be scary. It reminded me of a comment made by the caretaker of the American Legion as we decorated for the retirement party. This grown woman also found the puppet to be a little unnerving and told me to be sure to take it home after the ceremony. She did not want to walk into the meeting hall the following day and scare herself if she found Buttons standing off to one side of the room.

The only time I have ever noticed anyone afraid of Buttons is when he has been around young children. Sometimes the little ones come running up to him, but others times they stay close to their parents and are shy around the radical one. It has been rare to find a Boy Scout or adult who wants to avoid him.

How do you feel about Buttons, the radical Boy Scout? What does your Cub Scout or Boy Scout think of him? Leave a comment and let us know.