A Scoutmaster's Blog

Once upon a time, there were two Cub Scout leaders who were creating online audio shows called podcasts. Chris hosted a show called An Hour A Week. Bob hosted a show with his Cub Scout son called Akela’s Adventure. Together, they created a third show named The Leaders Campfire. These three productions were combined to form an online network that became known as PTC Media, found at http://www.ptcmedia.net .

In April of 2007, I began a video podcast featuring the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 doing songs and skits. Some videos included footage from their outings. I named the podcast Melrose Scouting Productions.

During the fall of 2007, Bob and Chris began talks with me to add my podcast to the PTC Media network. They enjoyed the videos and thought the podcast would be a good addition to their site. On October 5, 2007, Melrose Scouting Productions joined the network of Scouting related podcasts.

It has been a fun four years. I have met dozens of online Scout Leaders through the network and made many Scouting friends. My role at PTC Media has increased. I am now a cohost of The Leaders Campfire and occasionally produce another podcast named Around The Scouting Campfire.

It has been great working with Cubmaster Chris and the other hosts of PTC Media shows: Jerry, Shawn, Liberty, Emily, and Shannon. They are a dedicated group of Scouters and good friends. It has been a pleasure sharing stories and experiences with them.

It will be interesting to watch PTC Media grow and change in the future. The network already hosts eight shows. A ninth about Venturing will soon be added. I am proud to include Melrose Scouting Productions as one part of the quality shows at PTC Media.

Ever since I was a child I have enjoyed puppets. One year for Christmas my parents gave me a Howdy Doody ventriloquist doll. I was a big fan of the Muppet Show. I enjoy watching Jeff Dunham and his pals.

During the last few years I have made several videos featuring a puppet call Buttons, the radical Boy Scout. Buttons has talked about the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, and being physically fit. He also loves a good joke or two. While there are over a dozen videos featuring Buttons, he is not the first puppet to star in a video of mine.

In the late 1980’s, I was taping courts of honor and troop activities for Mel-TV, our local cable access television station. Some of the Boy Scouts would act in a few of the original short films I created. One of those movies was The Puppets Must Die, which involved puppets coming to life to kill people. It was like a Twilight Zone episode. Two Boy Scouts played the main roles in the film. The climax was to be a battle between the good puppet and the evil puppet.

Unfortunately, we were only able to film the first half of the movie before we ran out of time and life got in the way. Only one puppet’s scenes were filmed. A third Boy Scout acted as our puppeteer. I thought he did an excellent job of bringing Gruber to life. Some of tricks we learned while filming The Puppets Must Die were later used during the videos featuring Buttons twenty years later.

I recently posted The Puppets Must Die to our troop’s website. If you would like to view our first experiment in puppet entertainment check out http://www.melrosetroop68.org/videopuppets.html .

Sorry, but there are no plans to finish this film.

During a pack meeting last spring, the Cub Scouts of Melrose Pack 68, along with their fathers, played with some marshmallows and spaghetti to create towers and things. The boys were actually working on a requirement for one of their awards, but I do not think they realized it. They were having fun, and that was all that mattered. A couple of the Cub Scouts decided to find out how much weight their towers could support. A scale and some rocks were brought out. It surprised the boys and their fathers to see how many rocks the towers could carry. At the end of the meeting, one group of Cubs decided it was time to demolish their tower. It was a great way to end this video of Melrose Scout Productions.

Have you tried this activity in your den or pack? If so, how did the Scouts enjoy it?

Click here to DOWNLOAD and watch this Podcast.
Or 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
Leave feedback here, at iTunes, or on the forums at PTC Media.

The troop committee was called to a local restaurant for a special meeting on September 13th. As the troop’s assistant scoutmaster I was invited to attend. So was the district executive. The scoutmaster was not informed of the meeting.

The troop had a problem. The current scoutmaster was not doing his job. He did not attend many of the meetings. He did not attend many of the outings. The committee needed to talk to the district executive about their options. After a short discussion one member asked the D.E. if they could fire a scoutmaster. The D.E. replied that they could. After all, it was their troop.

I had to leave the meeting at that point to go to the Cub Scout Pack’s monthly committee meeting, so I did not get to partake in the rest of the troop committee meeting. Later, on my way home, I noticed that a few of the Boy Scout committee members were still at the restaurant so I stopped to talk to them. The committee chairman invited me to sit down. They gave me a quick update about what I missed. They decided to fire the scoutmaster. They appointed me as the troop’s new scoutmaster.

I was a little stunned. No one had asked me about it. True, I was already doing most of the scoutmaster’s job, but I was only 21 years old. I was not sure I was ready for such a responsibility. The committee thought I was ready and promised their support. What could I do? I accepted the position.

That was in 1981, thirty years ago. I had been an assistant scoutmaster for only 16 months. I wanted to do a good job as scoutmaster so I took all the training the council and district provided. I attended nearly all the monthly roundtable meetings. I poured myself into the program because I believed in what Scouting had to offer.

The core principles of the program remain the same as they were thirty years ago, but their have been some changes. Women are now allowed to be scoutmasters. Two adults must now attend any troop functions. Youth protection training is now mandatory. Councils now do background checks on any adults who wish to hold a leadership position. Oh, and skill awards have disappeared from the advancement program.

The remember when the first boys joined the troop who were born after I had become a scoutmaster. “Wow. I am getting old,” I thought to myself. Then the parents of some of the Scouts were younger then me. I have now been a scoutmaster so long that those first Boy Scouts from the ealry 1980’s are old enough to have Scout-age boys of their own.

Thirty years. Wow. I have seen hundreds of boys go through the Scouting program. I have been to the Charles Sommers Canoe Base, attended a national jamboree, and been on five treks at Philmont Scout Ranch. I have participated in two dozen week long summer camps and attended nearly a thousand troop meetings. I have seen 19 boys earn the Eagle Scout award while a member of Troop 68. Hopefully there will be one more before the end of the year.

During the last couple of months I have been thinking about retiring as the troop’s scoutmaster. Thirty years is a long time. I have accomplished my goals. I have given it a good run, but I have been growing tired of the meetings and outings. I do not think I have much more to offer as a scoutmaster. Another factor is that Melrose has not been supporting Scouting like it once did. The troop is down to nine members. Only two of them live in town. If the community is not willing to support a Scouting program by getting involved then maybe it is time to let it go.

Like I said, thirty years is a long time, but I do not regret it. Sure, there have been some rough times, but there were a lot more great times and great boys that came through the program. I think I can honestly say I have done well as the scoutmaster of Melrose Troop 68.

If I hadn’t done a good job, the committee would have fired me. Wouldn’t they?

The Boy Scouts of America has a new merit badge. Chess anyone? That is correct. You may now earn the Chess Merit Badge as of Saturday, September 10. According to the B.S.A. Supply Line, “The USCF (United States Chess Federation) provided the primary contributing writers for the Merit Badge pamphlet. They will be helping to promote the badge through communications with the Chess delegate teams (similar to BSA’s National Committees and Boards) and e-mail blasts, plus website and “tournament news” announcements.”

When I first heard about this new merit badge, I was a little skeptical about what it could include for requirements. Maybe some history of the game. A little about strategies. And of course, how to play a game of chess. Now that the merit badge requirements have been posted (see http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Chess ) I have come to the conclusion that this could be a great merit badge for those Boy Scouts who enjoy playing the game, and may be a good tool to introduce new boys to the game.

I think any Boy Scout who earns this merit badge will have to spend some time learning more about chess. A Scout will not only have to know how to play but will also need to know history, terminology, strategies, and how to score. I would have to do some studying to earn this badge myself, and I have played the game since I was a kid. I have thought about becoming a councilor, but I would have to get a merit badge book and read it before working with any Scouts.

Take a look at the requirements at the link posted earlier in the post, and let me know what you think of the Chess Merit badge.

If you follow The Buckets comic strip you know that the youngest member of the household, Eddie, is a Cub Scout, and his father is a Pack leader. A few times a year Greg Cravens, the creator of the strip, uses his comic to share a humorous look at the world of Cub Scouting. Mr. Cravens obvious knows a little about the Scouting program because his comics can hit very close to home. I am sure many Pack Leaders and families can identify with the situations he shares with us. ( I sometimes wonder if Mr. Cravens is not a Cub Scout leader in his community.)

Mr. Cravens recently featured a weeklong series in which the Cub Scout Pack goes on a camping trip. If you have ever taken Scouts on a camping trip I am sure you will find these hitting the mark. Here is a quick rundown of the comic strips and the links:

A trip is announced / A pocket knife is needed: Click HERE.
The first rule of camping: Click HERE.
My last dry clothes: Click HERE.
How to gather the Scouts: Click HERE.
Texting while hiking: Click HERE.
A tick is on me! : Click HERE.

While these comic strips feature Cub Scout age boys, many of them could also apply to Boy Scout age youth. Enjoy.

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 spent a week at the Buckskin Camp of Many Point Scout Camp this summer. They had an awesome time at camp. The Buckskin staff was terrific and very helpful. The dining hall staff provided great meals in a friendly atmosphere. Even the weather cooperated by not being too hot or too rainy. The biggest complaint was the sparrow-size mosquitoes that made camp their home. Overall though, it was a fantastic week.

The Many Point Blog recently posted some interesting numbers from the 2011 season. I found them to be quite interesting:

4139 Boy Scouts and Venture Scouts camped at Many Point.
1451 Adult leaders watched their troops and crews grow while here at Many Point.
37 CITs spent 5 weeks learning and practicing the essential skills needed to be a staff member. (Including one from Melrose Troop 68.)
152 Scouts and Venturers participated in the Water Sports Outpost and had the opportunity to ride personal watercraft, a truly rare opportunity in the BSA.
8606 Merit badges were earned.
2830 Merit badges were started, to be completed at home.
479 Certifications such as Kayak BSA, Snorkeling BSA, Boardsailing BSA, BSA Lifeguard and BSA Aquatic Supervision were completed. (Five boys from Troop 68 earned the Snorkeling BSA.)
124,000 meals were served either “for here” or “to go” by our Dining Hall and Commissary, to fuel all the fun.

How were the numbers at your summer camp?

The Many Point Blog can be found at
http://manypointscoutcamp.wordpress.com/ .

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 had an opportunity to do two service projects in one day for the Melrose Riverfest celebration. The event was held last Saturday, August 20th.

The first project took place before the parade which was scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm. The Boy Scouts were set to distribute two thousand 3″ x 5″ plastic USA flags along the parade route. The funds to purchase the flags were provided the the local VFW and American Legion clubs.

This was the third year the troop did this project. Two years ago were started with 1000 flags that only covered about half of the parade route. Last year we ordered 1500 flags that covered about two thirds of the route. This year we ordered two thousand flags and had a couple hundred of them left over. Even though we began handing out the flags at the beginning of the route 30 minutes before the parade began, the parade was only three blocks behind us when we reached the end. The flags were very popular.

At midnight, the Boy Scouts met in downtown Melrose for the second of the projects. The Scouts, and their fathers, assisted the Melrose Chamber of Commerce with taking down a few refreshment tents, and packing up dozens of tables and hundreds of folding chairs. We finished this project at 1:45 in the morning.

Unfortunately, only two of the nine members of the troop were able to help with the day’s projects. Fortunately, the boy’s fathers were able to assist us so had doubled our manpower.

The troop’s next service project will be held tonight, August 22nd. We have a three mile stretch of highway south of town which we have adopted to clean the ditches of trash. Hopefully, we will have more troop members show up then we did on Saturday or it is going to to take awhile to clean those ditches.