A Scoutmaster's Blog

I was the only guy in my high school (grades 10-12) who was an active Boy Scout. When I was in the tenth grade my scoutmaster told the members of our troop that we should wear our Boy Scout uniforms to school on February 8 for the Boy Scouts of America anniversary. Yeah, right, okay, I’ll get right on that.

I did it. I wore my uniform to school. I was already the smallest guy in school who got picked on regularly by some other guys. I was already the shy quiet dork. Wearing the Boy Scout uniform to school could not make things much worse. Could it?

Well, it did not make things any worse. Almost no one teased me about it. In fact, a few girls even talked to me about the colorful patches on my shirt. All in all, it was not a bad day. I guess no one cared if I wore my uniform, but to tell the truth, even though I was proud to be a Boy Scout, I never wanted to wear my shirt to school again.

Turn the clock forward several years. I was now the scoutmaster of my hometown troop. Scout Anniversary Day was coming up. Should I ask the Boy Scouts to wear their uniforms to school? I thought about it. I brought it up to the troop, but I did not tell them they should wear their uniforms to school. I could not ask them to do something I did not want to do when I was a youth (even though I did do it).

The biggest factor in my decision was not my feelings on the subject but the reaction of the boys. They flat out refused. They did not want their classmates to know they were a Boy Scout. They were having fun in Scouting, but they did not want to advertise they were a Scout. The boys’ attitude surprised me. I could only hope that it would change over the years and that at some point the boys would not be ashamed to tell their peers that they were a Boy Scout.

Many years have come and gone since then, and many boys have joined and moved on. I still do not ask the boys to wear their Scout uniforms to school, even though the boys today seem to be a lot more comfortable about Scouting then the boys were in the early 1980’s. I have even heard about a few boys over the years who wore their troop tee shirt to school.

On a final note, I stated earlier that I never wanted to wear a Scouting uniform to school again. As an adult leader I have wore my uniform to school many times. Wearing it in public is not a big deal anymore.

I was a scoutmaster for several years when I noticed that we had a number of Boy Scouts who would go along on many of the outings, but would not show up regularly for troop meetings, and would not take the time to earn their advancement. I talked to them. I encouraged them. But it did not make a difference. They would not put forth the effort to earn their ranks and merit badges.

I took the Boy Scouts of America’s Woodbadge training course for adult leaders in 1988. I was a member of the Bobwhite Patrol. I was the patrol’s historian so I took a lot of pictures over the three weekends.

I finally found time to scan my Woodbadge photographs this summer. I recently posted them to an album on my Flickr account at this LINK. I wanted to post some of them to a Flickr Woodbadge photo group but I could not find any except for a couple course specific groups. Well, I thought, I guess I will have to start a group for us Woodbadgers that want to share our photos.

If you have some photos that you would like to share then I invite you to join this new group on Flckr named Woodbadge Photos. You can find it at http://www.flickr.com/groups/woodbadge/

It is time to get back to fun with the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. After all, the last two postings were a bit more on the serious side. This episode features the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 during their 2002 Laughs For Lunch Show. Two skits are included, both which involve doctors and hospitals. The first skit takes place in the doctor’s office as the patients come to him with their problems. The second skit finds us in the maternity ward’s waiting room as the expectant fathers await word about their new born children. (You may have to turn up your volume a little during the second skit. The boys did not talk as loud as they should have.)

I am still having fun with my Flickr account. Travel back in time and watch this slide show of Boy Scout Troop 68 pictures from 1981. If you wish to see the pictures individually check out the photo gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/8515713@N06/sets/72157622054953898/

Bob, our Scenic District Executive, told me that he would be in town on Thursday for the school’s Health and Wellness Fair. He had reserved a table during the three hour event to promote Scouting, which was a good idea. Membership in the local program had been declining over the last few years so we could use a little extra promotion. Maybe this could stir up a little interest and bring some boys and their parents to school night to join Scouting on Monday.

The fair began at 5:00 pm and would run until 8:00. I went there straight from work and arrived about 5:20. It did not take long to find Bob’s table. There were only about a dozen groups set up in the school cafeteria. The Boy Scout table was right next to the Girl Scout’s table. I said hello to Bob and the representative from the Girl Scouts.Jason, one of the committee members from the Cub Scout Pack was also present.

As we were standing there talking about Scouting it did not take long to notice that most people walked right by the table without stopping to check out the display or talk to us. I was almost like they were avoiding us, like we had the flu or something. It was making it difficult to get the word out about the Scouting program and school night.

Something needed to be done. We needed something to draw the boys (and their parents) to our table. We talked about how it would have been nice to have a movie or slideshow playing, but none of us had brought anything like that to the event. I ran to my car to get my iPod which had photos of various Scout activities, but the screen was too small to be of any value. Behind the table I noticed a toy air rocket that Bob had brought to the fair. He did not have anything in mind to do with it, but I thought it might be just the thing to bring the kids (and their parents) to our table.

It worked like a charm. After I shot the rocket a couple of times, and discovered how far the thing could shot (which was pretty far), the kids started coming over to try it themselves. It gave Bob the chance to talk to the parents and I talked to the boys and girls. I usually asked the boys what grade they were in, and then told them which part of the Scouting program they could be join during the meeting on Monday. We were passing out a lot more flyers.

I think that Bob and I both learned that having an activity to engage the boys and girls will make a huge difference in the amount of people drawn to a table. Hopefully, this will pay off on Monday when we have school night and kick off the year for the Cub Scout Pack.

On a final note, a few boys were having so much fun playing with the rocket that I promised to bring it along to the meeting on Monday. Maybe I will use it as a door prize for the boys who sign up for Scouting.

If you are or have been a scoutmaster you may have had young boys in your troop that really look up to you. Everything you say is truth. Everything you do is amazing. You are their “Scouting Idol”. They will follow you everywhere, do whatever you tell them. As I scoutmaster I try to do my duty as well as I am able. I admit, at time it feels great to be truly awesome in the eyes of a young Boy Scout, but it is pretty tough to live up to that standard. Here are a few examples of my “awesomeness” this year as a scoutmaster, at least in the eyes of my Scouts:

– hitting the black center of the target with all five shots at the rifle range during summer camp. Most Scouts are happy to hit the center of the target with a couple shots.

– hitting the apple with an arrow at the archery range. Although, to tell the truth, three of my Boy Scouts did this last year, but none of them did this year.)

– getting a hole in one at the first green of the miniature golf course, to which one of the Scouts commented about how playing a game with me was so unfair.

– teeing off on the camp’s disc golf course and throwing the frisbee so well that it flew through a grove of trees to land only ten feet from the basket. The boys were simply amazed. (So was I, to tell the truth.)

But then, reality crashed in and the awesomeness leaves me, like later on that same miniature golf course when it took me seven putts to sink the ball on one hole. Or when I missed the target at the archery range. Those type of things bring a scoutmaster back down to earth.

A huge reality check came not long ago when I was playing disc golf with Sergio, an alumni of Troop 68. He and I were playing at a local course for the first time. The first several holes went well for me. Then we discovered water traps in the form of streams, marshes, and bogs. My game suddenly became all wet, literally. It was like the water had a strong magnetic pull on my discs.

To make a long story short, by the time we finished the eighteen holes my socks and shoes were caked with mud. I tried washing them off at the park but ended up throwing the socks in the trash. I drove home barefoot because I did not want the smelly shoes back on my feet. The worst part of the game was when I lost one of my throwing discs in a bog with shoulder high grass. After ten minutes of searching I finally gave it up for lost. It was literally like throwing ten dollars away.

On the up side, I still won the game, even if by only one throw. Even after the reality check I guess I proved I was still awesome. Don’t you agree?

Has your troop, patrol, or den ever had to develop a new skit or patrol for a campfire program? The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 created several new ones over the decades, mainly in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Scouts would take a song, chance the words a bit (or a lot), add some actions, and suddenly had a popular campfire skit.