You may have read about my 1980 experiences in Boy Scout Troop 68 in previous blog postings. Today I present the pictures taken during that year. So sit back, chuckle a bit, and enjoy the show.
The current incarnation of Boy Scout Troop 68 began in December 1979, nearly thirty years ago. The troop had virtually no money and only a small amount of gear that had been salvaged from previous troops. The charter organization was not able to, or chose not to, give much financial assistance to the fledgling troop. One of the committee members loaned the troop a couple hundred dollars to get things started. (That was quite an investment, don’t you agree?)
Due to that lack of funds over the first couple of years the troop bought inexpensive gear, including tents. Those first tents were small dome tents which I believe cost about $60.00 or so. They were small. Two boys and their gear filled the tent. But they did the job for a few years until we were able to purchase something better.
After a few fairly successful fundraisers, and a couple of letters to local service groups, the troop was able to buy better equipment. After some research we decided to buy some Eureka Alpine Meadows tents. The Alpine Meadows were a midsize tent, about 5’x7′, which could house three small boys and gear fairly comfortably. They were a good quality tent and lasted for many years. We were happy with the $200 per tent purchase.
It was a sad day for Troop 68 when Eureka decided to discontinue the Alpine Meadows series. As those tents wore out we began buying the Eureka Timberline tents, which were simular to the Alpine Meadows, less a couple of features. We had noticed that many other troops in the area were using the Timberline tents and seemed to be satisfied with them.
In the late nineties the troop bought a large two room Eureka tent for the adults who attended the camping trips. The fathers and adult leaders could now bring cots so they could sleep more comfortably, especially those that had back problems. We are still using that tent but it is showing its age. There is a rip in the front door, currently held together with duct tape. This summer while at Many Point Scout Camp door’s zipper decided to quit working. I am sure we will soon be looking for a new tent. The Eureka brand has been good for us over the last 25 years so I bet the new tent could end up being a Eureka also.
What kinds of tents have you had good luck with using?
MSPP #72: The Leaders of Scouting (Gerry W.)
stevejb68 on August 26, 2009 in committee, Leadership, podcast | 1 Comment »
Twenty years ago the volunteers at Mel-TV, our local cable access television station, filmed a program in which five men who were Boy Scout leaders were interviewed about their Scouting experiences. I took that old vhs tape and transferred it to a dvd. I thought to myself as I was transferring the program that many of the things being said by those gentlemen still apply to Boy Scouting today. I thought I would break this show down into parts for the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast, each part featuring one of the interviews.
This podcast video features the fourth interview from The Leaders of Scouting. Gerry W. began his adult Scouting career as a Cub Scout Pack committee member when his son became a Cub Scout. He moved to the Boy Scout committee when his son graduated into the troop. He soon became the outdoors chairman, making the arrangements for the troop activities. During this interview Gerry talked about being on the troop committee, going along on various troop outings, the values found in the Scouting program, the stunts he and the scoutmaster pulled, and his pride in seeing his son work through the ranks of Scouting.
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I discovered a new blog today written by a gentleman who would like to be an Eagle Scout. But like me, he is beyond his teen years. What he has decided to do is to try to fulfill all the requirements from the joining requirements, through Tenderfoot and all the ranks, all the way to the Eagle Rank. He realizes he can not actually “earn” the award but I have to give him credit for giving this a try. He is currently working on his Tenderfoot requirements.
As I read his August 9th entry I was a little startled by his comparison of backing a pack being like a certain video game. He wrote:
As we packed our backpacks with the relatively sparse supplies that would constitute our emergency kits, we discussed what was essential, including our tent and sleeping bags, our food and water, and our tools. The packing was difficult and taught us a lot about saving space and making priorities. I tried to make my bag look like the picture in the handbook. Good packing is a lot like playing Tetris.
Packing is like playing Tetris? After thinking about it for a few seconds I realized he was right! Holy cow, was he right. Everything in a backpack needs to packed correctly, using every inch of space available, organized so that things are easy to find and readily available. I think this guy is onto something.
The blog is written well, and I like the way he brings his family into it. For example, he also wrote:
By this point, the kids were asking – a few times – why Dad is doing all this Boy Scout stuff. I told them that I want the skills and experience. They didn’t have much of a reaction, but I’ll tell you that I haven’t been able to sign off the other item I’ve been working on – #4, the knots – because whenever I practice it, all of the kids want their turn looking in the handbook and working on my little nylon rope. It’s been fun watching them get into that, but I need time to master that darn tricky taut line hitch!
I think I am going to enjoy this blog. And I bet you would too. Check it out at
.
The national office of the Boy Scouts of America has encouraged its troops and packs to participate in an annual Scouting For Food drive for nearly twenty years. These drives have helped tens of thousands of people over the years, and have became a necessity to many of the food banks around the country. Boy Scout Trop 68 is proud to say we have been active in conducting a food drive in our community every year since Scouting For Food began.
One of the challenges of the drive is to promote it. Our local newspapers and local cable access television stations have always been happy to post a bulletin about the event. One more thing we have done some years is ask the city council to pass a proclamation declaring the week between when the bags are dropped off and when they are picked up as “Scouting For Food” week. We try to have a few Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts standing around the mayor as he signs the proclamation. The picture looks pretty good in the paper and draws more attention to the service project.
Here is a copy of the wording used in the proclamation by our city:
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, hunger remains a pervasive intrusion on the quality of life for millions of Americans; and
WHEREAS, hunger is a problem we can do something about by working together; and
WHEREAS, for more than 90 years the Boys Scouts of America has been an organization committed to community service; and
WHEREAS, the Scouting program instills the positive values of citizenship, ethical decision making, leadership and helping other people as outlined by the Scout Oath and the Scout Law; and
WHEREAS, the Central Minnesota Council of the Boy Scouts of America and its corps of dedicated Scouts and volunteer leaders will coordinate with other groups to conduct a Scouting for Food on October 2, 2004 in this community and throughout the country in a positive example of its longstanding commitment to service of direct benefit to the less fortunate among us.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Nancy Roering, Acting Mayor of the City of Melrose in the State of Minnesota do hereby proclaim the period of September 26-October 2, 2004, as
“SCOUTING FOR FOOD” WEEK
in the City of Melrose. I urge my fellow residents to join me in expressing the gratitude of an appreciative community, and ask that each of us contribute as best we can to this worthwhile endeavor.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the official seal of the City of Melrose this 16th day of September, 2004.
MAYOR SIGNATURE
Boy Scout Troop 68 really did not have a regular meeting place during its first year in 1980, so we would sometimes have our meetings in the clubroom of our sponsor, VFW Post 7050. It worked out fairly well but the boys could not play any rough and tumble games there. Some parents did not think it was very appropriate to hold Boy Scout meetings next to the VFW’s bar but we really did not have many choices at the time.
The troop held its first (and one of its few) Halloween parties at the VFW clubroom. Of course, it was a costume party and we did have a contest for the best costume. Many of the Boy Scouts participated. We had the typical Frankenstein monsters and vampires. Two of the boys must have had some help from their mothers because they looked pretty good in a wig and dress. One of my favorite costumes was the Scout who came to the party with two heads. I was dressed up as a clothed chimpanzee using facial appliances from a costume kit I bought that was based on the type of makeup used in the Planet of the Ape movies. It was an awesome costume, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, no one thought to take a picture of me.
It was getting a little late in the season when we decided to have one more overnight camping trip. The leaves had already fallen from the trees but the snow had not yet arrived. We drove several miles north of Melrose to the Lake Sylvia park and public access. We did not realize that camping was not allowed at the park until a sheriff happened to drive by and see us there. He was very nice and very understanding, and allowed us to stay the night but instructed us not to camp there again.
There was not much to do at the park. It did not take long before a couple of boys picked up some sticks and began having a sword fight. Or was it a lightsaber fight? A couple more boys joined in. Soon, the whole troop had sticks, including the adults. We broke the troop up into two teams for the big battle. It was interesting watching the sword fights take place in (somewhat) slow motion. After all, we did not want bashed fingers or hands.
After supper the boys competed in a timed obstacle course. The course was created using things found at the park. It included bench jumping, trench leaping, stump leapfrogging, and log crossing, along with other things. The course was a hit with the boys.
It was about this same time that I moved into an apartment. Some of the boys decided my place would be a great place to hang out. I had a decent stereo system along with a recordable cassette tape player and a couple of microphones. We began making spoof versions of radio and tv shows, recording them onto cassette tapes. I still have a couple of those tapes, but unfortunately, many have been lost over time. Little did I realize at the time that those early shows would develop into my current hobby of making videos and podcasts.
Isn’t it funny how some things work out?
Pictures of the year’s activities can be seen by clicking HERE.
I recently moved up to a Flickr Pro account so I am playing around with some of the features, one of which is the ability to embed slideshows into blogs and websites. I thought for the first one I would start with the pictures from my first trek to Philmont Scout Ranch with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68, taken in 1986. Many of these pictures can also be found on the troop’s website at http://www.melrosetroop68.org under the High Adventure area.
The summer has been busy with Scouting and family activities but I finally felt it was time to add another episode to the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast.
The show begins with Buttons arriving home from an overnight camping trip. A very wet overnight camping trip. He talks with Scoutmaster Steve about a couple of the things he and his troop did during the damp outing. Then, get out your earplugs because Steve tries singing “Scout Wetspers”, a song about being flooded when camping. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 join us for their rendition of a campfire favorite, Singing In The Rain. Buttons talks about when you know you are a real Boy Scout. As the campfire comes to a close Steve’s scout leader’s minute reminds us about being loyal, and why we are involved in the Scouting program.
Steve and Buttons would like to thank PTC Media ( http://www.ptcmedia.net ) for allowing this program to be a part of their family of Scouting related podcasts. We would also like to thank the Boy Scout Store ( http://boyscoutstore.com ) for sponsoring this show.
And finally, we would like to thank you, the listeners, for downloading Around The Scouting Campfire and sending us your emails. You can contact Buttons at buttonst68@yahoo.com. You may contact Scoutmaster Steve at stevejb68@yahoo.com.
Please rate the show and/or leave a comment at the iTunes store or at PTC Media forums.
Download episode by clicking HERE.
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This podcast is found on iTunes at
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=307979159
and is a member of the family of Scouting themed podcasts at PTC Media found at
http://www.ptcmedia.net/
Show notes:
Song For The Wet Campsite – http://www.melrosetroop68.org/2007/07/song-for-wet-campsite.html
Singing In The Rain video – Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #30
You KNow You Are A Boy Scout When video – Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast #21
