The Bloggers
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This episode of Around The Scouting Campfire is dedicated to a special individual of Boy Scout Troop 68, Eymard, our assistant scoutmaster. Eymard is 83 years old and has been with the troop for 23 years. Buttons and Steve thought it was about time to recognize Eymard on the podcast.
Less then two weeks ago I wrote an article about old Scouting books and novels that are not only in the public domain, but also available as an electronic book in the epub format which is compatible on your iPod Touch, iPad, and other electronic book devices.
It is almost a tradition. During the past few years I have taken my video camera along to summer camp and recorded the opening and closing campfire programs. These programs are edited down to become podcast episodes and a dvd for the Boy Scouts who attended camp.
Let's see. The Kindle, the iPod, the iPad, and the Nook are just a few of the ebook readers that are currently available. How about we use these gadgets to visit a fictional history of Boy Scouting. Say, like 80 plus years ago.
We have all heard that being a scoutmaster or cubmaster will only take an hour a week. In the last article I wrote about how many hours it may actually take for a scoutmaster. But what if we take this further?
If you have been involved with Scouting for any length of time you have probably heard someone say, "It only takes an hour a week." What a joke that is! Just a bit of a misleading line there, huh? Let us take a look at a typical month of Scouting during this scoutmaster's life.
Leadership is the theme of Around The Scouting Campfire, show #17. Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, begin the show by discussing Steve's list of ten reasons to become a Scout leader. Steve tells us a story about a high school twerp who would become a scoutmaster.
My last post about ten reasons to be a Scout leader has been a popular post to this blog. One of the replies I received about the post was from a member of the "Boy Scout/Cub Scout Adult Leaders" group on LinkedIn.
Four years ago I wrote a blog post that became one of the most read posts I have ever written. It was during the time when many packs and troops were conducting recruitment drives and school nights. The article listed some reasons on why a parent should get involved as a leader in Scouting.
It has been awhile since I have placed a slideshow of Troop 68 on the blog, so let's go back to 1983 for a look at what the troop was up to nearly thirty years ago. (Sometimes, I find it hard to believe I have been a leader of the troop for that long.)
In 1989, several women who were involved with the Scouting program in Melrose, met at the local community access television studio to do a talk show about Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting in Melrose. The show was titled The Women Of Scouting .
This year's closing arena program at the BSA's 2010 National Jamboree was "totally awesome", as Buttons would say. The Boy Scouts and adult leaders were entertained by Alex Boyé (who sang "Born To Be A Scout" from Scout Camp, The Movie", national recording artist Switchfoot, and Mike Rowe, from Dirty Jobs.
In the last article I printed a copy of the letter I sent to parents in 1986 when I was a scoutmaster having problems with the troop and ready to resign from the position. Part of that letter was a questionnaire that I asked the parents to fill out and send back to me.
If you have been a leader in the Scouting program for a few years, or any sort of program for that matter, you have probably reached a point when you have said to yourself, "Why am I doing this? Am I the only one who cares?
It is time once again to make that trip to your nearest Hallmark store and pick up this year's Scoutmaster Snoopy Keepsake Ornament. This year's ornament, The Fearless Crew , features Snoopy leading Woodstock and two of his friends on a wilderness hike.
Step right up! Have we got a bargain for you. This episode of the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast has not one, but two, (yes, you read that right) two performances by the members of Melrose Troop 68. Once again this footage comes from the troop's 2001 Laughs Lunch Show.
Now, this would be a job Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, would have loved to have. Interviewing Mike Rowe, the Eagle Scout who stars on the television show Dirty Jobs. Scouting magazine's blog, the Cracker barrel, recently posted about a video in which two young Boy Scouts interviewed the tv star.
Hundreds of thousands of Boy Scouts attend summer camp every year. The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 are no exception. Five Scouts and two adult leaders attended Many Point Scout Camp, located north of Park Rapids, during the week of July 11-17.
As a followup to the previous blog article I thought it would be nice to know which presidents have attended BSA National Jamborees. Following are presidents that have attended National Jamborees: 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt 1950 – Harry Truman 1960 – Dwight D.
I am not afraid to say it. President Obama has lost a few points of respect with me this week when he decided to join the five hosts of The View television show instead of talking to the 40,000 Boy Scout and leaders at the BSA National Jamboree.
The Melrose Beacon is our local weekly newspaper. For the last thirty years they have been very supportive of the local Boy Scout troop. They have printed almost every article I have given them on troop events. They have also interviewed many of the Boy Scouts who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
Let us go back in time. A simpler time of when there were kings, queens, and a peasant who wished to marry the beautiful princess. That is the plot of this hilarious campfire skit performed by two Boy Scouts of Troop 68 during their 2001 Laughs For Lunch Show.
Can you name the three current high adventure bases of the Boy Scouts of America? Everyone can name Philmont Scout Ranch. Most people know about the Florida Sea Base. But did you know there is also a high adventure base in Minnesota?
The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 used to like to song songs, mix them up a bit, and write new lyrics to them. They would then perform these "new" versions at campfire programs or during their annual Laughs For Lunch Show.
If you are involved with Boy Scouting in the United States you know that this is the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the year of the 2010 National Jamboree. Council troops are currently putting the final touches on their plans to attend the event, and Boy Scouts and leaders are already…
It was a good weekend plan . We would arrive at the campsite Friday night, set up camp, have a relaxing evening, sit around the campfire, and go to bed. After breakfast on Saturday we would work with the younger Boy Scouts on their Tenderfoot Rank, play disc golf, try our luck fishing, go for a…
The trial is over. After seven years of court battles the trial about wether the Cradle Of Liberty Council, BSA, can stay in the building they paid to have built and pay for the yearly costs, has come to an end.
I will never forget the Hiking Skill Award. "Why?" you ask. Because back in the 1980′s, while on an overnighter at a local state park, I decided to take the troop on a five mile hike to complete a requirement for this skill award.
If you have been watching this blog and podcast for awhile you have seen many skits and songs performed by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68, but you have seen very little performed by the troop's adult leaders. Well, the time has come.
The Eagle Scout theme continues with Around The Scouting Campfire #15 . The show begins with Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, looking through the Troop 68 photo albums. This leads to Scoutmaster Steve explaining his methods of creating a slideshow to be shown at an Eagle Scout's court of honor.
The following is an excerpt from the journal I kept during my Boy Scout troop's trek through Philmont Scout Ranch in 1986: Ute Springs Camp was the smallest of the various camps at which we stayed. The site we chose was quite small.
The First Aid Skill Award was required for the Second Class Rank back in the 1970's through the 1980's, which meant that most Boy Scouts earned this belt loop. It covered basic first aid skills. Many of these requirements ended up somewhere in the new rank requirements of 1989.
Before there was a Family Life merit badge there was the Family Living Skill Award. This skill award was not required for any of the ranks but could be used as an optional for Tenderfoot, Second Class, or First Class in the 1970's through the 1980's.
D uring the last seven months we have seen three new merit badges introduced to the Boy Scout merit badge program (Scuba Diving, Geocaching, and Scouting Heritage). We have also seen the return of four merit badges for this year only (Signaling, Tracking, Pathfinding, and Carpentry).
After six skill awards that began with the letter C (which is half of them, by the way) we arrive at the Environment Skill Award . Some of these requirements made it to the new rank requirements in the late 1980's.
It is hard to believe that it has been over twenty years since some volunteers at Mel-TV 3, our local community access television station, recorded a show in which five men were interviewed. Each gentleman was very involved with the local Scouting program.
I just wanted to take a moment and congratulate Alex Lloyd and the Dale Coyne Racing team for taking third place at the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Great job guys! To start in the ninth line and move up and take third place was simply awesome!
Learning to cook is an important part of the Boy Scout program. After all, a hot meal on a cool damp camping weekend helps to brighten the day. Besides, I do not know many teenage boys who do not like to eat.
Does conservation come to mind when you think about Boy Scouting? It probably does to most people. Conservation has been a part of the Boy Scout program since its beginning in 1910, one hundred years ago. What we think about conservation has changed somewhat as a society and Scouting has been right there to lead…
When the skill award program existed during the 1970-1980's there was one skill award that was not very popular with the Boy Scouts of Troop 68. The Community Living Skill Award was not the most earned belt loop of the twelve.
The third of the skill awards (alphabetically) is the Communications Skill award. As I was looking over the requirements I remembered the Scouts completing one requirement during a court of honor opening in the early 1980's by introducing themselves to the parents and family members by using sign language.
The Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast proudly presents another video from the Boy Scout Troop 68 Laughs For Lunch Show archives. This post features a skit in which a director hires an extra to play a small part in a film.
The Citizenship Skill Award was probably the first skill award I earned when I was a Boy Scout in the mid 1970's. In fact, it was probably the first Boy Scout award I earned since it was required for the rank of Tenderfoot Scout.
When I was a Boy Scout in the mid 1970's we needed to earn belt loops called skill awards for the first three ranks. Each skill award was based on a certain set of skills, such as camping, hiking, or swimming.
It was a beautiful evening in Melrose on that April day in 1980. A great day to get a few friends together, meet at the city park, and play some ball. I was nineteen years old, almost done with tech college, and was lucky enough to find a fulltime job and a place to rent…
Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, return for this month's episode of the Around The Scouting Campfire podcast. This episode is dedicated to all Eagle Scouts. Steve and Buttons talk about a recent Eagle court of honor held in Melrose, and play some audio snippets from the ceremony.
(This is part 2 of an article about the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 and the role playing game of Dungeons and Dragons.) To many of the Boy Scouts who have played Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) in my fictional world of Tenne the countries of Givemea, Acirema, and Minta are almost as real as Brazil…
For thirteen years the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 held an annual show they called Laughs For Lunch. It was a campfire-style show featuring various songs, skits, and stories. The shows made the new Scouts nervous because, for most of them, it was their first time on stage in front of an audience.
I almost wish I young enough to be a Boy Scout again. The merit badge I have been waiting for has finally arrived. Scouting Heritage is has been approved and is ready for Boy Scouts to begin earning. Since I am too old to earn it myself, I will be signing on as a merit…
If you are like me and kept putting off the day to buy the Boy Scout Uncirculated Silver Dollar, well, you are too late. According to coinnews.net : The 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Uncirculated Silver Dollar sold out today, April 26, 2010, leaving only the proof option open for unrestricted ordering.
