The Bloggers
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When you participate in a program at Philmont Scout Ranch, whether a 12 day trek or a training session, you should try to schedule a tour of the summer home of Waite Phillips, known as the Villa Philmonte. The home now serves as the anchor of the Philmont Training Center (PTC) and is only a…
Tis the season for all units… in the Central Minnesota Council to complete their recharters. Begin the caroling and pass the eggnog. The new committee of Cub Scout Pack 68 is about to learn how it is done. The recharter was one of the things on the agenda at last Monday night's Pack committee meeting.
It has been an interesting fall as we work to reorganize the leadership of Cub Scout Pack 68 and carry out the new program. It has also been fun and rewarding. The boys have been telling their parents they are having fun.
It is fun looking around the internet and finding comical views about Scouting. Here are a couple that may make you think you should cut back on your Scouting time. You have been in Scouting too long if… You don't mind losing power to your house for three days.
The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 were asked to help by providing an activity for last August's Night To Unite in Melrose. I volunteered my disc golf practice basket and the Scouts brought their discs. People had fun trying their putting skills, or discovering that they did not have any putting skills.
If you have been following this blog then you know my frustration in not being able to find the missing piece to my Scouting Village collection, the Trading Post. I was not quick enough that first year in buying the pieces and missed that building.
The time has come. The selling begins today. This week I am beginning to sell the Order of the Arrow Tonkawampus Lodge Patches that I wrote about a week ago. As far as I can tell, these are had to come by, especially since this lodge does not exist any longer.
A week ago I was on Skype chatting with Chris (formally known as Cubmaster Chris) and we began talking about were we currently involved in the world of Scouting. Chris' youngest son is a Boy Scout, and I have been spending time assisting the local Cub Scout pack get reorganized for the new year.
I recently had a great visit with a couple of old Scouting friends of mine. We had not seen each other for a few years so it was great to get together for a few hours to reminisce about the "old" times and catch up on how we have all been doing.
I was a little nervous before that meeting on Monday, September 29th. It was to be my first time as acting as a cubmaster. Being a scoutmaster was no problem. I did that for 30 years. But this was a whole different age group, and a new set of parents and family members.
The regular meeting of Boy Scout Troop 68 began its usual way Monday night. The Scouts had an opening and then began the skill development session of the meeting. The theme was the Scout Law. It was time to review the twelve points and their meanings.
When I was at the Philmont Training Center for a week last June, I gave my camera quite a workout. I think I came back with around 900 pictures from the trip. That is a lot, even for me. I remember my first trips to Philmont for 10 day backpacking treks in the 1980′s when…
It has been awhile since Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, has shown up for anything. He has been laying low and taking it easy. Even his Facebook page and Twitter accounts were not seeing much action. But this month, things changed a bit and he was active once again.
As I mentioned in the last post to A Scoutmaster's Blog , I have been helping to reorganize the pack leadership. We now have what I feel is a strong committee of four committed parents. I also plan to stay on the pack committee to lend my assistance and support during this program year.
As the Cub Scout program year came to a close last May our cubmaster stepped down from his position. His youngest son has graduated out of the pack. That left the pack without a cubmaster. It also left the pack without an active pack committee.
I remember when the Boy Scout stores began selling the Scouting Village pieces a couple years ago. I decided to start collecting them a little too late and missed out on getting the lighted Trading Post building. I still do not have one.
I know many of you collect patches, be they council strips, Order of the Arrow lodge flaps, or activity patches. One of the several patch collection I have is of the 2001 National Jamboree. I collect from that event because I attended it with nine Boy Scouts from my troop.
This month is the beginning of the new 2014-2015 program for the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68. The Scouts got together one Saturday last month and plotted out their monthly themes and activities for another year. A few of the traditional outings made it in, and a few new ones joined the program.
I arrived at the Central Minnesota Council office early for Tuesday night's roundtable so I spent some time checking out the Scout Shop. There was only a couple of us looking around when the clerk asked me if she could help me find anything, like books, awards, Christmas items… The mention of Christmas items caught…
It is the season for Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts across central Minnesota to be out knocking on doors to sell popcorn! I already have my 30 pack case of microwave popcorn ordered. How about you? Or do you need a Boy Scout to stop by your house so that you can place an order?
Last night was the first Tuesday of September. That means the Scenic District roundtables have started once again! I must have done something right last year as the assistant roundtable commissioner because Commissioner Al asked me back for a second year.
Maybe I should not have done it. After all, it has been 13 years since that event was held. But I had a good time and a great group of Scouts along so I will always remember the 2001 National Jamboree fondly.
I am sure you have all seen it online, on one social site or another. One person challenges another to donate to the ALS foundation and/or pour a bucket of ice water over their head. It is currently quite popular, and at the time I write this the organization has received over $70 million dollars…
Bob and I had a quick discussion about what we would do that Wednesday afternoon in June. We were at the Philmont Training Center and trying to plan our afternoon activity since there were no classes to attend. Philmont offered several options.
What do you think of when you hear the words "bear skin"? Is your first thought a bear skin rug? Maybe a sporting game between the Bears and the Redskins? Maybe a sunburn after sitting with bare skin in the sun too long?
It is that time of year. Hallmark is now selling the new Keepsake Ornaments for this year's Christmas season. That means there should be a new Beagle Scout Snoopy ornament if the company is continuing the series they began several years ago.
Hole #3. If you have been keeping up with this blog you know that both I and the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 like to play disc golf. I usually go to a nearby town to play since Melrose does not have a disc golf course.
It is inevitable. If you are in the Scouting program for several years you will start collecting something. It could be activity patches. Maybe it will be council shoulder patches (csp's) or Order of the Arrow lodge flaps. It might be coffee mugs or bolo ties.
The opening campfire of a week of Boy Scout summer camp. It is time to meet the staff that will play an important role during the success of your troop's time at camp. Is the staff enthusiastic? Are they energetic?
The Boy Scouts have come home. About an hour and a half ago the ten Boy Scouts and two adult leaders of Melrose Troop 68 arrived home from spending the week at Many Point Scout Camp in northwest Minnesota. From the few minutes I was able to talk to them I discovered they had a…
Many Point Scout Camp. That's the place to be. It's where the best of Scouting is and that's the place for me. You hear the loon a'calling, and the Little Beaver roar, and you'll come again the legend says, just like the Scouts of yore."
Today is the day! Today marks the one millionth camper at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. That is a lot of Scouts! To commemorate this milestone a new patch has gone on sale at the Tooth Of Time Traders website.
Philmont! I attended a week long session at the Philmont Training Center (PTC) this month and on the way back from the trip to New Mexico Bob and I looked at the pictures I had taken of my trip to the facility in 1984, which also happened to be the first time I visited Philmont…
A few things came to mind as I took a late evening walk around Melrose tonight that was different from taking a walk at Philmont Scout Ranch: 1) It is a lot more humid in Minnesota then it is in New Mexico.
Well, the week is now a part of history. Last week I spent my vacation at the Philmont Training Center at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. It was awesome! Sunny every day. Not a drop of rain. Great Scouters and instructors everywhere.
My first trip to the Philmont Training Center (PTC) was shortly before my 24th birthday in 1984. It was my first trip on a plane. It was my first trip away from Minnesota on my own. In fact, it was my first trip anywhere on my own.
I had been a scoutmaster for only two and a half years when I received a letter in the mail inviting me to attend the Philmont Training Center (PTC) for the Scoutmaster Fundamentals course. I had always wanted to go to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico so I jumped at the opportunity.
On Sunday, May 4th, there was a court of honor held for Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68′s newest Eagle Scout. Alex is the 22nd Scout to attain this honor since I began serving as an adult leader of troop in 1980.As far as I know, there was only one Eagle Scout in Melrose before 1980…
I am not really sure why I started doing it. Maybe it was to keep a kind of online journal. Maybe it was to see if anyone would be interested to read what I had to share. I did know I did not want to write about how a Scouting leader should be trained or…
The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 will be doing it again this summer. I believe this is the fifth time they will be doing it. The Scouts have fun and the people in the community enjoy it. What am I talking about?
Has it really been five months since I last posted a video to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast? I guess so. Time to get busy with that once again. After all, I do have a few more videos to share with you.
The theme for the Boy Scout Troop 68 meetings in April was personal safety. The troop had a local police officer come to the first meeting to talk to the Scouts about how to stay safe and what sort of things officers look out for when dealing with youth.
Boy Scout Troop 68 of Melrose conducts three fundraisers during the year. In the fall we participate in the council's popcorn sales. For the last few years the other two fundraisers have been a Dad's Belgium Waffle meal. We have been holding a supper a week before Good Friday and a breakfast the first Sunday…
I was the runt of my class. I was the smallest boy, both in weight and in height. In fact, most of the girls in my class were taller than I was. When I was in tenth grade another guy moved into our class.
If case you do not know it yet, today, May 4th, is Star Wars day. That means it is time to say, May the fourth be with you! Yes, it is a bit of a silly pun, but it is a fun silly pun.
Saturday, May 3rd, was free comic book day so I went to St. Cloud to pick up a few at Granite City Comics. I arrived downtown early to get a good parking spot so I decided to walk around to get some exercise and to see what kind of stores were in downtown St.
The Melrose Lions Club is one of several service organizations that do a great job of helping our community. They also support our Boy Scout troop. While our troop's usual fundraisers raise enough money for our regular program needs The Lions, VFW Post, and American Legion help us out when it is time to replace…
I admit it. I am an Apple guy. My home computer is a 2007 Mac Pro. My last three computers were Apples. I own three versions of the iPod. I use my iPad several times each day. But I do not own an iPhone.
The 2014 council wide Ripley Rendezvous is now a part of history, but the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 can already look forward to attending a bigger and better rendezvous in 2015. Next year will be time for the Area-Wide Ripley Rendezvous which will bring Boy Scouts from all over the state of Minnesota…
It is time once again for the Boy Scouts of the Central Minnesota Council to gather at Camp Ripley for the Ripley Rendezvous, an annual event hosted by the council and Camp Ripley. Camp Ripley is a National Guard Base found in central Minnesota near Little Falls.
