Browse by year
44 posts, oldest first.
January 2018 Time to make: 1 hour Boys Life "Slide of the Month" "Button 'N' Things" May 1959, page 58 Kenneth Damm "Postage Stamp" July 1987, page 56 Robert Schleicher "Stamp" May 1978, page 67 Wayne Mason When I was a Scout, Stamp Collecting Merit Badge was a very popular merit badge to earn during…
________________________________________ As we pop out of 2017’s holidays and wend our way into the beginning of a new year, let’s promise to be kind to one another and loyal to the spirit of Scouting! ————————————————– To get started, I have a personal request to PAUL GEISSLER … Paul, you wrote to me and I’d like to respond, but…
The calendar says 2018, which means it’s time to start thinking about Scout Sunday, Scout Sabbath and Scout Jumuah. Scheduled in close proximity to the BSA’s birthday on Feb. 8, these three days celebrate the connection between Scouting and our faith-based chartered partners.
The Boy Scouts of America is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Thomas S. Monson, the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Monson was a selfless volunteer with a life-long commitment to the values of Scouting.
Although it feels like 2018 just started (since it just did), February is only a few weeks away, which means Scout Sunday is just around the corner! Keep reading for the breakdown on Scout Sunday, Scout Sabbath, and Scout Jumuah in 2018, then head to Bryan on Scouting for an in-depth look at these upcoming…
Story contributed by Anthony Vogl, Director of Development of the Seneca Waterways Council Look carefully at the picture above. While it might look like these Scouts have their pencils ready to complete their SAT’s, they’re actually anxiously awaiting being called for their Eagle Scout Board of Review.
A couple of weeks ago, we shared a story about Daniel Konzelman , a 24-year-old Eagle Scout who helped rescue passengers after a deadly Amtrak train derailment in DuPont, Wash. We caught up with Konzelman and discovered that the Dec. 18 tragedy wasn’t the first emergency he or his four brothers — all of whom are Eagle…
Weather that’s so cold it makes your eyelashes freeze makes for an unforgettable Scouting experience. It also makes for a memorable magazine cover. The February 2017 cover of Boys’ Life , featuring an image by W. Garth Dowling, has been selected as a finalist in the American Society of Magazine Editors’ Best Cover Contest.
What is this owl doing or thinking? Write a funny caption and we'll print it in the April issue! What's going on in this picture? What is that owl doing or thinking? If you can think of a funny caption for this photo, just post it in the comment form at the bottom of this…
Time marches on, and technology comes along for the ride. It’s true of the Boy Scouts of America, which a couple years ago unvelied Scoutbook , a unit recordkeeping software package initially developed by a Scouter who had a better idea.
Yes, you can be a successful student, top-tier athlete and Eagle Scout. The latest in a lengthy list of examples: Jackson Harris, a junior tight end for the University of Georgia. Georgia will face Alabama tonight in the college football championship.
Sometimes, we come across news that humbles us, filling our thoughts with gratitude and introspection. Such was the case with the passing of Kazimierz Piechowski last month. When he was a young man, he embodied the “A Scout is Brave” point of the Scout Law while facing imminent death.
________________________________________ I’m a Merit Badge Counselor for COMMUNICATIONS. I regularly get four types of inquiries, in this order: (1) Emails or texts from Scouts, (2) Phone calls from a parent (99% his Mom), and (3) Phone calls from Scouts. This order is important.
Top row, from left: National chief Anthony Peluso and national vice chief Michael Kipp. Bottom row, from left: Northeast Region chief Justin St. Louis, Southern Region chief Zach Callicutt, Central Region chief Will Coots and Western Region chief Jordan Jefferis.
Scout Pioneering, Good Ol’ Fashioned Outdoor Fun, is filled with all the information, illustrations, and instructions a unit needs to get an effective pioneering program off the ground and flourishing. Along with the author’s first-hand experience as a Scout leader who has run successful pioneering programs in his own troop and at the Philmont Training…
Congratulations to Jason Dugan, who will serve as Scout executive of Gamehaven Council in Rochester, Minnesota, effective January 16, 2018. Jason began his Scouting career as a district executive at Cradle of Liberty Council in Philadelphia. He then moved on to become the program director in Providence, Rhode Island, and was later promoted to senior…
The new Webelos Super Achiever patches have arrived and are available now. ClassB.com did a great job on them and they look super! A hundred have already been shipped out to folks that pre-ordered them so they'll have them well before their Blue Gold event.
January 2018 Time to make: I lost track of time (I was having so much fun) Original design: Bill Macfarlane Years ago I saw a wonderful book that had been cut around illustrations in the book and layered together to form a piece of art.
Cheerful service to others is at the heart of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s national honor society. In that spirit, Arrowmen are invited to spend their spring break helping BSA camps in Florida and Puerto Rico rebuild after last year’s devastating hurricane season.
Sea Base Capt. Steve Cansler, who ran the Bahamas-based sailing adventures at the BSA’s Florida Sea Base, died Dec. 24, 2017. He was 65. During Capt. Steve’s time in the Bahamas, countless Scouts and Venturers arrived with high expectations but little sailing experience.
Join us as we congratulate Raymond Eschenbach who will serve as Scout executive of Leatherstocking Council in Utica, New York, effective February 16, 2018. Ray began his Scouting career as a district executive at Potomac Council in Cumberland, Maryland. He moved on to become the senior district executive and later district director with Revolutionary Trails…
Each January, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service to remember his lifetime of service to our nation. On January 15, people across the country, including many Scouts, will carry out volunteer projects to improve their communities.
Three boys in the Lennon family earned the Eagle rank. So did the three boys in the Smith family, who live behind the Lennons. Two families with six Eagle Scouts living within a block of each other in Bridgeville, Pa.
Laugh at 25 funny Pinewood Derby jokes! Be a humor champion with these winning Pinewood Derby jokes written by Boys' Life readers. These funny jokes are guaranteed to take the checkered flag at your next race. Do you know a funny Pinewood Derby joke?
________________________________________ Hi Andy, We have a pack in our home town with around eight Webelos Scouts: Three were born in 2007 (two in August, one in October). Will they need to “cross-over” to a Boy Scout troop when they turn 11 years old?
Sales of Band-Aids were flagging until Johnson & Johnson made an ingenious marketing move. In the 1920s, the company began distributing, for free, an unlimited supply of Band-Aids to Boy Scout troops across the country, according to this lesson from TED-Ed .
A Boy Scout from Washington, D.C., and a Venturer from Cincinnati were selected to join a leg of National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek’s 21,000-mile walk around the world . Christopher Sherman and Miciah Thacker penned thoughtful essays reflecting on their experiences at Philmont and the 2017 National Jamboree, respectively.
While no Scouter questions the value of Youth Protection training and policies — we all agree on the need to keep young people safe — some Scouters have asked for clarification about implementation. Many of those questions are about policies requiring two-deep leadership and prohibiting one-on-one contact.
hot bananas just gives me the heebee geebeeies it is the one camp food I really can't eat whenever it is on the menu I always take my banana and my chocolate and eat the composite parts individually so much nicer.
The flames burned so hot that they melted aluminum canoes into silver puddles of metal, rendered camping gear unrecognizable and warped Dutch ovens. The Tubbs Fire, which burned for more than three weeks in October 2017 in Northern California, destroyed 5,643 structures and killed 22 people.
In October 2017, the Boy Scouts of America took the historic step of deciding to allow girls into our Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting programs The introduction of Family Scouting , as it’s known, into Cub Scout packs was to begin by the fall recruiting season in 2018, while the parallel program for girls of Boy…
Hi Folks! I'll be on the road from now till early next week, and that's when I'll get my next column out to you. Happy Scouting! Andy
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards were announced this morning, and if you’re a movie buff, that will probably put you in the mood to pop some popcorn and watch a film. But you’re also a Scouter, so now could also be a good time to dive into some cinematic activities with your Scouts before…
I recently saw a study that looked into the technology habits of children, and some of the results really got me thinking about the benefits of the Cub Scouts experience. This study showed that on average, children between 5 and 8 now spend almost three hours each day in front of a screen.
On July 31, 1948, William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt served as Scoutmaster at the first official Wood Badge course in the United States. Seventy years later, Wood Badge has grown into an essential training experience for adult volunteers. You’ll find proud Wood Badge alumni — myself included — in every council in the country.
Few troops can count astronauts among their alumni. Only one can say it was the troop where a future U.S. president became an Eagle Scout. Troop 215 of Grand Rapids, Mich., can claim both. The troop, which turns 100 on Feb.
On a tree-lined farm in Tennessee, you’ll find one of the coolest places in the country to be a Boy Scout. Troop 137 meets in an old barn in Franklin, Tenn., a suburb of Nashville. Its horse stalls have been converted into patrol meeting rooms.
We’ve heard this before, right? Baden-Powell employed the “Scouting is a game” analogy long before anyone else, and it is the best analogy I’ve found for explaining the wonderfully complex, intriguing, idea that is Scouting. We have to be careful because analogies break down at some point.
So, your pack has decided to adopt the Family Program and now you have either an all-girl or a coed pack. Congratulations on embracing this new chapter of Scouting! Now comes the fun part of planning the activities, especially camping and outdoor activities.
Tiger Scout Zachary Hearon looked over his grandfather’s Scouting memorabilia displayed at his pack’s blue and gold banquet. He was fascinated with the Eagle Scout award. His grandfather, Russell Hayes, earned his Eagle in 1965 while a member of Explorer Post 44 in Millville, New Jersey.
Update Feb. 5, 2018 : Congratulations to Donnie Jones, Eagle Scout and Super Bowl champion! It’s only fitting that Donnie Jones would make it to his first Super Bowl as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. After all, the veteran punter is an Eagle Scout.
What's that fish doing? Write a funny caption and we might print it in the May issue! What's going on in this picture? What is that fish doing or thinking? If you can think of a funny caption for this photo, just post it in the comment form at the bottom of this page.
You’ve probably heard of the World Friendship Fund. You might even have donated a few bucks to the cause at summer camp, roundtable, a training session like Wood Badge or a Scout’s Own worship service. But what is the World Friendship Fund?
The transition from Webelos to Scouts BSA is an important stage in a Cub Scout’s journey. It is crucial that leaders in Scouting do everything they can to make the process as seamless and inviting as possible for Webelos and their parents.
