DAY ONE This is the forst of several summer camp letters from Chester County Council’s Camp Horseshoe. Horseshoe offers one of the last seven day traditional Boy Scout summer resident camp programs in the country. With over 40+ merit badge choices, a stellar first-year program, computer lab, STEM offerings, a multitude of SIP’s as well as older-Scout program opportunities including COPE, mountain biking and Independent Merit Badge Studies.
My Scout video picks for this week include Flintstones, a flash mob, and futuristic publications. Flintstones Jamboree Fred and Barney lead a rousing rendition of “Old MacDonald” at a World Jamboree. Scout video of Flash Mob in Turin, Italy A tremendous display of Scout Spirit and excitement; Scouting’s universal language! UK Scouting Magazine App Scout’s UK introduces a trial Scouting Magazine App and asks you to try it out and let them know what you think....
South African Scouter Peter La Roux (listen to an interview here) posted videos of this year’s Kon Tiki event on his Ropes and Poles Blog. If you aren’t familiar with Kon-Tiki the whole idea is that Scouts groups build rafts, float them on a lake and participate in a number of contests and competitions (including staying overnight on the rafts) Hennie Hamman, the manager at Arrowe Park, has compiled three videos from hours of footage taken at KonTiki 2014....
What are your favorite places to go camping or hiking? How would you reply? Leave a comment or let me know on the forum. I was asked to share my favorite camping and hiking locations for Florida Outdoors It takes a certain kind of person to go out alone and enjoy wild places. I am really not that kind of person. I’ve been to lots of great places in thirty years of Scouting but my favorite location for camping is not a place on a map....
Fellow Scoutmaster and friend in Tullahoma Tennessee, Tom Gillard, writes: Friday afternoon I noticed a buzzard trying to feed on a dead squirrel in the road. I picked up the squirrel carcass and tossed it to the side of the road out of traffic (us old buzzards have to look out for each other). The dead squirrel was clearly a nursing mother. I felt bad for her babies, but knew there wasn’t much I could do....
From the collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England this Roman multi tool or compound utensil was excavated from somewhere in the Mediterranean a couple of decades ago. Measuring 3in x 6in the artifact was probably made between AD 200 and AD 300 during the height of the Roman Empire. constructed of sliver and iron the roman “Swiss army knife” features a spoon, fork, knife, spatula, toothpick, and spike....
Who is Kevin Callan? Kevin Callan is the author of thirteen books, including the best selling “The Happy Camper”, the incredibly popular series of paddling guides, and most reviewed “Wilderness Pleasures: A Practical Guide to Camping Bliss”. On a regular basis, he presents across North America and has been a key speaker at all the major canoe events for over 25 years. Callan is also a frequent guest on radio and television, and field editor for Explore....
Just for fun, here’s something you don’t see everyday. Imagine casually taking this out of your pocket around the campfire! This 9 lb, 1-foot-diameter “multi tool” was designed as a calling card by the F.W. Holler Company of Solingen, Germany, who were seeking to make a name for German knife manufacturers in Solingen (who had a centuries-long reputation for knifemaking) among the emerging market for Swiss Army Knives. It has 100 “blades,” including a ....
I follow Scoutmaster Mike Asbell blog Wild Saunter, a collection of quiet meditations on a simple theme: go take a walk in the woods. Well worth a look! “There is nothing so sanative, so poetic, as a walk in the woods and fields.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, 1853 The more I go into the forest, the more the forest goes into me. And I am better for it. It’s just that simple....
Whenever two or three Scouters get together talk eventually turns to the relevance of Scouting in ‘modern society’. Some think we’ve diminished the ideals of ‘manliness’ , traditional patriotism, bootstrap initiative, competitiveness and rigor in achievement but have they really examined what those ideas actually mean? Scouting does not consider that these things are scarce, unobtainable qualities, but that each individual Scout has vast potential to develop them . We wrangle and argue over measurements; what is ‘true’ manliness, patriotism, achievement?...
A fascinating video artifact found at author Win Davis’s website In April of 1987, Bill Hillcourt came to Central Florida. He visited for an evening with Scouts and leaders from Boy Scout Troop 46 in Longwood. What he had to say is pretty interesting. The Boy Scouts of America was still recovering from decisions made in the 1970s to modernize the program. The program changes didn’t work and all through the 1980s, Bill worked tirelessly to reinvigorate Scouting....
Andrew Coe is the Lodge Advisor for Octoraro Lodge 22, Order of The Arrow, in Chester County Council, Pennsylvania. Andy became an Eagle Scout, served on the Camp staff at Horseshoe Scout Reservation and was involved in a number of youth leadership positions in Octoraro Lodge. As advisor to Andy helps the lodge executive committee and the officers of the lodge conduct the program of the Order of the Arrow...
A presentation about one of the great world destinations for Scouts, Kandersteg International Scout Center in Switzerland that features the history of the center and some practical guidelines on arranging your visit and viewer questions. Kandersteg International Scout Center Website
Thanks to Frank Maynard for joining us to discuss the troop committee this month! Here are some links to material he referenced in the webcast – “So, what is it that you do?” that Clarke quoted in a recent article on his blog At a recent troop meeting we were welcoming a parent of a boy new to Scouting and discussing how the troop and Boy Scouts all works, and in the process of explaining which committee member takes care of dues, or membership, he asked me what my position was, and what I do in the troop....
35 years ago, Kathy Hall was a single mother of three in search of a male role model for her then 7 year-old son. She decided to enroll him in her neighborhood Boy Scout troop, under the Grand Towers district. When she found out that there were no parents whatsoever involved in the troop, she took it upon herself to carry the gauntlet, and became the den mother to about 15 young cub scouts....
TheScoutingParty.com The Scouting Party available on Amazon You can order David’s “Where Character is Caught” from the Circle Ten Council We are pleased to welcome author David Scott for a discussion of his book ‘The Scouting Party’ to our February ScoutCircle. February marks the anniversary of the founding of the Scouting movement. The official birthday is February 8, and the entire month of February is designated as Anniversary Month....
Derek Twine is retiring after 16 years as the Chief Executive of The Scouts Association of the United Kingdom. He is also being honored by the World Association of the Scouting movement with the Silver Wolf (the highest award made by the Association “for services of the most exceptional character.”). In this article he discusses his tenure as chief executive and what was a considerable, daunting yet successful overhaul of the Scouts Association....
When someone starts with “I’ll keep this brief…” we all know what happens next. How few words can you use to get your message across? That’s the right amount. The length of what it said does not relate to the importance of what is being said. Most of the time Scouts stop listening before we are done speaking – they want the basic information and don’t really hear the rest.
Podcast Episode (00:49:01): Listen on Apple Podcasts IN THIS PODCASTInterview with author Mike Malone about writing the Eagle Scout book, Four Percent, an engaging, inspiring, history of the award. Read my review of Four Percent Four Percent on Amazon In our interview Mike mentions The Scouting Party | Past editions of the show are available at the PODCAST ARCHIVE |
Forty Phrases every Scoutmaster should know: “Ask your patrol leader.” “Well, ask him again.” “Well then, ask your senior patrol leader.” “I don’t know.” “Where’s your buddy?” “Who is your buddy?” “Do you do that at home?” “We don’t do that here.” “Stop!” “Go!” “What happens next?” “Why?” “Does that belong to you?” “Checking my eyelids for leaks. Why? What are doing?” “You can do it!” “Don’t do that.” “Are you sure you do that at home?...