Scoutmaster Minute—Persistence

SM Minute—Persistence

Ahead of the Presidents’ Day holiday, I’d like to share a quote from Calvin Coolidge, who was out thirtieth president, serving from 1923 to 1930.  He was known as a man of few words—one of his nicknames was “Silent Cal,” but here’s one thing he said:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.9)

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Arrow of Light: Four Winds

Image via Wikipedia

Four Winds Ceremony for Arrow of Light

Den Leader:  Our Pack is gathered to recognize some of our brothers who have achieved the highest rank in Cub Scouting, the Arrow of Light. Second Year Webelos Scouts, please step forward with your parents.

The Founders of Scouting learned many things from those who came before us. They learned of the Lenni Lenape who lived in the cradle of our new American nation. The Lenape believed that the Great Father created this Earth and the Four Winds. He sent four spirits, the Manitou, to care for the Four Winds.

North Wind: I am the North Wind. People say I am cold, but you have grown to accept me because you have been true-blue Scouts and have lived up to the Law of the Pack. Accept others that you meet on your scouting trail.

South Wind: I am the South Wind. Over hill and dale I have blown fair and warm on your outdoor adventures as you explored the world around you. As Cub Scouts you have been cheerful and friendly – a credit to your den and pack. Continue to be cheerful and friendly as you follow the Scout Law.

East Wind: I am the East Wind. I bring the worst of storms on my gusts. Through the challenges you faced in Cub Scouts, you have shown that you are brave and helpful to others. Remain brave in the face of hardship and keep looking for ways to help those in need.

West Wind: I am the West Wind. I bring warmth, fair weather, and blue skies. You have shown yourself to be a trustworthy Webelos scout, loyal to your den of brothers. Loyalty and trust will fill your life with fair skies and good friends as you scout outside our Pack.

All Winds: (in unison) We will be with you forever. We wish you the best of luck in your travels and experiences on the Scouting trail.

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(adapted from Boy Scout Trail.com Crossover Ceremony.  I asked five Boy Scouts whose brothers are in the Pack to help, each reading one Wind and the other handing each Cub a real arrow donated by our local archery shop.  I added the reference to the Lenape in honor of the Order of the Arrow. We do AoL at start of Blue & Gold Banquet, then do bridging ceremony, using the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout Motto, and Scout Slogan, at end)

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Scoutmaster Minute—The Founders

SM Minute—The Founders

Next Sunday is Scout Sunday, when we celebrate the founding of the BSA by William D. Boyce on 8 February 1910.  Boyce, as you know, brought Scouting to the US from England, where the movement was started by Robert Baden-Powell.

Robert S.S. Baden-Powell

As a youth, Robert Baden-Powell greatly enjoyed the outdoors, learning about nature and how to live in the wilderness.  After returning as a military hero from service in Africa, Baden-Powell discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and survival in the wilderness he had written for his military regiment.  Gathering ideas from Ernest Thompson Seton, Daniel Carter Beard, and others, he rewrote the manual as a non-military nature skill book and called it Scouting for Boys.  To test his ideas, Baden-Powell brought together 22 boys to camp at Brownsea Island, off the coast of England.  This historic campout was a success and resulted in the advent of Scouting.  Thus, the imagination and inspiration of Baden-Powell, later proclaimed Chief Scout of the World, brought Scouting to youth the world over.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources)

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Scoutmaster Minute—Parable of the Toothpaste

SM Minute—Parable of the Toothpaste

Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste out of a tube of toothpaste and tried to put it back in the tube? It can’t be done, can it?  No matter how hard you try, the toothpaste is out of the tube forever.

When you think about toothpaste, think about the Scout Law: A Scout is Kind.  Like toothpaste from the tube, once unkind words come out of your mouth, you cannot take them back.  So when you are tempted to say something unkind, remember the parable of the toothpaste, and keep the unkind words to yourself.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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JohnScout 2011 Year in Review

Yes, Scouters, JohnScout didn’t fall off a cliff without 2-deep leadership.  Just been a bit pre-occupied with Rechartering two units (Internet Recharter hates me!), helping my den of Webelos Cubs complete their Arrow of Light, and a bit of distraction that is Presidential politics.  What a year 2011 was, a great year for the Boy Scouts of America, our local BSA council & district, troop and pack, and all the volunteers that make Scouting happen.  The JohnScout WordPress numbers tell us:

• Busiest Month: 1,521 visitors for an average 49 per day in October, a new high on both counts.
• Busiest Day:  June 5, 2011, 131 views.  Don’t y’all have better things to do on a summer Sunday?
• Top Referral site:  Google found us, I guess…
• Top Search Terms:  ”Crazy Horse Monument” and “Scoutmaster minute court of honor”.  Last year’s frenzy of Bechtel Reserve searches subsided dramatically.
• Top (not-search-engine) Referral site:  Twitter
• Top (not-search-engine nor twitter) Referral site:  Scoutmaster CG narrowly edged out Minnesota’s own Melrose Troop 68.  Thanks, Scouters!
• Had twice as many hits this year as last year, which was twice the year before that. And again, it helps when I actually POST original content.

Top posts of the year:

• Once again, I suspect a lot of Bear Den leaders are looking for tips with Tall Tales, the most widely read post, by far.  Got to love Paul Bunyan, Casey Jones and all their pals.
• Scoutmaster Minutes continue to be a popular draw.  I appreciate your interest.  These year’s favorites were Scoutmaster Minute—Words Behind the Words from 2009 and Scoutmaster Minute—Court of Honor from 2010.  Both ranked top search terms above.
• The kick-off last year for my Centennial Year of Scouting series of SM Minutes, Scoutmaster Minute—What Does It Mean To Be “A Scout”, also continued to draw interest.

One thing I notice may have something to do with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I started titling my “Scoutmaster Minute” posts shorter, as “SM Minute”, to save space in the title line.  Figured that would be handy, plus show more of the topic in search results.  However, the longer titles consistently score higher in search. Hmmm, seem to have out-thought myself on that one.

December

Merry Christmas!

November

SM Minute—The Strong Link

October

SM Minute—Three Uniforms

Dutch Oven Cooking—Swamped Pig Pork Chops

SM Minute—A Simple Cloth and a Common Thread

September

SM Minute—A Good Turn

SM Minute—When the World Stopped Turning

Dutch Oven Cooking: Fiesta Omelet

August

Boy Scouts Didn’t Hand Out Badges for Trying

The Marrow of Life

July

Camp Wilderness: Going Home Again

June

Ripley Rendezvous 2011

May

Privacy, Safety and Names of Scouts in a Public Forum

April

SM Minute—Losing Your Temper

March

SM Minute—Orion’s Belt

February

A Scouting Movement, not a Program

Erickson earns rank of Eagle Scout

January

SM Minute—Twelfth-Point

SM Minute—Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Prepared. For Life.

JohnScout 2010 Posts

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SM Minute—The Strong Link

Scoutmaster Minute—The Strong Link

From the TransAtlantic Council, Resources for Scouters:

These pieces of rope are a lot like individual Scouts. You can use these ropes for knot tying practice or for tying a small package, but they’re not big enough for really big jobs. (Call up two or three Scouts and asked them to join the ropes together with square knots or sheet bends. ) Now we have a much more useful rope, one we could use for pioneering or other jobs where we need a good length of rope.

Your patrol and the whole troop work the same way. Scouts who work together like these ropes can achieve much bigger things. But remember that this rope is only as strong as its’ weakest link. The same idea applies to our patrols and troop. They can’t be strong unless everyone pulls together. Teamwork is just as important in Scouting as it is on a football team.

Strive to a strong link in your patrol. Do the best to live by the ideals we talk about in the Scout Oath and Law. Learn your Scouting skills to the best of your ability, and take part in everything the troop and your patrol do.

Don’t be a weak link.

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SM Minute—Three Uniforms

Scoutmaster Minute— 3 Uniforms

Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, retired manager of the Los Angles Dodgers, says that he has worn three uniforms in his lifetime, and that all three were very important to him.

The obvious one is that of Dodger blue, as he managed the Dodgers to many pennants and two World Series during his baseball career.

The second uniform was when he served his country and wore the uniform of the U.S. Army, and distinguished himself as a good soldier.

The third uniform, of which he is equally proud, was when he was a young boy, and he wore the uniform of the Boy Scouts of America.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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Dutch Oven Cooking—Swamped Pig Pork Chops

Dutch Oven Swamped Pig

I volunteered to cook for the Man Scout Patrol at our District Fall Camporee a couple of weeks ago.  Since we were camping on campus in the “big city” (i.e. a town with a WalMart) I snuck away during the merit badge sessions and purchased fresh meat for dinner.  Six pork chops and the fixings were soon simmering in our troop’s Dutch Oven and the Spartan Patrol was drooling as they suffered thru their stove-top stew.  If I had been thinking (paying more attention) I would have entered our meal in the Camporee’s Dutch Oven desert contest, it was so good!

This is another recipe from Christine & Tim Conners’ The Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook.  ”Swamped Pig” they call it, contributed by Helen Greymorning (Troop Committee, Troop 1911, Montana Council BSA) in the easy dinner category.

Ingredients:

1 (10-¼ oz) can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 can whole milk (use empty soup can to measure)
1 cup long-grain rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced
½ teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
6 pork chops, trimmed of fat and bone left in

Prep:

1. Mix soup, milk, rice, onion, celery,garlic,salt, and black pepper to taste in Dutch Oven.
2.  Add pork chops, thoroughly coating them in the mixture.
3. In a 12″ dutchie, use 18 charcoal up / 9 under, bake for 1 hour or until pork chops are at 160*F

As always, if you have new Scouts or guests, make sure they can eat stuff with milk.  After trying this on a couple of outings, I upsize the soup to a family-sized can and add some mushrooms.  I don’t bother chopping celery or garlic, but I’m just lazy that way.  I do have some trouble getting all the rice to firm up, but if you’re hungry enough in camp you don’t really notice.

At home, I do notice, but there is plenty here for 6 Scouts so for the 4 of us I just don’t scrape too close to the sides.  You might want to line your Dutch Oven with tinfoil to ease clean up.  The cookbook translates the charcoal to 375*, which I like, but I’m leaving it in the oven about 90 minutes to satisfy the meat thermometer.

A well-fed Scout is a happy Scout.

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Related articles

• Pot Roast in the Dutch Oven (squirrelacorns.wordpress.com)
• 5 Great Dutch Ovens: And 10 Recipes to Put Them to Work (thekitchn.com)

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SM Minute—A Simple Cloth and a Common Thread

Fish & Wildlife Management Merit Badge

Scoutmaster Minute—A Simple Cloth and a Common Thread

They are woven of simple cloth and common thread.

They are no more than an inch and a half in diameter, and weigh no more than a couple of ounces.

They are priceless, yet cost little more than two dollars [adjusted for inflation].

They have the power to turn struggle into courage.

Self-doubt into self-esteem

Indecision into leadership

The unknown into knowledge

And the most magical metamorphosis of all,

the transforming of a boy into a man.

What are these mysterious things?

Merit Badges.

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(adapted for Court of Honor from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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SM Minute—A Good Turn

Image via Wikipedia

Scoutmaster Minute—A Good Turn

As you know, the Boy Scouts of America was started in 1910.  Now for a tougher question: Who started the BSA?  Not Baden-Powell.  He started Scouting in England.  It was an American businessman, William D. Boyce.

In 1909, William Boyce was wandering around London and got lost in the dense fog.  He met a young boy who led him to his destination.  The boy refused to accept a tip from Boyce, saying that he was a Boy Scout.  That intrigued Boyce, and he asked the Unknown Scout to take him to meet Lord Baden Powell later.

Because of that meeting, Boy Scouts of America was officially organized in 1910, and there have been more than 93 million Americans involved in the BSA since then.

The Scout slogan is “Do a Good Turn Daily.”  That is what that Boy Scout in 1909 did for William Boyce, and that is what you should always try to do, every day–a Good Turn. You never know what it may give return.

You can read more about the Unknown Scout on page 27 of your Centennial Boy Scout Handbook.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.18)

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