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 […]
More!
1800 year old Roman Multi Tool
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 […]
February Scout Circle – GreenBar Life
In this Scout Circle Enoch Heise, Arlen Ward and myself discuss youth leadership in Scouting. Enoch is the author of the GreenBar life articles found at ScoutmasterCG.com. He’s a 19 year-old assistant Scoutmaster with a great perspective on helping youth leaders get going and keep going. Our central interest is developing a go-to resource for youth leaders […]
Kevin Callan | January 2014 ScoutCircle
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 […]
Just For Fun – A Holiday Wish List
My basic boring gear list and book list showcase items more useful, perhaps than this simple holiday wish list, but these items have attracted my magpie-like attention for shiny, quirky and gadgety things. Whittling Whittling and carving is a favorite pastime, having a good knife and some idea of what to whittle makes it even more fun. […]
Now That’s a Multi-Tool!
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 […]
Scoutmaster Mike Asbell’s Wild Saunter Blog
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! 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. via Wild Saunter: […]
The Relevance of Scouting
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, […]
A Visit with Green Bar Bill
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 […]
Order of the Arrow | June 2013 ScoutCircle
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 […]
Men of Schiff: The Professional Scouters Who Built the B.S.A.
Win Davis has been a member of the Boy Scouts of America for more than sixty years as a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Scoutmaster, Sea Scout Skipper, Commissioner, Commodore and other positions too numerous to mention. As a professional Scouter Win attended the National Executive Institute at Schiff Scout Reservation in 1970. He was fortunate enough […]
Kandersteg International Scout Center
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
The Troop Committee |ScoutCircle March 2013
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 […]
35 Years Later Scoutmaster Gets Her Due
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 […]
The Scouting Party | February 2013 ScoutCircle
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 […]
Derek Twine “The naysayers were wrong.”
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 […]
I’ll keep this brief…
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 […]
Paul Siple – Eagle Scout
Paul Siple, a nineteen-year-old Eagle Scout in Erie, Pennsylvania, was one of thousands who applied to join Admiral Byrd’s expedition in 1928. Byrd asked the Boy Scouts of America to help him select one Scout to take on the year and a half exploration of Antarctica. Local committees vetted applications and forwarded 88 to the […]
Podcast 137 Four Percent, Eagle Scout Book
IN THIS PODCAST Interview 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 Podcast: Play in new window | […]
40 Things Scoutmasters Say
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 […]
Sneaky Moose story
I was asked to write a guest article for the Algonquin Outfitters Blog (these are the outfitters we use for our canoe trips in Canada) : Moose are sneaky. I could imagine them getting together a few days before we arrived and a big bull issuing some orders: “So next week there’s going to be […]
Don’t be a ‘Dog in the Manger’
A dog in the manger guards the manger (where hay is put for animals to eat) not because he wanted to eat the hay but to prevent the other animals from doing so. In the context of Scouting I think of a few instances that illustrate the point; Volunteers who get so stuck in one […]
“Our Boys”
In 30 plus years of Scouting this past Saturday was particularly meaningful. My wife and I were invited to the wedding of one of the men she calls ‘our boys’. Andy worked with me on camp staff and worked for me when I was a camp director nearly twenty years ago. There’s something to the […]
Flag Retirement and Toxic Fumes
Via Facebook Tracey Lucas asks: We’ve helped our Elks with an annual Flag Day Ceremony and Flag Retirement Ceremony for many years. Some years we have over 400 flags that have been collected during the year to retire during the evening. We want to retire these flags with the utmost respect, but at the same […]
