Calling all Old Scouts Giudes Cubs and Brownies

[billrunnels]

Thank you for sharing the Scouting stories. I received the Eagle Award in 1940 age 15. It was a wonderful experience. A member of the "Mic-O-Say Tribe" which replaced "Order Of Arrow" in the Missouri Pony Express Council. My wife was a Den Mother when our two sons were Cubs and I a Scout Master when they were Scouts. We had a very active Troop when living in St. Louis, Missouri. Camped every month with the exception of January and February.

 

[Glider]

I found the skills that I learnt in the scouts hugely beneficial in later life and in particular when I was in the navy. I was the youngest apprentice in my group by two years as the other people were mainly 18 - 20 with a few older than that. I was lucky only one person tried to bully me and the others let him know that wasn't welcome.
We had to go on a training exercise involving route marches, map reading, making shelters etc, I am sure anyone in any armed force has had to do experience similar camps. Although the general view was if an FAA aircraft engineer had to do a route march something must have gone very wrong.
As luck would have it we were put into pairs and yes my partner was the one who liked leaning on me. One things I was good at in the scouts was camping, map reading, trapping so the exercise didn't worry me at all. It was quickly clear in the training that I was quite competent at this and I will call him John was loudly letting everyone know that he was all right as he was with me.
The final test was a route march across country with an orienteering exercise built into it and if you failed in the time period you had to come back for a tougher test during the next leave period. We got to the start and the first thing we had to do was plot the way to the first waypoint. John told me to get on with it and I said no, you do the first one and I will do the second waypoint. He started to panic as he hadn't been paying attention and had no idea what to do. The instructors were a little distance away, knew that I could do this and were probably aware that John hadn't been listening and left us to it. Time started to pass, I stuck to my guns, he didn't know what to do and finally he said 'you've got to or we will have to come back again'. I pointed out to him that he had forgotten something, I liked doing this kind of thing and coming back wasn't a problem for me.
Eventually he had a go, got it wrong and we set off in the wrong direction following another pair. As the day unfolded we criss crossed the area bumping into other teams but we had lost a lot of time. Everybody had worked out what had happened and let me look at some of the numbers for each of the reference markers they had found. By looking at our instructions and using the maps I was able to work out what we should have found without going to them and plotted a route to get us back on track.
In the evening one of the instructors took me on one side and asked me what had happened as there was no way we could have completed the task in time considering the direction we had started off in. There was no point in trying to hide anything so I told him and at the end he said nothing but we were passed, John was kept back for camp cleaning duties including filling in the cess pit and he never bothered me again.

A good result

 

[billrunnels]

I found the skills that I learnt in the scouts hugely beneficial in later life and in particular when I was in the navy. I was the youngest apprentice in my group by two years as the other people were mainly 18 - 20 with a few older than that. I was lucky only one person tried to bully me and the others let him know that wasn't welcome.
We had to go on a training exercise involving route marches, map reading, making shelters etc, I am sure anyone in any armed force has had to do experience similar camps. Although the general view was if an FAA aircraft engineer had to do a route march something must have gone very wrong.
As luck would have it we were put into pairs and yes my partner was the one who liked leaning on me. One things I was good at in the scouts was camping, map reading, trapping so the exercise didn't worry me at all. It was quickly clear in the training that I was quite competent at this and I will call him John was loudly letting everyone know that he was all right as he was with me.
The final test was a route march across country with an orienteering exercise built into it and if you failed in the time period you had to come back for a tougher test during the next leave period. We got to the start and the first thing we had to do was plot the way to the first waypoint. John told me to get on with it and I said no, you do the first one and I will do the second waypoint. He started to panic as he hadn't been paying attention and had no idea what to do. The instructors were a little distance away, knew that I could do this and were probably aware that John hadn't been listening and left us to it. Time started to pass, I stuck to my guns, he didn't know what to do and finally he said 'you've got to or we will have to come back again'. I pointed out to him that he had forgotten something, I liked doing this kind of thing and coming back wasn't a problem for me.
Eventually he had a go, got it wrong and we set off in the wrong direction following another pair. As the day unfolded we criss crossed the area bumping into other teams but we had lost a lot of time. Everybody had worked out what had happened and let me look at some of the numbers for each of the reference markers they had found. By looking at our instructions and using the maps I was able to work out what we should have found without going to them and plotted a route to get us back on track.
In the evening one of the instructors took me on one side and asked me what had happened as there was no way we could have completed the task in time considering the direction we had started off in. There was no point in trying to hide anything so I told him and at the end he said nothing but we were passed, John was kept back for camp cleaning duties including filling in the cess pit and he never bothered me again.

A good result

Thanks for sharing. The skills taught in Scouting have served me well also.

 

[Capt. Vick]

I was only a Cub Scout for a year or so, but I was an Assistant Den Leader for my son's den for 5 years, and he is now in his 1st year as a Boy Scout. Don't know if he will stick it out to Eagle Scout, but I will support him either way.

An interesting bit of Boy Scout trivia, packs of the Theodore Roosevelt council are the only ones allowed to give the official handshake with their right hand...because Teddy Roosevelt preached never to let down your guard, or your shield holding hand (left).

 

[billrunnels]

I was only a Cub Scout for a year or so, but I was an Assistant Den Leader for my son's den for 5 years, and he is now in his 1st year as a Boy Scout. Don't know if he will stick it out to Eagle Scout, but I will support him either way.

An interesting bit of Boy Scout trivia, packs of the Theodore Roosevelt council are the only ones allowed to give the official handshake with their right hand...because Teddy Roosevelt preached never to let down your guard, or your shield holding hand (left).

Interesting comment about the handshake. You don't have to reach Eagle Scout to benefit from the Scouting Program. Your son will benefit from your continued support regardless of the rank achieved.

 

[Graeme]

An interesting bit of Boy Scout trivia