Were you a Scout?

[RussellK]

I was thrown out of the cubscouts because my mom was too poor to buy a uniform.....

That sucks. You should have joined our troop. Out of 60 boys only the 8 rich kids had uniforms. We'd borrow a shirt to get our advancement badges and then give it back. Course you had to be willing to be tied up to the outhouse for a while!

[turk]

Some of the things I coveted from Cub Scouts (by the time I was Boy Scout eligible I wasn't interested) were the badges and pins and also the wooden cars they made.

[Sylvester]

Some of the things I coveted from Cub Scouts (by the time I was Boy Scout eligible I wasn't interested) were the badges and pins and also the wooden cars they made.

I still have some of my badges. I had a hand me down shirt, it was from the early sixties, it was very dated. Most of our guys did not ever have any uniform at all. I wish I had my pinewood derby car. It too was dated, and looked nothing like the new (1976 ish) cars at all.

[turk]

The Pinewood Derby is quite cool. I remember how I was fascinated and wished I was a Cub-Scout. The next level seemed not as fun to me but I'm not sure why. I also don't remember exactly why I wasn't a scout. It's definitely a cool thing for the shorties to do. I was in 4-H for a year. That is pretty cool too.

[turk]

I was a Cub Scout for a year, loved it but wasn't allowed to continue "not enough time" by my parent or some crap.

Same thing happened to me. My Mom still has the lantern I made from old butter tubs, plastic saucers and hairspray caps.

That's funny. Awesome that she still has it!

[Westy78]

I did a stint as a Cub Scout for a few years. I think I still have my shirt and pinewood derby car and trophy around somewhere.

[locoqueso]

I may hold the record for the shortest time in the Boy Scouts. I went to my first meeting and then quit. By that time none of my friends were in it so I bailed. Turns out, one of the kids that stayed in went on to burn down the high school a couple/few years later (lari, you probably heard of him).

I do have my Webelos activity badges hanging in the bus. Yeah!

[Sylvester]

Turns out, one of the kids that stayed in went on to burn down the high school a couple/few years later (lari, you probably heard of him).

Looks like they Scouts taught him well, how to start fires and all.

[RussellK]

Turns out, one of the kids that stayed in went on to burn down the high school a couple/few years later (lari, you probably heard of him).

Looks like they Scouts taught him well, how to start fires and all.

Scouts and fires - thats a natural. Here's a couple of fire stories.

I remember one backpacking trip, it was cold and we finally had gotten a pretty decent fire built. This one kid that was a real pain in the neck for reasons only he could explain decided to pull out his weezer and let go on our fire. It took several of us to stop the mob from tossing him over a bank.

Another trip we had this one kid that never shut up and was always pointing out everyone's faults. He was constantly running his mouth. The kids hated him but the adults loved him and were always pointing him out to us. Anyway the trail was pretty rough and most of us had tripped and skinned up our knees a time or two and he was always bragging how he hadn't tripped and we must be all clumsy or something. Later in camp we were all standing around the fire and he's still running his mouth. He must have hyperventilated from all that talk because all of a sudden he passed out and fell face first into the fire. Didn't even have the sense to put out his arms. Lucky for him we had a large pot of water on the fire we were heating for hot chocolate because that actually saved him from a serious burn but the thing is no one would help him. We all stood there kind of numb. The adults went nutty. Later one asked me why we didn't help him and I explained awkwardly the boy's feelings about the kid. Found out later this kid had a Dad that was always pushing him to be the best at everything and that eventually he took his life. He must have had real self esteem problems. Sad.

When I was a leader for my boy's troop I thought a lot about my experiences when I was a boy. I'm a firm believer in natural consequences and that kids have a filter that you should allow to work. Still I kept a close eye on them waiting for a kid to fall in the fire or go over the bank.

[locoqueso]

Looks like they Scouts taught him well, how to start fires and all.

If I remember correctly it took him at least two attempts before getting it right. A janitor caught him in the school after hours and kicked him out. Later that night he eventually got back in to start the fire.

[Sylvester]

Ahh fire. I remember on a Klondike Derby (where you drag around a very heavy wooden sled), there was no snow, just cold, mud and rain. When we broke for lunch, we could not start a fire, everything we had was soaked, as well as the woods. I remembered I had brought my hand warmer, with my lighter fluid. We poured it on the wood and presto! Instant blazing warmth and a hot lunch of canned ravioli! Soon after we finished eating, yonder approached out of the rain soaked woods our other patrol, wet and glum. "Oh my gosh, how did you get a fire going? We ate our lunch cold!"

A good Scout would have chucked the ravioli and dug for grubworms and been happy. We of the Confederate Patrol dared to be different.

[RussellK]

lighter fluid.

Be Prepared! You were a good boy scout!

[Quadratrückseite]

I was a Cub Scout, Webelo (sp?), and Boy Scout. I received my Eagle Scout when I was 17, and I went to a National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia. Also was Order of the Arrow, if you know what that is! So, I love camping!
Sly, I remember the Klondike Derby! We did a late fall/early winter campout in tents once, and it got down to 28 degrees. We got some Polar Bear award or something for that.

[Birdibus]

I was a Campfire Girl from 2nd grade to my first year of college. I went to a girl's camp in the mountains every summer, and worked there on staff after I turned 18. I did a lot of hiking, backpacking, sailing, traveling, and leadership of kids during those years, and got to get away from my parent's strict supervision. Now the program is co-ed and caters only to younger children. Too bad.

[hambone]

Do you have any pics of you as a campfire girl? I'll bet they're adorable! Something about the innocence of little ones is so sweet, they have no idea how cute they are, no ego yet. I'm Eva's paparatzi, follow her everywhere with a camera since she was born. At least I can get away with it now, before long she'll be gettin annoyed...but I love dem big blues!