Can Scouts go skateboarding? What about wakeboarding?
Are they allowed to fire a cannon? Throw a tomahawk? Explore an abandoned mine? Sell fireworks?
Yes, yes, no, yes, no, and no.
How did I know all that? Easy. I read the Guide to Safe Scouting. Continue reading
Time flies when you’re having fun.
That explains why we’ve gone through 50 mystery councils in the blink of an eye.
And with roughly 250 councils still to go, I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
This week’s patch, seen above, could be tricky, so here are a couple of clues:
Have a guess? Then enter the Name That Council contest. Tell me the mystery council and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win the patch seen above.
The contest deadline has passed, but look for a new Name That Council every Friday!
You know the Scout Law, but you’ve never seen it like this.
The 1913 Scout Law postcards seen above are a real treat. The cards, originally produced by The Henry Heininger Co., were reprinted by the Northern Star Council in Minnesota and sent to me.
Back then, the postcards were a cool way for boys and leaders to show off their Scouting pride. Today, they’re a visual time machine that shows us how the Scout Law was interpreted nearly 100 years ago.
Most of what you’ll find on these cards is still quite relevant today. There are some real gems in there.
I love the “A Scout is Kind” card. Its main focus is kindness to animals and features the now-defunct First Aid to Animals merit badge. But I want to know how that Scout got the dog to stand still while wrapping his leg.
The words on “A Scout is Brave” are especially relevant with the rise of bullying in schools. I do wonder why the Scout is entering that fire wearing his full uniform and neckerchief, though.
And the next time your guys whine about camp chores, point them to the “A Scout is Cheerful” card which says a Scout “smiles whenever he can” and “never shirks or grumbles at hardships.”
Which one’s your favorite? Which words resonate most today? Do you see any that don’t?
Sound off in the comments.
Hmm, let's see. Which state do I think of when I see oranges and space travel? There's only one answer that works, and there's only one council that wears the patch seen above.
Figuring out the state should be easy. It's identifying the council in that state that is the real test here, so get to it!
We'll pick one lucky winner from the correct responses to receive the patch seen above.
Rules:
Include the following information with your entry:
The contest closes at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011.
We'll announce the winner and the correct answer soon after the deadline. Good luck!
We’re off all week spending time with our families.
We’ll return on Monday with fresh posts. Happy Holidays!
You tell your Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers that
Scouting will help them become better men and women well beyond their adolescent
years.
What’s your proof? It’s mainly the anecdotal evidence of 100
years of great Scouting alumni and their profound impact on the country, right?
Now, Baylor University plans to find the evidence behind those anecdotes.
A $992,000 study, financed by a grant from the John
Templeton Foundation, aims to determine the “prosocial benefits” of Scouting.
Dr. Byron Johnson and Dr. Rodney Stark of Baylor’s Institute for Studies of
Religion will spend two years examining how men who were in Boy Scouts differ
from those who were not.
Researchers say they hope the comparison between Scouts and
non-Scouts will determine the validity of some “common assumptions” about
Scouting, including:
Although you and other volunteers may classify these
statements as certainties, there’s no scientific study to prove them. That’s
about to change.
"Unfortunately, there has been very little research on
Boy Scouts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals are essentially
nonexistent," Dr. Johnson said. "We need empirical answers to a
number of important questions: Does Scouting matter? Is Scouting associated
with beneficial results over time? Do Eagle Scouts value their Scouting
experiences more than other Scouts? Does this vary for different eras? In other
words, do Eagle Scouts from the 1950s differ from those of the 1980s?"
The timing of this research coincides perfectly with the
BSA’s 100th Anniversary. The results could help guide the program’s leaders
through the next 100 years. And that leadership starts with Chief Scout
Executive Bob Mazzuca, who said he looks forward to reading the results in a
couple of years.
"For decades, the Boy Scouts of America has used
outcomes research to strengthen our programs and curriculum,” Mazzuca said. “The
research produced by Baylor University is very important and at this crucial
time—we expect to learn a great deal from the research as we embark on our next
100 years.”
Last week we brought you Five Days of Patches, a contest for a free copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, Second Edition."
Of all of our responses, we had six Scouters who correctly named all five patches.
The correct answers were:
Because we had six correct respondents, we drew for the winner. Congratulations to Michael Brown of Tamarac, Fla., for naming all five patches and winning our random drawing.
Stay tuned to Cracker Barrel for more chances to win great prizes in the future.
Here's the last patch. Identify it and then read on to find out how to submit your answers.
Each
day this week, we have given you one mystery patch. Scroll down to see the other four if you missed a day.
Now, it's time to correctly identify all five patches. Click here to send us an e-mail. Include the answers along with your name, mailing address, and unit number to be eligible.
Whoever
gets the most correct will win a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, Second Edition." If we have several people who get all five correct, we'll draw for the winner. Good luck!
Here's the fourth patch. Do you have all four so far?
Each
day this week, we're giving you one mystery patch. Your job is to identify
the patch. On Friday, send us an e-mail with the answers. Whoever
gets the most correct will win a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, Second Edition." If we have several people who get all five correct, we'll draw for the winner. Good luck!
The third test of our Five Days of Patches contest is above.
Each
day this week, we're giving you one mystery patch. Your job is to identify
the patch. On Friday, send us an e-mail with the answers. Whoever
gets the most correct will win a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching, Second Edition." If we have several people who get all five correct, we'll draw for the winner. Good luck!
