Table of contents for May - June 2020 in Scouting

They’re in separate troops, but make no mistake: Charlotte and Alex Beatson are on this Scouting journey together. They’ve worked on merit badges together, were inducted into the Order of the Arrow at the same time, and have even attended some of the same camporees and service projects. “It is full of friendly competition,” says Charlotte, a 15-year-old Star Scout from girls Troop 114. “This drives us to work our hardest and enjoy all we can learn.” Alex, a 12-year-old Life Scout from boys Troop 361, agrees. “It’s been fun to work on some merit badges together,” he says. “It’s been cool to see my sister finally get to do and be recognized for the things I have been doing in Scouting for years.” Families like the Beatsons out of…

THE NATIONAL SUMMERTIME Pack Award program features all sorts of prizes. There’s a streamer for the pack flag if the pack holds an activity during each summer month. There’s a streamer for the den flag if the den gets at least half its members to each of those activities. And there’s a pin for each Cub Scout who attends all three activities. (It goes on the right pocket flap.) Pack 3842 in Stillwater, Okla., gave out plenty of those prizes last summer, assistant Cubmaster Toni Presley Beyl says, but the biggest prizes went to the pack itself. At the summer activities, pack leaders successfully recruited a new treasurer, a new advancement chair and all the Wolf leaders they needed. “Since the leaders get to be a little more relaxed and…

I LOVE KNOTS. There’s magic in taking a piece of rope and, with a few bends and turns, creating a remarkable structure that is as useful as it is attractive. I’m also delighted to know that people sitting around campfires thousands of years ago taught knots to one another just as Scouts might today. Their world was different from ours, but the experience of forming knots — and many of the knots themselves — has changed little through the ages. A Timeless Skill Knots were essential for building homes, managing livestock and developing tools. By explorer Christopher Columbus’ time, a large ship might have several miles of rope on board. Knots made it possible to raise the masts, manage sails, hoist cargo and tend to hundreds of other necessary tasks…

OLIVIA GOODREAU WAS 6 when she was bitten by a tick. She has been living with Lyme disease ever since. Now 15, she wants people to know they could be just one bite away from getting the disease themselves. Olivia is the founder of the LivLyme Foundation, a nonprofit supporting research dedicated to finding effective treatments for tick-borne disease. LivLyme has already raised more than $1 million. When Olivia was bitten by the tick, she and her family did not see it, and she did not get the bull’s-eye rash that happens with many people bitten by Lyme-carrying ticks, meaning she had no idea what had just happened to her. In second grade, Olivia began having body aches, brain fog, headaches and tremors in her right hand. Even more alarmingly,…

In 1913, women’s suffragists marched in the streets of Washington, D.C., demanding the right to vote. Thousands of spectators attended, but some did not support the cause. Marchers were heckled and assaulted; police struggled to maintain control. That’s when 1,500 Boy Scouts stepped in, not only to handle the crowds but also to render first aid. Fast forward 107 years, and Scouts — now boys and girls — are still jumping in to help when they see problems arise. A 13-Scout delegation submitted the BSA’s Report to the Nation to our country’s leaders, highlighting Scouting accomplishments in 2019. These included 13.2 million service hours, 1.7 million merit badges earned and 5 million camping nights. Needless to say, everyone to whom the Scouts presented the report was impressed. “Our youth —…

Tyler Henry wanted to help Memorial United Methodist Church in Summit Point, W.Va., where his grandmother had attended and where Troop 421 met. As a tribute to his grandmother and a thank-you on behalf of his troop, Tyler decided to take on multiple challenging tasks for his Eagle Scout project: replacing the church’s speakers, upgrading the sound booth and building a table for the sound equipment. It seemed too much for one Scout. But for three Scouts? You betcha. So Tyler encouraged Eric McClaflin and Andre Yates to devote their Eagle projects to helping the church, too. Tyler decided to take on the sound booth portion of the massive project. He and fellow Scouts first removed a pew and radiator. The floor was raised so the sound booth operator could…

Madison Burrell uses these adjectives to describe her time at the wet and windy West Point Camporee: “tiring, scary, wet, muddy, crusty and painful.” Hardly a ringing endorsement, right? But then read what Madison says next: “I hope I’ll get to make more memories like this.” For Madison’s mom, Troop 5109 Scoutmaster Christine Burrell, it’s the perfect metaphor for Scouting. “It seems everyone these days is talking about grit as the big predictor of success,” Christine says. “That is what the BSA develops in spades.” Troop 5109 was one of hundreds of Scouts BSA troops for girls that formed on the first possible day: Feb. 1, 2019. In its first year in existence, Troop 5109 camped in sun, rain and snow. They earned merit badges, religious emblems and the Messengers…

WHEN HER ELDEST son, Noah, was in kindergarten, Kim Minckler signed him up to be a Cub Scout, thinking it would be a good activity for him and her husband, Chad, to do together. She didn’t know much about Scouting except that it involved the outdoors, something that was important to her. Within a month, she had signed on as the Lion den leader and then as assistant Cubmaster for the pack of 55 boys. “The more I got into the program, the more I realized absolutely how much I loved it and how much I wanted my family to be a part of it — not just my son and my husband, but my whole family,” she says. That family also includes Elliott, who’s now a Lion, and Matthew,…

The Dilemma Sophia Twining has always been aware of the dangers of drunk driving. But her awareness has gone through the roof since her high school’s SADD chapter hosted an activity that let students experience what it’s like to drive drunk. (They drove golf carts around an obstacle course while wearing special glasses.) Not long after that activity, Sophia and her friend Britney Cleaver attend their school’s junior prom. Since they don’t have their licenses yet, Britney’s 21-year-old brother, Damon, comes by at midnight to take them home. As soon as Sophia opens the car door, she smells alcohol. Guessing Damon might have been drinking, she makes a lame excuse and declines the ride. When Britney figures out what’s going on, she gets mad and breaks off their friendship. Now…

IN THE GRAND scheme of hiking gear priorities, right after basic essentials like boots and a pack, few things can noticeably improve your on-trail experience as much as trekking poles. Besides helping with balance and stability, they greatly relieve the cumulative impact on the muscles and joints of your legs and back. Their benefits only become clearer in steep terrain and stream crossings and with age, which means they can help you avoid falls and overuse-type injuries. Buying Tips Trekking poles differ in significant ways: price, weight, design and materials. Consider these factors when shopping: PRICE: From less than $50 to much more than $200, trekking poles come in a huge range of prices, often driven by materials. You’ll pay extra for lightweight, strong carbon-fiber shafts and soft-cork grips. WEIGHT:…

SET ALONG A FORK in the Red River, Camp Don Harrington offers views of the impressive Palo Duro Canyon as Scouts hike to different activity stations. Established as a BSA camp in 1945, the 1,600-acre property is now primarily used as a Cub Scout day camp in the summer, but it also boasts 12 campsites that are available year-round to all units on weekends. As part of the Cub Scout program, the camp features a teepee, fort, castle and pirate ship for play. There’s also a challenge course with obstacles close to the ground, like walls and balance beams. Older youth get to try taller, more challenging elements, including zip lines. Campers spend a lot of time in the swimming pool to get out of the Texas heat. They also enjoy…

Somewhere in Colorado, there’s a merit badge counselor who can smile with pride. When he was a Scout, Derrick Goold earned the Emergency Preparedness merit badge while attending summer camp at Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in the BSA’s Longs Peak Council. “I learned the importance of reacting calmly, with purpose and assuredly,” Goold says. “I remember something that one of the counselors said that day: ‘If you’re looking around for someone to act in a moment of need and don’t see anyone, then you’re the person you’re looking for.’” Some three decades later, Goold was that person. An Eagle Scout and award-winning baseball writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Goold was preparing for postgame interviews in the dugout after a St. Louis Cardinals game when he saw videographer Mike Flanary…

TO EARN A merit badge, a young person must work with a registered merit badge counselor. Here are some frequently asked questions about these important adult volunteers. WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO BE A MERIT BADGE COUNSELOR? Counselors must be men or women of good character who are 18 or older with skills and education in the subjects they cover. They also must be registered as an adult BSA leader and apply for the position of merit badge counselor (position code 42). They also must have completed Youth Protection Training within the past two years. WHAT TRAINING AND EXPERTISE MUST A COUNSELOR HAVE? There are no specific requirements for most badges, although the counselor must be knowledgeable about the topic. (Oftentimes this means involvement in the field as a career…

A SCOUT IS KIND, but is anybody else? You might not think so, judging by daily headlines and your social-media feeds. But Dale Atkins and Amanda Salzhauer argue that kindness is all around us — even in toddlers who are still learning to walk and talk. In their book, The Kindness Advantage: Cultivating Compassionate and Connected Children (HCI Books, 2018), Atkins, a psychologist, and Salzhauer, a social worker, cite research showing toddlers younger than age 2 show greater happiness when they’re giving treats than when they’re receiving them. Of course, many of those same toddlers quickly learn to say “mine!” and don’t stop saying it once they grow up. That’s why Atkins and Salzhauer say parents need to cultivate kindness in their kids. The purpose of their book is helping…

YOU’VE MASTERED THE gold standard of Dutch oven cooking: the legendary cake-topped peach cobbler. As delicious as it is, though, the dessert delivers a ton of sugar in every bite, most of it from high fructose corn syrup. You can do better. Dutch oven meals don’t have to be heavy with carbs and calories. Expand your repertoire with these belly-filling, high-protein and vegetablerich Dutch oven recipes. Mountain Man Breakfast This solid breakfast is rich in all three essential macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates) and will fuel any rigorous activity until lunchtime. Makes 4 servings. Recipes courtesy of Lodge Manufacturing Company of South Pittsburgh, Tenn., maker of the 12-inch, 6-quart Cast Iron Boy Scouts of America Camp Dutch Oven. INGREDIENTS 1 lb. country sausage1 lb. frozen hash-brown potatoes4 eggs beaten with…

KNOWING HOW TO predict weather is far more than a matter of convenience. It can make a huge difference for your daily logistics, safety and survival. Decisions on whether or not to cross a large body of water by canoe, attempt a mountain climb or stop and set up camp can all be made more certain by being aware of any incoming weather. You can learn a lot about longterm predicting through cultural learning — information passed down through generations. For example, termites covering the holes at the top of their mounds in Sri Lanka usually means the rainy season is about to start. Bees building their hives higher up off the ground might mean the snow is going to be deep this winter in Ontario. In a new area…