The Children are Okay

We watched last week the vitriol over the separation of children from their parents who had just illegally crossed the Rio Grande to enter the United States. As has been pointed out by many it is always the case that those arrested for a crime are separated from their family and friends, which includes their own children.

Rather than press that point I want to make one that the children are being well cared for. The so-called cages are just chain link fences that keep the children segregated by sex and age for their own protection. The more important point is that the children, many for the first time in their lives, are given medical care, attend school (including English lessons), are well fed, clothed and are safe from whatever situation forced them to make the dangerous and arduous trek from their country of birth. They have an air-conditioned living facility, the space blankets are clean and easily washed, there is fresh fruit and good meals, the children have showers and clean clothes, and are insect free (e.g. bedbugs, fleas, lice, ticks, mites). They are provided phone conversations with their parents a couple of times per week.

Frankly, for these children who have nothing, it is much much closer to summer camp than Auschwitz.

Boy Scout Patrol Identity

I thoroughly enjoyed Enoch Heise’s article about “Developing Patrol Identity.” (see below for link). It reminded me very much of my growing up in Douglass, a small town in south-central Kansas. I joined Boy Scout Troop 220 on my 11th birthday in 1958. I remained with the troop even through junior college while still living at home.

There was a dilapidated chicken coop in the alley of our backyard neighbor and when I was patrol leader my patrol met there, weather permitting, in addition to our weekly troop meetings at the American Legion building. We were influenced by the Our Gang Club’s Little Rascals.” That was our existence. It didn’t take much to make us happy and we were allowed to do whatever in the patrol den and after school as long as my buddies and I were home for supper at 6:00 p.m. sharp. We went on a few patrol hikes and overnighters by ourselves, with none of the adult leaders. We would joke around, maybe catch a fish, build a fire and cook an aluminum foil dinner from our backpack or gunnysack. Refrigeration (ice) was not a requirement.

Two deep leadership had not been imagined and our gang did things on our own, mostly left alone. In my day, a gang was an antonym for patrol (see page 28 of the September 1956 Boy’s Life article by Green Bar Bill where he says, “Get your gang up to full strength and show the new fellows a real patrol!”

Also, check out the 1938 edition of the Scoutmasters Handbook[*] (page unknown) says,
The gang is, in short, a little social organism, with a life of its own, reaching beyond the sum of the lives of its several members. This gang, this natural unit of boys for boy activities, is the all-important unit in Scouting. It changes its name, it is true, from gang to Patrol, but it is a "gang" just the same, a small, permanent group of boys allied by similar interests, working together under the responsible leadership of one of its number—the Patrol Leader.

Today, no one would dare use the word gang, but the concept remains our goals of unanimity and spirit for today’s Scout patrols.

We decorated the coop and at meetings had our own flag and standard. Our troop’s charter holder, the American Legion, let the troop use a large closet for storage and we could leave up some large items on the walls of their bingo hall.

At summer camp we tented by patrol and cooked by patrol always using a patrol duty roster (fire maker, cook, asst. cook, water boy, Kitchen ‘cleaner up’, KP-2 and camp police). Only the patrol leader didn’t have one of these positions that rotated every afternoon for the next 24-hours. Only the cooks liked their jobs, but everyone shared through the week and it worked well. The cooks portioned out the food and filled their plates last. The cooks moved to the KP slot so there was an incentive to be nice and not dirty every pan or leave a mess for the KP-scouts. My patrol had a yell that was always bellowed at the top of our lungs before grace at each meal.

Showers at Quivira Scout Ranch in 1961 (first year for this camp) in Southeast Kansas were a hose over a tree limb. That was it. No curtain. So what? Nobody cared!

Now let’s flip forward from my era, let alone BPs, to today when we’re arguing about which bathroom to use and our Scout camps have detailed time schedules for showering by Scouts, 18-20-year-old men, adults over 21 and the same for women leaders and staff. Whoa to anyone that approaches the shower house outside their designated time slot. And just wait for the daily leader’s meeting with the camp commissioner where the central topic will be lack of hot water and what woman “nearly walked in on me during ‘our time.’” At the 1960 Jamboree, the Scouts and Scouters all showered in cold water together and never thought a thing about it.

Health codes, building codes, fire codes and esthetics make much of what you spoke of Enoch regarding patrol unity passé in today’s age of regulations, rules, policies, use permits, etc.
In addition, parents are afraid to let their kids play outside and the kids can hardly breathe unless they have an electronic device in their hand. The thought of getting dirty, taking orders from their peers, or doing manual labor gives them chills. Try to get Scouts to sing or give a yell and they’ll fake vomiting! They think it nerdish to walk in a parade. Wearing a uniform other than at a troop meeting makes most Scouts cringe.

I admit that I am writing with a broad-brush. I do so, to demonstrate that your May 23 article, “Developing Patrol Identity” is nostalgic and great reading for someone my age, but anachronistic for all most all of today’s Scout-aged boys.

You, and members of your “Scouting for Boys Launch Team,” should modernize what boys will endorse as their style of showing patrol identity. This might include a troop app for their phones and regular tweets from their leaders to the boys, and of course the adults.

The Boy’s Life app for iPhone is certainly a start. The 2013 Jamboree had its own app which was poorly crafted and ineffective, but a start in the right direction. The 2017 Jamboree utilized a much-improved app, individualized by each participant. One day soon, I predict Scout camps will have robust WiFi, so the Scouts can remain in contact with their mothers and girlfriends. I expect that without connectivity the boys won’t attend camp any more than they’ll attend a primitive camp lacking hot showers. We must sanction WiFi and use it to our advantage with merit badge requirements and helps, recipes, reminders, text messages from merit badge counselors, etc.
I hope other “Launch Team” members can supply additional suggestions for modern equivalents of patrol dens and yells.

Enoch, I appreciate your Call to Action[†] asking Scouters to:

• . . . talk with your Patrols about building unique Patrol identities.
• Challenge them to throw their efforts into coming up with some awesome Patrol corners.
• Start a competition to see who can make the coolest Patrol corner in the next two weeks.

[*]Downloaded 31 January 2018 at http://chestofbooks.com/outdoors/scouts/Scoutmasters-Handbook/Part-IV-The-Patrols-In-The-Troop-Chat-11-The-Patrol-Method.html#ixzz49mM2rfPu
[†]Downloaded 31 January 2018 at http://scoutingrediscovered.com/scoutcraft/developing-patrol-identity

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Sunday Roast Beef

While growing up, my family had multitudinous great meals of every imaginable culture and taste. None were ever better though than what my mother put in the oven before heading off to Sunday school and church. The Sunday Roast of chuck roast, carrots and potatoes was always marvelous!

Earlier this week I saw in a Safeway ad that the store had Chuck Roast for $2.99 per pound and with their card it was only $1.99. I also had not yet used my new Lodge deep 12” Dutch oven. I saw the possibilities and headed for the store!

I browned both sides of the roast in the Dutch oven, salt and peppered the meat, sprinkled a package of Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix over the meat, added a couple cups of water, put on the lid and pushed the oven into the oven. After three hours the roast was done, but not tender. I let it cool and about 10:00 p.m. set the oven in a snow bank by my back door for the night, being certain it was cool enough not to crack and shatter.

The next afternoon after substitute teaching I brought it in and spooned off the grease that had solidified on top of the broth.

I added carrots and potatoes with some Lowry's seasoned salt, a little tomato paste and a tablespoon of sugar.

I made the degreased stock into gravy with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in water and a heaping teaspoon of “Better Than Bullion.” 

Have you tried this product? It is really delicious; much better than Marmite, Kitchen Bouquet, or any combination of Worchester sauce, soy sauce, A1, etc.

I assure you that the roast is all the better served with what my dad called “Chili Sauce.” The back of dad's recipe card says Emma Foote. She was born in 1901 and was a first cousin of my paternal grandmother.

I generally grow the vegetables needed for for salsa and this recipe. That is about it for my gardening. When I have fresh tomatoes I make the recipe as the card says, but I’m not afraid to make a batch with canned diced tomatoes.

Chili Sauce

Recipe furnished by DutchOvenRanch.com

18 tomatoes, large diced, skins removed

2 cups of sugar

1 cup vinegar

2 onions, large diced

6 green peppers, diced

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp allspice

2 T salt

1 T powdered cloves

1 green pepper, diced

Wash the tomatoes and dip each into boiling water for a few seconds and the skins will be easy to peel. Boil down the tomatoes and onions. Cool a bit and then add vinegar, sugar, peppers and spices

Cook all ingredients on medium heat until well mixed and the vegetables have broken down. Stir often so not to burn.

I often can this in pint jars as gifts or quart jars using a water bath. Be sure to follow proper canning procedures. If you don’t can the sauce, it should be fine in the refrigerator for several weeks if you make only a small batch.

Scouting's Patrol Method

I participate in an online chat group run by Eagle Scout, Enoch Heise. He writes a column each month that describes and celebrates Scouting from the past and talks about how today's Scouters can benefit by the truths discovered and practiced by Scouters from the past. A recent posting dealt with the patrol method which can be read at http://scoutingrediscovered.com/developing-patrol-identity/. The following article is by me and describes some of the highlights of my Boy Scout years in the late 1950s and 1960s. I hope you enjoy my remembrances and notice how greatly things have changed.

Hello Enoch,

I thoroughly enjoyed your article about “Developing Patrol Identity.” It reminded me very much of my growing up in Douglass, a small town in south central Kansas. I joined Boy Scout Troop 220 on my 11th birthday in 1958. I remained in the troop even through junior college while still living at home.

There was a dilapidated chicken coop in the alley of our backyard neighbor and when I was patrol leader we met there, weather permitting, in addition to our weekly troop meetings. It was influenced by the Our Gang Club’s “Little Rascals.” That was our existence. It didn’t take much to make us happy and we were allowed to do whatever in the patrol den and after school as long as my buddies and I were home for supper at 6:00 pm, sharp. We went on a few patrol hikes and overnighters by ourselves, with none of the adult leaders. We would joke around, maybe catch a fish, build a fire and cook an aluminum foil dinner from our backpack or gunnysack. Refrigeration (ice) was not a requirement.

Two deep leadership had not been imagined and our gang did things on our own, mostly left alone. In my day, the word gang was a synonym for patrol (see page 28 of the September 1956 Boy’s Life article by Green Bar Bill where he says, “Get your gang up to full strength and show the new fellows a real patrol!”

Also, check out the 1938 edition of the Scoutmasters Handbook[*] (page unknown) which says, "The gang is, in short, a little social organism, with a life of its own, reaching beyond the sum of the lives of its several members. This gang, this natural unit of boys for boy activities, is the all important unit in Scouting. It changes its name, it is true, from gang to Patrol, but it is a "gang" just the same, a small, permanent group of boys allied by similar interests, working together under the responsible leadership of one of its number — the Patrol Leader."

Today, no one would dare use the word gang, but the concept retains our goals of unanimity and spirit for today’s Scout patrols.

We decorated the coop and at meetings had our own flag and standard. Our troop’s charter holder, the American Legion, let the troop use a large closet for storage and we could leave up some large items on the walls of their bingo hall.

At summer camp, we tented by patrol and cooked by patrol always using a patrol duty roster (fire maker, cook, assistant cook, water boy, Kitchen cleaner upper-1, KP-2 and camp policer). Only the patrol leader did not have one of these positions that rotated each afternoon for the next 24-hours. Only the cooks liked their jobs, but everyone shared through the week and it worked well. The cooks portioned the food and filled their plates last. The cooks moved to the KP slot so there was an incentive to be nice and not dirty every pan or leave a mess for the KP-scouts. My patrol had a yell that was always bellowed at the top of our lungs before grace at each meal.

Showers at Quivira Scout Ranch in 1961 (first year for this camp) in Southeast Kansas were a hose over a tree limb. That was it. No curtain. So what? Nobody cared!

Now let’s flip forward from my era, let alone BPs, to today when we’re arguing about which bathroom to use and our Scout camps have detailed time schedules for showering by Scouts, 18-20-year-old men, adults over 21 and the same for women leaders and staff. Whoa, to anyone that approaches the shower house outside their designated time slot. And just wait for the daily leader’s meeting with the camp commissioner where the central topic will be lack of hot water and what woman “nearly walked in on me during ‘our time.’” At the 1960 jamboree, the Scouts and Scouters all showered in cold water together and never thought a thing about it.

Health codes, building codes, fire codes and aesthetics make much of what you spoke of Enoch regarding patrol unity passé in today’s age of regulations, rules, policies, use permits, etc.

In addition, parents are afraid to let their kids play outside and the kids can hardly breathe unless they have an electronic device in their hand. The thought of getting dirty, taking orders from their peers, or doing manual labor gives them chills. Try to get Scouts to sing or give a yell and they’ll fake vomiting! They think it nerdish to walk in a parade. Wearing a uniform other than at a troop meeting makes most Scouts cringe.

I admit that I am writing with a broad-brush. I do so, to demonstrate that your May 23 article, “Developing Patrol Identity” is nostalgic and great reading for someone my age, but anachronistic for all most all of today’s Scout-aged boys.

You, and members of your “Scouting for Boys Launch Team,” should modernize what boys will endorse as their style of showing patrol identity. This might include a troop app for their phones and regular tweets from their leaders to the boys.

The Boy’s Life app for iPhone is certainly a start. The 2013 Jamboree had its own app which was poorly crafted and ineffective, but a start in the right direction. One day soon, I predict Scout camps will have robust Wi-Fi so the Scouts can remain in contact with their mothers and girlfriends. I fear that without connectivity the boys won’t attend camp any more than they’ll attend a primitive camp lacking hot showers. We must sanction Wi-Fi and use it to our advantage with merit badge requirements and helps, recipes, reminders, text messages from MB counselors, etc.

I appreciate your Call to Action[†] asking Scouters to:

• . . . talk with your Patrols about building unique Patrol identities.
• Challenge them to throw their efforts into coming up with some awesome Patrol corners.
• Start a competition to see who can make the coolest Patrol corner in the next two weeks.

---

[*]Downloaded 26May2016: http://chestofbooks.com/outdoors/scouts/Scoutmasters-Handbook/Part-IV-The-Patrols-In-The-Troop-Chat-11-The-Patrol-Method.html#ixzz49mM2rfPu

[†]Downloaded 26May 2016 at http://scoutingrediscovered.com/scoutcraft/developing-patrol-identity