Primitive Fire Making

#ThrowbackThursday
1980 - Ninth Edition: Boy Scout Handbook
pg 114

Matches are OK for starting cooking fires. A campfire deserves better. Add to its romance by lighting it the way Indians and early settlers did it.

Fire By Friction. This was the Indian way of making fire. For this you need a fire-making set made up of spindle, fire-board, hand block, bow, and tinder.
To make fire by friction, put the tinder on the ground, Place the fireboard over the tinder. Kneel on one knee. Place the other foot on the fireboard. Twist bowstring once tightly around the spindle. Hold spindle upright with the hand block. Rest the hand holding the hand block against the knee.
Set the spindle spinning with long strokes of the bow. Increase the pressure. Keep going until heavy smoke rises. Knock the ember formed in the notch in the fireboard into the tinder. Blow it into flame with steady blows.
Fire has been made in 6.4 seconds. What's your aim?

Explain Good Sportsmanship

Sportsman Activity Badge: Req. 2

Scouting usually involves the Den, Pack, Patrol, or Troop playing some sort of game.  The Varsity Scout program is based on the team format involving Team Captains and Team Coaches. No matter your your position in Scouting or your age, it is always important to show good sportsmanship.  As you promise to Do Your Best, you agree that no matter how hard the activity is, or if the other team is winning, you will have a positive attitude no matter the outcome.  Sure it's alright to be upset or discouraged when your not winning... those are natural feeling.  What shows your true character is how you act upon those feelings. Even when you win it is possible to not show good sportsmanship.

Things You Can Do As A Parent To Help Your Cub Scout

As a parent, especially if it is your first time experiencing Cub Scouts, the question always come up... "What do I need to do?" There are a ton of things involved with Cub Scouts. From all the requirements for Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Activity Badges, Arrow of Light, and not to mention Sports and Academic belt loops and pins... it can get a little overwhelming.  Just remember the Cub Scout Motto - "DO YOUR BEST!"

The following are some items that you as a parent can do to "help the pack go"

Cub Scout Lava Lamp

Items Needed:

• An inexpensive bottle of cooking oil
• Empty Cup
• Cup of Water
• Food Coloring (you can choose any color)
• Effervescent Antacid Tablets

The Four Whistle Commands Used On A Range And Their Related Verbal Commands

Leaders: As many of you know, your voice can only travel so far.  Especially as a group of Scouts are talking or firing at the shooting sports range. The following (world wide) whistle commands relate to Archery.

• Two whistle blasts: archers may proceed from the waiting line to the shooting line.
• One whistle blast: archers may place an arrow on the bowstring and begin shooting.
• Three whistle blasts: archers may walk forward to the targets and pull their arrows.
• Four or more whistle blasts: stop shooting immediately.

For Scouts: It is of the most importance of safety to follow the Range Master's commands at all times.

Find Your Way

On this #ThrowbackThursday we turn the pages of the April 1949 second printing of the Handbook For Boys.

This is a compass course such as you might walk, for which you would take three compass readings and measure three distances with your step.
You would be shown the starting point. then you would be told to go 100 degrees for 165 feet, until you found a stake; then to go 195 degrees for 90 feet, to the second object; then to go 300 degrees for 160 feet, to the end of the course.
On each leg of the course, first set your compass, then find a landmark on the required compass degree reading. Then walk toward the landmark for the required number of steps.

The Heimlich Maneuver

The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency technique for preventing suffocation when a person's airway (windpipe) becomes blocked by a piece of food or other object. The Heimlich maneuver can be used safely on both adults and children, but most experts do not recommend it for infants less than 1 year old. You can also perform the maneuver on yourself.

How To Tie Your Shoelaces

Wolf Elective 17b
Tie It Right

Name Of Each Chess Piece

Names and Moves of Each Piece

Each player starts the game with the equal amount of pieces; 8 Pawns, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, 2 Rooks, 1 Queen, and 1 King.

Pawn	Knight	Bishop	Rook	Queen	King
8	2	2	2	1	1

Rights And Duties Of A Citizen Of The United States

Webelos Citizen Activity Badge
Requirement 7

Below are the rights and duties of a citizen of the United States. Some of these responsibilities are legally required of every citizen, but all are important to ensuring that America remains a free and prosperous nation. 

How To Thaw A Pipe

#ThrowbackThursday

This gem comes from the 1976 printing of the Cub Scout Bear book.

Elective 16: Repairs (pg 146)

HOW TO THAW A PIPE:  Don't set the house on fire by trying to thaw a frozen water pipe with a blowtorch.
     First locate the frozen pipe by turning on the water faucets.  Start thawing at the faucet and work back up the pipe.  Be patient - it may take hours.
     An electric iron will give you the hottest concentrated heat. You could also use a soldering iron or mother's hair dryer. Tie it or wire it to the faucet end of the pipe.  Move it along as the pipe thaws. Make sure the iron doesn't touch any wood.  It could start a fire.
     In a tight place, use a soldering iron.  It is slower but may fit in where nothing else will.
     A warm-air hair dryer will do the job slowly and safely in hard to reach ares. Direct the air blast upward between the wall studs parallel to the frozen area.

Webelos Activity Badges

Webelos Activity Badges

This is a list of the Webelos Activity Pins and their requirements. There are two markings that show the requred pins for the Webelos badge and for the Arrow of Light.

The 20 Activity Pins are divided into five categories or four activities each.

Physical Skills
Aquanaut	Athlete	Fitness(*)	Sportsman
Mental Skills
Artist	Scholar	Showman	Traveler
Community
Citizen(*)	Communicator	Family Member	Readyman(**)
Technology
Craftsman	Engineer	Handyman	Scientist
Outdoor
Forester	Geologist	Naturalist	Outdoorsman(**)

(*) Required for Webelos Badge
(**) Required for Arrow of Light

Webelos Activity Badges Outdoor Group

FORESTER	GEOLOGIST	NATURALIST	OUTDOORSMAN

Outdoorsman Activity Badge

Do two of these:

1. Present yourself to your Webelos den leader, properly dressed, as you would be for an overnight campout. Show the camping gear you will use. Show the right way to pack and carry it.
2. With your family or Webelos den, help plan and take part in an evening outdoor activity that includes a campfire.
3. With your parent or guardian, take part in a Webelos den overnight campout or a family campout. Sleep in a tent that you have helped pitch.
4. With your parent or guardian, camp overnight with a Boy Scout troop. Sleep in a tent that you have helped pitch.

And do five of these:

Naturalist Activity Badge

Do this:

1. With your parent, guardian, or Webelos den leader, complete the Respect Character Connection.
   • Know: Tell what interested you most when completing the requirements for this activity badge. Tell what you learned about how you can show appreciation and respect for wildlife.
   • Commit: Tell things that some people have done that show a lack of respect for wildlife. Name ways that you will show respect for and protect wildlife.
   • Practice: Explain how completing the requirements for this activity badge gives you the opportunity to show respect.

And do five of these:

Geologist Activity Badge

Do five of these:

1. Collect five geologic specimens that have important uses.
2. Rocks and minerals are used in metals, glass, jewelry, road-building products, and fertilizer. Give examples of minerals used in these products.
3. Make a scale of mineral hardness for objects found at home. Show how to use the scale by finding the relative hardness of three samples.

Actions Of One Individual

Citizenship in the Community
5. With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community.


No Cussing Club



One boy’s crusade to encourage clean language has far-reaching effects.
Read the article here

Parts Of A Canoe

#MeritBadgeMonday

Canoeing Merit Badge

Requirement 5

1. Name and point out the major parts of a canoe.

The Scout Staff and It's Uses

#ThrowbackThursday from the 1911 Boy Scout Handbook

Many boys, upon taking up the Scout Movement, are dubious about the value of the scout staff and many friends of the movement ask "Why does a boy scout carry a staff?"
Experience has proven it to be one of the most helpful articles of equipment. In order to show this we are reproducing, through the courtesy of Lieut-Gen. Sir Robert S. S. {366} Baden-Powell, illustrations from printed matter used by the English boy scouts. These illustrations show a number of different ways in which the staff will prove a handy and valuable article; in fact, essential to the Scout outfit.