Thinking Back

Thirty years ago, I was a in the second-half of my year as a Tiger Cub in Pack 42. At that time, Tigers were much like Lions are now. They were kind of Cub Scouts but not officially. It was a weird time. 

My Tiger Cub graduation. Spring 1993.

Thinking back and realizing that 30 years of my life I have been a Scout (though not registered for all of those, long story I will cover another time) causes one to reminisce. I came across something, recently, that made that even more of a thing. 

Everyone associates Scouts with patches. We have them all over the place. I have a blanket with a ton of them on and I have even more to add. What some of the newer folks in Scouting may not realize, though, is that the most common gift for adult volunteers when I was a youth as a mug. Not a sturdy, insulated, travel mug. That would make sense. No, porcelain mugs like you would find at a diner with the patch design emblazoned on the side. That was the gift. My father had quite the collection, which I inherited long before he passed. I also had several of my own. Most of them, though, I have no idea where they have ended up. I have come across one, though, that prompted this post. 

1994 SJAC Spring Camporee Mug

This is a special mug for me. Not because I was a volunteer, or even because my father was. This mug is from the first event I ever went to as a Cub Scout outside of den and pack meetings. The theme of this event was "Gateway to Scouting," and when it came to me that is exactly what it was. I was a Wolf and I spent the day wandering this camporee with my den. We got to see the tent city of troops set up for the weekend. It was held at Augusta Expoland and I remember wander the buildings taking in all of the activities and experiencing all that Scouting had to offer. I was hooked. 

So here I am, 29 years later, serving the youth in the council in which I grew up as a district commissioner for a district that encompasses the area where this camporee took place as well as where my pack was. 

Frustrations

 I am struggling. At a little over two months after the surgery I am falling into the trap of comparing my progress to others. I have had some ups and downs, and it is entirely my fault as I have had days where I have eaten more or eaten things that are not as nutritious as they should have been. 

I just need to keep being active and get back on track with my eating habits. This is just a brief post of accountability for myself. 

Freemasonry and Scouting

 Many people don't realize this, but Freemasonry and Scouting have a history that dates to the earliest days of the Scouting movement. Lord Robert Baden-Powell was not a Freemason, but one of his influences for the program as well as a founder of the Boy Scouts of America most certainly was. Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard was a Brother in New York state and his writings influenced B-P as well as Brother Beard being the first Commissioner for the BSA. 

In addition to Brother Beard, there were four others we can really consider founders of the BSA. Charles Eastman and Ernest Thompson Seton were highly influential in the founding of the BSA, and Seton was an influence to B-P just as Brother Beard was. 

Brother William D. Boyce was another of the original founders and is credited with bringing Scouting to the United States. There is a tale of Brother Boyce being aided on a foggy London night by one of B-P's Scouts inspiring him to bring the movement across the Atlantic. How true this story is, I am uncertain. What I do know is that Brother Boyce was a major part of the foundations of the movement and started the Lone Scouts of America, which later merged into the BSA. Today, there is an award named after him for organizing new units. 

Another person many consider a founder of Scouting, though there are also many that don't, is Brother James E. West. Brother West was the first Chief Scout Executive of the BSA and was the reason we received the Congressional charter as he set the BSA on the path to be the preeminent Scouting movement in the US. He made the BSA what it is. It's for this reason that the award named after him is for donating to the endowment fund for a local council, something that secures Scouting's future. 

I did not mention an award named after Uncle Dan, and there is a reason for that. The BSA does not have one. What there is, however, is the Dan Beard Award from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania that is awarded to Freemasons involved in Scouting. This highlights the importance of the relationship between the BSA and Freemasons in the US. There is also the National Association of Masonic Scouters which promotes the continued relationship between these programs. 

This brings us to present day, or at least two days ago. On January 16, 2023, the author of this blog was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason of Rockingham Union Lodge 27. I have only one picture from the evening, and it is a mirror picture of me waiting to begin the process in the room next to the Lodge.

I'm sharing this because I am excited to continue this relationship and legacy of Freemasonry and Scouting. I have known about this connection for many years and two of the men who I consider mentors in my Scouting journey were Freemasons themselves. One at the lodge of which I am now a member and the other at a lodge down the road. The two organizations share many values and I look forward to furthering those.