Cub Scout Pack 250

buckytom

Grill Master
because of some recent events (becoming a mod), i think i will open up a bit of my life to everyone and bring along, if you will, with me on this epoch i my life.

my wife and i have fought recently a lot over whether or not i should take over the town's cub scout pack, pack 250 to be exact. the conflict being that we are planning on moving (yes, again, for the 5th year, for those who know me), but we truely live in a poor town that at some point will affect the education of our boy. so my wife feels that i shouldn't get so involved in such a temporary thing.

i look at it as i don't have a choice. the current cubmaster was stepping down no-matter-what in june, so if no one replaced him, the pack would close next january when the charter needed to be recertified. or sooner, if the council found out.

ok, so dw wants to get out of our town, and so do i. and of course i want the best for my son.

but, so far, in kindergarten and first grade he's done very well. student of the month twice, maybe of the year this year. lol, forgive me for being an a-hole braggard parent...

sociologically, though, i seem to remember second grade being the delimiter in my time, back in the 70's. the kids you knew those first two years bonded; after that, you had to earn it.

i'm not worried about that too much as he's a big and friendly kid, so i figure we have another year to wait until the housing market improves to sell our house, and make final repairs and improvements to make the house as sellable as possible.

beyond that, i'm more than willing to come back to this town to keep the cub scout pack alive even after we've moved. to keep my son in as woell, until he reached boy scout age 4 years from now. it's almost a vocation.

my main reason being that a town with so many single parent famiies, so many on welfare, lunch, and food programs, the least thing that i can do is help their boys by introducing all american values, and offer an escape from the bad things they may experience at home or on the streets at least one day a week, and the occasional weekend camping trip or scout activity. i can see no wrong in in it, really.

ok, well, i'm currently the assistant cubmaster as of the past few weeks because no one else would step up. when we signed my son up for tiger cubs, they hooked me like a ringer. i loved the scouts when i was a kid, having been 1 step below an eagle, but having completed high adventure camps and many miles of the appalachian trail and hundreds of miles in canoes. so after a den meeting and an fbi security check or two, i'm suddenly the only hope for pack 250.

speeding ahead, in my second month as such, we had a big meeting tonight and a lot was resolved. everyone got along so far, but finances have still been avoided. i hope to see the books and take control of the pack's business over the next few months. no one needed to be ousted, but then i haven't seen the numbers yet, nor see how things are going forward.

i'm stll a ny'er, after all. people with missouri license plates understand.

so if things work out the way i planned, i will be able to blog, if you will, about my new cub scout pack here. i hope to bring the love of food and cooking to my boys while posting the pics of such here.

we have a spaghetti and meatball dinner coming up this sunday, a blue-n-gold dinner in february, and a camping trip in march. lots to foodie post about.

(a quick trivia quiz for all americans: how many stripes, how many stars? how many red stripes, how many white? what stripe -red or white - on top and bottom? how are the stars arranged, in how mant rows of what?
i have 31 boys who know every answer)

my boys and their moms painting american flags:

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SilverSage

Resident Crone
It's a truly rewarding thing you're doing. How many boys in your pack? Is it a new thing for all the mom's to be there?

I was a Girl Scout leader, Service Unit Coordinator, and a Trainer for new leaders. I think I learned as much as the girls did.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Awwwwwwwww, BT, how wonderful!!! Especially considering your gawd-awful work hours!

I'm sure that you and "your boys" will get a great deal out of teaching each other!

Thanks for sharing.

Lee

P.S. Your DW has the best HAIR!
 

Doc

Administrator
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Very moving pics Tom. That alone shows why you are hooked. :thumb: It is a good thing to do for you son and for the community. Things like this are tough, and take dedication but in the end you are rewarded so many times over for the hard work. Both you and your son will benefit for years to come because of this experience. Kudo's to you. :clap: :clap: :clap: :tiphat:
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
It is indeed a very wonderful and rewarding thing you are doing BT. I can't think of a better way to try to make this a better place for all of us to live. I was a girl scout leader for several years and had a great time. There are a lot of headaches that go along with the job but all of the memorable moments make it all worth it.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
Looking at those pictures of your little scouts and their parents brought back a lot of fond memories Tom.
The look on your little man's face is beautiful and I bet he's oh so proud to have his Daddy as cubmaster too.:smile:

What you are doing is making such a difference in the lives of those boys and their parents.
Making memories, quality time and getting them started out on the right foot.

My boys were both in scouting and I have many, MANY good memories of those times when they were young.
Like you mentioned, the annual spaghetti suppers, B&G banquets, Pinewood Derbys, Mom and Me camping trips,.. etc...

My first husband and oldest son are both Eagle scouts, the youngest just made the transition into Boy Scout before he decided to drop out, which broke my heart.

It's hard work and takes a lot of your spare time for going into planning what's next, but you'll all benefit from it.
 
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