Opportunity Knocks #19 - A Scout is Reverent

Memories. Sitting in a cubicle or at a desk in an office, looking out a window if you are lucky enough to have one...daydreaming is always better if there is a window....at age 40 or 50 or 60, or beyond, looking back at a scouting experience. Your mind drifting back to simpler times, less stress, friends, dads if you are lucky, leaders, games, contests, big and small events. I want to address one of those potential memories. One that I think of often. One that means a great deal to me and I hope it means a great deal to you as well. That would be our history of providing wonderful chapel services. Over the years we have had some great ones. And they have provided us with an excellent opportunity to teach about tolerance and respect. The Boy Scouts of America insists on "non-denominational" chapel services. That is a pretty big word for younger scouts. One of my very favorite memories involves a former chaplain, Tim Askew was his name (I wonder often where he is and how he's doing), and he was preparing for a chapel service at the Explorer Base. I asked him speciifically if he understood what non-denominational meant. He said "Oh yes." Then, right in the middle of the chapel service, he started a communion service. As he was passing something out from a basket and said the words "Take, eat, this is the body of....etc.", I knew I had a new challenge. After the initial shock of what was happening, I discovered that he had no idea what non-denominational meant. This has always been a difficult process. Kids go to their church or synagogue or other place of worship and they believe deeply in what they are learning. When finding themselves in charge of a chapel service, they want to share their beliefs with others and it is very difficult to explain to them why it would be inappropriate for them to do so. It seems like their beliefs are being challenged. They are not but I can see why they would think so. The actual message, however, isn't about their religion, but about their level of respect for the beliefs of others. Scouting should be one of the places where every person feels that his or her beliefs are valued by everyone else. I remember on the last jamboree, one of my Eagle Scouts, David Goldsmith, invited me to go with him to the National Jamboree Jewish service being held at a different subcamp. We walked and rode the bus till we got there and then we attended the service in a huge tent while it rained outside. I was lost. David handed me a book written in Hebrew and pointed out exactly where we were in the service....like that was going to do me any good. It was in Hebrew!!! But it was beautiful. And everyone was so friendly. That is what Scouting is supposed to be about. Respect for the belifs of everyone. Politicians don't do it. Governments don't do it. And sometimes different religions don't do it either. But as Scouts, we can do it. I was so thrilled that David asked me to go. And I was thrilled that he trusted me enough to share his beliefs with me. This has been one of my most difficult jobs as a Scoutmaster, insisting on non-denominational services and protecting the feelings of all. Chapel services. I can remember so many of them. I am always amazed that a simple service with trees and wild flowers and the gentle rain and morning mist. The breeze and sun on your face in the summer and spring, the beautiful leaves in the fall, an avalanch of yellow and orange and red. The tiny bite of the snowflakes against your cheek in the winter as the last hymn is played. More majestic than the most beautiful cathedrals or the most colorful stain glass windows. God's own church, never having to be remodeled but constantly channging with the seasons. Sitting in the grass with your friends, listening to one of your fellow scouts talk about one of the scout laws or a portion of the scout oath, listening to the music, lately provided by John Points, Richard Spears, Greg Rusco and Miller Steadly, and several others. I can honestly say that I have felt more at peace during one of these outdoor chapel services than I have sitting inside a building. And the music. One of my very favorite "special scouts", she is gone now, standing up in front of her Troop 26 family and her own friends and singing "This World Is Not My Home". How many scouts will always remember that song. I often find myself in my cubicle at the hospital, drifting back in time, and hearing her voice. I just know that God was there standing beside her, as he stands beside her today, and I'll bet that God was singing too. What a wonderful song. Let me remind you of the words. Think back. Garland, the Akdar Campground, Keystone, and this wonderful memory. This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue... the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door... and I can'r feel at home in this world any more. Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you... If heaven's not my home, then Lord what will I do? The angels beckon me from Heaven's open door... and I can't feel at home in this world any more. They're all expecting me, and that's one thing I know. My Savior pardoned me and now I onward go. I know He'll take me through though I am weak and poor, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Oh Lord, I know I have no friend like you... If Heavens not my home, then Lord what will I do? The angels beckon me from Heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Just up in Glory Land, we'll live eternally... The Saints one every hand are shouting victory. Their song of sweetest praise drifts back from Heaven's shore... and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. Oh Lord, you know I have no friend like you. If Heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do? The angels beckon me through heaven's open door and I can't feel at home in this world anymore. In the third verse, the words "their song of sweetest praise"......I'm sure that there was never a sweeter song in any church, synagogue, temple, cathedral or mosque, than this simple song sung by one of Heaven's lovliest children. If I get to Heaven, I hope to hear her sing it again. Till then, she'll be singing it at every Special Camporee chapel service....in my heart. Maybe I'm the only one that will be able to hear it. But I'll bet I'm not. I'll bet Scott Lybarger and Joel Stinnett hear it. I'll bet that Dick Shellton and Rick Hayes hear it. I'll bet that John and Richard and Greg and the band will hear it. Teri and Tony Duncan and Diane Curtis will hear it. Because it made a wonderful memory for all of us that will last with us forever. A Scout is reverent. Thanks for listening. Bill I am also reminded of the chapel services at the Special Camporees. I often speak with Scott Lybarger, Eagle Scout and former SPL. The Special Camporee always held a very warm spot in his heart and I'm sure that the chaapel service had a big part in making those events special. I'm sure that Scott is reading this and thinking back. Scott's good friend Joel Stinnett will remember those services too. Joel in Tulsa and Scott in alabama, reading this OK#19 and thinking back. I know they are both thinking about their sons and hoping that they will have the same feelings about outdoor chaaapel services.

Opportunity Knocks #18 - The Honor Court

The Honor Court. What is it? Do other troops have one? Is this a group that is specific to Troop 26? How do scouts get on the Honor Court? What does the Honor Court do?

All these are good questions and I want to address some of them in this OK#18.

I have attached a couple of photographs to this OK. They come from the yearbook of the Oklahoma Military Academy in 1965. Military Schools, by and large, have an exaggerated sense of "honor". More so than you find in regular high schools. That was in 1965. It is an even wider gap between regular schools and military schools today.

In reading the newspapers, I'm sure you can tell that "honor" is not a characteristic that is emphasized in today's world. It's one of those things that many people view as "past it's time". Military schools and their strict "codes of honor" seem out of place in today's world of "anything goes" and "Do your best not to get caught" and "blame your behavior on someone else". Honor appears to be a dinosaur, barely alive in a world that has moved on.

Scouting has, as one of its founding principles, "Honor". I remind you...."On my honor, I will do my best...." We still say that, every Monday night, at every Court of Honor, at every campout. Does that word mean anything to us? If it doesn't, we might as well be reciting "Green eggs and ham, Sam I am". It is meaningless to keep saying that oath, including that word, if we feel that it isn't relevant in today's world. Because it signals an even greater question. Is Scouting and it's values, including honor, relevant in today's world? Are military schools and their honor codes relevant in today's world? Is saluting the flag and prayer relevant in today's world? These are questions that the next generation of Scouts will have to address.

When I went away to military school in 1960, I learned about the academy Honor Court. I was told by my superiors that I was expected to tell the truth. That I was expected not to cheat or lie. That I was to conduct myself "honorably". And I was introduced to the concept of accountibility. Being accountable to the school's Honor Court for my actions. I came from a childhood where the only honor and accountibility I had been exposed to was in church and in Troop 26. As a child I stood at Monday night meetings and said "On my honor, I will do my best....". But it wasn't till my military school days that I learned the set of specific values that lay beneath that wonderful phrase. "On my honor".

To be honest, I was terrified of ever being called before the Honor Court. I wasn't afraid of the Commandant and I wasn't afraid of the faculty. I was a teenager. I was sent to military school because authority figures didn't intimidate me in any way. That's why I was there. That's why I needed to be there.

But the Honor Court was different. It was fellow cadets. Sitting in judgement of their peers. Deciding on consequences. Dispensing justice to the Corps of Cadets. I suddenly was faced with caring about what other people thought about me and my conduct. That was new for me. I was afraid of the Court. I was afraid of the thought of the Court. I wasn't afraid of them physically. I was afraid of their judgement of me. Their feelings about my conduct and my good name were suddenly important and what people thought had never been important before.

And then, in 1965, an important thing happened in my life. I was appointed to the Honor Court. I sat on the committee that decided on issues of "dishonorable behavior". I was allowed to judge my peers. They were afraid to be judged. . I could see it in their eyes.

That fear of going before the honor court, and the impact and responsibility of being allowed to sit on that court, stayed with me from that day to this.

Establishing the Honor Court in Troop 26 was one of my first priorities. It fit in exactly with the concept of "boy led." Scouts holding their peers accountible. I felt that it would teach the concept of "honor" in a way that an adult authority figure never could. By instilling in the scouts of the troop and those who sit on the Honor Court a sense of being "honorable". It has been difficult because many scouts come from homes where people don't treat each other honorably, where cheating to get ahead is accepted, where disappointment in being caught is more serious than the behaviors that started it all. For many scouts, honor is a foreign concept.

It is quite an accomplishment in Troop 26 to be elected to the Honor Court. Some of the issues that have come up and handled by the Court were very important and controversial. The members of the Court have argued with each other about words like "justice" and "fairness" and "reasonable" and "approrpiate consequences". And as I watch them debate the issues, I feel in my heart that they "know" what being honorable is all about. And they learned it and practiced it here in Troop 26.

Every year the Troop holds its election for the Honor Court. Boys from every rank are selected. Those scouts who have served in one of our four highest leadership positions are automatically on the Court. Past and present Senior Patrol Leaders are automatically on the Court. Those scouts are expected to be honorable by virtue of their positions in the troop. And scouts who have been elected three times to the Court are made automatic members till their eighteenth birthday. All youth. All ages and ranks represented.

Several years ago we started to present a medal "honoring" those scouts who have been elected by their peers to sit on the Court. It was called the "Honor Court Medal". The scouts who earn it wear it proudly. Because it was awarded strictly through the votes of their peers. We tell the troop on the night of the election...."This isn't about popularity. This is about honor. If you were in trouble or accused of something dishonorable, who in this room would you trust to be fair? Who would you trust to sit in judgment of you and your behavior? Who would you accept consequences from, knowing that those consequences have been set in appropriateness and fairness? That's who you should vote for."

More recently, we renamed the medal. It is now called the "Don Hull Honor Court Medal". The medal was named, like many of our other awards, after a scout who set the bar in a specific area. Don Hull, Eagle Scout and former Senior Patrol Leader, was elected to the Honor Court every year since he joined. At that time, Senior Patrol Leaders were the only automatic members of the Court so he went through an election process every year till he was elected Senior Patrol Leader. And each year, from his first election to his last, he was always one of our highest vote getters. Because he was respected. Because he was fair. Because he was ......"honorable." That medal now proudly bears his name.

We just seated the 2006 Troop 26 Honor Court. Some scouts were elected for the very frst time. Some were elected for the third time, making them Lifetime members.

There is going to be major change in the Court starting this year. People are learning about it for the first time through this OK #18 message. As you looked at the two photographs included in this message, you noticed that one of them was called the "Honor Committee". The other was called the "The Judges Bench". The Judges Bench were members of the Honor Comittee that were elected by their fellow Honor Court members, to sit on a higher level. They would decide whether or not an issue or an incident was appropriate for the Court. An incident would go before the Judges Bench first, and then, if necessary, would go before the full session with all the Honor Court members present.

Our Troop 26 Honor Court has grown quite large. I feel that a smaller group is now necessary that can conduct the business of the Court and guide its efforts. It will be called "the Judges Bench". This coming Monday night, the members of the 2006 Honor Court will select, in a private election, eight of their number to sit on the Judges Bench. I chose the number "eight" for several reasons. Like in the Pine Tree Training Course, the first eight words of the Scout Oath, "on my honor I will do my best", are very important. A number 8 appears on the bolo they are presented when they complete the course. So eight seemed a natural number. Also, at each Court of Honor we present the Troop 26 Honor Medal. The recipients of the medals are choosen by the Leadership Corps. At each Court of Honor, they present eight medals. Eight. Seemed a good number for our first Judges Bench.

A session of the Honor Court cannot be called into session unless two or more members of the Judges Bench are present. This would include issues that come up at Summer Camp or on long trips to Jamborees or Alaska or high adventure trips.

My congratulations to all those scouts who have been elected by their Troop 26 peers to serve on the Honor Court. My congratulations to those who just got elected to the 2006 Court. And my congratulations to the eight boys who will be elected next Monday night to serve on the very first Troop 26 Judges Bench.

Honor may be losing its place in the outside world, but in Troop 26 it is a value we hold dearly. Mean what you say. Keep your promises. Stand behind your word. Uphold your good name. Treat people with honor and respect. Do it when you wear your uniform. And do it when you are not in uniform. Honor your parents. Honor your flag. Honor your Country. And remember, its easy to do the right thing when people are looking. To do the right thing when nobody is looking....well, that means there is honor in your heart. That indicates that honor is a value that is important to you.

The Troop 26 Honor Court. A vital part of our program. A vital piece of a troop that is truely "boy led".

Opportunity Knocks #17 - The Stickmen

Back in....well.....years ago.....there were about fifteen kids sitting in the basement of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 11th and Sandusky. It must have been in 1958 or early 1959. There was only one man in the room. His name was Zeke Dampf. I was one of the kids sitting on the floor. An 8th grader at Wilson Jr. High, scouting, even then, was central in my life. The troop was holding a Senior Patrol Leader election. I wanted it but I didn't think I would be elected. I was scared to lose and I almost didn't run. But I did, and I won. I tried to be cool about it but it was hard. I was about to bust I was so excited. There were only two scouts running. I was running against the Scoutmaster's son. We had had the election for Order of the Arrow membership the week before. Same two kids. But I lost. I had prepared myself for the same results. To lose would be devastating but I made up my mind that if I lost, I wouldn't show my disappointment. I wouldn't let anyone know how bad it hurt. I'd be cool and shake the other guy's hand and pretend that it didn't make any difference. But I won. And I'm sure that when the other guy shook my hand, he was feeling exactly like I had been preparing myself to feel.

I had the TLC meetings in my Scoutmaster's home. There wasn't enough room in mine. And there were only three patrols. The badgers, the lions, and the beavers. The Scoutmaster helped me with the agenda before each TLC meeting. I can remember those meetings today. I felt important. I felt in charge. Senior Patrol Leader. Elected. Needed. Wanted. It was the first and only award I earned in my childhood if you don't count my church confirmation.

Senior Patrol Leader. When I returned to the troop after my six years in military school, one of the first things I wanted to do was continue that legacy of Senior Patrol Leaders running the troop. It wasn't hard to get started because Bud Kunze already ran the troop like that. I just continued what Bud had already done.

I arrived at Good Shepherd, no longer at 11th and Sandusky but in its present location, on the first Monday night of 1969. I announced that night that we would elect a Senior Patrol Leader the following Monday. Neil Smith was elected. He served for an entire year. We only had about thirteen or fourteen scouts in the troop. I also announced that we were going to form new patrols. The Vikings were born. Jimmy Smith was the first patrol leader. Many of you know him as Jim Smith, Assistant Scoutmaster, father of Daniel Smith. Rick was there too. I don't know what he was doing those first two meetings. He didn't like me very much back then because he felt that I was taking the troop away from "his" Scoutmaster, Mr. Kunze. He knew that Mr. Kunze had asked me to take it, but that didn't matter. Rick was one of my first "problems", but that's another story and it worked out great in the end. Rick Hayes and Bud Kunze are both great friends of mine. So Rick, if you are reading this, ....see, sometimes things do work out!!! I'll save my early Rick Hayes stories for another day.

Neil Smith, my first SPL. He held the job for a whole year. I don't remember why we did that. Bill Kirwin was my second and Mark Herhold was my third. They too held the job for an entire year. 1969, 1970, 1971. Then we decided that a year was too much and that we should go to a six month election, giving two boys a chance to lead the troop. By 1971, we were already closing in on 100+ members. Two SPLs per year seemed the right thing to do.

Now we jump to 2006. Next Monday night. February 13. Senior Patrol Leader elections. Trent Wood is in the final days of a great but challenging term. The burn ban we have suffered through for the last several months has really impacted some of the things that Trent wanted to accomplish, but that's OK. He had a great term none the less.

SPL elections. I know of six or seven young men that are going to get up and give their speeches and offer their services to Troop 26. And I think I know how they are feeling. Especially for those who have already run once or twice and lost. Losing for a teenager is so deflating. Many run once and then decide never to go through that feeling of rejection again. And some keep on running till they get it. Robert Smith ran and ran and ran until he finally got it in 1986. Bobby Doby and James Foutch kept running till Bobby made it in 2003 and James made it in 2004.

There were some years that it was difficult to get anyone to run at all. Some said they were too busy or that they had weekend activities that would prevent them from going to campouts. But it was really because they didn't want to risk the rejection of losing. And I hated it when only two scouts ran. That made it even more difficult to lose. I wanted the kids to want the job. I didn't want them to be afraid of not getting it. I had to do something to make the risk of losing worth the effort. And I had to develop something that would get more scouts to run, avoiding the "only two candidate situation."

So, in 1999 I began thinking of ways to enhance the SPL position and make it so rewarding that more people would want to run for the position and not think about the possibility of losing.

First came the SPL's bolo. I bought two of them in Alaska one summer, framed one of them for display at Courts of Honor and presented the other one in 1999 to SPL Hunter Niemi. Every SPL since has worn that bolo. That bolo has character and a great tradition. Matt Carney's dog chewed the ends of the bolo but in ten years that will be a remarkable story about the bolo. I'm glad the dog chewed it.

I began to think about the concept of "The Stickmen". That idea was born through Woodbadge, an adult training course started by Lord Baden Powell himself. The participants in the Woodbadge carried scout staves. I decided to have a special stave made for our SPL. Assistant Scoutmaster Don Hull found a woodcarver in Kingfisher Oklahoma and we commissioned him to carve the first stave. It was completed in 1999. Senior Patrol Leader Jonathan Walker was the first SPL to carry that specially carved stave and we began the tradition of naming the stave after the first boy who carried it. "The Walker Stick". Every SPL since then has carried it. The Doby Stick (for First Assistant SPLs and named for First Assistant SPL Bobby Doby), the Spears Stick (for Head Quartermasters and named for Head Quartermaster Reid Spears) and the Hull Stick (for the Leadership Corps Chairman named for LC Chairman Don Hull Jr.) followed in a few short years. All the staves were in place by 2001. A special patch was designed and ordered from the Krelman Company in Colorado. Rocker patches were added to designate the specific Stickman positions. So far, only one scout has earned all four rockers and served in all four positions.

The first Stickmen Society, the SPL, the First Assistant SPL, the Head Quartermaster, and the LC Chairman, became a reality in 2001.

The Stickmen meet at 6:00 PM right before each monthly TLC meeting. It is called "sticks at six". These kids form the "Scoutmaster's Advisory Board". The Boys who serve as Stickmen are always on the Advisory Board, even when their term is over. The Stickman Society is growing. We are now in the final segment of our fifth year. 23 scouts are currently members of the Stickman Society.

The Stickmen are honored each year with an annual Stickman Dinner, held traditionally at Shogun's Restaurant. The first Stickman Dinner back in 2001 had only four scouts. The first four Stickmen. The last one held several months ago was amazing. All former Stickmen were invited. There have been twenty-three scouts serve as members of the Stickman Society. Don Hull and Danny Harwell and Jesse Stallings attended. Don and Danny are at OU now and Jesse is working full time for Starbucks. Having them return for the dinner was unbelievable. I can only imagine what the dinner will be like in five years.

Since then we have had some of the very best scouts run for SPL and LC Chairman. Since then we have had some of the best scouts selected by the SPL for First Asst and Head QM.

This coming Monday, we will see a new SPL. That scout will take office on March 1. I know how he will feel when he wins. He'll try to be cool and gracious. But inside, he'll want to jump and shout and scream. Seven or eight scouts will be running. I'll bet they are preparing their speeches right now. I'll bet they are each thinking about who they will choose to be First Assistant and Head Quartermaster. I know that there are several Eagle Scouts out there thinking about running for Leadership Corps Chairman as well. They all want it bad. They can't wait. And I can only imagine how they will feel if they lose. My prayer is that they will try again next term.

The reality is that there will be some great scouts who never get elected. Our special medal program is an indication of that. The Advancement Award is named for Eagle Scout Whit Fields. He was never an SPL. The Service Award is named for Eagle Scout Joe Schweikhard. He wasn't an SPL either. Bart Murphy wasn't an SPL. Only two per year. Only two.

One of my proudest accomplishments as a Scoutmaster is that in the time I have been Scoutmaster, no adult has had a hand in the election of Troop 26's Senior Patrol Leader. The troop has decided. Every time.

On February 13, 2006, my 72nd Senior Patrol Leader will be elected by the membership of Troop 26. I will be elated in his accomplishment, whomever it is. And I will be saddened for those who think they have been rejected. They are all great candidates and I would be honored to have any of them win. Troop 26 is very lucky to have this kind of quality at the top of its youth leadership. Just as in real life, we have choices to make.

Whoever gets it, we need to make sure we support that scout with all our energy. And for those who don't get elected, we need to let theem know how honored we are by their willingness to give us six months of their life.

Opportunity Knocks #16 - Patch Trading

Opportunity Knocks #16. A subject that is close to the heart of all scouts regardless what part of the country or the world they come from. Something that defines the memories of each scout and places all things in perspective. What is it you ask?

Patch trading.

Every scout who attends an international jamboree, a national jamboree, a regional jamboree, a council camporee or even a district camporee, knows about patch trading. In scouting, you get patches for everything. Sell popcorn, get patch. Go to summer camp, get patch. The possibilities are endless for collecting.

Kids start early. They see older scouts with all manner of patches on their uniforms and they wonder what those patches are. In time, they find that the patches on a uniform are "earned" patches and that as you go along in scouting, the opportunity to get those patches will present itself. But then you notice that some of the patches are different. You attend an activity where scouts from other councils or regions are in attendance and you notice that their Order of the Arrow flap is different from the ones worn by your own troop members. And then you notice that their council strip on their shoulder is different. And then you notice that kids are trading. They are meeting and getting to know each other and the vehicle they are using to do that....is patch trading. Originally, that must have been a good idea.

My first experience with patch trading came at my very first National Jamboree in Idaho. The year, 1973. One of my scouts, a young man named Rol Avery, came back to our camp and said "Have you heard about the really cool patch that everyone is trying to get?" With those simple words, I was hooked. I hadn't even seen the patch, but I wanted it for my collection. But then I remembered, I didn't have a collection. I had a bag of patches that I was giving away to kids so that they could trade with kids from other states. But I had never thought about collecting. Until that second day of the 1973 National Jamboree when I heard about....."the Blue Heron". That even sounds magical. I decided to get one for the troop museum I was planning.

Then I discovered the rules about patch trading. Adults can't trade with scouts. Scouts can't trade with adults. The rule suggested that an adult would take advantage of the scouts. "Take advantage of the scout?" These were only patches. How serious could this be? Then I was introduced to the concept of "worth". I noticed the older scouts and scouters with their big plastic display books and their little handbooks detailing market value. I discovered that some collectors collected only Council Strips. Others collected only OA flaps. I heard words like "two for one" and "ten for one" and "forget it, that patch is a dog." Patch trading, apparently, was much much more than a way to get to meet people.

My 1973 National Jamboree was a total failure. Why? Because I didn't get a Blue Heron. On the last day of the jamboree I met an adult leader from Wisconsin. He asked me if I had a council strip from our council. I did and gave him one. He laughed. I asked him what was so funny and he told me it was because our council strip was ugly. "Its no wonder you are giving it away!", he said. I didn't like him very much but I decided that at some point I was going to make sure that the Indian Nations Council changed their council strip. He asked me if I collected and I told him I was starting a collection but that the one patch I was trying to get had eluded me for the entire jamboree. He asked what it was and I replied "The Blue Heron." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a little bag of patches. He thumbed through them and pulled one out and handed it to me. It was the most beautiiful patch I had ever seen. The Blue Heron. He reached out. I thought he wanted the patch back but he only wanted to shake hands. "Your ugly dog patch for my Blue Heron. Not a fair trade but I like Oklahoma." And guess what, I will always like Wisconsin.

That was the start. I still have the Blue Heron, although it is not the most beautiful patch I have ever seen. It was then, but not now.

So....I ask you, what is it about a patch that makes every scout and adult at a National Jamboree go out of their way to get it.

As I look back over my National Jamboree experiences, and I've been to eight of them, one every four years except 1977 because we decided to go somewhere else, I've reviewed in my head some of the patches that were sought after like they were made of gold.

In 1981, it was the Malibu. The Malibu was a beautiful Order of the Arrow lodge flap from Lodge 566 in California. I'm not sure what council that lodge is in. The patch was multi colored, fully embroidered, with a shark swimming in an ocean of blue, purple, and green. The patch almost came alive in your hand. Everybody wanted one. I got one and still have it.

In 1997, Marin County in California made a deal with Star War's George Lucas and produced a special patch for the Jamboree for their California scouts to trade. It was a patch featuring Yoda, a character from Star Wars. It was an instant hit. A jamboree site is huge, upwards of 35,000 campers and leaders. People walked for miles to find a Yoda patch. I got one. I still have it.

In 2001, Marin County built on their success of the previous year with another Star Wars patch featuring Darth Maul. "Have you seen the Darth Maul", "Where can I get a Darth Maul", "I have to have a Darth Maul". It was like a feeding frenzy at the 2001 National Jamboree to find and acquire that patch. I traded with adults and got seven or eight Darth Maul patches and then gave them to some of my kids down at Sub Camp 20. I hope they still have them because I worked hard to get them. I finally traded for one to keep for myself. I still have it.

In 2001, Troop 26 also offered a patch set based on tribes of Native America. It was fairly successful. I designed the set so I'm probably a little biased. Kids and adults were coming from other parts of the jamboree to trade for our patches. Nothing on the scale of the Blue Heron, the Malibu, or the Star Wars patches, but the Native American set was modestly successful. I was proud of it. That set is still available if anyone is interested. Check out the tulsa26scouts.org site.

In 2005, Troop 26 wanted to come up with a patch set that would rival anything seen at National Jamborees. With the help of former member, SPL and Eagle Scout Michael Lasker (now living in California and neck deep in the entertainment industry), I made contact with New Line Cinema and received permission to do a patch set based on Lord of the Rings. That would have been emensly powerful, if it had actually happened. After giving me permission to design the set, they retracted their permission because of legal issues with the people holding the copyright for the written material. We just couldn't make it work out. So we went to the 2005 jamboree without a patch to promote or trade.

In 2005, again Marin County offered yet another Star Wars patch. This one was limited to Eagle Scouts. You had to sign up to get one of the patches before the jamboree started and many Eagle Scouts didn't know about this patch till they got there and it was too late. It had a black border and had Yoda with a light sabre on it. Good looking patch.

It was this Eagle Yoda patch that started to sour me on patch "collecting". This really seemed to be about money. I'll tell you why i think so. One of our best Eagle Scouts, Gary Fennema, was injured with a boiling water accident on the first day of the Jamboree. In fact, it was the night before the first day. He left in an ambulance and didn't return to the jamboree. His troop, actually it was mine and Senior Patrol Leader Andy Points Jamboree Troop 1743, was devastated at the loss of one of our patrol leaders.

We had heard about this Yoda Eagle patch and several of us, I can't remember the whole group, but it consisted of Andy Points, Zach Vetal, Daniel Rusco, Foster Carlock, David Goldsmith, Michael Craddock, and several others. They wanted to go to the subcamp where the Marin County troops were located, and get one of those patches for Gary.

We took the bus, and walked, and walked, and walked. We were located in the uppermost portion of the jamboree site in Subcamp 19. Marin County was in subcamp 5, I think it was 5, and it seemed a million miles away. But we went. We didn't get a patch. Instead, we got a lecture on patch value from one of their adults. I told the man about Gary and that his friends wanted to get this Yoda Eagle patch for him in the worst way. He offered to sell me one for $100. I told some of the kids and they were going to try to pool their money to get one of these patches for Gary Fennema. Then the guy said he couldn't really sell one, but that we could "donate" $100 to the Marin County council to get a patch. He gave me the council's internet address and wished me luck. The kids were disappointed that we walked away without getting a patch for Gary.

While I was talking to the man, he said "Indian Nations??? Isn't that the council that had the Native America set at the last jamboree?". I told him it was and that I had a set back in camp. He said he would like to see it. So, two days later I returned to subcamp 5 with the Native American patch set, hoping that he would trade a Yoda Eagle patch for some of the Native American patches. I was surprized. He wanted the whole Native American set (sixteen patches, larger, fully embroidered with over fifteen colors each) and a $100 donation to the council, for one Eagle Yoda patch. Hummmmm.

I almost did it because I wanted the boys to be able to give that patch to Gary when we got home, but then he said he would mail me the Yoda Eagle patch. I couldn't have it right then. No deal. Plus, I left subcamp 5 feeling that patch trading was getting out of hand. I promised myself that some way, somehow I was going to get one of those patches for Gary. And I will. Someday.

There have been other patches sought after by our kids over the years. There was a Captain Crunch set, OA flap and CSP, offered by the Hawkeye Are Council that was pretty neat. And the National Parks in Utah featuring dinosaurs that was great. In 2005, the Bay Area Council in Texas ofered the Halo set. There was a set about race cars. There was an Elvis set. There was a set devoted to famous roller coaster rides and another beautiful set featuring clipper ships. And all of these sets were offered first on the net....for sale. It really seems to be about money now rather than a boy from Oklahoma sitting on a blanket with a boy from Nevada and another boy from Vermont....trading patches and mailing addresses, finishing with a handshake. We've lost something along the way. Something that used to be simple and meaningful. Something replaced by books and worth and internet advance sales and eBay.

Talk to John Points and get him to show you some of the patches he collected as a boy in Kansas. I'll bet he can tell you a little bit about the boy he traded with and some history about the patch. We've lost that. And we need to try to get it back. I'm going to get in my collection tonight and find a really neat patch. And I'm going to take it with me this weekend on the bus as we travel to the Cosmosphere in Kansas to take Space Exploration merit badge. And I'm just going to hand it to some new scout in the troop who doesn't know about the insanity of patch collecting as it exists today.

And maybe in fifty years he will be sitting on a porch somewhere with his grandson on his knee and looking at his bag of treasures from his childhood. And he'll pull out that patch and say "My Scoutmaster gave me this patch back in 2005. And I still have it."