Guide Patrol: A Time of Transition

Once a boy reached 11 he was done with Cub Scouts. But Boy Scouts officially starts at age 12. So there is this transition year when the boy is no longer a Cub but not quite a Scout. When I was growing up, that transitional state was called the Guide Patrol. But my time in the Guide Patrol was more than a transition between Cubs and Scouts; it was also a time of transition of the Scouting program at the Church level.

Now, trying to change an entrenched Scout culture is not a simple thing. But looking back, I can see a trend developing among the Church leaders. Primary and Jr. Sunday School were staples of the pre-youth group. But little doctrine was taught there. The Church could see that the youth needed to be better prepared for the challenges that would face them so they gradually changed the emphasis of Primary. 

Weblos: The Turning Point

I am forced to admit that I loved being a Cub Scout. I loved the crafts we made, the uniform, the advancement, the recognition, and most of all, I loved my Den Mothers. But when a Cub Scout turns 10, it is time to leave the Den and become a member of the Weblos.

What in the world is the Weblos? Well, it comes from the combination of the phrase: “We’ll be loyal scouts.” Up until today, I thought the acronym was:  “We be loyal scouts.” But a quick check in the web corrected my decade’s long journey in Ebonics.

While Cub Scouting was maternally based, Weblos was male dominated, well at least it was for me. I think that was the first great shock to my strong Cub Scout spirit. I can’t recall for sure the name of my Weblos leader, but I think it was Br. Larsen. 

The Joy of Cub Scouts: Random Crafts

A previous post was supposed to tell about the fun crafts we made as cub scouts but it wound up being solely about the Pinewood Derby. While it was fun reminiscing about the derby, and perhaps exaggerating a bit (though not much), the Pinewood Derby was only once a year. My two years in Cub Scouts were filled with other fun things.

With November being about Thanksgiving, we made a turkey from old Reader’s Digest magazines. I looked all over the web and could not find an image of the turkey, but I remember carefully folding each page of the magazine, opening it up and stapling the front cover to the back, and then gluing the turkey head, feet, and tail feathers to the base.

The Joy of Cub Scouts: Rocket Derby

One year, I think while I was a Bear, we did the Cub Scout Rocket Derby. Though not nearly as competitive and famous (or infamous) as the Pinewood Derby, it was way cool to create a rocket that would glide down a taut wire by a rubber band propeller. The best part of the Rocket Derby was that I could use this rocket at home.