Scouting was a big part of my younger years. I enjoyed the camaraderie with other Scouts, had a great time camping, and learned a number of skills that I carry to this day. In various “leadership” roles, I learned much about achieving goals, cooperation, and communication. More importantly, I developed self-confidence, learned about perseverance, and practiced life skills not gained in a classroom.
Scouting was a big part of my younger years. I enjoyed the camaraderie with other Scouts, had a great time camping, and learned a number of skills that I carry to this day.
The foregoing seems like a glowing advertisement for the (Boy) Scouting experience, which I suppose it is. But in retrospect (on myretrospect.com, fittingly), I have decidedly mixed emotions – some about the experience, but decidedly more about the organization.
I did the full gamut of Boy Scouting, starting as a Cub Scout at age 8. Girls were Brownies at age 7, which rankled me. They got to be part of their club, wear the uniform, earn their badges, and we boys had to wait another year.
I was a regular Boy Scout starting at 11, and joined an Explorer Post at 14 or 15.
Ranks and badges were a big deal. Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout was the epitome of success, pushed by the organization, and praised by the entire community. I bought into it and got the badge in due course; ultimately it proved, to me, at least, more of an endurance exercise than anything else.
After one became a “First Class Scout” the trek became a race to earn the 21 merit badges (you can see them on my sash). There were ten “required merit badges” and another eleven you could choose from dozens (now hundreds, I think) on all kinds of subjects. (I think there’s even a Horsemanship merit badge which would have been no trouble to Mr. Ed, your author). To me, they were all interesting, and we got to build and do fun things, but most (but not all) weren’t particularly challenging. Making sure you were able to schedule your time to be able to attend the classes for the more arcane required badges was more difficult, really, than the work.
I really liked earning the lower ranks – Second and First Class Scout. They included a number of outdoor activities that were terrific – a five mile hike, starting and cooking a meal outdoors without using matches, learning and practicing basic first aid, learning how to measure the distance across a river without being able to measure it directly, are high in my memory. And we all had to learn Morse code – a rite of passage for all of us. We could substitute learning semaphore, which I learned in a day, but have long forgotten it; it took longer with Morse Code, but I still remember all of the letters and some of the punctuation. Attaining the First Class Rank instilled a level of confidence that I could do a lot of things on my own without, or with only a modicum of fear. And I carry with me a catalog of knots that I still use today.
Camping was great fun. Every year we’d go for a week or two in the Sierra Nevada, hiking for ten miles or more over the several days. This brought more camaraderie and bonding with other Scouts. And since I was Patrol Leader, being in a leadership position required organizing the trip, acquiring the food and equipment we needed, making decisions about the route, and making sure we didn’t get lost. It wasn’t all fun, of course. Thirst, lousy cooked food, mosquitoes and blisters happened. I felt lucky one year to find a box of Kotex pads left by previous campers (Girl Scouts, I presumed, but maybe not) which I converted to comfortable heel pads for blisters I developed on the second day of one trip. I earned a fair share of teasing for this. I simply thought it was being resourceful.
My most satisfying merit badge (the one on the sash with a crossed axe and pick axe combination in the second row) was Pioneering. I was part of a group of half a dozen or so scouts that met for two weekends at the house of one of our adult scout leaders. It was a real challenge. We had to learn how to lash together tree branches or other poles using nothing but rope – no nails or any other aids. I can’t remember the names of the particular “lashes” but I remember they were a complete mystery to me. How I got through the first weekend, I don’t recall, but I did make the trip out into the field the next weekend where we made a small bridge across a dry stream bed. Designing the structure (very much like an A-frame) was really satisfying, and I thought at the time we could have driven a Volkswagen over it. I’m very glad we didn’t try.
My most disturbing merit badge experience was Firemanship (top row middle on the sash). It was taught by the local Fire Chief with the basic idea to learn fire safety and a bit of the science and technique of fighting fires in the community. It was a four-week class of one night a week for about an hour or two. On the second week, we were presented with a test with no preparation (the first meeting was organizational). Everyone flunked, and the Fire Chief spent the next half hour excoriating us for what he considered evident stupidity in the face of our abysmal responses. I kept my mouth shut in the face of his bullying. Had I been a year or two older, I would have challenged him for his uncalled-for conduct. So that part of Boy Scouts taught me something about people, but I do not think it was what Lord Baden Powell (the founder of the organization in 1910) had in mind.
Perhaps the most exciting (in another way) for a 14-year old boy was the Lifesaving merit badge. It was very hard to get, only because the general way to get it was to take the Red Cross course which was only taught once a year at the high school pool. What was exciting to me was pulling and being pulled around the pool by my assigned partner, a girl a year older and far more attractive than I, wearing a not too suggestive swim suit for the duration of the course. I’m reminded now of the ending of Tom Lehrer’s song, “Be Prepared:”
If you’re looking for adventure of a new and different kind
And you come across a Girl Scout who is similarly inclined
Don’t be nervous, don’t be flustered, don’t be scared
Be prepared!
(And no, the Lifesaving merit badge is not the one with the heart at the top left of the sash.)
It never got anywhere near where Tom Lehrer suggested. I was infatuated, my swim partner had no interest in me, other than to learn the proper life saving techniques!
I fully expected to be an adult leader at some point in my life. But over the years, it became clear to me that Boy Scouting far too militaristic, right wing politically, homophobic, and an organization keen on hiding pedophiles they were aware of in its leadership. My wife and I did take our son to an organizational meeting of interested boys and their parents. Our son recoiled at the militarism and thought one meeting was enough for him.
Years later, I ran into some earnest looking Boy Scouts selling something at a fundraiser in a super market parking lot. Rather than ignoring them, as was my usual wont, I approached them, told them I was an Eagle Scout, but couldn’t support them because of their anti-gay policies. One of Scouts looked straight at me and said he agreed completely with my sentiments. I still didn’t buy what they were selling, but left feeling hopeful.
Are we making progress? I hope so.
Mister Ed
You had a long run with the Scouting organization, Mr. Ed and you’ve described your experiences thoroughly for those of us who know it only from movies and what we’ve read in more recent years. I can see how you learned great skills that would last a lifetime. The Fire Chief yelling at all of you like he did was not only abusive, but actually showed that he had not done a good job of teaching and preparing all of you for your task. Shame on him!
The Scouts have gotten a black eye for sexual abuse lately. Let’s hope they have changed! In this climate, their military regimentation isn’t for everyone and the program needed to adapt for the times.
Fire Departments, like the Scouts, embraced a military hierarchy.Perhaps our fire chief remembered his basic army training (assuming he had any) where the first thing they do is tear you down.
Thanx Mr Ed for this wonderfully written tale of your Scoutimg past, and am impressed at your recall and that you still have your sash and all your hard-earned badges – and even remember your clever use of those Kotex pads!
And after sharing all the positive experiences and skills gained in your Boy Scout years, you don’t shy away from the more recent scandalous reveal about the organization.
Do you know if reform is underway, hope so.
I assume all of these organizations have moved some distance to reform. I think there’s a much more rigorous vetting process. What’s needed also is training on how to recognize abuse within the organization.
Hope so.
And once again – amazement to know such a literate horse!
The outdoor adventures and inventiveness you decribe so positively are the sorts of things that made my Girl Scout picnic in the park and embroidery merit badge seem so lame. The boys had all the real fun and adventure. But BSA also a problematic organization for other reasons. Good on you for opposing homophobia. My sister shepherded her son to Eagle Scout but I think she is the one who should have won the badge.
I think the Girl Scouts have moved a long way from embroidery, although there’s a lot to be said for being good with a needle. I sewed most of the merit badges onto my sash, with mixed results. I think the Girl Scouts are far ahead of the Boy Scouts (which now admit girls) when it comes to inclusiveness and LGBTQ issues. Nice about your sister’s participation with her son!
I was interested to find that there were segregated Girl Scout troops of various stripes from early on, but MLK praised GS for relatively early desegregation efforts. And always secular, to their credit from my perspective.
This story inspired me to go look at the current merit badge selection. Some look like a lot of fun!
I try to shy away from conspiracy theories since they quickly become a rabbit hole of logical fallacies, but I really do not understand, at all, why so many organizations shield the pedos in their ranks from the consequences of their actions.
I think the shielding had and may still have a number of causes. Disbelief that it’s occurring, and being perpetrated by men you consider friends; society’s acceptance that the kids are not telling the truth when the perpetrator strongly denies the accusation, and the fear of a sullied organizational reputation. Changing attitudes and the tremendous financial impact, including bankruptcies of church dioceses, and scouting organizations are making a difference.
You have given us the good, bad, and ugly of scouting, Mr. Ed. It’s too bad that all the positive aspects can be, and have been, overshadowed by the direction that Boy Scouts took. Let’s hope they are turning it around.
The Scouts have changed. They’re no longer a white-member rural based organization, having branched into inner city neighborhoods with activities, badges, etc. focusing on skills needed there. There’s still a lot of hiking and camping of course, and exposing these activities to Scouts who’ve rarely, if ever, been outside the urban core.
As for the right-wing military-type emphasis about which I wrote, I don’t know. I find it interesting that the Mormon church, one of the largest sponsoring organizations, whose very conservative politics, views on sexuality, and what they consider upright moral behavior are (in my opinion) outside the mainstream, is now pulling its sponsorships and starting their own “scouting” program, completely independent of the Boy Scouts.
I also hope we are making progress. You were lucky to have gained so much from your scouting experience, but for many boys it is just not a good fit, or worse. I think it all depends on the leadership. My son was willing to give it a go as a cub scout for 2 years, but the bullying, rowdiness, and militarism were not his thing.
Sorry about the Cub Scout experience — I don’t think I’d wait it out for two years. Agreed, it depends a lot on the leadership, but in some places, certainly, the culture can skew in the direction of a particular type of leader.
Thanks for this journey into your scouting experience. I found scouting to be a learning experience, and the atmosphere was consistent with the Air Force town I grew up in. Ultimately, though, I went my own way.
I’m sure I carry much of my Air Force family background (however brief) to this day. But see “Close Analysis of a Close Call” — an early story I wrote on this site. https://www.myretrospect.com/stories/close-analysis-of-a-close-call/
BTW, which town were you referring to?
My town was Midwest City, which might still be a wheat field if not for Tinker AFB. A developer got word the base would be built there shortly after the start of WWII, and he bought up all the land and began the town, which now has some 60,000 or so people and is a large OKC suburb. Thanks for the link to your other story. I will check it out!
I’m afraid I have nothing to add to the conversation but just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your story, Mister Ed. I like that you gave us such a balanced perspective. In fact, it’s so well written you might want to consider publishing it on Medium.com. There are other stories there about scouting…why not add your own voice for the benefit of a larger audience?
That’s high praise indeed. I don’t know anything about Medium.com but will certainly look at their site. I imagine a greater audience would include folks with an axe to grind, so I’d need to scrutinize the story before sending it in.
Our own Laurie has quite a few pieces on Medium!