16 May 2004 - 7:46 p.m.
9 May 2004 - 8:02 p.m.
8 May 2004 - 9:02 p.m.
7 May 2004 - 9:45 p.m.
3 May 2004 - 8:45 p.m.
3 May 2004 - 8:44 p.m.
This weeks regular meeting is the Bike Ride on Saturday May 8th,
we are having more outings now as Spring is finally here and we
don't want to miss it. I will miss this one as it is my daughter's
birthday party.
The bike ride will begin at Cannon Falls park, near the Chevy Dealer
and Grocery Store on the north side of 19 at 10:00 a.m. and return
about 1:30 to the same park. Meet with a bike, money for lunch and
$1.00 for the trail fee, energy bars and water jug. Please also
bring a bike helmet and try to make sure your bike is in good condition.
We are also collecting candy money this Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
but are not having our regular weekly meeting. Please bring your
unsold candy or candy money if you think you have had enough selling
to Jane Senne at Camp Dudley that evening. If it is raining we will
be at Possum Garage (904 Division Street).
Tyler Senne will be working on the last coordination efforts for
the Cannon River Canoe Run (CRCR). The plan is coming together but
needs a little bit of coordination. Anyone who wants to show up
to help is more than welcomed but it is not an official meeting.
If you want to keep your candy and try to sell it you don't need
to turn it in now unless of course you just want to get rid of the
money.
Will be sending out e-mails next week on status of Canoe Trip. Have
fun on the bike ride all! Thanks Terry for coordinating this! Bugles,
canoes, our own camp, our own flagpole and soon to be our own Council
Fire. I'm sure, when I was a boy all we had.........
YIS
Don
Patrol Leaders' Council
Excerpted from the BSA Junior Leader Handbook
Copyright 1990, Boy Scouts of America, ISBN 0-8395-3500-7
Revised 1998
What Is the Patrol Leaders' Council?
Junior leaders make up the patrol leaders council - the board of
directors, so to speak. It's the decision-making team. The patrol
leaders' council plans the annual program, then the weekly meetings
leading up to the monthly outdoor adventure. In addition to the
material found in this chapter, there is a lot of useful information
on the importance of proper planning in Chapter 9, "Planning
Is the Key".
Together, members of the patrol leaders' council address the needs
of each patrol and the general problems that involve the patrols
and the troop. As a member of the patrol leaders' council, you represent
the whole troop. When the patrol leaders' council meets, you get
a chance to express your desires (and those of your patrol members).
The Leader of the Patrol Leaders' Council
The senior patrol leader is the top junior leader in the troop.
With the advice of the Scoutmaster, he leads the patrol leaders'
council and chairs its meetings, usually once each month.
Who Are the Members of the Patrol Leaders' Council?
Naturally, as the leader of the patrol leaders' council, the senior
patrol leader is a member. It's easy to see, just by looking at
the name of the group - patrol leaders' council - that the patrol
leaders should be members. There are others too. When your troop
has a Scout filling any one of the following positions, he is part
of the patrol leaders' council: The Junior Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
is at this meeting for guiding the Senior Patrol Leader but does
not have a vote. The Scoutmasters, Chaplain, Chaplain's Aide and
Scribe also do not have a vote.
· Senior patrol leader
· Troop patrol leaders
· Assistant senior patrol leader
· Troop guide
· Venture patrol leader
· Junior Junior Assistant Scoutmaster
The troop scribe should attend patrol leaders' council meetings
and keep a log of the meeting, even though he doesn't vote.
1 May 2004 - 7:50 p.m. - 1st Annual Cannon River Canoe Run
Plan is as follows:
Friday May 14th
Prior to camp that day, go get canoes - need volunteer with a ball
hitch.
5:30 p.m. Meet at Cannon River Park Camp - Flag Ceremony - set up.
First get fire going if burning ban is off. Then set up tents and
the eat supper.
6:30 p.m. Supper
7:25 p.m. Canoe instruction by the Chaplain.
8:25 p.m. Announcements (sing announcement song for practice of
Tomahawk). Flags, bugle.
8:27 p.m. Scoutmaster's Minute ( I know I have allowed 2)
8:29 p.m. Man's Prayer
8:30 p.m. Snack and campfire (if there is a burning ban we will
maybe do a night hike)
9:30 p.m. Lord's Prayer Lights out go to sleep right away - big
day in morning
Saturday May 15th
6:30 a.m. Reveille - Flags - Morning Payer - Brush teeth
6:45 a.m. Breakfast
7:45 a.m. Linus pick us up in bus to go to Bethel
12:00 p.m. Linus take us back from Bethel to Cannon River Park Camp
12:15 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. Tear down camp
1:40 p.m. Depart for Dudley in Canoes
4:50 p.m. Arrive Northfield - portage and eat at Quarterback
5:30 p.m. Leave for Dudley
7:30 p.m. Arrive at Dudley - portage to Camp Dudley - set up camp
8:25 p.m. Announcements (sing announcement song for practice of
Tomahawk). Flags, bugle.
8:27 p.m. Scoutmaster's Minute ( I know I have allowed 3)
8:30 p.m. Chapel with the Chaplain
8:50 p.m. Man's Prayer - Snack and campfire (if there is a burning
ban we will maybe do a night hike)
10:00 p.m. Lord's Prayer Lights out go to sleep. Parent Firewatch
Boys that want to, can rotate on firewatch in 2 or 3 hour shifts
all night long keeping
the fire going. First shift starts at midnight when first parent
retires
I will have Jamison create the first "Q-doc" for this
called:
Q-Plan document QT344-1 'Firewatch Detail Log',
this should dovetail perfectly with BSA*34901TY
which should save Linus some time)
Sunday May 16th
8:00 a.m. Reveille - firewatch ends - Flags, Morning Prayer - Brush
Teeth
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:30 a.m. Tear down camp
10:00 a.m. Depart canoes
1:00 p.m. ??? Arrive Phillippo - Jay and I need to figure out exact
river times as it varies during different times depending on how
much rain we have had.
8 April 2004 - 7:56 p.m.
State Representative Ray Cox of Northfield Construction
is Winner of Ice Scuplture Bid
Troop 344 Thanks MN Rep. Ray Cox for buying Ice Sculpture
Download Doner Selected Beneficiaries
Results and Proceeds
Donor Selected Beneficiaries:
American Heart Association of Minnesota
4701 W 77th St
Minneapolis, MN 55435
Phone: (952) 835- 3300
www.americanheart.com
The Saint John’s Bible
Saint John’s University, P.O. Box 7333, Collegeville, MN 56321
Phone: (320) 363-2771
www.stjohnsbible.org
Sharing & Caring Hands
525 North 7th Street Minneapolis, MN 55405
Phone: 612-338-4640
www.sharingandcaringhands.org
Faribault Area Hospice
631 1st St SE Faribault, MN 55021
Phone: (507) 334-6451
www.districtonehospital.com
Faribault Area Food Shelf
200 Western Ave., Faribault, MN 55021
Phone: (507) 334-2137
www.mnhungerpartners.org
Northfield Community Action Center and Food Shelf
1651 Jefferson Parkway Suite HS 200 Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 664-3550
www.northfieldcac.org
Indianhead Scouting BSA (Banny Allison)
393 Marshall Ave. St. Paul, MN 55102
Phone: (651) 224-1891
www.indianhead.org/
Maltby Nature Preserve
949 Sciota Trail East Randolph, MN 55065
Phone: (507) 664-0770
www.maltbynaturepreserve.org/
Minnesota Planetarium Society (Robert Bonadurer)
250 Marquette Avenue, #400
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: (612) 630-6151
www.mplanetarium.org
American Red Cross North Central Region
100 South Robert St. St. Paul, MN 55107
Phone: (651) 291-4600
www.yourbloodcenter.org
Boy Scout Troop 344
Chartered at Bethel Lutheran Church ELCA
Scoutmaster Don Starr
P.O. Box 515 Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-2656
www.troop344.us
don@starrarch.com
Benefactors:
Many Thanks!
Winning Auction Bidder
Ray Cox
District 25B Minnesota State Representative
http://ww3.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=25B
Northfield Construction Company, Inc.
1600 River View Lane P.O. Box 652 Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-8975
www.northfieldconstruction.net
Auction Bidder
Clean Start USA, Inc
904 Division St. Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (952) 221-2287
www.cleanstartusa.com
Lee Senne and Don Starr
“Ingeo” (Cargil/Dow) Corn Fiber Blanket Materials Donation
Faribault Mills
1500 2nd Ave. NW Faribault, MN 55021
Phone: 1-800-533-0444
www.faribaultmills.com/
Polystyrene “Forming Molds” Materials Donation
Lampert’s Home Center
1225 Hwy. 3 S. Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-9553
Manager: Mark Graue
www.lampertyards.com
Sales Brochure “Perforations”
The Letterpress Workshop
950 W 5th St. Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 664-0103
Scott Engen
“Tracing Paper” Donation for Drawing Model of Cold
Warrior
Econofoods (Meat Department)
Sixth & Division Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-9514
www.econofoods.com
Computer Use for “Sales Brochure” Design and Printing
Malt-O-Meal Company
701 W. 5th Street Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-6681
www.malt-o-meal.com
Sewing Machines and “Lessons” in Sewing
Valerie Denison
309 Viking Terrace Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-4239
Cold Warrior “Talking Sticks” harvested from Camp Dudley
John & Pat Dudley
2418 320th St. W. Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-7903
Radio “Interview” and Auction Advertising
KYMN AM/KRDS FM Radio
PO Box 201 Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 645-5695
Steve Kreatz
8 April 2004 - 7:55 p.m.
Parents and Boys,
Next Thursday night is Roundtable for the Leaders at the United
Methodist Church at 7:30 p.m. Hope to see you there. The Senior
Patrol Leader and the Junior Junior Assistant Scoutmaster are also
welcomed.
Our next meeting is therefore the campout at Dudley on Saturday
April 17th at 1:00 p.m. at Camp Dudley. This will be a make up session
to get everyone caught up on their requirements for Star. We will
need help from Leaders and parents at instructing various tasks
to smaller units of boys as some have done some and some have done
other things. The goal is to get the boys that joined this year
their Tenderfoot Badge and the boys that joined last year their
Star rank. We will also be doing Scoutmaster's Conferences and Boards
of Review at this Campout. If you cannot attend please notify me
and we will arrange for a make up session prior to the Court of
Honor on the 22nd at 6:30 p.m. at the Northfield Retirement Center
Chapel. (Alec could you e-mail this to the new Webelos II parents
and let me know who they are so that I can start a Webelos II list).
Jay Kuivinen is going out Friday night and others can join him.
I may go out but am uncertain as we will be moving my Mom and Dad
into a new condo this week and am not sure how that will go. My
Mom is a pack rat much like her son. If you would like to join Jay
please contact him at
Jay.Kuivinen@pearson.com
It is important to get enough camping in Jay pointed out as Camping
Merit Badge requires 20 nights camping in one year. You need one
long term camp that can only be counted once. In other words if
you take two long term camps (7 nights each) it only counts as 8
nights. If you take 3, it counts as 9 nights. As the year warms
up you will see more two day camps as part of the regular agenda.
A tentative schedule for that campout is outlined below. Jay and
I have been working out details in all our spare time via e-mail.
(Jay I did not copy your e-mail two time ago to home so I am doing
this from memory, if I forget something we can add it later.
Friday Night:
Arrive 6:00 p.m.
Set camp.
Make supper.
Set flag pole.
Campfire
9:00 p.m. Retire
9:30 p.m. Lights Out
Note this program will be run by Jay and he will be elaborating
on this general scheme. For the brave and adventurous, for the not
light at heart, for those not scared of coyotes, for anyone who
likes beans, the two night stay is highly recommended.
Saturday:
Revile Flag Ceremony
Breakfast
Continue setting flag pole.
12:00 - Lunch
1:00 p.m. - The rest of the Troop arrives set up
1:30 p.m. - Flag Ceremony on new flag pole
1:45 p.m. - Make up work - Scoutmasters conferences - Boards of
Review. When you are done with all your requirements proceed to
a Scoutmasters review table or the Board of Review (screen tent
perhaps). When you are done with your review and conference proceed
to the Council fire trail and either work on the trail to the Council
Campfire, the Council Campfire Ring, the podium at the Council Campfire,
the log benches at the Council Campfire and/or the bridge across
the ravine at the Council Campfire. I would do the bridge last as
we can traverse the ravine it is only about 3 feet deep. It would
be nice if we could get set up in time for Chapel and Campfire later.
5:30 p.m. - Supper.
6:30 p.m. - Retire Flags - Taps on bugle
6:45 p.m. - Bless camp.
7:00: p.m. - Chapel at hopefully Council Fire Ring
7:30 p.m. - Campfire at hopefully Council Fire Ring. Skits, songs,
smores, scary stories.
9:00 p.m. - Return to tents - Late night hike???
9:30 p.m. - Lights Out
9:30 p.m. - Committee Meeting at Camp BaseLinus Fire ring.
Sunday
7:30 a.m. - Revile - with Bugle
7:45 a.m. - Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - Tear down camp
10:00 a.m. - Depart
Jay has offered to help coordinate this so we will be embellishing
this general scheme throughout the week and adding anything I forgot
from our previous discussion.
We should set our tents up under the long narrow old road covered
by the tree canopy between the boy fire at the east end and the
parent fire (Camp BaseLinus) on the west end at the end of the clearing
by the flagpole. The boy tents would be toward the boy fire pit
(east) and the parent tents toward the west within this canopy.
Parents that are going to bed at 9:30 should locate toward the boy
side as the Committee meeting might go on until 11:00 p.m. or so.
We have a lot to accomplish in a short time but it is achievable
if we all work together on it and it should be a good time too.
The Quartermasters are arranging the food and menu and I will report
back what they come up with once I get in touch with them and get
them communicating.
Jay K. has also started to work on an integrated approach to Merit
Badge advancement that they utilized in his Troop when he was a
boy. It involves activities and Merit Badge advancement and I have
been encouraging and applauding him for his efforts. Keep up the
good work Jay. He will have a report for us at the next Committee
meeting encompassing Weekly Meeting Format and Advancement Scheduling
Concepts. They are quite remarkable pieces of thought and I think
we should employ these as soon as possible. I will let Jay fill
you in on the details.
Please RSVP to Michael Jerome at jackel.mj9@charter.net for the
campout. Please also send a copy to me at don@starrarch.com . If
you cannot attend the campout please also let me know so we can
schedule the Scoutmasters review and Board of Review for your advancement
at the Court of Honor.
Linus is lining up a guest speaker and has the Northfield Retirement
Center reserved.
Thank you for your patience in me updating the blog, it is now updated.
We have had the busiest spring after the slowest winter in a long
time and it is all I have been able to do to keep up with the phone.
Thanks for everyone's support and keep up the good work, we have
developed to be quite an impressive Unit and we could not have done
it without you.
YIS
Don
21 February 2004 - 7:05 p.m.
Subject: More on Merit Badges
Here is a list of the Merit badges we are currently offering as
of February 21st 2004:
Camping
Cooking
Computers
Railroading
Entrepreneurship
Graphic Arts
Personal management
Fishing
Auto Mechanics
Gardening
Shotgun Shooting
Rifle Shooting
Citizenship in the Community
Citizenship in the Nation
Citizenship in the World
Communications
Family Life
Hiking
Swimming
Rowing
Cycling
Canoeing
Aviation
FYI
Don
21 February 2004 - 6:44 p.m.
Troop Committee Challenge taught us a lot today about how a Troop
is run. It is similar to Cub Scouts yet a lot more boy run. We still
need a Committee and Scoutmasters to help the boys however.
Thanks to all of you who have and continue to help us in this program
and who support us through the participation of your son.
We would like to continue on our growth path. Please remember that
a boy can join at any age. If you know of someone who you think
would like Scouting or benefit from Scouting, please have your son
invite him to one of our Troop meetings. We will be doing some more
open houses and recruiting as the weather gets nicer and we can
more utilize Camp Dudley.
Thanks for all you do.
Yours in Scouting,
Don
21 February 2004 - 6:43 p.m.
Parents and Leaders of Troop 344,
We had a great training session today, those in attendance were
very well satisfied. Thank you for so many from our Unit showing
up. We reviewed all the different positions of the Committee and
what their functions are. As we grow it will be nice for Alec, Linus,
Lee, Jerry and Terri to have the extra help, it will only lead to
an even better organization.
Jay Kuivinen has signed up to be Assistant Scoutmaster, Chaplin,
Merit Badge Councilor and Committee member and we welcome him with
open arms and thank him for his support.
Next meeting next Thursday we will be doing our Order of the Arrow
nominations. I was a little confused, the Order of the Arrow is
not a secret society like I thought. They are boys who like to camp
and have or want to have exemplary Scouting skills. We have 4 Scouts
interested in joining so if anyone else does let me know. The OA
events (once you are inducted) are optional so it either can or
needs not to add time to your sons schedule. The OA are the elite
of Scouting and also help in planning the District events and maintaining
the camps. For those who show signs of wanting more leadership skills
the OA develops these skills even further.
At our next meeting we will also have the boys start thinking about
elections of officers. We need to find positions for all boys and
rotate our positions as needed. As the Troop grows the rotation
of positions becomes more important as we will soon run out of positions
available. We should rotate on a 6 month basis to allow all boys
the chance to learn how to lead.
Troop Committee Challenge taught us a lot today about how a Troop
is run. It is similar to Cub Scouts yet a lot more boy run. We still
need a Committee and Scoutmasters to help the boys however.
Thanks to all of you who have and continue to help us in this program
and who support us through the participation of your son.
We would like to continue on our growth path. Please remember that
a boy can join at any age. If you know of someone who you think
would like Scouting or benefit from Scouting, please have your son
invite him to one of our Troop meetings. We will be doing some more
open houses and recruiting as the weather gets nicer and we can
more utilize Camp Dudley.
Thanks for all you do.
Yours in Scouting,
Don
17 February 2004 - 9:41 p.m.
Update on Ice Sculpture
We're going to sell our ice sculpture and give all the money to
charity... would you like to donate a share? Just contact one of
the
boys in Troop 344 or call their Patrol Leader Austin Senne
952-652-2614. Austin would be glad to take an IOU on shares you
can
donate to any favorite charity. And, if you would like to purchase
the ice sculpture send in a bid before Feb. 27th to Troop 344 Bethel
Lutheran Church 1050 cedar Ave. Northfield, MN 55057. We'll be opening
bids on KYMN radio around 11:00 am Saturday Feb. 28th. Remember,
all
the money goes to charity or charitable causes.
See the Ice Sculpture Page
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:40 p.m.
Campout to Phillippo
We are going camping at the Phillippo cabins on the 27th (Friday)
and will be coming back on Saturday the 28th. Going to need head
count. We will be helping the new Scouts coming to us from the Pack
with the start of their Brownsea and working on Merit Badges and
goofing around. Will talk about it at the next meeting.
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:39 p.m.
winmail.dat files
Linus figured out why sometimes when I send e-mails to some people
they get an annoying winmail.dat file instead of the attachment
I sent. Apparently MicroSoft has made the new Outlook default to
RTF or Rich Text Format characters. RTF enables hypertext and other
text features in the newer programs. The problem is that RTF is
not backwards compatible (who'd have guesses from MicroSoft) and
so some systems will not, cannot and really don't want to read RTF.
The result is that the servers send out a winmail.dat file which
is suppose to remedy the situation. The catch is that you have to
execute the winmail.dat file so that your program reads it and none
of us (save MicroSoft) have been able to figure out how to execute
a .dat file in an operating system that does not recognize .dat
files.
To make a long story short because Outlook defaults to rtf format
I have to figure out who has pre RTF software and manually take
call up each person's e-mail address un uncheck the "Send all
messages in RTF" box. There probably is a batch file buried
somewhere in the MicroSoft archives that will do this but if there
is they are not telling anyone about it.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..... if you have problems receiving attachments
from me, let me know. I have corrected the problem for the people
I know about on my home and work computer.
What a hassle.
Special thanks to Linus "The PC Guru" and his Macintosh
for figuring this out for me.
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:38 p.m.
Blue and Gold Banquet.
I need a few of us to go to the Blue and Gold Banquet for the Pack,
next Monday the 23rd at 6:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church
in Northfield. We will be receiving 5 new boys into the Troop and
it would be nice if at least a few of us are there. So far the Senne
Boys, Nate Hagen and Jamison (Mark) Starr are coming. I need to
get a head count to Alec like by yesterday. Let me know he said
he can adjust the numbers with the caterer. Cost is $5.00 for a
$7.50 meal which includes Lasagna, Hot dogs, Salad, Cake, milk and
juice.
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:37 p.m.
Ice Sculpture
Remember to sell your ice Sculpture tickets. An explanation of
the process is available at the Ice
Sculpture Page here on your up to date, state of the
art, really high tech, official Troop 344 Website. Stay
tuned for more updates on the Ice Sculpture.
Contact Austin Senne with any sales so he can update the master
.xls program.
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:36 p.m.
Meeting this Thursday at 6:30 February 19 at Bethel.
We will be starting a new Merit Badge and figuring out a time and
place to work on the Ice Sculpture. Just 3 Merit Badges left and
the First Class Scouts will have their Star (some just have one
left).
Remember to wear your uniform, even if it is dirty or you don't
have all the patches on it or if it has been run over by a train,
car, plane, boat, submarine, bicycle, lunar lander, tricycle, motorcycle,
Mars Rover or Brittany Spears herself. If you have lost it or it
is at someone else's house, garage, shed, place of work, Church,
School, Synagogue or Restaurant just let me know as I am running
up to the Scout Shop this week sometime and I'll get you a new one.
Thank you.
YIS
Don
16 February 2004 - 7:35 p.m.
District Meeting
This Tuesday night (tomorrow) from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. the District
is hosting a meeting at the Methodist Church to talk about recruiting
Cub Scouts for next year. All Cub and Boy Scout leaders are invited
as well as interested parents. We are experiencing a lot of competition
from other organizations and would like to keep ahead of the curve.
Hope to see you there.
YIS
Don
8 February 2004 - 10:29 a.m.
ADULT LEADER TRAINING
Please try and attend the Adult Leader Training Classes put on
by the District at Bethel Lutheran Church at 7:45 a.m. to noon on
Saturday February 21st. They are doing Youth Protection Training
and Troop Committee Training. We could use the Trained Leaders to
help us run the Program, so the more people that show up the better.
Also the District is trying to help us and out of respect it would
be nice if we let them. Lila and Floyd Caron have graciously donated
their time to set up and conduct these training sessions. I have
had them at Scout University and they are good sessions. It helps
us understand the program, its systems and why paper work is required.
It also helps us understand the boys at this developmental stage.
I would recommend this to all.
Copy of e-mail received from Floyd and Lila Caron
- District Training Crew
Floyd and Lila Caron will be teaching three training sessions on
Saturday, February 21st. 2004, from 7:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Bethel
Lutheran Church in Northfield. Troop 344 will provide refreshments.
7:45 Registration (YES! some minimal paperwork :-))
8:00 to 11:00 New Leader Essentials training and Committee Challenge
training.
11:00 Youth Protection training.
Scoutmasters & Assistant Scoutmasters are invited to attend
as it counts as supplemental training toward their knot and also
they learn what the duties of the committee are.
8 February 2004 - 10:27 a.m.
Dudley open House was a huge success. We made a good impression
on the boys that came even though there was still some whining and
people saying "What!" Remember the word what has been
banned form Troop 344. We are getting 5 new boys for sure and probably
another 2 to 3 (could be even more), we will have to wait and see.
We are therefore on track for our Troop Growth Projections.
Good job everyone on the Open House, we should think about doing
this again when it gets nice out.
6 February 2004 - 7:36 p.m.
TROOP OPEN HOUSE TO CAMP DUDLEY
It looks like it is going to be in the teens so if the forecast
does not change Camp Dudley is on. Due to popular demand our outing
could be bowling next month by a majority vote of the boys.
We are going to play some games, build a fire, have some smores,
go on a hike, drink some cocoa and shovel out the outhouse, not
necessarily in that order.
Hope to see you there. I can't find my cell phone, I think I dropped
it while shoveling and won't find it until spring. Home phone is
(507) 645-2656. Check KYMN weather line at 11:30 a.m. at 645-6651.
If it is below 10 degrees we will be going bowling. If it is just
a little below 10 degrees and the forecast says it is still going
to be 17 degrees we are going to Dudley. If it is just too close
to tell, please call me.
99% chance it is at Dudley if you can't reach me.
YIS
Don
22 January 2004 - 8:51 p.m.
Good job tonight all on completing the book work for Snow Sports
Merit Badge. Those who missed can complete it after the Klondike.
We won't need to meet until noon at Bethel this Saturday, it is
only a half hour drive. The Klondike Derby starts at 1:00 p.m. at
Cleary Lake and goes until 8:00 p.m. Please pick up you son at 8:45
p.m. at Bethel. So far Linus and myself are driving, if anyone else
can that would be great. The Senne's are bringing the sled and driving
directly up from Webster and will meet us there.
Please eat lunch before you come and be dressed warm in several
layers of clothing so that you can take some off it gets warm during
the afternoon (fat chance), no it is suppose to be fairly nice,
Paul Douglas says high of 17 degrees with a low of 6. This means
by 8 p.m. it could be down to 10 degrees or so. Bring extra socks
and 2 pair of gloves.
We also need to wear our Scout shirts, we have been having a little
problem with that at our meetings too. This is a District event
and so we need to look our best.
I have not a clue what these things are like, I have never been
to one. There is some info on the District Web site http://www.indianhead.org/rollinghills/
. I have a bunch of forms that we need to fill out, but other than
that, they simply told me to have the guys build a sled and show
up. Sometimes I think they like having new Troops to pick on.
It is a competition of some sort and probably a prize for the winning
Troop. It should be a good time.
Be prepared.
Don
14 January 2004 - 8:57 p.m.
Happy New Year everyone. Sorry it has been a while since I have
entered any information into the BLOG. Have been busy with Holidays
and work has picked up now for spring.
Tomorrow night we meet at Lee and Jane Senne's to work on Klondike
Derby sled. We have changed our agenda slightly and are doing our
winter sports merit badge this month instead of family life.
Hope to see you at Senne's at 6:30 p.m. For map see the following
link:
http://snipurl.com/SenneHouse
YIS
Don
18 December 2003 - 4:34 p.m.
Reminder of meeting at 6:30 tonight at Bethel. Linus and Jerry
are running it, I have a conflict this evening.
Boys will be continuing to work on their Communications Merit Badge.
YIS
Don
14 December 2003 -9:38 a.m.
I have confirmed that there are no rules for constructing the sled
for the Klondike Derby, so we can make it however we want to, I
suspect we should have a harness for the boys and some snow skis
as a base. Does anyone have any old snow skis we could use? We will
scheduled a meeting in January to work on this, we'll need a shop
area to lay it out in. We can use my garage but it is not heated
or possibly the office unless someone else has a better idea.
Thanks,
Don
14 December 2003 - 8:58 a.m.
Training Schedule for January:
On Saturday January 17th from 8:00am-12 noon there will be Youth
Protection, New Leader Essentials, and Troop Committee Challenge
at New Prague Middle School.
Youth protection is required for one person to have on each outing
we go on or their insurance is no good, it is a two year certificate.
New Leader Essentials.
Troop Committee Challenge is for the Troop Committee members.
13 December 2003 - 1:41 p.m.
Next Tuesday night, the 16th of December, Troop 337 will hold its
35th year Birthday Party at an Eagle Court of Honor at The Great
Hall in Severance Hall at Carleton College in Northfield.
The Public, past Alumni, local Packs and Troops and friends of
Scouting are invited to the celebration.
There will be birthday cake and a photo presentation along with
the Court of Honor.
YIS
Don
13 December 2003 - 1:21 p.m.
I dropped off our registration for Klondike today and in talking
with Bill B. the guy in charge, we do need to build a sled for the
race. I'll dig something up from the internet for examples and we'll
need to digress (just slightly) from our Merit Badge program and
design and build a sled. It should be a good time and a lot of fun.
I also picked up the worksheets from Bill B. for the snow sports
Merit Badge, so we can work on that also. We will then get back
to Family life as we are about done with Communications. This digression
should not slow us down as we can replace snow sports for one of
the electives for our Star rank.
Remember no one will need to be left behind as we have plenty of
time for make up in our schedule as our time gets full around this
time of the year. The boys should work at their own pace and those
that want to go ahead can.
I will be gone for our next meeting, Jerry, Lee and Linus are handling
the meeting. We will continue to work on our Communications and
start Winter sports and building of the sled after the New Year.
Merry Christmas to each of you, may the joy of the season fill
you with warmth.
YIS
Don
9 December 2003 - 8:42 p.m.
MI3 Complete. Four of our special mission team attended the Waterford
Township Board Meeting last night and got us an Interim Use Permit
to put a trailer at Camp Dudley for the winter. We have two possible
candidates, both will make a good place to meet and sleep on campouts
this winter. We need to remove the trailer by next mid March before
canoeing season. Is anybody offering a place to store a 10x50 trailer
during the summer months?
Below are two of our boys with the Board.
Special thanks to the Town Board of Waterford Township for allowing
us this opportunity.
7 November 2003 - 6:38 p.m. Hi all,
We need to register for the Klondike Derby by Thursday December
11th mail in date for deadline. Webelos II are invited also.
The boys can get their winter sports merit badge (an elective).
The cost is $12.00. Those with popcorn sales money in their account
can use this fund for this event. You also need to bring a can of
soup to the event (non-cream) for hobo soup.
Thanks to those participating in the popcorn sales this year and
the Jesse James Days work.
We will need a decision and money by the next regular meeting on
Thursday December 11th at 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church.
The Klondike Derby will be held on January 24th from 1:00 to 8:00
p.m. at Cleary Lake Park. See also http://www.indianhead.org/rollinghills/
We are also changing our calendar, yes again, but only a slight
change. Since all boys either have or will go to a Federal or State
institutional building with a field trip in 6th grade, we are changing
our field trip scheduled for Saturday February 7th to a Troop Open
House at Camp Dudley. This will be a time for all the Packs in Northfield
to visit our camp and Troop. Also new recruit potentials can join
us for a fun filled day of snow sports, a little hike, maybe some
ice fishing and some cocoa and smores.
Good luck to Linus and all who venture the Conditional Use Permit
Process on their secret mission to Waterford Township this Monday
night. Contact Linus for additional information. Put "Code
Name MI3" in the subject box.
Special thanks to our Webelos II guests from Pack 344 last Thursday
night, Joey I hope your head quit bleeding and your eye can open
up again. Good job all, trust we had some fun.
YIS
Don
P.S. Note that I have a conflict for the meeting on the 18th of
December and will need someone to cover for me. Boys are just going
to work on Merit Badges. Thanks!
30 November 2003 - 6:10 p.m. Next Meeting
this Thursday December 4th at 6:30 at Bethel Lutheran Church. The
Webelos II from Pack 344 are going to be visiting us. We will be
continuing working on our Communications Merit Badge in small groups.
Leaders can finish their Merit Badge Counselor Forms so we can get
these into Lila.
Stair building went well on Saturday at Dudley, there was just
a small crew and we got 4 out of the 6 steps pounded into the frozen
ground. We can complete the rest at a different time. We determined
that a log lashed ladder to the river from the ledge is the best
way to get down that steep slope. We will be adding a rope handrail
also to the wood steps.
YIS
Don
25 November 2003 - 7:01 p.m. Welcome Jay
and Matti Kuivinen! Jay and Matti are going to join our Troop in
February after Matti graduates from Cub Scouts. A Troop 344 welcome
to both of you. Matti will start out as a Scout and Jay is going
to be a Committee Member, Merit Badge Counselor, Assistant Scoutmaster
and our Troop Chaplin. It will be nice to have this added help and
enthusiasm that both Jay and Matti will bring. It will also be nice
to have a Chaplin and to include prayer even more in our program.
I would suggest if everyone wants to that we open each meeting with
a short prayer after flags, pledge oath and law. Let me know what
everyone thinks.
YIS
Don
25 November 2003 - 7:00 p.m. Thanks to those
that helped the Pack out last night, they really appreciated it.
Remember next month is the Pinewood Derby and we are invited to
race in the adult race and help run the race.
This next Saturday (the 29th) we are meeting out at Dudley and
attempting to build a stair down to the river. We are starting at
noon until 4:00 p.m.
Jay and Matti Kuivinen have said they will be joining our Troop
in February and Jay has wondered if there are any brave souls who
would like to camp out this weekend. It is suppose to be a high
of 47 degrees?
Let me know, I have not decided yet as I have a busy weekend already.
Will let you know.
Hope to see you Saturday.
YIS
Don
18 November 2003 - 6:47 p.m. MEETING
THIS THURSDAY NIGHT
Our next meeting is this Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bethel
Lutheran Church. We will be continuing our Communications Merit
Badge work. Good job at the City Council Meeting last night guys.
Everyone was very well behaved and we all appreciate that. For those
that missed it we will schedule a make up session or you could watch
NTV. Some of you have already been to a Council Meeting so you won't
need to make that up, just write about two differing viewpoints
that people talked about on a subject.
Special thanks to Mayor Covey and the City Council and Staff for
giving us some precious microphone time while we were leaving and
for letting us take the back table to write on.
Keep up the good work all!
YIS
Don
11 November 2003 - 8:55 p.m.
RANK ADVANCEMENT COORDINATOR NEEDED
Position is open for a Rank Advancement Coordinator. Currently
we have a folder with everyone's forms for Rank Advancement in it.
We also have a Data-Base Program called Troop Master in which we
could keep track of everything in. This could be a parent or a boy
that would keep track of all of this. There would also be a Master
Paper file with hard copy backups in it, in case we lose the file.
We could e-mail this to one another also for backup purposes and
producing lists and filling out a multitude of forms the BSA requires
for nearly everything we do. We can have as many copies of Troop
Master on as many machines as we'd like as long as they are only
for one Troop.
Contact Don if anyone would like to volunteer. It is a small thing
to do but will be very important when we file for the boy's Eagles
as you have to have all the dates matching those recorded by the
Council or they kick it back. Thanks in advance for any considerations
toward this effort. It has been something I've wanted to do for
a long time but have not taken the time to do it.
YIS
Don
11 November 2003 - 8:30 p.m.
The Pack has requested our assistance at the Pack Meeting this
month on Monday Night November 24that 6 pm at Bethel Lutheran Church.
It is their game night, see flyer below. We can also purchase Pinewood
cars if anyone wants to race in the adult race.
GAME
NIGHT!
CUB
SCOUT PACK 344
Gathering Game (Find parent volunteers to run
games and pinewood derby sales booth, and help serve pizza.)
Call to order
Flag Ceremony –pledge (Webelos I)
Cub Scout Promise circle (all Scouts)
Announcements: -6:10 -5 min - sing announcement
song when Alec says Announcements.
Agenda (how tonight is going to work):
Pinewood derby sales in back (thank volunteer parent for running
booth)
Pinewood derby tips given after games during pizza.
Jay will announce the Christmas carols –Then practice some
songs as you finish eating (so people can sing without spitting
pizza all over)
Birthdays? (clap or sing for those who have or had a birthday this
month)
Game night basics. Behavior expectations. (Alec)
A Scout is mentally awake. They are aware that everyone is getting
quiet. They are aware that someone got hurt. They are careful not
to hurt others. A Scout is courteous. If someone gets hurt they
stop and make sure that they are going to be OK.
“Game night will get loud and “wild” We need you
guys to stop and be quiet when the Akelas ask you to settle down.”
· Explain stations.
· Divide up boys (kids
Games –6:15 – 7:00
· Name game(s) –(get to know your Pack)
· Vegetables memory/quick thinking game
· Spoon relay with cotton balls and jelly beans
· TBA
· TBA
· Back up alternative games (TBA)
All Pack balloon Stomp game
Alternative All Pack game (TBA)
Awards to “Winning Den”? Candy bars
or First to eat Pizza.
Pizza Eating. 7 pm - 10 min
Announcements cont…
Pinewood Derby Hints 5 min (Alec)
Christmas Carols (Jay K) 10 min
Closing Ceremony readings by Bears and Webelos
II (Jay) 5min.
Cubmaster Minute (Brad) –invite parents to
come to committee meetings and be involved. Fill time left (5 min)
–ask everyone to help cleanup. Closing Flags
7:28
9 November 2003 - 3:12 p.m.
Next Meeting is at Bethel Lutheran Church at 6:30 to 8:00
p.m. on Thursday November 13th. We will be finishing up
our Citizenship in
the Community Merit Badges and starting on our Communications
Merit Badge. Linus will be instructing at this meeting as Don is
going to Roundtable this time.
The following Monday at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall - November 17th
we will be attending a CIty Council meeting to fulfill the requirements
for Citizenship in
the Community and Communications
Merit Badges.
31 October 2003 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
30 October 2003 - 6:05 p.m.
We are officially switching the meetings to Thursday nights. I
am preparing a "Path
to Star" program to start the boys on. We have
our policy and camp in great shape, good work to all! Now it is
time to work on some advancements. We will be scheduling merit badge
classes over the next months to complete the six we need for Star
Scout. The Court of Honor will follow.
Special thanks to Joey for assisting us in our efforts. The boys
get along fine with this new step and it will sharpen our skills
some.
Special thanks to the boys for behaving at the Pack Meeting last
Monday night at Camp Dudley.
The boys and parents loved the skits and I appreciated
the respect shown to the younger boys while they got their awards.
The guards at the path to the river were also very much appreciated.
Jay Kuivenen, Cubmaster of Pack 341 offered to help us build the
stair to the river. I am redoing the schedule as mentioned above
and will include a Saturday to go out to Dudley and do this before
the ground freezes hopefully.
Keep up the good work everyone!
YIS
Don
23 October 2003 - 7:38 p.m.
We have the Fellowship Hall at Bethel reserved for Thursday nights.
YIS
Don
21 October - 9:35 p.m.
Campout is cancelled due to Leader schedule conflicts. Sorry, we
do the best we can. Hang tight, another one coming soon.
YIWB
Don
21 October - 9:34 p.m.
Our next meeting is next Monday night at Camp Dudley. It is a Pack
meeting and we are doing a skit for them and then retiring back
to the boys campfire to plan the next campout and break into new
Patrols, forming a total of 3.
YIS
Don
21 October - 9:33 p.m.
Check out the really cool map Alec drew today of how to get to
Camp Dudley at http://www.northfieldscouts.indianhead.org/troop344/CampDudley.html
YIS
Don
19 October - 6:37 p.m.
Meeting Monday (to marrow night) at 6:30 p.m. at Camp Dudley at
the rear (new) fire pit. The Wolf Cubs are meeting at the main fire
pit and today (Sunday) Alec, Tracy, me and kids built a new fire
pit complete with rocks at the back side (east) of the tenting area
under the canopy east of the main fire pit or Camp Base
Linus. We also hauled some logs we cut up from my
house to sit on at each camp fire area. Hope to see you at the meeting.
YIS
Don
15 October 2003 - 7:12 a.m.
I forgot last night to find out who is going to Snow Base. Please
e-mail or call me with your intentions. We have scheduled
this for the weekend of January 30th to February 1st. The up to
12 boys can go to Snow Huskies Saturday to Sunday, outside during
the day and sleeping inside at night. The 13 year and older boys
can go Friday night for one night inside and then Saturday night
outside in a snow shelter they build. These events are at Tomahawk.
Go to the Indianhead snow base site at the following link ->
Snow Base
YIS
Don
14 October 2003 - 9:35 p.m.
Heard back from a few people on moving the meeting date to Thursday
nights. We would need to do one meeting a month still on Mondays
as the Leaders have Roundtable. Of those I have heard from, all
have said they can move to Thursday if needed. We may have to also
back the time up to 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays that my son has Math
League Tournaments. They usually get back between 6:00 and 6:30,
we would need to get him fed and changed into his Scout Uniform.
The boys could get the meeting going and we could arrive late too.
Those who have not responded back, please let me know what you think,
we probably should use con census approach to this, in other words
it needs to work for every one.
News from Joey - Did get an e-mail from Joey and
he lost the directions on his computer, so I am going to call him.
He should be at the next meeting.
YIS
Don
13 October 2003 - 9:00 p.m.
Met at Camp Dudley and started our "Citizenship in the Community"
Merit Badge. This one is required for Eagle and quite easy actually.
Will give this class again as there were only 5 boys there. Not
sure if everyone is reading the Blog. Next Meeting is Monday
Night October 20th at 6:30 at Camp Dudley. Remember your
Scout uniforms.
YIS
Don
8 October 2003 - 8:20 p.m.
We need to figure out who is going to SnowBase so we can call in
the registration. We have scheduled this for the weekend of January
30th to February 1st. The up to 12 boys can go to Snow Huskies Saturday
to Sunday, outside during the day and sleeping inside at night.
The 13 year and older boys can go Friday night for one night inside
and then Saturday night outside in a snow shelter they build. These
events are at Tomahawk. Go to the Indianhead snow base site at the
following link -> Snow Base
Please let me know if you plan to go ASAP, the registration has
started. I need to check with Tracy Baron as I think he has also
booked some cabins at Phillippo that weekend so we could either
set a new date for Snow Base and go to both, leave the date as is
and go to Snow Base or just go with the Pack to Phillippo. See what
the boys think.
YIS
Don
7 October 2003 - 8:02 p.m. Next Campout
on October 24th at 6:00 p.m. I will need to be gone for a Interview
and proposal to the Girl Scout Council of the Cannon Valley. The
meeting is at 3:00 p.m. so I will be leaving shortly after lunch
and back around 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. Will need leader coverage while
I am gone.
Thanks to anyone that can help out.
YIS,
Don
7 October 2003 - 7:00 p.m.
I received an E-mail from a volunteer and recent Eagle Scout who
Terry Barck was contacted by also. Joey is a recent High School
Graduate that is taking a year off before he goes to College and
has offered to help us. He will be coming to Dudley next Monday
night for our meeting. We will have Joey fill out a Leader Application
form number 27niner3-B-10586-fox-3321&seven
This will be great to have some more help at the Troop level. Thanks
Joey!
YIS,
Don |
