https://kiakimamuseum.org/files/original/820e4657f3b02ae81b7052f23656ee70.pdf dd3ab9bdac0200b07830be22f7be2fda PDF Text Text Pointing Webelos Scouts Toward Boy Scouting BY WILLIAM SIMON Photographs by ]arrold Cabluck BY 7 A.M. THE LAST trace of a cool May night hangs over the meadow and its 20 Webelos campsites like a persistent guest, reluctant to leave a party that's obviously over. The sweet, hickory odor of cooked bacon and wild honeysuckle permeates the crisp air. It's the beginning of a day full of promise, the kind of day you'd expect from a soft, Mississippi spring morning. Lined up in smart-looking rows and arrayed in immacu late uniforms, Den 4, Pack 248 from Memphis, stands at attention while Den Chief Ca rl Mangum carefully inspects each boy. Satisfied with their appearance, he gives a signal. Six young voices suddenly shatter the morning quiet as effectively as cannon fire. "Den4, Den4, We 're number one. 46 lfwe can'tdoit, It can't be done!" Flung into the morning air like a gauntlet, other Webelos dens quickly take up the challenge. "Two, four, six, eight, 506 is really great!" "Hey!Hey! Rah! Rah! Rah! Who are we? Can't ;•ou see? Den J ••• Pack 505!" "We're250. Couldn't be prouder. Ifyou can't hear us, We'll yell a little louder!" h 's a jarring blend of simplistic rhymes and piercing screams. But then, the den yell has never claimed a melodic purpose. Its strong suit is raising sp iri ts. And it works. A noticeable increase in enthusiasm nows through the campsites like a high tide. The 158 Webelos Scouts, 68 dads and Cub Scout leaders gathered there will ride thecrestofthatenthusiasm the rest of the day. The scene is Camp Currier, near Hernando, Miss., 15 miles south of Memphis, where the Southwest District of the Chickasaw Council is holding its spring father-and-son Webelos Encampment. It's a JO-year-old grass roots district tradition that owes 100 percent of its inspiration and success to volunteer leadership. It was in the late sixties when Buddy Newton. a former Cubmaster and then a round table commissioner for the Southwest District, noticed the Webelos proOctober 1980 Sco111i11g �Memphis area Webelos Scouts and dads test their camping skills to help hurdle the gap between Cub and Boy Scouting. At Camp Currier. near llerll(mdo. Miss.. Chickt1satt Council's So111hwes1 District holds its spring dad and son Webelos £11compme111. (Far left) IJ ·ebelos Scows spruce up. e1•en in tht• u·oods. (Photos be/O\\') Realistic first aid. chariot race. and a cool.. -and-eat fest add ::est 10 ac1io11 weekend. gra m was the weak link in an o therwise s1rong district. ··when the 10-year-old boys got to th e Webelos sta ge in C ubbing." Buddy Newton says. "they were losing interest and los in g it fost. They didn't want to do what an eigh t- or nineyear-old kid would. "A t the time. the Webelos program permitted o ne camp-out a }Ca r and nobody took advantage of even 1ha 1 one opportunity. Something needed to be done. So I came up with th e idea of an encampmen t. and I put 1t down on paper. ··The basic idea was to get the leaders and the boys and th e dads ou t fo r a weekend of fun, and at the sa me time upgrade the Webelos program. We took the 15 activi ty badges th a t th e boys work o n in Webelos Scouting and offered instructio n in as many as we co uld so they 47 �ln1helmesi\1ies Budd1Ne111011 (h~/iJ. a ro1md1t1ble commissioner. dreumed up 1heid1?ao/1he It 'ehelos £11campme111. Sincetlie11Jie:S \een 1t gro11 111/oa twice a rear. high/I' populardi11ricte1·e111 (Farlefl) Bo_\'Js/Ore up cook.mg firewood byusi11ghand1 bowsmr. could slarl on lheir advancement But we also pul in a games period in the afternoon. We wanted it to be a fun weekend," The professional Scoulers in the Chickasaw Council were Jess certain about the proposal. Tom Moore, director of support services for the council and a former district executive in 1970 when Buddy Newton presented his idea, was hesitant. "Quite truthfully," Moore admits, "I was apprehensive about the idea, because I saw it as a Cub Scout camporee. My fim thought was it wouldn't go over very well. because we would be trying to introduce lhe Scouting program to Cub Scouts before they were ready for it. But the volunteers dispelled oome of my fears by showing me what they basically had in mind was an instruCllon program designed for Webelos Scouts to earn activity badges." Even with council approval, Buddy still faced the problem of drumming up support among Cub packs. He knew he only had one shot at success. If the first effort didn't come off, then the encampment would probably be shelved as a good idea that didn't work out. "There were 25 Cub Scout packs in the Southwest District at the time ," Newton recalls, "and we visited all 25 of them, personally. We talked to every Cubmaster and explained the encampment idea , when it was going to be, and even gave them a registration form to fill out." It was eye-to-eye contact, and it paid off. The first encampment was an overwhelming success with 125 boys in attendance. "So the first encampment came off, virtually withoul a hitch." Tom Moore says. "Everyone seemed to enjoy it. So, I thought, 'Good! It came off well, they got to do their thing, and everybody's happy.' "Then lo and behold, they came back the next year and wanted to do it again. So, 48 I asked. 'Are ya' ll planning on making this a)earlyevent'!' "'And they said. ' Wh y not? It was successful. People enjoyed it. We got kids advancing out of it.' "Everything they said was true. and it was all positive. So we held a second encampment. "Then they came back again and said, 'The Boy Scouts do it twice a year. spring and fall. Why don't we do it twice a yea r'!' So, in 1972 they started holding th e encampment twi~c a yea r, and it's been that wayeversmce. The father and son encampment broke new ground m a larger sense, too. It's considered the first district-wide Webelos encampment ever held in this country. Today, the praise from professionals is lavish. "Other districts began to picl up on the idea," Moore says. "'Every district in the council has made it part of their program. "It's a snowball that's begun to roll. and it JUSt keeps ge11ing bigger. It has done more to pull together the Webelos program in this council than anything else." To a large extent it's the emphasis on advancement and achievement that keeps the Webelo s Encampment snowba ll rolling. Late morning and early afternoon are devoted to activity badge instruction. an Arrow of Light review, and for the Webelos Scouts who pass the review. it's a first taste of Scouting skill activities led by a 1op-notch Boy Scout troop. Experience proves that the marn 10gredicnt for successful get 1ogethers with Webelos Scouts is lots of action. At this encampment that mean5 giving the boys m the Engineer activity badge instruction hands-on experience 1n how to use a surveyor's tran sit , and for the Scient1!lt class, the actual testing of basic natural 1 law!I through easily demonstrated experiments. There's abo a popular fin.1 aid class taught by Explorer Prnit 370 of Horn Lale. Miss .. and led by Advisors Peter and Rita Howleu. Although theirs 1s a general interest poM. firsl aid is \omethmg of a specialty with them so i!ii realism. Webclos Scoub are divided into fl\e-man teams and gi,cn a first aid problem in the form of a s imulat ed injured victim Thanks lo the Explorers' co1bcientious attention to detail. the vic1 im i!I invariably a bloody mess and inaccessibly arranged in a ravine or under a log. "We try to 1mtruct flf!lt aid." Peter ll owlett says. ""m an exciting kmd of way. A vi!lual. par11c1pator) demonstration like lhis is the only v.ay they really learn." Claude Brown. Southwest District ex· ecutive, explains that the sigmficance of the father.and-son Webelos Encampment exlends beyond what the Webelos Scouts learn in classes. "First of all." Brown points oul, '"the faLher is w11h his son for the weekend. He gets to know his son belier and work wtth him closer. For the family relationship !l's mvaluable. '"And the boys get their first taste of an outdoor experience. It leads them in the direction of Joining a Seoul troop. and helps w11h that 1ransition period between Webelo!i and Boy Scouung. "At the district level, this 1s a totally volunteer-run program. It's been great for motivating the volunteers and building esprit de corps for Scouting m the district. You can almosl say it's Lhe heartbeat otthe Cub Scout program for the Southwest District. Ifs the glue that holds everything logether." But the most immediate benefit is- fun! Late afternoon 1s devoted to games. A large field, roped off with brightly colored pennants marks the playing areas for tug-of- (commued on page 58) October 1980 Scomi11g �Webelos Camp (from pagt! 48) war and the chariot races. It's an obstacle course called the ..Trail of Tears," however. that generates the most excitement. Named for the journey the Cherokees took when they we re forcibly removed from their native lands in Georgia and marched 10 reservations west of the Mississippi River, th e threequarter-mile trail offers its own brand of hardships. Encampment leaders who laid out the course describe it as challenging; dads and Webelos who have to run it say ..sadistic" is a more accurate characteriza tio n. Take Our BIGGER-n-BETTER Fun Raisers! They look like you-know-whats, but they're BIGGERn-BETTER in quality, value and profits. BIGGER in actual size. BIGGER in pricing that permits a full 50% profit. BETTER because of their flavor-lock packaging and handy-48 pack carrycase. And BETTER still because your neighborhood Nestle professional will back up your sales effort every step of the way ! Call: (800) 431-1248 New York State: {914) 682-6366 NeStJe "'"\nk of us as choco\•"e .. . and more ----;:ii~- -N~~iie -c;~;,;i>~-~v: ·i~.:: - ---------------------------si.iie::1ii&ii ___ 1025 Westchester Avenue White Plains, N.Y. 10604 Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone(_) _ _ __ Organ.ization _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Advertisers Starting with the October 1980 Issue, BOYS' LIFE will be available to the blind and physically handicapped on cassette tapes. Wnte to RECORDED PERIODICALS, Division of Volunteer Services for the Blind, 919 Walnut Street, 8th Floor, Philadelphia , PA 19107. ONLY the blind or handicapped qualify for this service. Rental costs $12 per year. Tapes may be kept for 30 days, or bought for $30 per year. 58 The W ebelos Encampment encourages boys and dads to go on into a Boy Scout troop. The trail is a tortuous path full of punishing impediments such as rope bridges, barriers, and narrow log catwa lks. But the obstacle that overshadows a ll the others is called ··s uicid e hill .'' not a particularly imaginati ve nam e, but th oro ugh ly desc riptive . Like an ope n wound in the woods, its ugly gash of gu ll y-eroded red clay stands in contrast to the su rrounding lush, green forest. Its 30-foot, steeply inclined height is particularly deadly today. Recent rains have made the clay surface slick. Boy Scouts from Troop 37 posi tion themselves 10 help guide the runners and assist with misadventures. Asked if there was any way someone could get hurt coming down "suicide," as it's commonly known, Bryan Murrell , age 11 , a member of Troop 37, says with a mischievous grin. "Uh-hu h ... lots of ways:· Then, from the top of the blulT a Scout signals the approac h of th e first den. ;.They're coming!" Bryan ye lls. '; Hot diggity-dog!" The first group of Webelos Scouts sud denly crest the hill . For most, discretion is the better part of valo r. and they choose to negotiate the steep incline from a seated position. Even so, it's a quick trip down . The uniformed boys skid down the hill like a blue waterfall . Once at the bottom they have to splash across a narrow creek. its slick clay banks deceptively treacherous. Prayers of thanksgiv ing offered for being rid of the awful hill are often premature. Several fathers carried away by yout hful memories that exceed their cu rren t physical condition try to hurdle October l 980 Scouting �Webelos Camp (from pag~ 58) the creek in a single leap, only 10 make a four·point landing in the middle . Laugh· ing sons and fathers help one another up. and the "trail of tears" becomes a memorable encampment experience that helps bind fathers and sons closer to· ge1her. By early evening and dinnertime. the day's frantic pace finally slows. Collapsed in a lawn chair near Pack 248"s campfire. Bill Bentley, father of Webelos Scout Andrew Bentley. polishes off the last few bites of a hobo·style hamburger dinner. a classic of aluminum foil cuisine. What will he take away from the Webelos Encampment? "Bruises! I wiped out at the bouom of·suicide.' There wasn't any halfway about it: I went all the way down. Thrilled the crowd. We had four fathers run the trail with the boys. That's the kind of participation we're proud or. '·To me this encampment is kind of what Scouting is all about. I would think so mething like this has to encourage the boys to go on into Boy Scouts. They just seehowmuchfunitis. "I'm an old Scout that's been out of it a few years, but now that I"ve got my boy coming on, I imagine I'll stay with him all the way through. " Motivation, whether among adult volunteers or boys , seems to be an en· campment specialty. William W o lfe, Webelos den leader for Den I , Pack 248, from Memphis and chartered to the White· haven Presbyterian Church. witnessed its accomplishments firsthand . " When the boys in my den started into Webelos Scouting last year, they got off to a slow start ," Wolfe says, as he slices vegetab les for more · hobo dinners. ''They couldn't seem to get their enthusiasm until they went on their rirst encampment last fall. Each boy earned two activity badges that weekend and realized how easy it was. They got all fired up. They've been work· ing hard ever since. One boy earned all 15 badges. the o th ers have earned 10. Only seven are required for the Arrow of Light award. which is as high as you can go in CubScoulS." Next to the campfire. nine·year·old Tip Draffen. a member of Den 4. Pack 248, keeps a watchful eye on his foil dinner as it slowly cooks over a bed of gray coals. " I got my Natural ist activity badge," Tip says proudly. "because I've a lready been to the zoo, and I did the rest of the requirements here. For Geologist. I've got to find and identify some rocks, and then I'll have two activity badges." Four campsi1es down from Pack 248. John Wells. II. a member of Pack 250, 60 Senatobia. Miss., recounts his most viv id memory of the day. a first aid class that sounds like a scene straigh1 from the TV se ries "E mergency." Only 1h1s was live action, a;id he was the hero. ··1 got 10 be captain of o ur paramedic squad." John says. "' We had to treat a victim who was lying under a log. There was a woman beside him screa min g. II 1ook two of us to push her ou t of the way. another two to take care of the injured person and one to run for help." John Bailey. Cubmaster of Pack 250. admits the response from his Webelos Scouts has been fantastic. "I've had two or three boys ask me if we could stay out here another night." Bailey says. slow ly sipping an after.dinner cup of coffee. "'That's the best news I could have heard. For one bO) it's the first 1ime he's ever spent Lhe night away from home and his parents. He's one of the ones that wants 10 stay another nighL" suicide hill. I made 11 . . Oat- Oat on my back. We had a ball. And it's no1 O\er yet.'' FoMer\ words prove prophetic. Budd) Newton and the men who developed the encampmen t tradition believe that recog· nition for achievemen t is as important as achievemen t itself. It comes as no 5urp rise. then. 1hat the campfire ceremony lives up to its reputation as an .. extravaganza." An Order of the Arro" Ind ian dance team se~ the mood. Two large pyres of wood mysteriously explode into flame while Indian dancers wh irl and spin to the throbbing beat of tom·toms. Then come the award presentations- blue ribbons to the top·ranking Webelos dens who have accumulated 1he most points during the encampment. But the mos1 llpectacular presentation is reser\ed for the Arro" of Light rec1p1en~ . All is quiet except for 1he deep. rh)thm1c voice of Buddy Newton as he calls the names of those receiving Arrow of Light Buddy Newton and his staff believe that recognizing a boy 's achievement is as important as the achievement itself. Wi1h daylight fading, Webelos dens and their leaders move toward the open.ai r amphitheater where the eve ning camp fire ceremonies will be held . Walking behind hi s boys. Gerald Foster. Cubmaster of Pack 505 of Memphis. chartered to the M 1 Joyner Missionary Baptist Church. is an obvious casua lty of •;suicide hill." Thick splo tches of mud caked to the back of his shirt and pants look like they were applied with an ariist's palette knife. The rigorii of the day's activities have taken th ei r to ll on Foster's uniform , but not his spirits. "The kids always get everything out of this encampment." he says with a grin. '"and everything out of us. They get a kick out of seeing their leaders trying to go down awards. A thin blue line of 58 Webclos Scouts. stands. proud!) m front of the audience of parents and fe ll ow Cub Scouts. Sudden ly a flaming Arrow of Light. 2Q.feet long. rises. from behind the arena. The audience gasps. The burning SJmbol is. ano1her Southwe~t Dislrict \Vebelos Encampment trad1t1on. an awe· inspiring torch of 1ribute to thme "ho achie\e the highest rank a Cub Scout can earn The day began with promis.e and ends. with a larger promise. The fler) up of the blazing arrow pom~ toward a Scouting future that pronmes still more dazzling accompl1shmen~ and unforgettable mem· • 0L"tobcr 1980 Srn1111ng � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Camp Currier Description An account of the resource This collections contains pictures and documents relating to the Chickasaw Council's camp in Eudora, Mississippi. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Pointing Webelos Scouts Toward Boy Scouting BY WILLIAM SIMON Photographs by ]arrold Cabluck BY 7 A.M. THE LAST trace of a cool May night hangs over the meadow and its 20 Webelos campsites like a persistent guest, reluctant to leave a party that's obviously over. The sweet, hickory odor of cooked bacon and wild honeysuckle permeates the crisp air. It's the beginning of a day full of promise, the kind of day you'd expect from a soft, Mississippi spring morning. Lined up in smart-looking rows and arrayed in immacu late uniforms, Den 4, Pack 248 from Memphis, stands at attention while Den Chief Ca rl Mangum carefully inspects each boy. Satisfied with their appearance, he gives a signal. Six young voices suddenly shatter the morning quiet as effectively as cannon fire. "Den4, Den4, We 're number one. 46 lfwe can'tdoit, It can't be done!" Flung into the morning air like a gauntlet, other Webelos dens quickly take up the challenge. "Two, four, six, eight, 506 is really great!" "Hey!Hey! Rah! Rah! Rah! Who are we? Can't ;•ou see? Den J ••• Pack 505!" "We're250. Couldn't be prouder. Ifyou can't hear us, We'll yell a little louder!" h 's a jarring blend of simplistic rhymes and piercing screams. But then, the den yell has never claimed a melodic purpose. Its strong suit is raising sp iri ts. And it works. A noticeable increase in enthusiasm nows through the campsites like a high tide. The 158 Webelos Scouts, 68 dads and Cub Scout leaders gathered there will ride thecrestofthatenthusiasm the rest of the day. The scene is Camp Currier, near Hernando, Miss., 15 miles south of Memphis, where the Southwest District of the Chickasaw Council is holding its spring father-and-son Webelos Encampment. It's a JO-year-old grass roots district tradition that owes 100 percent of its inspiration and success to volunteer leadership. It was in the late sixties when Buddy Newton. a former Cubmaster and then a round table commissioner for the Southwest District, noticed the Webelos proOctober 1980 Sco111i11g Memphis area Webelos Scouts and dads test their camping skills to help hurdle the gap between Cub and Boy Scouting. At Camp Currier. near llerll(mdo. Miss.. Chickt1satt Council's So111hwes1 District holds its spring dad and son Webelos £11compme111. (Far left) IJ ·ebelos Scows spruce up. e1•en in tht• u·oods. (Photos be/O\\') Realistic first aid. chariot race. and a cool.. -and-eat fest add ::est 10 ac1io11 weekend. gra m was the weak link in an o therwise s1rong district. ··when the 10-year-old boys got to th e Webelos sta ge in C ubbing." Buddy Newton says. "they were losing interest and los in g it fost. They didn't want to do what an eigh t- or nineyear-old kid would. "A t the time. the Webelos program permitted o ne camp-out a }Ca r and nobody took advantage of even 1ha 1 one opportunity. Something needed to be done. So I came up with th e idea of an encampmen t. and I put 1t down on paper. ··The basic idea was to get the leaders and the boys and th e dads ou t fo r a weekend of fun, and at the sa me time upgrade the Webelos program. We took the 15 activi ty badges th a t th e boys work o n in Webelos Scouting and offered instructio n in as many as we co uld so they 47 ln1helmesi\1ies Budd1Ne111011 (h~/iJ. a ro1md1t1ble commissioner. dreumed up 1heid1?ao/1he It 'ehelos £11campme111. Sincetlie11Jie:S \een 1t gro11 111/oa twice a rear. high/I' populardi11ricte1·e111 (Farlefl) Bo_\'Js/Ore up cook.mg firewood byusi11ghand1 bowsmr. could slarl on lheir advancement But we also pul in a games period in the afternoon. We wanted it to be a fun weekend," The professional Scoulers in the Chickasaw Council were Jess certain about the proposal. Tom Moore, director of support services for the council and a former district executive in 1970 when Buddy Newton presented his idea, was hesitant. "Quite truthfully," Moore admits, "I was apprehensive about the idea, because I saw it as a Cub Scout camporee. My fim thought was it wouldn't go over very well. because we would be trying to introduce lhe Scouting program to Cub Scouts before they were ready for it. But the volunteers dispelled oome of my fears by showing me what they basically had in mind was an instruCllon program designed for Webelos Scouts to earn activity badges." Even with council approval, Buddy still faced the problem of drumming up support among Cub packs. He knew he only had one shot at success. If the first effort didn't come off, then the encampment would probably be shelved as a good idea that didn't work out. "There were 25 Cub Scout packs in the Southwest District at the time ," Newton recalls, "and we visited all 25 of them, personally. We talked to every Cubmaster and explained the encampment idea , when it was going to be, and even gave them a registration form to fill out." It was eye-to-eye contact, and it paid off. The first encampment was an overwhelming success with 125 boys in attendance. "So the first encampment came off, virtually withoul a hitch." Tom Moore says. "Everyone seemed to enjoy it. So, I thought, 'Good! It came off well, they got to do their thing, and everybody's happy.' "Then lo and behold, they came back the next year and wanted to do it again. So, 48 I asked. 'Are ya' ll planning on making this a)earlyevent'!' "'And they said. ' Wh y not? It was successful. People enjoyed it. We got kids advancing out of it.' "Everything they said was true. and it was all positive. So we held a second encampment. "Then they came back again and said, 'The Boy Scouts do it twice a year. spring and fall. Why don't we do it twice a yea r'!' So, in 1972 they started holding th e encampment twi~c a yea r, and it's been that wayeversmce. The father and son encampment broke new ground m a larger sense, too. It's considered the first district-wide Webelos encampment ever held in this country. Today, the praise from professionals is lavish. "Other districts began to picl up on the idea," Moore says. "'Every district in the council has made it part of their program. "It's a snowball that's begun to roll. and it JUSt keeps ge11ing bigger. It has done more to pull together the Webelos program in this council than anything else." To a large extent it's the emphasis on advancement and achievement that keeps the Webelo s Encampment snowba ll rolling. Late morning and early afternoon are devoted to activity badge instruction. an Arrow of Light review, and for the Webelos Scouts who pass the review. it's a first taste of Scouting skill activities led by a 1op-notch Boy Scout troop. Experience proves that the marn 10gredicnt for successful get 1ogethers with Webelos Scouts is lots of action. At this encampment that mean5 giving the boys m the Engineer activity badge instruction hands-on experience 1n how to use a surveyor's tran sit , and for the Scient1!lt class, the actual testing of basic natural 1 law!I through easily demonstrated experiments. There's abo a popular fin.1 aid class taught by Explorer Prnit 370 of Horn Lale. Miss .. and led by Advisors Peter and Rita Howleu. Although theirs 1s a general interest poM. firsl aid is \omethmg of a specialty with them so i!ii realism. Webclos Scoub are divided into fl\e-man teams and gi,cn a first aid problem in the form of a s imulat ed injured victim Thanks lo the Explorers' co1bcientious attention to detail. the vic1 im i!I invariably a bloody mess and inaccessibly arranged in a ravine or under a log. "We try to 1mtruct flf!lt aid." Peter ll owlett says. ""m an exciting kmd of way. A vi!lual. par11c1pator) demonstration like lhis is the only v.ay they really learn." Claude Brown. Southwest District ex· ecutive, explains that the sigmficance of the father.and-son Webelos Encampment exlends beyond what the Webelos Scouts learn in classes. "First of all." Brown points oul, '"the faLher is w11h his son for the weekend. He gets to know his son belier and work wtth him closer. For the family relationship !l's mvaluable. '"And the boys get their first taste of an outdoor experience. It leads them in the direction of Joining a Seoul troop. and helps w11h that 1ransition period between Webelo!i and Boy Scouung. "At the district level, this 1s a totally volunteer-run program. It's been great for motivating the volunteers and building esprit de corps for Scouting m the district. You can almosl say it's Lhe heartbeat otthe Cub Scout program for the Southwest District. Ifs the glue that holds everything logether." But the most immediate benefit is- fun! Late afternoon 1s devoted to games. A large field, roped off with brightly colored pennants marks the playing areas for tug-of- (commued on page 58) October 1980 Scomi11g Webelos Camp (from pagt! 48) war and the chariot races. It's an obstacle course called the ..Trail of Tears," however. that generates the most excitement. Named for the journey the Cherokees took when they we re forcibly removed from their native lands in Georgia and marched 10 reservations west of the Mississippi River, th e threequarter-mile trail offers its own brand of hardships. Encampment leaders who laid out the course describe it as challenging; dads and Webelos who have to run it say ..sadistic" is a more accurate characteriza tio n. Take Our BIGGER-n-BETTER Fun Raisers! They look like you-know-whats, but they're BIGGERn-BETTER in quality, value and profits. BIGGER in actual size. BIGGER in pricing that permits a full 50% profit. BETTER because of their flavor-lock packaging and handy-48 pack carrycase. And BETTER still because your neighborhood Nestle professional will back up your sales effort every step of the way ! Call: (800) 431-1248 New York State: {914) 682-6366 NeStJe "'"\nk of us as choco\•"e .. . and more ----;:ii~- -N~~iie -c;~;,;i>~-~v: ·i~.:: - ---------------------------si.iie::1ii&ii ___ 1025 Westchester Avenue White Plains, N.Y. 10604 Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone(_) _ _ __ Organ.ization _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Advertisers Starting with the October 1980 Issue, BOYS' LIFE will be available to the blind and physically handicapped on cassette tapes. Wnte to RECORDED PERIODICALS, Division of Volunteer Services for the Blind, 919 Walnut Street, 8th Floor, Philadelphia , PA 19107. ONLY the blind or handicapped qualify for this service. Rental costs $12 per year. Tapes may be kept for 30 days, or bought for $30 per year. 58 The W ebelos Encampment encourages boys and dads to go on into a Boy Scout troop. The trail is a tortuous path full of punishing impediments such as rope bridges, barriers, and narrow log catwa lks. But the obstacle that overshadows a ll the others is called ··s uicid e hill .'' not a particularly imaginati ve nam e, but th oro ugh ly desc riptive . Like an ope n wound in the woods, its ugly gash of gu ll y-eroded red clay stands in contrast to the su rrounding lush, green forest. Its 30-foot, steeply inclined height is particularly deadly today. Recent rains have made the clay surface slick. Boy Scouts from Troop 37 posi tion themselves 10 help guide the runners and assist with misadventures. Asked if there was any way someone could get hurt coming down "suicide," as it's commonly known, Bryan Murrell , age 11 , a member of Troop 37, says with a mischievous grin. "Uh-hu h ... lots of ways:· Then, from the top of the blulT a Scout signals the approac h of th e first den. ;.They're coming!" Bryan ye lls. '; Hot diggity-dog!" The first group of Webelos Scouts sud denly crest the hill . For most, discretion is the better part of valo r. and they choose to negotiate the steep incline from a seated position. Even so, it's a quick trip down . The uniformed boys skid down the hill like a blue waterfall . Once at the bottom they have to splash across a narrow creek. its slick clay banks deceptively treacherous. Prayers of thanksgiv ing offered for being rid of the awful hill are often premature. Several fathers carried away by yout hful memories that exceed their cu rren t physical condition try to hurdle October l 980 Scouting Webelos Camp (from pag~ 58) the creek in a single leap, only 10 make a four·point landing in the middle . Laugh· ing sons and fathers help one another up. and the "trail of tears" becomes a memorable encampment experience that helps bind fathers and sons closer to· ge1her. By early evening and dinnertime. the day's frantic pace finally slows. Collapsed in a lawn chair near Pack 248"s campfire. Bill Bentley, father of Webelos Scout Andrew Bentley. polishes off the last few bites of a hobo·style hamburger dinner. a classic of aluminum foil cuisine. What will he take away from the Webelos Encampment? "Bruises! I wiped out at the bouom of·suicide.' There wasn't any halfway about it: I went all the way down. Thrilled the crowd. We had four fathers run the trail with the boys. That's the kind of participation we're proud or. '·To me this encampment is kind of what Scouting is all about. I would think so mething like this has to encourage the boys to go on into Boy Scouts. They just seehowmuchfunitis. "I'm an old Scout that's been out of it a few years, but now that I"ve got my boy coming on, I imagine I'll stay with him all the way through. " Motivation, whether among adult volunteers or boys , seems to be an en· campment specialty. William W o lfe, Webelos den leader for Den I , Pack 248, from Memphis and chartered to the White· haven Presbyterian Church. witnessed its accomplishments firsthand . " When the boys in my den started into Webelos Scouting last year, they got off to a slow start ," Wolfe says, as he slices vegetab les for more · hobo dinners. ''They couldn't seem to get their enthusiasm until they went on their rirst encampment last fall. Each boy earned two activity badges that weekend and realized how easy it was. They got all fired up. They've been work· ing hard ever since. One boy earned all 15 badges. the o th ers have earned 10. Only seven are required for the Arrow of Light award. which is as high as you can go in CubScoulS." Next to the campfire. nine·year·old Tip Draffen. a member of Den 4. Pack 248, keeps a watchful eye on his foil dinner as it slowly cooks over a bed of gray coals. " I got my Natural ist activity badge," Tip says proudly. "because I've a lready been to the zoo, and I did the rest of the requirements here. For Geologist. I've got to find and identify some rocks, and then I'll have two activity badges." Four campsi1es down from Pack 248. John Wells. II. a member of Pack 250, 60 Senatobia. Miss., recounts his most viv id memory of the day. a first aid class that sounds like a scene straigh1 from the TV se ries "E mergency." Only 1h1s was live action, a;id he was the hero. ··1 got 10 be captain of o ur paramedic squad." John says. "' We had to treat a victim who was lying under a log. There was a woman beside him screa min g. II 1ook two of us to push her ou t of the way. another two to take care of the injured person and one to run for help." John Bailey. Cubmaster of Pack 250. admits the response from his Webelos Scouts has been fantastic. "I've had two or three boys ask me if we could stay out here another night." Bailey says. slow ly sipping an after.dinner cup of coffee. "'That's the best news I could have heard. For one bO) it's the first 1ime he's ever spent Lhe night away from home and his parents. He's one of the ones that wants 10 stay another nighL" suicide hill. I made 11 . . Oat- Oat on my back. We had a ball. And it's no1 O\er yet.'' FoMer\ words prove prophetic. Budd) Newton and the men who developed the encampmen t tradition believe that recog· nition for achievemen t is as important as achievemen t itself. It comes as no 5urp rise. then. 1hat the campfire ceremony lives up to its reputation as an .. extravaganza." An Order of the Arro" Ind ian dance team se~ the mood. Two large pyres of wood mysteriously explode into flame while Indian dancers wh irl and spin to the throbbing beat of tom·toms. Then come the award presentations- blue ribbons to the top·ranking Webelos dens who have accumulated 1he most points during the encampment. But the mos1 llpectacular presentation is reser\ed for the Arro" of Light rec1p1en~ . All is quiet except for 1he deep. rh)thm1c voice of Buddy Newton as he calls the names of those receiving Arrow of Light Buddy Newton and his staff believe that recognizing a boy 's achievement is as important as the achievement itself. Wi1h daylight fading, Webelos dens and their leaders move toward the open.ai r amphitheater where the eve ning camp fire ceremonies will be held . Walking behind hi s boys. Gerald Foster. Cubmaster of Pack 505 of Memphis. chartered to the M 1 Joyner Missionary Baptist Church. is an obvious casua lty of •;suicide hill." Thick splo tches of mud caked to the back of his shirt and pants look like they were applied with an ariist's palette knife. The rigorii of the day's activities have taken th ei r to ll on Foster's uniform , but not his spirits. "The kids always get everything out of this encampment." he says with a grin. '"and everything out of us. They get a kick out of seeing their leaders trying to go down awards. A thin blue line of 58 Webclos Scouts. stands. proud!) m front of the audience of parents and fe ll ow Cub Scouts. Sudden ly a flaming Arrow of Light. 2Q.feet long. rises. from behind the arena. The audience gasps. The burning SJmbol is. ano1her Southwe~t Dislrict \Vebelos Encampment trad1t1on. an awe· inspiring torch of 1ribute to thme "ho achie\e the highest rank a Cub Scout can earn The day began with promis.e and ends. with a larger promise. The fler) up of the blazing arrow pom~ toward a Scouting future that pronmes still more dazzling accompl1shmen~ and unforgettable mem· • 0L"tobcr 1980 Srn1111ng  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/1/1980 Title A name given to the resource 1980 (10/01/1980) Scouting Magazine: Pointing Webelos Scouts Toward Boy Scouting Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available University of North Texas Libraries Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 68, Number 5, October 1980, periodical, October 1980; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353641/m1/46/: accessed March 18, 2019), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum. Camp Currier Cub Scouts Periodical