A Visit with Scoutmaster Barry

It's Thursday evening.  I just got back into the hotel after nearly an hour commute from working in the next city over.  I had just long enough to grab the free meal offering in the hotel lobby and change clothes into something comfortable before heading back out to visit with a local Scout troop.

I had passed by this Troop's meeting location twice a day for nearly 2 weeks.  I first noticed there was a Troop close by last year when I was working in the area.  They have a large sign posted near the main road along with their Troop website.  This year, I decided to not pass it up and take advantage of what I might learn by visiting with them.  Looking them up on the world wide web I found their contact information and meeting date.  It was on Thursdays.  Unusual since most scouting units meet on Tuesdays but every unit has a different dynamic and Thursday's probably work better for them. 

The date was set, I would visit with them the following week.  Although they were a little hesitant since they didn't have anything really planned, mainly meeting with their PLC (Patrol Leader's Council) to set the schedule for the year and their older scouts were attending a recruiting event at the local school.

The day had come and I have to admit, I was a little weary from the work day and just about decided not to go but I thought to myself, "I'll just go visit for about an hour and return, after all, I still need to pack my bags for my return trip home." So, off I went as the sun began to set over the skyscape it was going to be a beautiful evening. 

As I drove past the remnants of battle fields from the civil war I felt a sense of reverence for that hallowed ground where over 17,000 men lost their lives fighting for what they each believed in.  I soon came upon the church where this scout unit was sponsored.  I had arrived just in time for the meeting to begin.

There was excitement in the air as scout, after scout began to arrive.  The parking lot was quickly filling up.  The boys were gathering outside the church while a few had the responsibility to retrieve the United States flag and the Troop flag.  I approached one of the adults who happened to be my host for the evening.  He quickly introduced me to the Scoutmaster who was busy at work orchestrating with his youth leaders the program of the night. 

Scoutmaster Barry asked my host to show me around and pick my brain on leadership training and with that he was off!  I can absolutely relate.  Typically the beginning of the meeting and the ending of the meeting I am very tunnel focused in my own unit.  I like for parents that want my attention to approach me typically after the meeting rather than before.  To the outside observer they would see the Scoutmaster of a youth-led Troop either standing to the side doing nothing or in observation mode or they will see as the Scoutmaster floats from one scout to another conducting Scoutmaster Conferences and assisting his youth leaders in running the program.  I of course know all too well that routine, so it was without hesitation that myself and my host began to strike up our conversations learning about each other's unit.

My host Rod and I found that both of our units were going through similar phases, of equal size to each other, and same dynamics of youth proportions (age, rank, and skill distribution).  They had attended summer camp at the same time and place as we did this past year.  It is too bad we know each other then.  It is with great confidence that one of my own scouts, who served on staff for camp's new scout program, taught several of their new scouts. 

It was now time for their opening ceremony.  Rod and I continued to speak of our experiences and while we conversed I watched through the windows of the foyer of the church as almost 30 scouts lined up in formation by patrols to pay homage to the traditional opening of every scout meeting which included reciting the Scout Oath, Scout Law, and Pledge of Allegiance.  It never gets old to me.

My host and I then continued our conversation outside as he showed me their Troop trailers that transport their gear and equipment from one locale to another depending on the adventure and activity.  The painted graphics on the side were eye catching with bright colors and one could tell it was done in pride.  On the other side they had a dedicated space to list the names of their Eagle Scouts.  Unlike our unit which is 95 years old and approaching almost 200 Eagles this particular unit was established in 2005 with significantly less, but given time I am sure they would be right there with us.  In fact, over the next 2 weeks they will be celebrating the accomplishments of 3 more Eagles.

Just beyond the two Troop Trailers was a Troop shed that was the permanent storage space for the Troop's and patrol's equipment.  Each patrol had it's own designated 4 shelf cabinet with all their supplies neatly organized and labeled.  Even the adults had their own section on the opposite side of the shed.  On the back wall were more shelves with general storage.  The scouts were very actively preparing and packing their patrol boxes with the needed supplies for the upcoming trip.  I noticed a few interesting pieces of equipments so I asked Rod about the.  It was at that moment I learned the value of and how to acquire used surplus military equipment that no longer need.  Something I will have to look into when I return home. 

After seeing their equipment storage areas I asked my host to show me their wooded area behind the church that Troop had created into patrol sites.  We walked down a familiar path lined with long wood branches on either side to designated the trail and came upon several semi cleared areas that had a picnic table, fire pit, and other various objects for each site.  It was clear that each patrol made their site their own.  In one site a wooden sign was created with the patrol name and initials of those in the patrol along with patches that were nailed or otherwise attached to their picnic table from various camping trips and places they had been.

It is truly great for a Troop to have such an area in order to make their own and really provide scouting in an outdoor classroom.  Scouts spend too much time inside already with school and then in our digital world with online games and other programs competing for their attention.  This designated area also helps each patrol create a sense of pride to make it their own.  A sacred place to hone their fire building skills, pioneering skills, the use of wood tools.  Very fortunate in deed.  I commented that most churches I have seen with a little bit of property do not even allow their scouting programs to use those areas even though they are not being used for anything else.  Who better to manage wooded land than scouts?

Time was comming to an end, light was fading.  Rod and I headed back towards the church where the scouts would begin their closing ceremony.  Another one of my favorite parts.  Not because it is the end but because of the delivery of the Scoutmaster Minute.  The boys began formation outside as they had at the begining.  This time they were a little more tired, some a little wet with sweat as typically the last activity is some sort game or team challenge.  I took place to the side near the other adult leaders.  We watched as the Senior Patrol Leader and other scouts gave announcements of upcoming events to be known and then the Scoutmaster Minute was delivered by Scoutmaster Barry followed by the retiring of the flag.

Most scouts would soon disperse after this however, at this troop, the scouts filed back inside the church to enjoy cookies brought by someone, unknown to me, and complete sign-ups for those soon to be trips.  While this took place Scoutmaster Barry held a Scoutmaster conference with a scout needing rank advancement and a few others were conducting a couple of additional meetings.  It wasn't long though the church cleared out and everyone was on their way home.  I stayed to converse with the Scoutmaster as he locked up.  We shared a few stories and scouting philosophy and as we stood outside the church both with bags in hand and with eagerness to return home, we just couldn't bring ourselves to end our time together.  As he said, "The two topics that I can go on talking about forever are photography and scouting" to which I agreed. 

With that recognized same spirit of scouting we said our good byes and invited to each other to stop by anytime we were in each other's territories, then parted ways.  I couldn't help but think to myself how refreshing it is to see youth led programs under the supervision of caring and dedicated adults that carry the spirit of scouting with them rather than those that use a facade but are really trying to create a name for themselves by earning endless knots and endless titles.  It was also encouraging to find another troop similar to ours with the same dynamics and struggles to let you know there are others you can reach out to.

It was a great day to visit.