 | Volume 1, Number 9, May 2005 CAMPFIRE TALES AND TRADITIONS |
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| Volume 1, Number 9, May 2005 CAMPFIRE TALES AND TRADITIONS |
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FOCUS
"Throughout the
ages men have gathered in groups about their campfires and gazed dreamily into
the swirling orange center of the flame. Fire for untold generations has meant
a home, a social center, an altar, a weapon, a protection against cold even the
essence of life itself. Perhaps that is why our campfires today cast a
nostalgic spell, taking us back through vast, dim ages to those bleak little
fires surrounded by the skin-clad and half-naked figures of our ancestors.
"Especially as a
social gathering place and council ring man has enjoyed his fire. At the close
of the evening meal, warm, relaxed and well-fed, the ancient man enjoyed tall
tales of the hunt, songs, dances, trials of strength, magic of the medicine
man, legends of ancient days, awarding of honors, chants to the gods, and
beating of the tribal drum.
"Today, as we
gather around our own Scout campfires, we span the years between their age and
ours; we enjoy songs, tall stories, dances, feats of magic, contests,
dramatics, awarding of honors, and the beating of the ceremonial drum.
"An now . . .
the ceremonial drum is beating . . . beating assembly to our own Campfire . . .
. "Come, let us answer!"
From: G. S. Ripley, Fun Around the Campfire, BSA: New York
(1952)
Some of the purposes of Cub Scouting developed through this month’s theme are:
·
FUN and
ADVENTURE
– Campfires and camping are great entertainment and fun for all;
·
PREPARATIION
for BOY SCOUTS – Scouts will apply the skills and safety considerations of
fire building and camping setup
·
HONESTY – A scout sees
keeping his word and not gossiping or spreading rumors says a lot about the
person he is.
CUBMASTER’S CORNER
As most of you know this is my last
meeting as Cub Master. I have mixed
emotions, on the one hand I am sad to be stepping down; and on the other hand,
I feel satisfaction in knowing I have helped young boys mature into young men
who understand duty, honor, country. I
began my journey when my son, Jackson, joined the Pack in 2000. I stepped in the role as committee chairman
and in 2002 I took the over as Cub Master and assumed the role of until
tonight. Being the Cub Master has been
an honor and a privilege. I have helped over 300 scouts learn the ways and
morals of Scouting. During this time
over 30 cub scouts have crossed over to Boy Scouts. I feel extremely proud that I may have helped boys in this difficult
and confusing world.
I would like to thank all of the
leaders, who have helped me, Pack 163 is a team and not an individual. There is a core of leaders that I wish
to recognize. First, Tom Ciccarello who has been involved in Pack 163 for many
years, I guess as you keep having boy then you will always be involved in
scouting! Tom as been a good friend and
has a wealth of information and knowledge.
There is Jeff Beltramo, who was Cub Master before me. Then there are my current Den leaders
Sheldon Grass, Terry Hanlon, Carrie Hadik, Karl Krueger, Ann Marie Murray,
Justin Hoitt, Kevin Pilotte, Kevin White, Julie Sprague, Susan Leone, Donna
Scheffer, and Raven Gregg who have stepped up numerous times. Chuck Myette, who has filled in as Assistant
Cub Master and has been very helpful to scouts by sharing his knowledge of
nature and what Wason Pond has to offer.
Brian Sullivan, who has been my other right hand. He has done a great job of keeping track of
the scouts’ advancements and of the Packs’ financial health. I also need to thank all of the past den
leaders. Lastly, I need to thank you the scouts and parents for your
participation and input – without you Pack 163 would not exist.
I feel confident that the Pack is in
good shape. We have a new charter
organization rooting the foundation principals of scouting. Fellowship Bible church and all of its
members have a lot to offer. The church
is grounded in one of the cornerstones of scouting – God. I feel that in order to be a scout you must
embrace religion, whether it is Christian, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or
Muslim.
We also have a super web site and Mr.
Riley has been an excellent keeper of the site. It is a great tool to communicate and to demonstrate what is
happening here in Chester.
Lastly, welcome and help Mr. Ted Young
as he assumes the role of Cub Master.
Mr. Young was a part of Pack 163 before when his son Nick was a
cub. Interesting that families with
multiple siblings keep coming back, does it make you wonder? In fact, I will be back with Pack 163 in
2006 when my son Travis enters first grade.
I hope during my tenure I have helped
shape at least one young man and given him the tools needed to make a success
of himself and be equipped for what he may encounter in this world. I have hoped I have followed and taught the
three basic principals of cub scouting:
In closing I leave this thought:
Those
whom we seek to serve come our way but once – as boys. Neglect none of them –
for somewhere among them may be the man who will lead the world to everlasting
peace.
And this poem that sums up what it is
to be part of scouting.
Did you ever watch the campfire
..When the wood has fallen low,
And the ashes start to whiten
..Round the embers' crimson glow?
Tell me, were you ever nearer
..To the land of heart's desire
Than when you sat there thinking
..With your face turned toward the fire?
Anonymous
Thank you,
Bob Grimm
Cub Master, Pack 163
Visit websites for more information
TIGER CUBS
CONGRATULATIONS!
Joey Pilotte
Jamie Hadik
Phillip Hoitt
DISTRICT NEWS
·
Fisher
Cat Baseball
Saturday,
June 18th 5:05 PM
Sleepover,
movie, breakfast
Saturday,
August 19th 6:35 PM
Tickets
$9.50
·
Manchester
Wolves Arena 2
Friday,
July 8th
Tickets
$9.75
SUMMER CAMP
Sleepover July 24 –28th
Day Camp August 8th-12th
Pack 163 Supports Our Troops
Pack
163 is sponsoring a new unit in Iraq. I
have heard back from the unit and they say “THANK YOU”. Next care package will go out in June
requested items:
·
snacks of any type
·
home baked goods
·
toiletry items,
·
things like febreeze
Remember
some Dens have adopted servicemen deployed overseas.
DEN 1 Wolf
DEN 2 Webelos 1
DEN 3 Webelos
1
DEN 4 Bear
DEN 5 Bear
DEN 6 Wolf
DEN 11 Webelos
2
DEN 12 Webelos
2
WANTED:
Committee Chairman Newsletter Editor
THE RABBI & THE SOAP MAKER
A Rabbi and a soap
maker were walking along and the soap maker questioned the Rabbi by asking,
"What good is religion? There's been religion for a long time, but people
are still bad to each other"
The Rabbi was silent
until they say a boy who was dirty from playing in the street. The Rabbi asked
the soap maker, "What good is soap? We've had soap for many, many years
and people still get dirty"
The soap maker
protested the comparison and insisted that the soap had to be used in order to
keep people clean. "Exactly my point", said the Rabbi.
"Religion", he said, "has to be applied in order to do anybody
any good."
Monday, May 30th
9am
Cemetery
Chester Center
Class A Uniforms
June 4th
WASON POND
***NEW NIGHT***
Held 1st
Wednesday of Month 7PM
Scout Room
June 24th – 27th
Wason Pond
Saturday, September 10th
Parade
Booth and Fundraiser
See Mr. Krueger for more
details
******
IF ONLY
...
Won Lee was a
stone cutter who lived in ancient China. He cut large stones and he cut small
stones. He made them into ornaments for gardens. Some he cut to build houses.
He was proud of his work, but sometimes he would think, "If only I had
more money" or "If only I had less work."
One day, Won Lee was walking home from
work. The sun was very hot and he was tired, so he sat down at the side of the
road. He felt the heat of the sun and thought, "It's the sun that gives us
the daylight, the warmth to grow our crops. Surely the sun must be the most
powerful of all things."
Won Lee said quietly to himself, "God,
if only I could be the sun. I would love to feel what it is like to be the most
powerful, the greatest of all things."
God
answered Won Lee. "You may become the sun." He said. And Won Lee
became the sun. He felt wonderful; so strong and powerful. He shone down on the
world far below.
After a few days, a puffy white cloud
appeared in the sky. It drifted about and, when it came near Won Lee, it
blotted out his rays and cast a shadow on the world. Won Lee was sad. Surely this cloud was more powerful than
he? "If only I were the cloud. That would make me the greatest of all
things," he said.
God heard, and again He answered: "Won
Lee, you may become the cloud." So Won Lee floated about the sky feeling
very grand.
One day, Won Lee saw a great black cloud
coming his way. Soon it surrounded him, and he saw the black cloud dripping
droplets of water. The drops fell on the earth and made a mighty river.
Won Lee thought that this black cloud must be very powerful to swallow up a cloud and turn itself into a river, so he said, "If only I were the river. How mighty I would be. Then I would be truly happy."
Again God heard and answered: "Okay. You may be the river."
So Won Lee flowed along, feeling the mighty
rush of water. Then he came to a bend in the river. There was a great boulder
jutting out into the river. The great boulder held the river, swirling it back
on itself.
Won Lee thought, "The rock ! The rock ! At last I have found the mightiest of all things. If this rock can hold back the raging river, then it is the greatest. If only I were this great big rock, I would be happy."
So God made Won Lee into the boulder and he stood there, holding back the water and feeling very great and happy. Then, one day, along came a man who cut a large piece off the boulder. Won Lee was sad. No longer was he the greatest if this man could come along and cut him up.
"If only I could be the man who cut up the stone, I would surely be the greatest," Won Lee thought.
And
God said to Won Lee: "But you are the Stone Cutter!" – Reprinted from Australian Scout magazine
The Pledge of Allegiance According to Red Skelton
I found this
posting on the Cub Master website and thought it would be interesting. – Bob
FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED, here is the complete, un-edited text, as presented by Red Skelton, on The Red Skelton Hour, January 14, 1969. (hidden in the laughter during his introduction of the pledge), but this should be very close to the exact words that Red Skelton recited for his show.
(I
was a boy scout when I saw him do this on his show.)
Red
Skelton:
"Getting back to school, getting back to school, I remember a teacher that
I had. Now I only wee, I went, I went through the seventh grade, I went through
the seventh grade. I left home when I was 10 years old because I was hungry.
(laughter) And .. this is true. I worked in the Summer and went to school in
the Winter. But, I had this one teacher, he was the principal of the Harrison
school, in Vincennes Indiana. To me, this was the greatest teacher, a real sage
of..of my time, anyhow.
He had such wisdom. And we were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance one day, and he walked over. This little old teacher ... Mr. Lasswell was his name. ... Mr. Lasswell was his ah ...
(at this point a pause and laughter. Red is making faces and playing with his hat!)
He says: ...
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance .. all semester ... and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you.
If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word.
*I*
-- me, an individual, a committee of one.
*Pledge*--dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
*Allegiance*--my love and my devotion.
*To the Flag*--our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she
waves, there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that
shouts freedom is everybody's job.
*United*--that means that we have all come together.
*States*--individual communities that have united into 48 great states. 48
individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all divided with
imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for
country.
*And to the Republic*--Republic, a state in which sovereign power is invested
in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people
and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
*For Which It Stands*
*One Nation* -- One nation, meaning, so blessed by God.
*Indivisible* -- incapable of being divided.
*With Liberty* -- which is freedom, the right of power to live one's own life
without threats or fear or some sort of retaliation.
*And Justice* -- the principle or qualities of dealing fairly with others.
*For All*--For all... which means boys and girls, it's as much your country, as
it is mine."
And now boys and girls let me hear you recite, the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance - "under God".
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, "That is a prayer" and that would be eliminated from schools, too?
-- Thanks to Chris Haggerty
http://www.macscouter.com/General/Patriotic.html
PINEWOOD DERBY 2005 RESULTS
TIGER DIVISION
2nd
Place Joey Pilotte
3rd
Place Jamie Hadik
Unusual
Looking Car Phillip Hoitt
Best
Looking Teddy Young
Original
Car Design Tyler Chavette
SCOUT DIVISION
1st
Place Connor
Farrington
2ns Place Spencer Sullivan
3rd
Place Matt Dupras
Friday, September16th
NEW Scout Registration
Monday, September 19th
New Parent Meeting
Friday, September 23rd PACK MEETING
Meeting Starts at 7PM
