Scouting, Volume 77, Number 3, September 1989 Page: 82
90, E1-E16, [16] p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Philmont Training (from page 26)
cupied while they're waiting for the den
meeting to start. There is a "Hidden
Bird" word puzzle for use during a bird
study theme month. "When they've done
this puzzle and later on they see the bird,
they'll say, 'Oh, I remember that,' " Juel
says.
Calling up a couple of trainee volun-
teers, Juel has them demonstrate a simple
ring-toss game using homemade card-
board rings and the legs of an upturned
chair as targets, and another target game
in which the trainees drop clothespins
from eye level into a baby food jar.
There is also a game of chance involv-
ing spilling beans in various colors with
various point values out of a baking
powder can. "This is a real good game for
Cub Scouts who may not be good at skill
games." Juel notes, "It's a lot more fun for
them."
Juel calls on "Den Chief" Danny to
lead the action song, "Father Abraham,"
pointing out that songs are good for let-
ting out excess energy.
"You might use a song for the opening
to wake the boys up," she says, "or put
one in the middle of the meeting because
you don't want your den meeting to dra-a-
a-a-g on and on. But you don't want the
boys hyper all the time either, so it's best
to have den activities a little up and down,
loud and soft."
"Father Abraham" definitely falls into
the loud category. It's one of those simple
tunes with an action like shaking the fist,
kicking a foot, and nodding the head
added for each verse. By the time it's over,
the trainees are shaking, kicking, nod-
ding, and sticking out tongues simultane-
ously as they collapse in laughter. Juel
Fitzgerald promptly gets them on their
feet again for a foot-stomping rendition of
"It's Great To Be in Scouting."
Following her own advice about alter-
nating "loud" and "soft" activities, Juel
moves on to a quiet demonstration of Cub
Scout crafts. She shows a spool racer
made with a sewing spool, rubber band,
tack, and dowel, and a plaster of Paris
neckerchief slide with an Eskimo face
inked on and a hint of white fur for a
parka. There's also a "slate" greeting
card—a piece of black construction paper
glued on a frame of Popsicle sticks with a
bit of yarn attached for hanging it up.
"I had a den that used to visit a home
for terminally ill people," Juel explains,
"and we made these slate greetings for
our Christmas visit. You just write what-
ever kind of greeting you want-
Christmas, birthday, or whatever—with
white crayon or chalk."
For Cub Scouts who are not handy with
hammers, saws, and nails, she recom-
mends a BSA Supply Division birdhouse
which is assembled simply by snapping
parts together. "Your Webelos Scouts
might like it," she suggests.
Pack meeting skits—the bane of many
den leaders—should be kept as simple as
possible, Juel tells the trainees. "Don't
have a lot of lines the boys have to re-
member," she advises. "Den Chief"
Danny adds, "You want to make sure
they're well-rehearsed. The boys need to
know exactly what each one is doing."
As an example of a simple skit, Juel
and Danny call on three trainees to help
perform "The Submarine," a chestnut in
Scouting but a surefire laugh for new
leaders.
The sample den meeting ends with a
closing ceremony. Juel Fitzgerald tells the
trainees, "You always want to open your
den meeting with a ceremony and close
with one. The opening ceremony tells the
boys play time is over and it's time for
business. The closing tells them the meet-
ing is over; try to make it meaningful or
thought-provok ing."
Juel and Danny then team up to lead
the trainees in a typical closing based on
the Cub Scout Promise. While Danny
leads the group in reciting phrases of the
Promise, Juel reads commentary explain-
ing each phrase. She ends with the words,
"Have a safe trip home."
It seemed so real and final that the
trainees began gathering up their papers
until Bill Stark, the district's Cub Scout
training chairman, called out, "Whoa!
Wait a minute! She was only kidding," he
laughed, calling upon the class to stick
around for the rest of the session. When
the training course finally did end, the
trainees gathered around Juel and Danny
for some post-course compliments and
questions.
Danny Fitzgerald's main job in Scout-
ing (like many leaders, he wears several
Scouting hats) is as Scoutmaster of Troop
464, chartered to the East Side Christian
Reformed Church in Warrensville
Heights, Ohio. He was invited to go to
Philmont in 1988 for Boy Scout training.
But Juel (who wears a couple of hats, too)
is a member of the Winding Rivers Dis-
trict Cub Scout training staff, and both
are involved in Danny's troop and its
brother Pack 464 in the Warrensville
Heights church.
So they chose to attend Cub Scout
leader training at Philmont together.
Their 13-year-old son, Star Scout Danny
Jr., went along to attend Philmont's Rocky
Mountain Scout Camp, and daughter,
Tia, five years old, spent a happy week
with activities geared to youngsters at the
Volunteer Training Center.
At Philmont, Danny took a course
called the Two-Year Webelos Scout Pro-
gram, a subject dear to his heart as a
former Webelos den leader and now as a
Scoutmaster hoping to attract graduating
Webelos Scouts into his troop. He does,
too; about 75 percent of Pack 464's grad-
uates join the troop.
"Out of the 28 guys in the course,"
Danny recalled, "I was the only one
wearing Boy Scout colors—the others
were Webelos den leaders and council and
district people—and I heard all the prob-
lems they have with Boy Scout leaders.
But of course I had been a Webelos leader,
so I knew what they were talking about."
He said the Philmont course increased
his knowledge of the two-year Webelos
program, but mainly it reinforced his
awareness of the importance of good
communications between pack and troop.
"I have to admit," he said, "that some
Scoutmasters have hard heads—and so do
some Webelos leaders—and they tend not
to listen to each other.
"There has to be good communica-
tions between the Scoutmaster and the
pack," he continued. "Otherwise boys
get their Arrow of Light and think there's
no place else for them to go. They've
reached the pinnacle of Cub Scouting and
someone forgets to tell them that Boy
Scouting is their next step."
Because Danny and Juel Fitzgerald are
close to both pack and troop, their We-
belos Scouts are not forgotten. In a typical
year, Pack 464's Webelos Scouts will be
invited to a couple of Troop 464 camp-
outs, a swimming outing, a bowling
night, and all courts of honor.
The pack and troop have a joint picnic
each year, too, at graduation time for the
Webelos Scouts. "The troop spends the
weekend at the site," Juel said, "and the
Webelos Scouts are there the first night as
Webelos Scouts. The next day we have a
crossing-the-bridge ceremony on a real
bridge over a creek for the Webelos
Scouts to graduate into the troop and be-
come Boy Scouts."
Juel's course at Philmont was called
Implementing the New Cub Scout Train-
ing—a natural for her in her role as a
district Cub Scout trainer. "I got ideas for
ways of teaching to make training inter-
esting," she said.
And both she and Danny enjoyed
swapping ideas and experiences with Cub
Scouters from across the country. "I was
really shocked to find out how small the
world has gotten, though," she said. "We
went all the way to New Mexico and
found people we know from our own
council and other councils. It was just
amazing!"
82
September 1989 Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 77, Number 3, September 1989, periodical, September 1989; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353657/m1/98/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.