Boy Scouts going downhill!

[mkk41]

When did Boy Scouts take a page from the Girl Scouts and start selling snacks?

Boy Scouts were out in front of stores and banks yesterday selling pop corn!
First they'd great you politely , open and hold the door for ya on the way in , then hit ya with the sales pitch on the way out.

First they do away with rimfire training , now this!

Won't get started on their other policies!

 

[geddylee10002000]

They have been selling popcorn for about 25 years. I don't believe that they have done away with rimfire training. They were thought of by Federal, CCI, & Midwayusa in these tough times. http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/tag/boy-scouts-of-america/ Federal's news release http://www.federalpremium.com/news/news_releases.aspx?id=454&brand=5&year=2013

 

[Thunderhawk88]

They/we've sold Trails End Popcorn for years.

 

[Hack]

Won't get started on their other policies!

As a former Eagle Scout in the 60's - (display of all my 'scout stuff' along with two Henry's and a Ruger, all 100th BSA commemoratives .22's):



The lounge rules, won't allow me to rant about what has happened to The Scouting program over the past 45 years...

But to answer the question, even back in the 60's we had our fund raisers. I hated them, and early on in life realized, I would never be a salesman...

 

[max]

I was an Eagle also and maybe it was in the scouts that I learned I WAS a salesman! We sold season tickets to the local swimming pool and also tickets for an annual chili supper. I always sold the most tickets to both.

 

[Rangerpat]

I was a Cub Scout in 1960 and we sold Halloween candy to raise money for our pack back in those days. My nephew is a Cub Scout and sells popcorn now a days to raise money for his pack. I assume the Scouts switched to popcorn because it is considered healthier than candy.
No matter what they are selling I buy to help support the fine organization of Scouting.

 

[BruceHMX]

My son's troop sells popcorn, mulch and cleans up the roads close to the landfill. Waste Management has a program that pays organizations to do this. My son is 12 and just made the rank of Star. While many of us were disappointed by the Scouts recent decision it still is the best game in town so to speak. Not sure about other scout districts but our marksmanship program is alive and well. I should know I'm the troop coordinator for it. Matter of fact I just picked up a CZ 452 from a member here Friday to use for the scouts. As I type this Ed is on a bike ride with the troop. Beautiful day for it.


Here he is March 2012 just after bridging to Boy Scouts from Webelos.



This am getting his bike out.

Beats laying on a couch playing video games or out getting into trouble. Plus they are learning things most boys their age don't have a clue about.

 

[the ringo kid]

I was a Cub Scout--dont recall any fund raising attempts by my pack. I Skipped the Weebelows (SP?) and ended up as a Life Scout-was too old to get Eagle Scout. Anyway, our Troop (Troop 147) did car washes and other stuff. I sold Candy while in Scout uniform and we did stuff for disabled Vets. BTW--Mr. Ross C, Genz--was our Scoutmaster and was a WWII Navy combat pilot. He had no probs allowing us to bring guns along and told us many a story.

 

[the ringo kid]

PS, I wonder if you can still fire 22s at the ranges at large Boy Scout encampments? I used to go to Camp Karankawa and you could shoot 22s as well as Bows and Arrows--all day long if you wished? I severely lacked Robin Hoods skill so I was always at the 22 range.

 

[moosedog]

Yes they still shoot 22s at Camp and have been selling popcorn for as long as I can remember. My son sold tons of that stuff.
If you read your current NRA magazine there's an article about Federal / CCI donating rimfire ammo to the Boy Scouts so they weren't effected by the panic driven shortage.

 

[POPPER]

As an eagle scout and explorer I learned more from my years as a scout I think so far as practical hands on life training skills than I ever got in school or anywhere else for that matter. I can't comment on how I really feel of course on this forum because I have to stay politically correct or get zonked. All I will say is I am saddened that the Boy Scouts are no longer what they were in the 50s' Nuff said.

 

[Gunsnwater]

Thom whatt that's what we sold. Nothing but junk. And the sample boxes got broken down to fill the orders so people got broken junk. I hated it. I thought it went against everything we were supposed to be about.

 

[rwsmith]

I never want to see......

I never want to see another bag of Trail's End Popcorn. In the outfit my boy was in everything throughout the entire year was hinged on how much popcorn a kid sold.

 

[the ringo kid]

Yes they still shoot 22s at Camp and have been selling popcorn for as long as I can remember. My son sold tons of that stuff.
If you read your current NRA magazine there's an article about Federal / CCI donating rimfire ammo to the Boy Scouts so they weren't effected by the panic driven shortage.

That really surprises me considering what's going on in current times. However, glad to hear it. Going to the rifle range to fire 22s all day long was my favorite part of camp.

 

[the ringo kid]

As an eagle scout and explorer I learned more from my years as a scout I think so far as practical hands on life training skills than I ever got in school or anywhere else for that matter. I can't comment on how I really feel of course on this forum because I have to stay politically correct or get zonked. All I will say is I am saddened that the Boy Scouts are no longer what they were in the 50s' Nuff said.

Two things that never left me are:

"Be Prepared"
And the saying: A Scout is Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

 

[NCTexan]

OMG Selling POP CORN

What's next? PEANUTS

THE END IS NIGH

 

[arjay]

I was involved as a kid as were my kids.They found the endless selling as annoying as I did.

 

[Llando88]

Second Class Scout (we moved from Germany) and I never got back in to scouting.

But those life lessons live with you forever.

Who remembers baking lunch (hamburger meat, onions, tomatos, salt,pepper) in a foil-wrapped package buried in the camp fire?

But seriously, the goals of scouting -- Citizenship, character development and personal fitness -- could not be more relevant to today's youth.

 

[pownal55]

As a member over 50years ago I fired a s&w model 17 on my first outing, the beginning of a long love affair with guns. If they knocked on my door in uniform I would gladly give them a cash donation, don't need popcorn, got plenty.

 

[Will Carry]

We would cut and sell Christmas Trees for $5 a tree. The trees were free because they were growing in a field that held an endangered plant species, a rare Prairie Flower. So we cut the trees as a conservation project and sold them for $5.00 so poor people could have an affordable Christmas tree and we used the money to go to summer camp.

 

[-db-]

Maybe it's a regional/local thing but I don't recall ever having to sell anything as a kid in the Cub Scouts and Webelos and have never seen male scouts, of any age, selling anything where I live. This is the first I've heard of this popcorn so many of you are familiar with.

 

[Texas Star]

I was just a Cub Scout. We moved away before I went beyond Weblos rank and I never got back into Scouting. I think a younger brother was in a Dallas pack for a couple of years.

I got my first pocketknife as a Scout, the official model. I think mine was made by Camillus. You didn't have the Swiss Army models then. I think they're a better option now. Some have had BSA logos on them. Oddly, all seem to have only Phillips-head screwdrivers in lieu of the corkscrew option...They have no Merit Badge program for wine knowledge. That'd have saved me taking wine classes later!

Do Scouts still carry knives, at least pocketknives, and get taught safety with knives and axes?

Many today forget that the Scouts originated in Great Britain and were formed to create young men who had military skills. Lord Baden-Powell wanted lads who could be scouts for troops. I think he was inspired by the Chief of Scouts in the Boer War of 1899-1902. That man was Maj. Frederick Burnham...an American! The Scout hat was a copy of one worn by Burnham.

 

[adwjc]

"Do Scouts still carry knives, at least pocketknives, and get taught safety with knives and axes?"

Last I heard, you still had to get your " Tote & Chip" card before you could handle a pocket knife or axe.

Fundraising became an issue when a certain nationwide group that gets donations by payroll deduction and then divvies them up to deserving smaller groups was offended by a certain belief that BSA held. I refused to donate through that organization for that reason, and because I disagreed with another group they favored with funding. I'll make my own donations , thank you.

 

[Dano]

When did Boy Scouts take a page from the Girl Scouts and start selling snacks?

In 1969, my wife bought a large decorative tin of popcorn from
the Boyscouts. Dang good thing she did too. I was fresh back
from Nam and had a car insurance bill come due I'd forgot
about. We lived on popcorn for a month at least 1 meal a day.
Couldn't afford but very few groceries. So I know they've been
selling it since at least 1969.
Dano

 

[old bear]

They have no Merit Badge program for wine knowledge.

Jim, thanks for the heads up on this one. I thought the BSA jobs was to to help prepare young men for a better life. The BSA will no longer be on my annual Christmas donation list.

It's sad I tell ya just sad.

 

[Tcoburn]

I believe the Boy Scouts are a good organization, or at least the ones around here are. They still place flags on veterans graves at many if not all of the national cemeteries. A friend of mine informed me that their troop was in need of a 22 bolt action and some ammo (not begging just brought it up in conversation). I donated the money for one and some ammo. Others in the area donated ammo and other things to support the local organization. With the battering they have been taking lately for their beliefs I will help them as much as I can. I believe it would be a travesty to lose such a necessary organization available to our youth because of the lack of funding. If I need to help in some way, I will. I will even buy popcorn if that's what is needed.
I condemn no man for his beliefs and/or his opinion, I am just stating mine..

Be Well
Ted

 

[Hack]

Who remembers baking lunch (hamburger meat, onions, tomatos, salt,pepper) in a foil-wrapped package buried in the camp fire?

Actually....

We called them Hobo dinners or Coffee Can meals. Back in the day, coffee was sold in small tin cans that had keys to open them. 'Chock full of nuts' coffee, was one of the brands that had the 'perfect can' for this. You took the cans, sans coffee, and layered potatoes, meat, etc in them. Put the can into the campfire and in 45 minutes to an hour, ya had dinner.

 

[cballman]

Scouting has changed over the years. We still teach items that will stay with a child forever. Yes the still have to earn the tote n chip card to be able to carry a knife. You also have to be an older scout to do the Rofle shooting merit badge and Shotgun shooting badge. We have been getting a lot of bad press lately about different items. Not all scouts and leaders feel the same way about the issues at hand. I will continue to teach the skills to scouts the same way I was taught in the 1970s. Yes they sell items to fund outings that they could not normaly go on as in High Adventure trips. These trips put some families in a hardship because they would like to send the child but would also like to eat and have a roof over their head. Before you knock any group I think that you should know more details about what is going on. I have been involved in scouting for quite a few years now and I support it very much so. And Yes I have helped change a couple of children over the years that was going down the wrong path in life. Lastly Yes I am a Eagle Scout, and I beleive in the values that I am teaching thru scouting.

 

[mtgianni]

Our troop sent four boys, young men really, to the National Jamboree last summer. The longest line was at the shooting range. This coming from Montana boys who all own guns and are shooters and could shoot anytime. Shooting is still an important part of scouting with 3 Merit badges I con think of off hand. Marksmanship, shotgun sports [not sure of the name] and muzzleloading.

 

[Fishslayer]

When did Boy Scouts take a page from the Girl Scouts and start selling snacks?

Careful there, Hoss. Them Girl Scouts are nobody to mess with!