How Many Steps?

How many steps does it take to have a great week at McKee?

73,815

That was the total from my pedometer last year. A little over 35 miles for the week.

I'm going to see if I can beat that next week. I know some of you monkeys that are staying up at #2 (Hillbilly Knob) will do more than I will, but we have our own shower!

I can't wait to go. I'm always excited when we all go to Camp McKee, "Where every day is a holiday and every meal is a feast"!

District Commissioner

The #1 hardest volunteer position in Scouting is Lodge Adviser. A close 2nd is District Commissioner.

Norm Marcum is resigning his position as District Commissioner of the great Lonesome Pine. Norm is a good friend and has done a super job leading us "Hill Scouts".

We have made Quality District twice, our Units are stronger, and we are one of the strongest Districts in the Council. Norm will remain active with both Pack and Troop 802.

A big SCOUT SALUTE to Norm Marcum. You did a good job, even if you are a Bob White!

Old Friend-New Neighbor

We had a good Troop meeting last night. I think we are ready to go to McKee.

I was just about to pull into the garage, when I notice the neighbor's house had a bunch of boxes on the porch. I had heard rumors someone was moving in, so I went over to say Hi.

It was Carl Kinzel and his family!

Carl was an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 12 from 2004 - 2005 while he was attending Medical School. He has returned to finish his residency. Some of you might remember him from the Spring Camporee that Doug Ramey hosted back in '05.

Carl has a very special gift. When he talks, kids are captivated. I mean it is magical to see him teach Scout Skills. He is the best I have ever seen.

I welcomed him back and to the neighborhood. I also mentioned that we still meet every Tuesday. He told me that his time was tight. I told him that it is just an hour a week!

The Last Patch

I saw Camp McKee Ranger, Ken Green's complete set of framed Camp McKee patches a long time ago and it set me on a hunt. I wanted a complete set too!

Ken has even documented them on: http://campmckee.org/patch.htm

It has slowly taken time, but I have finally located the last patch I need to complete the set. It is this 1991 piece. It seems that they ran short of patches that year and didn't reorder.

You would think that I would be over joyed in finishing this goal, and I was, but now that the hunt is over, what do I collect now?

Staff Life

The boys from the Hills seem to be doing a good job so far, as Staff members at McKee. I get phone calls and emails once or twice a day on their performance.

You guys working up there think it is bad when you were at Camp and your Scoutmaster was checking on you? HA I've got a secret circle of spies watching your every move.

By the way, a diet of peanut butter and Ale8 is not healthy and brush your teeth!

Billy Zoellers, Eagle Scout

The Lonesome Pine District held an Eagle Board of Review last night at the First Presbyterian Church in Pikeville, KY. Troop Committee Chairman, Charles Baird, Chartered Organizational Representative, Sam J. Cochran, Assistant Scoutmaster, Phil Smith, and District Representative, Todd Goodman convened to review Scout Billy Zoellers.

After 45 minutes of grueling commentary, Billy successfully passed and has earned Scouting's highest award. Billy is a remarkable young man that possesses a vast variety of skills and talents. Mainly, computer skills!

His Dad, Troop Committee Member, Dave Zoellers or the "Colonel", always had a rule. No Eagle. No drivers license.

Thanks Colonel and Congratulations Billy!

Poison Ivy

Last Tuesday at our Scout meeting our SPL, Michael Shepherd announced that he had poison ivy. It was big news, because of all the camp outs and all the cases, everyone else had gotten it, except Michael.

We go to the Ordeal on Friday and ASM, Hugh B. Hall holds out his arm and I thought it was poison ivy. He is 65 and never had poison ivy. Quite unusual, but everyone else who looked at his arm agreed, it indeed was poison ivy.

Tuesday after Devan's Eagle Ceremony Hugh B. had been to the doctor and it wasn't poison ivy. It was a spider bite! You could see the little fang marks. :

It seems that he had his arms around a plant that he was moving and it must have happened then.

That was the first spider bite case I had ever seen and like others, misdiagnosed it.

Lesson learned: Always seek professional medical attention.

Allara Eagle Ceremony

Devan Allara received the highest award in Scouting last night in a wonderful OA themed Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

"Smiley" has earned 58 Merit Badges, 73 nights of camping, 61 miles of hiking, 145 service project hours, and is 3rd out of 19 Scouts with 141 Troop meetings.

He has put a lot of time into Scouting and he is getting a lot back.

Totem Poles

My buddy Tom Hill alerted me to a story yesterday over in PA. It seems that a totem pole fell on a kid and killed him at the Keystone Area Council's Camp Hidden Valley.

http://www.keystonebsa.org/

It got me thinking about McKee. We have 2 totem poles. 1 buy the Admin. Building and another up at the OA Slab. They are both stable and secure and I hope that this accident won't cause a national removal of all totem poles on BSA properties.

I had never really thought about it before, but a totem pole is a Native American link that says "CAMP". It is part of our identity and I hope it always will be.

McKee 2007

The Ordeal went well this past weekend. We opened our circle to 27 new members. The work involved filling in ditches and moving some tents, beds, platforms, and outriggers.

I was really impressed with the spirit of the Staff. All of the leaders I talked to, had a great week and said that everything was super. "Scout Salute" to Bill Montgomery and Bill Sharp! I knew they would do a good job.

I picked up a couple of patches at the Trading Post, which is being run by some female staff members this year. That is a smart business decision.

The Staff 2007 patch is hot and hard to get this year. This one is Will's.

All the Scouts from the Hills, who are on Staff, looked good and I got positive reports on all of them. Week #2 will make or break them though. Close to 230 campers this week.

Supply and Demand

We are off to McKee for an Ordeal this weekend. Sunday we are rehearsing Devan Allara's Eagle Ceremony.

Check this out:

Anyone who is planning to buy a new saucepan in the next few weeks should think again. It’s just not worth it - it will probably be more expensive than a few months ago and the 21st World Scout Jamboree is to blame!

To give you an idea of the equipment arriving, here are just a few of the items on the Jamboree’s shopping list: 3,200 tables, 6,400 benches, 2,600 gas burners, 11,200 cooking pots, 3,200 plastic jugs, 3,200 wooden spoons, 8,400 kitchen knives, 2,800 can openers, 2,800 bottles of liquid soap, and 38,400 garbage bags.

They reported that the cost of steel on the world market increased as a result of the Jamboree placing their order; an indication of just how many steel products have been purchased for the event.

New saucepan buyers, you have been warned.

Sewing Factory

This week, with Will and Amanda gone, Karen has been busy sewing patches on our shirts for WJ. 6 shirts with about 8 patches each is a lot of sewing.

She does a good job. If she can please me, the "Patch Nazi", then she is great. I'm not too tough on her this time, we'll probably trade them for other uniforms from other Scouts.

She keeps reminding me that this (sewing) is a lot of work, just to end up in some closet in Australia. I keep reminding her that some Mom in Australia is probably thinking the same thing!

Promoting Kentucky

The Kentucky Department of Tourism has graciously donated 500 of the little KY pins for us to hand out in England this summer. You can say what you want about our state government or the new "Unbridled Spirit" theme, but they are supporting us, so they are o.k. in my book.

I understand that some of the western KY Scouts are rounding up some sealed packs of country ham to cut up and give away too.

So basically we are going to smile, give some gifts, and feed them.

That is what we Kentuckians do BEST isn't it?

2 Sides

This is the Early Bird patch for McKee this year. All of the leaders that attended the kick off meeting in January got one. Last year, the kids got a plastic cup when they got to camp. I like the patch, but there are 2 sides people are talking about.

Side #1: I like the "nike swoosh" type logo; Outdoor Education Center is new and opens McKee to other groups; I like getting the Early Bird patches when we get to camp; overall a nice patch.

Side #2: Is the "bulge" supposed to be Grape Knob?; Outdoor Education Center is a big fancy name for Scout Camp; Early Bird patches should be mailed out to promote others to attend camp; overall a waste of threads.

We find the most trivial things to debate. 2 months from now, it won't matter.

Surprise Visit

Will and Aaron got off to Camp McKee yesterday for their first experience as Staff. I hope they do well. It is all the two of them have talked about, since they both joined the Troop.

After they left, I set back on the couch and start "tatering", when the phone rings. "Hey! What are you doing right now? Meet me at Sub Way in 35 minutes." I grab a few patches and my keys and I'm gone.

My old buddy Mike Kilbourne just got into town to visit his family and he dropped off Devan Allara's Eagle portrait. Mike is doing great, back on Long Island, has a "lady friend", and is Unit Commissioner for 2 Troops and 2 Packs. He just got back from a month long trip to Germany in which he was made an honorary Bavarian Scout. Pretty cool.

Devan's portrait is Mike's 319th. I mentioned his artistic contributions to Scouting Magazine a while back, but there was no interest. It is sad, that so many great artists, go without recognition, until after they pass away.

A Worldly Flap

Kawida 480 has a new OA flap. This is the 2007 World Jamboree flap that is hot off the thread mill.

I think it is the first WJ flap from Kawida. I know the 2005 NJ flaps were a first for that event.

We have 16 youth and adults representing Kawida, plus Paul Geouge and Dan Miller are going over as Staff.

I guess some folks would argue that it isn't worth the effort to make a flap for just 18 folks and 1 event, but I bet they sell out quickly!

Troop Physicals

We had our Troop Physicals this week and we all passed and are clear for a week at McKee. Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine does them for us for free and they do a great job. They use medical students, along with some savvy professors and directors, and the results can be surprising.

I remember our first year, my blood pressure was a little high, and Dr. Betts told me to go see my regular doctor and get it fixed. I didn't. A week or so later, I ran into to Dr. Betts and he asked if I had that taken care of yet. I said, no. I'll never forget what he said to me, "You know I can stop you from going to Summer Camp."

Today, I'm currently taking cholesterol and high blood pressure medicines and have driving glasses. It was a "tough pill" to swallow, but I feel great and am in good shape.

The way I see it is, you can either be healthy and keep up with the kids or you can be hard headed, not listen to a doctor, and stroke out.

New Website

It looks like our Council is thinking about updating the website. Good idea!

If you are like any other Scouter, you need to click this link, do the survey, and tell them what you would like on the website.

http://doubleknot.com/form/formjump.asp?bidx=0&surveyID=5426&OrgKey=1324

Tense Moments

Saturday, Lou Piniella got into a tense moment with the 3rd Base Umpire over a close call. The fans booed and threw trash on the field, but when it was all over, the call stood, the garbage was picked up, and the game resumed. Lou got suspended a game, but it motivated his team and they won the next day.

After a few phone calls yesterday, I understand Staff Week at McKee started off with a few tense moments. It seems communication on when Staff was supposed to be there, wasn't. Combine that fact with some guys still in school and there can be a lot of anxiety.

Like the Cubs game, when this week ends, everything will have been worked out and all problems solved. Week #1 starts Sunday and all tensions will be eased.

Chicago

OK, I know I haven't been posting, but I had a good excuse.

I took the family to Chicago for a long weekend. It is the only vacation time we have this summer, with Camp McKee and World Jamboree.

We did it all! L train, Art Institute, House of Blues, Sears Tower, Blue Man Group, and Hard Rock Cafe the first day. L train, Cubs Game at the world famous Wrigley Field, Museum of Science & Industry, and Rain Forest Cafe the second day.

We are all tired, but it sure was good to get back to one of my favorite cities. It had been 25 years since I was there.