Scouting, Volume 57, Number 7, September 1969 Page: 6
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FIRST CLASS MAIL
Black people belong
Yours is the only magazine I have
ever seen which gives a truly interracial
picture of America. Your articles, pic-
tures, ads, and cartoons make this state-
ment: Black people belong here. For a
post such as ours, you couldn't have
made a more important statement. Other
magazines that prate about their liber-
alism would profit by studying your
approach.
John R. Erickson
Advisor, Post 74
Operation Brotherhood
Austin, Tex.
Trail shelters
Appalachian Trail shelters were built
and are maintained by the Appalachian
Trail Conference for hikers carrying no
tents. In some areas, Scouters have had
Scouts use the shelters for weekend
camps. This leaves the through-hiker out
in the rain. Please leave him room.
Better yet, let's camp off the trail away
from buildings, Order of the Arrow
style. Our boys are rugged enough.
Ray Clark, Asst. Scoutmaster
Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Bunny books
We have two rabbits, a male and a
female. I was looking at your merit
badge pamphlet on rabbit raising. Could
you send me more? Please hurry be-
cause the rabbit is going to have her
litter. I would be very thankful.
Paul Lachance
Bristol, Conn.
The agricultural department of Rutgers
University airmailed some extra in-
formation to Paul the day his letter was
received, hopefully in time.
Long hair response
Re: "Long Hair" (First Class Mail,
Scouting, April 1969). I'm glad he said
he had been in Scouting 9 years. His
reasoning for wearing long hair sounds
like a young Scout, not a mature man.
When he asked if "abilities" weren't
more important than looks, he admits
it doesn't look good. He should retire.
Carma G. Richens
Las Vegas, Nev.
Mr. Gainey shouldn't retreat from the
criticisms of those who would judge
Scouting by the length of our hair. God
forbid that this should be the determin-
ing factor in our qualifications. He
should inspire his Scouts to live the
Oath and Law. As an Eagle Scout with
9 years service, he must be a young
man to be proud of.
Bill Santor
6 Roosevelt, N.Y.
Whether society or the "old genera-
tion" accepts or rebukes the idea of long
hair or mustache is not important. The
real question is your reason for wearing
it this way. If this display to you is a
symbol of maturity and this represents
the best interests of the BSA and the
USA, go ahead. If young people do not
change the way society sets its standards,
what a dull world this would be. If, on
the other hand, long hair is a symbol
of the rejection of our society and its
standards, then I think you are wrong.
It is up to you to prove just what kind
of citizen you really are.
Patrick M. Ulrich ATR2
Fleet Post Office
San Francisco, Calif.
Emergency thanks
Following are excerpts from a letter
to James L. Brown of the lndianhead
Council, St. Paul, Minn.:
The Explorer post directed by Robert
Norgren did exemplary work at the dike
site and as they patrolled the dike with
the regular army personnel and local
police. Troop 249 did a variety of work,
and the Scouts are to be complimented
for their able, efficient manner. Explorer
Post 209 directed by Wilfred Cormier
not only worked on the dike and did
patrol work, but also manned pumps
used around the clock in our downtown
area. We praise them not only for the
work they did during the flood, but for
the work they continually do with the
fire department. They are a fine, hard-
working group and we can all be proud
of them.
William H. Powell, Mayor
Dean Charlsen, Civil Defense Director,
City of Stillwater (Minn.)
Blood bank
I think it would be a good idea for
Scouters to donate blood to the Scout-
ing organization and establish a credit
of blood for persons in Scouting, profes-
sional and volunteer alike. We could
also give to needy cases or people unable
to purchase or replace needed blood.
Norman Norton
Asst. District Commissioner
Stoneham, Mass.
Our Health and Safety Service recom-
mends that Scouters support their local
blood bank and donate regularly. Giving
blood works best when done through
the place of employment. It would be
difficult to operate in such a large, di-
versified organization as the Boy Scouts
of America.
Take stock
Scoutcraft aims for a high standard
of character, citizenship, and physical
fitness. These qualities are developed
through fellowship with other boys on
a hike or camp-out. They are developed
by learning together as a patrol and as
a troop. Visits to museums, newspapers,
and so on are good, but should be in-
troduced in moderation and not as the
mainstay of the Scouting diet. Scouting
was begun so a boy might learn to live
in God's great outdoors and away from
the throttling metropolis. Let's take
stock of what our program should be.
Spec. 4 Ken McMillan
Asst. Scoutmaster
Vicenza, Italy
MULTI-INVOLVEMENT
FOR LEADERSHIP
My two sons have just returned full
of enthusiasm from a troop meeting.
There's to be another weekend camp-
out; there are plans to march in a
parade; the summer camp schedule has
been posted; one day has been set aside
for a trip to Valley Forge; and they had
a talk with their merit badge counselors.
Exciting? You bet it is!
This genuine thrill of Scouting is
generated by a handful of adults. In a
well-organized troop we find a Scout-
master who recognized that he alone
cannot give his troop all that can be
gained from Scouting. Therefore, he
finds the fathers that can do a job and
do it well.
One or two dads always have a great
love for the outdoors. They will set the
camp-outs in motion. Looking over a
list, they find a volunteer to help take
the equipment into the campsite and be
there as the boys break camp to return
it. Another volunteer is available one
day to give instruction on mapping,
compass, and survival. Still another
adult will be out in the evening to set
up his telescope for a study of the stars.
One father cannot give time to Scout-
ing, but he has an empty storage shed to
store the troop equipment. Another is
on the lookout for a community service
that the boys might participate in. So
it goes, down the list.
Many troop leaders fail to see the
potentials that can be had for the asking.
I remember a speech made by a dedi-
cated Scouter asking for volunteers.
When he had finished he had scared the
parents into not volunteering for any-
thing. He made it sound like a full-time
job with the undertone of a threat that
the parents ante up their time or the
troop would fall apart.
A good Scoutmaster with three or
four hardworking committeemen and a
fair-size list of specialty volunteers can
make the Scout program the greatest
thing in a boy's life. It's multi-involve-
ment that makes the troop the best one
around.
-MRS. FRANCES MESSANA
St. James, N.Y.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 57, Number 7, September 1969, periodical, September 1969; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth331800/m1/8/?rotate=0: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.