News Briefs
Hunger Awareness Day in June
Packs, troops, teams, and crews will find opportunities to participate in the nationwide fight against hunger on June 3, National Hunger Awareness Day.
Many communities will feature a One Big Table event, part of the campaign from America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. More than 200 food banks and food-rescue organizations and their affiliated hunger-relief agencies will host the events as a way to help unite community members in the campaign to end hunger in America.
Information on local events and tips on volunteering or helping local food banks is available at www.hungerday.org or www.secondharvest.org.
To provide youth and leaders with opportunities for service, the BSA is working with national organizations such as America's Second Harvest as part of Scouting's Good Turn for America (www.goodturnforamerica.org). The BSA launched the "national call to service" in February, to address the issues of hunger, homelessness, and poor health in our nation.
Keith Monroe, 1915-2003
Keith Monroe, longtime contributor to Scouting magazine and Boys' Life, died Sept. 9, 2003, at age 88.
His Boys' Life contributions included the popular "Time Machine" fiction series. He also wrote several merit badge pamphlets, including those for Canoeing and the original Citizenship badges. For Scouting magazine in recent years he reported on world jamborees and was a frequent contributor to The Way It Was column.
In addition to writing, Monroe served as a local Scout leader, primarily as the first Scoutmaster (a position he held for 42 years) for Troop 2, Santa Monica, Calif.
His book, Be Prepared, an account of his joys and struggles as a Scoutmaster, was published in 1952 under the pen name Rice E. Cochran.
The Troop 2 Web site includes a Keith Monroe memorial page (www.troop2bsa.org/monroe) where the former Scoutmaster is remembered for "the discipline he developed in his boys, and his unwillingness to accept less than the best [which] led to success at national and international jamborees for Troop 2. It also led to the development of countless scores of men over the last 56 years."
Monroe's most recent contribution to Scouting was "Breaking the Death Grip" for the March-April 2003 The Way It Was column. It and other Keith Monroe articles are available on the Scouting magazine Web site, www.scoutingmagazine.org. First click on "Search," then type in the author's name in the search box.
Enter Scouting's 'Camp Food Favorites' Recipe Contest
Got a favorite Dutch-oven recipe for cobbler or a new way to cook potatoes on the trail? How about spilling the beans on your personal recipe for barbecue, seafood, or hearty soup? Will you share the secrets of a favorite dessert or side dish?
Enter Scouting magazine's "Camp Food Favorites" recipe contest and you could be the winner of a BSA Supply Division gift certificate of up to $400 and a Leatherman multipurpose tool.
Rules for entering
The contest is open to all registered BSA adult volunteer members. Not eligible are BSA professionals and youth members.
All entries should be field-tested outdoors—either cooked over a charcoal or wood fire or by using a backpacking-style gas stove.
Recipes must be for an entree, side dish, or dessert. Up to three recipes may be submitted, but only one recipe may be entered in each category.
All entries must be submitted on, or formatted for, letter-size (81/2 by 11) paper and contain the following information: (1) entrant's name, address, daytime phone number, and unit number; (2) category entered; (3) name of dish and number of servings; (4) all ingredients with exact measurements; (5) complete directions for preparation.
Due to the large volume of recipes expected, entries cannot be acknowledged or returned. For the purpose of the contest, all recipes become the property of Scouting magazine.
Entries must be submitted by postal mail or electronically an the entry form on this Web site (click here). Entries must be postmarked no later than Sept. 30, 2004, and received no later than Oct. 4, 2004.
Mail entries to Camp Food Favorites Recipe Contest, Scouting Magazine, S304, 1325 W. Walnut Hill Ln., P.O. Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079.
Winners must certify that their recipe is original or is a significant adaptation of another published recipe, and that they have personally prepared the entry outdoors.
Winners and prizes
A grand-prize winner for "best recipe overall" will be selected from all entries and receive a $400 BSA Supply Division gift certificate. In each category, additional winners will receive Supply Division gift certificates as follows: 1st Place— $300; 2nd Place—$200; 3rd Place—$100. In addition, all winners will receive a Leatherman multipurpose tool.
Winning recipes will be published in the March-April 2005 issue of Scouting magazine and on the Scouting magazine Web page.
 OFFICIAL BSA PAINTING. At the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Tex., Chief Scout Executive Roy L. Williams, National Venturing Youth President Thomas Franklin, and BSA President Roy S. Roberts welcome the arrival of the official Boy Scouts of America illustration for 2004. The oil painting, by BSA artist Joseph Csatari, features outdoor adventure activities by youth members of the BSA's Venturing program. Photograph BSA Archives/Roger Morgan |
Hosteling opportunities are available for Scout units during travel
The Boy Scouts of America and Hosteling International USA are working together to provide Scouting youth with opportunities to experience hosteling.
Units with older Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers can stay at hostels at a member price by joining Hosteling International USA. Interested unit leaders can contact Bob Sylvia at gm@bostonhostel.org, (617) 536-1027, to receive a free group membership.
Member rates at hostels in the United States range from $12 to $35 per person per night. In addition, many hostels offer programs and activities ranging from organized tours and walks to musical performances and community outreach. While HI-USA focuses its programs and services on young people, hostels are open to people of all ages. Separate accommodations are available for males and females.
More information is available on the Web site, www.hiusa.org.
NUMBERS
15— years former University of Louisville basketball coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Denny Crum has served as keynote speaker for the Lincoln Heritage Council's annual First Class Scout Banquet. The event is held in October and honors Scouts who earned First Class rank between Aug. 31 of the previous year and Sept. 1. The 2003 event honored 110 qualified Scouts, who attended as special guests along with two adult leaders from each unit.
75— years to be celebrated in June by the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, honor camper program of the Heart of America Council founded in 1929 with the purpose "to provide recognition for boys who have demonstrated and proven their devotion to Scouting even beyond the extra mile." A 75th anniversary celebration is scheduled for June 12 at the council's H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation. More information is available at www.mic-o-say.org.
77— years the Los Angeles Archdiocese Catholic Committee on Scouting has held an Annual Archdiocesan Religious Emblems Presentation. At the 2003 ceremony in April at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, religious emblems were presented to 186 Scouts and nine Venturers. In addition, the committee presented the Saint George Award to Cardinal Roger Mahony. The recognition, named for the patron saint of Catholic Scouting, is the National Catholic Committee on Scouting's highest award for adults at the archdiocesan level, recognizing contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youth within the program of the Boy Scouts of America.
4,882— hours worked by 35 staff volunteers at the National Scouting Museum in its first year since opening in October 2002, next to the BSA national office in Irving, Tex. Volunteers serve as tour guides, docents, collections processors, workshop leaders, and museum representatives at public events. For more information about volunteer opportunities at the museum, call (800) 303-3047 or visit our website at www.bsamuseum.org
15, 418— persons who didn't let rainy weather keep them from attending the Miami Valley Council's "Scouting's Celebration of 100 Years of Flight" camporee last May at the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Attendance included Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Venturers in 544 units from 33 councils in 10 states. The program featured games, displays, demonstrations, flyovers, and entertainment that varied from the St. Andrew's Pipe and Drum group to a world-class boomerang performance.
Scouter Peter Agre Places a Nobel Prize Alongside His Eagle Award
By Douglass K. Daniel
Discovery drives Peter Agre in Scouting and medicine alike. He can paddle a canoe along the waters of the Quetico Wilderness in Ontario, Canada, with the same curiosity that pushes him to explore life's mysteries in his lab at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
 Dr. Peter Agre displays two of his proudest achievements: his Eagle Scout Award and his Nobel Prize for Chemistry medal. Photograph By Walter Calahan |
Shedding light on a basic function of cells has brought the assistant Scoutmaster of Baltimore Troop 35 the highest honor in the field of science. Last fall the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Dr. Agre the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for determining the source of water channels in cells, a find that has opened a whole new series of studies of bacteria, plants, and mammals.
Scientists had only guessed that cells contain specific paths for transporting water. In his lab in 1988, Dr. Agre, a blood specialist, first stumbled across a membrane protein he would later realize was the water channel itself. He called it "aquaporin," or water pore. Since his discovery, other researchers have located 10 more water channel proteins in mammals and hundreds more in other life forms.
"Physiological processes including the secretion of tears to protect our eyes or saliva to digest our food are all the result of these water channels," Dr. Agre says. Studying aquaporin might help prevent or treat human disease, from swelling of the brain caused by head injuries to glaucoma, which occurs when the eye has too much fluid, both problems of water transport. "We may be able to improve the lives of people."
Medicine has long been the focus of Peter Agre's ambitions. The first merit badge he earned as a Scout with Troop 185 in Minneapolis was in chemistry. His father, a chemistry professor who helped hundreds of other Scouts earn the badge, encouraged Peter and his two brothers, later medical doctors themselves, to become Eagle Scouts. Yet Peter also enjoyed the world away from the lab, embarking on wilderness canoe trips into Canada from the BSA's high adventure base near Ely, Minn.
Dr. Agre earned a medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1974 and joined its faculty in 1984. He and his wife, Mary, have raised three daughters and a son. He returned to Scouting when their son, Clarke, joined Troop 35 and their youngest daughter, Carly, joined Venturing Crew 35. (Both units are chartered to Baltimore's The Church of the Redeemer.)
"I volunteered for Scouting," he says, "because I wanted my children to have the same wonderful activities that I did." He has helped Scouts earn merit badges and served as summer camp doctor. His particular interest has been organizing high adventure trips to Philmont, the Florida Sea Base, and other outposts.
Even as he was preparing to travel to Stockholm to accept the Nobel Prize, Dr. Agre was planning a 350-mile family canoe trip from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay.
"I identify more with Huckleberry Finn than with Albert Einstein," Dr. Agre, 54, says with a chuckle. "I'm kind of like Huck, out on the big river with a lamp.
"There's sort of a little bit of flavor for adventure that I feel I've always enjoyed in my work and in the high adventures. You don't know what's around the bend."
Exploring's legal eagles compete in national mock trial competition
Members of Law/Government Explorer posts across the country are preparing their speaking and legal skills for the 2004 National Mock Trial Competition, set to open July 28 at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The 19th annual event, co-sponsored by Law and Government Exploring and the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, will pit some of the nation's top young "legal eagles" against each other in realistic simulated courtroom action.
While preparing for the 2004 competition, the team from Post 50 at Hamilton Southeast High School in Fishers, Ind., is still celebrating its victory in the 2003 mock trials, held at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
The eight-member team, which beat out 17 other teams for top honors, included Jenna Curia, Adam Fitzsimmons, Anne Trout, Katie Krengle, Anne Nichols, Brooke McKinney, Ethan Mathias, and Amber Michel.
"This was our third year and our first win after finishing second in 2002," said Janet Chandler, a social studies teacher who serves as post Advisor and team coach. "We have six returning 'lettermen,' and I think we have a good chance to repeat."
Any registered Law/Government post may enter a team of active members in the competition, according to Frank Talty of the law firm of Talty & Talty, P.C., of Lowell, Mass., who served as chairman of the 2003 mock trials.
In some areas of the country, local, regional, or state competitions are held to determine the national representative team, Talty said. In other areas, posts may enter teams directly in the national competition.
Each team consists of at least five members, who act as both lawyers and principal litigants and prepare both sides of a simulated court case involving contemporary themes and social issues.
Representatives of the bar and judicial bench in the host community donate their time to serve as judges in the mock trials, said Talty, who has worked with the mock trial competitions for the past 16 years.
"This competition is excellent training for future attorneys because participants get the feel of real courtroom situations," Talty explained. "But the benefits aren't limited to young people interested in the legal profession. The skills and abilities they help develop will be valuable in any career."
Lisa Swaim, a prosecuting attorney in Logansport, Ind., and veteran organizer of mock trial teams, calls the competition "amazing" in its ability to promote personal growth and self-confidence in young people.
"Seeing how quickly these kids develop from shy children into savvy courtroom competitors is an awesome experience," Swaim said. "Some of them are better lawyers than some of the legal professionals I work with."
Law/Government Exploring is administered by Learning for Life, a BSA affiliate providing programs that support schools and other youth-serving organizations in preparing youth to handle the complexities of today's society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-worth. Learning for Life also helps youth develop social and life skills, assists in character development, and helps them formulate positive personal values.
Exploring is Learning for Life's worksite-based program that provides opportunities for youth to visit community organizations and explore the dynamics of various careers.
—Bill Sloan
First Time at Camp Proves Boys Will Be Boys in Any Language
By Diane Reeves
During his first summer camp experience at the Greater St. Louis Area Council's S bar F Scout Ranch last July, Adem Konjevic fell asleep to the sounds of crickets and whippoorwills. It was much different than the sounds he listened to while growing up in war-torn Bosnia.
 From Bosnia to Missouri: Troop 126 Scouts and leaders, from left: Ruthanne Willeke, Adem Konjevic, Fran Johnson, Adnan Catic, Muljo Alihodzic, Zack Sevcik, Suljo Uvalic, Sara Paglusch, and (in rear) Steve Santen. Photograph Courtesy of Greater St. Louis Area Council |
"I remember falling asleep to the sound of artillery fire in the background," said 13-year-old Adem, senior patrol leader of Troop 126, chartered to the International Institute in the Thunderbird District. When asked if he was frightened, he shrugged his shoulders and said: "No, not really. I was used to hearing it."
Now, he and his fellow Scouts—all Bosnian refugees—enjoy the outdoors and adventures that Scouting brings. Troop 126 attended its first week of summer camp in July 2003. Most of the Scouts—including Adnan Catic, Suljo Uvalic, and Muljo Alihodzic—have been in the United States less than two years.
"Take a picture of me folding the American flag; it will make my mother proud," Suljo asked a Scout leader.
"Boys will be boys" is a universal adage, and Boy Scouting is still a relevant and universal means of allowing boys to be boys. Lord Baden-Powell's philosophy that "Scouting is a game with a purpose" is clearly demonstrated with the Scouts of Troop 126.
From meeting the challenges of crossing the monkey bridge, learning wilderness survival skills, and cooking on an open fire to learning about "bug juice," sleeping in camp tents, and fully experiencing Huck's Cove, these Scouts relished every moment of the summer camp experience.
Fran Johnson has a personal and professional interest in Troop 126. She is a manager at the Division of Family Services (DFS) and a Scouter with Troop 383 in the North Star District. Johnson recognized values that the Scout program could bring to the Bosnian community.
"Bosnian parents are very hardworking but often have to work hours that leave their children with unstructured free time," said Johnson. "Scouting can offer Bosnian youth the wholesome activities that are fun and will teach them valuable leadership skills."
Steve Santen, a DFS child abuse investigator who is also an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster of Troop 98 in the Grand Towers District, agreed to be Scoutmaster of the newly formed troop.
"These boys are just like any other boys. They want to do things with their friends, have fun, and occasionally learn things along the way," Santen said. "They may have grown up in a war zone, and their Boy Scout experiences will help the transition into life in America."
In addition to Johnson and Santen, leadership for Troop 126 includes DFS staff members Sara Paglusch and Ruthanne Willeke.
Scout yo-yos that light up when you use them are just as appealing whether you speak English or Bosnian. Leatherworking, carving, and neckerchief slides—or sliding into Nims Lake on a huge water park slide—excite boys regardless of the language they speak.
Diane Reeves is a special needs executive for the Greater St. Louis Area Council. Her article originally appeared in the council newsletter, The Scouters' Duffle Bag.
On the Bookshelf
The third edition of Scout Camps USA (www.scoutcampsusa.com, $19.95, Pfairco Publications), offers more valuable information than ever for Scout units planning high adventure trips, special summer camp experiences, weekend outings, and many other kinds of activities and adventures.
The 352-page nonofficial guide now lists nearly 800 BSA council and national camps, ranches, reservations, aquatic bases, high adventure bases, and Cub Scout Worlds across the nation, with locations noted on large state maps.
Also included are more than 60 military installations with camping opportunities, 46 historic ships with overnight programs, 200 non-BSA campsites and programs, plus visit reports on many locations and articles on topics from "How to Buy Canoes" to "Collecting Camp Patches."
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Want to get media coverage of your pack, troop, or crew? In Free Publicity ($12.95, Charisma Press, www.jeffcrilley.com), Emmy Award-winning reporter (and Eagle Scout) Jeff Crilley shares his insider "secrets for getting covered on the news." Among these are "how to get our attention, when to call and when not to, what to say and how to say it...and perhaps most importantly, what you can do to keep us coming back for more."
May - June 2004 Table of Contents
Copyright © 2004 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.