For a few years, in my early Scouting days, I was an assistant Webelos leader until that position became open to women. When I moved up into the leadership of the den, the Webelos program was extended to two years. I saw many scouts having reached the requirements for Arrow of Light and then just wasting time until they qualified to graduate into Boy Scouts.
Each year there were a few boys who set the goal and made it.
The challenge came with a neckerchief slide. This was carved from "buna", a very hard Japanese beech.
The 12 points of the Scout Law were written on the revolving ball in the cage.
Then, one year, a particular den took on the challenge together and suddenly I was facing the possibility of carving many of those slides. I do not have any on hand, as like the Eagle slides, I carve each one for a particular boy once I get word of their completion.
With that in consideration, I knew it was not a slide I could whip out in a day to have ready to present at the graduation ... especially when several boys were down to the end of the wire on completion.
I have since changed the award to this slide. I was able to complete these three in just two days and they will be presented later this week. The reverse side will have the twelve points of the Scout law and "Be Prepared" written in pen, plus the name of the youth.
It has been interesting to watch these Scouts over the years because many of these goal-setters go on to replace this slide with an Eagle carving.
When I cut out the blanks, I thought the wood I had selected was Hinoki, one of my favorites for carving, but as I began whittling, It was clear this was something else. Hinoki is rather expensive but often comes in nice cuts of a convenient size, I am beginning to see cheaper imports from Asia being substituted in the craft stores. I had looked at the thickness and grain and probably should have checked the little sticker on the end of the piece.
This wood was a bit harder and knife cuts were difficult to sand off. I enjoyed thinking of the three boys. One of them I have known from his pre-school days and hope to know in years to come. In a Pack where families come and go each year, where requirements are written for a smaller community that speaks English, to find three youth giving the challenge a serious try is a great reward for time spent in Scouting.
The 12 points of the Scout Law were written on the revolving ball in the cage.
Then, one year, a particular den took on the challenge together and suddenly I was facing the possibility of carving many of those slides. I do not have any on hand, as like the Eagle slides, I carve each one for a particular boy once I get word of their completion.
With that in consideration, I knew it was not a slide I could whip out in a day to have ready to present at the graduation ... especially when several boys were down to the end of the wire on completion.
I have since changed the award to this slide. I was able to complete these three in just two days and they will be presented later this week. The reverse side will have the twelve points of the Scout law and "Be Prepared" written in pen, plus the name of the youth.
It has been interesting to watch these Scouts over the years because many of these goal-setters go on to replace this slide with an Eagle carving.
When I cut out the blanks, I thought the wood I had selected was Hinoki, one of my favorites for carving, but as I began whittling, It was clear this was something else. Hinoki is rather expensive but often comes in nice cuts of a convenient size, I am beginning to see cheaper imports from Asia being substituted in the craft stores. I had looked at the thickness and grain and probably should have checked the little sticker on the end of the piece.
This wood was a bit harder and knife cuts were difficult to sand off. I enjoyed thinking of the three boys. One of them I have known from his pre-school days and hope to know in years to come. In a Pack where families come and go each year, where requirements are written for a smaller community that speaks English, to find three youth giving the challenge a serious try is a great reward for time spent in Scouting.
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