Near the end of my scouting career, the powers to be in the BSA rewrote the Scout Handbook and the rank advancement requirements. The older scouts, like myself, viewed the changes with a certain amount of disdain. The main thrust of the change was to make the program more appealing to inner city youth with requirements geared toward non-camping activities. They even added metal activity belt loops similar to the Webelos activity pins. The more traditional scouting requirements were minimized or totally sacrificed to reach this end. We found it incredible that a scout could advance from Tenderfoot to Eagle with having to learn how to light a campfire!
The net affect of these changes was a wholesale drop in the number of scouts in the program. I find it even more amazing that the national folks didn’t see this coming. Scouting has some core values that are ingrained into the program and into the psyche of people familiar with the program. These core values mostly center around outdoor activities. The outdoor activities are the tools the program uses as a backdrop to reach the "end" of developing personal character. The changes set the program back quite a bit. Enrollment dropped to the point where BSA coerced the writer of the previous three handbooks to come out of retirement and rewrite a more traditional handbook.
The effect on me personally was perhaps bigger than I originally thought back then. I just completed Life. The new requirements for Eagle required merit badges added a new Citizenship in the World to the list. I ended up three require badges short for my Eagle (Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the World, and Safety), plus the service project, even though I earned a total of thirty-one merit badges overall, well over the required twenty-one. I think I may have used the requirement changes to justify my laziness in not finishing out the last three.
It’s definitely not a valid reason, but young men are not always rational. The addition of one more required merit badge is no big deal in the scheme of things. I think I just used it as a crutch. Although I do remember thinking that the new rank requirements reduced the perceived value of the Eagle rank overall. This perception may have affected my desire and drive to earn the award.
Although I now wish I had earned Eagle, I know in my heart that I still learned achieved the goal of the program, to develop the character of young men. I feel that Scouting provided me with the basis of much of my moral beliefs that I still carry today. I am also proud of my achievements and accomplishments in scouting. Reaching the rank of Life with thirty-one merit badges is no small matter. I also provided a great service to other scouts during my tenure at Owasippe as a camp councilor.
I still keep a postcard a camper once sent me weeks after his stay at camp. I took him and some of his family, who were visiting during the middle weekend, out on a star hike. The same hike taught to me by "Duke" Olechno. The card was from the Stardust hotel in Vegas where they said they still had "Star dust" in their eyes from the hike.
This postcard is a reminder that there’s a tremendous responsibility for people in position of leadership. Never underestimate the impact you may have on another’s life if you are in a position as a role model. I have learned that I have had a positive affect on many scouts’ lives. And I am proud of that accomplishment.