Scouting, Volume 59, Number 2, March-April 1971 Page: 33
64 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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WEBELOS
WORKS
IN WICHITA
By JAMES W. DeLANEY
If you want to see some Cub Scouts
in action, just stop in at Joe Mont-
gomery's Webelos den meeting on a
Monday afternoon in Wichita, Kans.
Joe, a busy newscaster, still finds time
to plan and conduct a meeting for his
active 10-year-olds.
After a day of reporting on-the-spot
news to his listeners from his jeep
with KFDI brightly displayed on the
side, Joe changes into his uniform
and greets his den.
A game kicks off the meeting. Steal
the bacon is a popular one with the
boys, when the weather is warm
enough to meet in the backyard. That's
where they work off some of their ex-
cess steam so that the later goings on
aren't bedlam.
Joe's Webelos den is part of Pack
427, sponsored by the Wesley United
Methodist Church. He feels that his
job in the pack is most rewarding—
and frustrating. "To hold the boy's
interest for more than 10 minutes is
quite a trick," he says. "But the way
to do it is to have an exciting and
varied program planned for them at
each meeting."
Boys of 10, he feels, have a wider
span of interests than the younger
Cubs. This is where Webelos activity
badges come into the picture. Require-
ments for 15 different activity badges
are no longer passed by the parents—
as they are for the younger Cubs—
but by Joe or someone he designates.
This means that his boys now must
deal with adults other than their own
parents and teachers.
At the same time, parents aren't
off the hook. If Joe knows that one of
the fathers is a carpenter, he's likely
to have him work with the den on the
Craftsman activity badge.
Joe has been Webelos den leader
for only a few months, but he is not
new to Scouting. He's been a Cub,
a Scout, an Explorer, a Scoutmaster,
and still holds down the institutional
representative job at the church. His
Scouting background has helped him
get started on his Webelos job. But he
feels that a newcomer could easily get
the hang of it.
"After our preopening game," Joe
says, "we go down to my basement for
our opening flag ceremony, collect
Webelos Scout Billy Davis anxiously
awaits signing of his activity badge.
dues, and sign for the activity badges
the boys have completed.
"The boys like flag ceremonies so
much that they plan to become 33
specialists and put them on for
various church and civic functions."
One purpose for a Webelos den is
to encourage boys to move into Boy
Scouting. Pack 427 has had great suc-
cess because almost all of the Webelos
Scouts have joined a troop in the last
several years.
Webelos Scouts are exposed to the
Boy Scout method by working on and
passing their Tenderfoot badge before
they become Boy Scouts. When they
join a troop, the boys receive their
Tenderfoot badge immediately and
begin to work on Second Class.
During a den meeting, Joe or an-
other father presents an idea from one
of the activity badges. It's brief
and involves the boys as much as
possible. At one such meeting a dad
showed how to pack a suitcase for
the Traveler activity badge. The boys
had all brought a suitcase and some
clothes to try their hand at it. At a
meeting during the summer, Joe's
predecessor worked out with the
boys for the Athlete badge.
At the close of the den meeting, the
boys join hands in a circle and say
the Scout benediction as a reminder
of their duty to God. And the circle
is invariably broken in one spot, to
show that there is always room for
one more boy.
Turn the page for exciting ideas for
your own Webelos den meetings. ^
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 59, Number 2, March-April 1971, periodical, March 1971; New Brunswick, NJ. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353705/m1/37/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.