Quote of the Week

I must leave it as beautiful as I found it. Nothing must ever happen there that might detract in the slightest from what it now had. I would enjoy it and discover all that was to be found there and learn as time went on that here perhaps was all I ever.
- Sigurd Olson

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
~Mohandas K. Gandhi

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend? ~Robert Redford, Yosemite National Park dedication, 1985

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.
John Muir

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.
John Muir

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
John Muir

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 '11 Philmont AA '08

World Scout Lunar Landing

Did you know that on July 20, 2009 was the 40th anniversary of the World Scouting Lunar Landing. During the 11th Apollo Mission that landed on the moon Neil Armstrong brought with him a World Scout badge.

Here is the full story:

July 20, 2009 marks the 40th Anniversary of the successful Apollo 11 moon landing. Amongst the treasured items that Crew Commander, Neil Armstrong, carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge!

The former member of Boy Scouts of America presented this unique momento of his now legendary mission to World Scouting. The signed citation reads, "I certify that this World Scout Badge was carried to the moon on man's first lunar landing, Apollo XI, July 20, 1969."

The Scout emblem which features in the badge was created by Baden-Powell. The fleur-de-lys, which indicated ‘north’ on old maps, is a reminder that Scouts must be as reliable as a compass; they must respect Scouting’s ideals and help show others the way. A singularly appropriate symbol then to be carried by the first man to set foot on the Moon!

This historically important badge is kept on permanent display at the World Scout Bureau's central office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 '11 Philmont AA '08

Arrowmen in Action

Most people have heard of a harmonica. Many Arrowmen have probably even played them while hiking or passing time at camp. But few are familiar with the type of harmonica that Arrowman Aidan Dougherty plays. Aidan, a member of Moswetuset Lodge from Cambridge, Massachusetts plays the glass harmonica to demonstrate the relationship of music and noise.

Aidan is so enthralled with the science behind this musical instrument that he applied to be a part of the Cambridge Science Festival that is sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Science Museum. The festival hosts science corporations from around the country and is open to thousands of visitors each year. At the event, Aidan “set up fourteen perfectly tuned water glasses, representing the notes starting from middle C on the piano keyboard,” said his dad, Gary. Once they’re set up, his dad explains, Aidan plays simple tunes on them.

In addition to the glasses, Aidan also set up a series of electronic kits to analyze the frequencies of the classes. “Benjamin Franklin had built a very special glass harmonica which many composers like Mozart wrote music for,” his dad said. Festival goers also got to participate with a set of glasses that Aidan set up for them to practice with.

According to Aidan’s dad, festival organizers and attendees were impressed with the young Scout’s display. But what impressed people even more was the fact that Aidan is only twelve years old. Experiments like this are an example of what you can do, at any age, when you use the Power of One.


Yours in Scouting Service
Mark W
Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 1616
Great Alaska COuncil
Eagle Scout OA Brotherhood Member
NSJ '05 WSJ '07 '11 Philmont AA '08