"BABY, IT'S COLD OUT THERE!" EDITION Vol. 4, No. 12 In this Issue: Shelters in the Snow Okpik and Kanik Council Shoulder Patches There's snow in the air and a chilly wind in your face. Good friends join the fun. It's winter, and the adventure of Scouting is as strong now as at any time of the year. For starters, set off for a hike and see what you discover. Before long you'll feel confident to try camping in the cold. SHELTERS IN THE SNOW A 1991 cartoon in Boys' Life magazine showed Pee Wee Harris and his patrol on a winter campout:
A couple of hours later the boys had dug themselves a snow cave: A real-life snow shelter can be as snug and warm as that in the Boys' Life cartoon. You might burrow into a snow bank to shape a cave, or fit snow blocks together for an igloo. To make a quinzee, heap snow into a mound, let it settle, then hollow out the interior. A winter campsite is a great place to learn about cold-weather clothing, snow shelters, and kitchens sculpted into the drifts.
The key to winter adventures is to prepare well. Cold weather hikes and campouts close to home are great ways to build the skills for staying warm and happy no matter how far down the temperature goes. OKPIK AND KANIK The native Inuit people of the far north admired the snowy owl, a bird they called okpik. The name is shared today by Okpik, the winter camping program of the BSA's Northern Tier High Adventure Base where Scouts from around the nation enjoy the best of winter on the Minnesota-Canada border. The patches Scouts can earn through Okpik are evidence that winter adventures come in many sizes and shapes. From snowshoeing and dog mushing to camping when the thermometer reads below zero, exciting challenges await all who venture into the frosty wonderland of winter.
Of course, Northern Tier is not the only place where Scouts thrive on the delights of winter. Many councils offer cold weather adventure opportunities, too. From late December through March, the Kanik program at Philmont Scout Ranch is home to snowy expeditions into the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Check with your unit leaders to explore possibilities, and see the websites for your council and for the BSA's high adventure bases.
Want to discover more about living comfortably in the cold? Many Scouts stay warm with skills learned from Okpik: Cold-Weather Camping manual. Order the latest edition from www.scoutstuff.org. COUNCIL SHOULDER PATCHES "Where are you from?" That's often the first question Scouts from different places ask one another. The answer is as close as the left shoulders of their uniform shirts - their council shoulder patches.
Uniforms in Scouting's early years often featured shoulder patches with troop numbers, but no official emblems indicating the locations of Scouts' hometowns.
In the late 1920s, the BSA National Council approved use of community strips-patches with the hometown of a Scout's troop embroidered in red. Background shades matched the uniforms of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Explorer Scouts. As uniform shades changed through the years, so did the background colors of community strips. The color of the strips was standardized in the early 1950s - a red background with white lettering and a white border for all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Explorers. (Sea Scouts continued to use either navy blue or white backgrounds to match their uniforms.)
Scouts of the 1970s saw another change when community strips gave way to council shoulder patches. Today's shoulder patches are filled with colorful artwork. Many councils design special editions patches for Jamborees, anniversaries, and other important events. (This edition of the Be Prepared Newsletter was developed and written by Robert Birkby, author of the current editions of the Boy Scout Handbook, Fieldbook and Eagle Scouts: A Centennial History.)