Reflections Upon America 250 event hosted by the Last Frontier Council

Article by Doug Cook, OD Active Troop 850 leader since 1993

I remember our Bicentennial in 1976. It was a big deal.

America 250 is a big deal too, and so will the next big event.

Scouts that are celebrating America 250 this year will likely be around to celebrate "America 300."

I think will be called the "Tricentennial" - they will be there to teach their children and grandchildren.

America 250 is a celebration where we recognize the birth of the United States of America.

In Scouting, we teach not only our youth participants their rights as citizens but also their responsibilities. We strive to do this in a apolitical environment. We don't teach who to vote for, that's for each citizen to decide.

We try to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. ( credit to the Scouting America Mission Statement)

Scouts from Guthrie represented our community well this weekend. We have a rich and well documented history as Oklahoma's first capital.

PIONEERING

If we were to create an art and science of Pioneering as something brand new today, it would probably be called "Backwoods Engineering."

There is evidence of rope craft skills going back between 42,000 to over 100,000 years ago.

Rope craft skills remains an essential technology for human development.

How often do you tie a rope, a shoelace, or fasten a bundle together? This is an important life skill.

We developed a theme of Tensegrity to put a form of new tech spin towards backwoods engineering. Scouts were challenged to tie structures that beyond the basic tripod staple of camp gadget technology.

They added a 21st century design to a very old technology.