Blog > Pathfinders: Cultivating Leaders through the Scouting Journey
In this episode of Farm Talk, Paul Ward engages in a captivating conversation with Scoutmaster Ken Allen from Troop 225 in Camarillo, CA, shedding light on the profound impact of scouting. Ken recounts over 30 years of leadership, from the early days when hiking wasn’t part of the program to pioneering adventurous expeditions to Yosemite. Through anecdotes like “Matt’s” first hike, Scoutmaster Allen illustrates the transformative journey scouts undertake, culminating in the prestigious Eagle Project, which instills invaluable life skills and fosters personal growth.
Listeners gain insight into the ethos of scouting, from its core values of service and preparedness to the importance of family involvement and the seamless transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. Ken shares inspiring stories of self-motivated scouts like Gabe and emphasizes the inclusivity of Troop 225, where no scout is left behind. From fundraising for outings to rotational leadership roles, the episode highlights the multifaceted experiences offered by scouting and its enduring legacy in shaping future leaders.
Watch the full episode on Paul’s YouTube Channel
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What you’ll learn during this episode:
0:00 Welcome to the show and introduction of guest Scoutmaster Ken Allen of Troop 225
0:35 We learn that the scouts are picking oranges for a local food bank, Food Share
1:13 The fruit that is being picked isn’t typically a big money maker for the property owner
1:40 The scouts do many, many activities throughout the year
3:09 Ken Allen has been the Scoutmaster for Troop 225 for over 30 years and was a Cub Scout leader before that and at the time there was no hiking involved
4:20 Ken Allen sets the scene and describes the first hike and a story about a kid named “Matt”
6:25 What is the Eagle Project when it comes to being a scout and why is it so important
8:38 The steps a scout completes before the Eagle Project and how it helps them later in life
9:39 The transformation of the 11-12 year old that joins scouts to when the complete their Eagle Project
10:45 Why Ken Allen has stayed with the Scouts for so long
11:17 The different ways that scouts can get through the program and what badges are
12:49 It gets harder as the scout gets older to achieve these merit badges
13:33 A story about a kid named Gabe, whose parents were not involved, but he was self-motivated
14:18 The importance and FUN with parent and sibling involvement
15:34 Other opportunities within Scouts including fundraising for outings
17:09 How did Ken Allen get involved in the beginning
18:43 Ken Allen was a Cub Scout Leader and a Boy Scout Leader at the same time, growing the troop to 60 kids and how Cub Scouts is a lifeline to Boy Scouts
21:21 The truth behind the saying, “Oh, he’s such a ‘Boy Scout’”
21:29 The three things Boy Scouts are known for
22:03 How having an Eagle badge helps with practical skills and even college applications
23:20 From joining a troop with no hiking to “inventing” hiking and taking kids to Yosemite and a story about that experience
27:34 No scout left behind and Ken tells up what a “Trail Sweep” is
29:31 The rotation of jobs within a Troop for the scouts and how the age if the troop effects how the troop is ran
31:02 Thank you to Ken Allen for being our guest and a special thank you to our sponsor, Opus Escrow
Related Episodes:
Reel Guppy Adventures: Nurturing Nature, Inspiring Youth
Harvesting Futures in Agricultural Education
The Upside of Downs at Mulberry Lane Farm, Somis CA
Learn more about Troop 225 in Camarillo, CA by visiting their website:
Troop 225 Camarillo (troopwebhost.org)
Contact Paul Ward:
805-479-5004
paul@homeandranchteam.com
Have ideas for future episodes? We’d love to answer your questions – leave a comment! For any home buying or home selling needs in the Ventura County area of California, please reach out to Paul@HomeAndRanchTeam.com or visit www.HomeAndRanchTeam.com
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A special THANK YOU to our sponsor, OPUS ESCROW! Farm Talk with Paul Ward would not be possible without the support of our sponsor Opus Escrow. Supporting our sponsor ensures Farm Talk can provide listeners with the best possible episodes.
Paul Ward (00:04):
In today’s farm talk, we’re talking to a scoutmaster about everything. Boy Scouts.
Paul Ward (00:10):
Hi, it’s Paul Ward here, and welcome to another edition of Farm Talk. I’m very excited. Today we are in the middle of a citrus orchard in Ventura County, California. And our guest is Scoutmaster Kent Allen with Troop 225 Scoutmaster. Kent, welcome to Farm Talk.
Kent Allen (00:26):
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
New Speaker (00:28):
Absolutely. So, you’ve been the scoutmaster of troop 225 for 30 plus years.
Kent Allen (00:35):
Yes.
New Speaker (00:35):
And today we had you on Farm Talk because the scouts were actually picking oranges for a local food pantry.
Kent Allen (00:45):
That’s correct. It’s been a tradition now for about 8 to 10 years. Can’t remember exactly when we started. The owner of the property’s son was a scout when we started, and he’s offered it to us instead of doing the food bank thing that the scouts do.
Kent Allen (01:00):
We do this instead, and then we take fresh oranges to Food Share. And every year it’s a hit. And we picked more this year; probably another thousand more oranges than we did last year.
New Speaker (01:13):
Oh, wow. And this is fruit that’s probably just gonna fall on the ground. ’cause it’s not really a money maker for the property owner?
Kent Allen (01:20):
Right. His son lives here now, and he and his wife said, “We were so nervous about what we were gonna do with all this fruit because I mean, really one tree is more than a family can use and he has dozens.” And we didn’t clean it out, but we did really well. We picked over 4,000 oranges today.
New Speaker (01:38):
Wow. That’s a lot.
Kent Allen (01:39):
Yeah. That’s a lot.
New Speaker (01:40):
That’s big, and this is just one activity of many, many activities that the scouts do throughout the year.
Kent Allen (01:48):
If you don’t even include our eagle projects, we do hundreds of hours. And then you multiply that by the number of kids of community service. Of cleaning, we clean up around the churches. Other times we’ve shown up and helped in parades. We’ve helped in Camarillo Days. We’ve done all of that. And the scouts just volunteer for the service and the fun.
New Speaker (02:12):
Why do boys, and now girls, why do they join scouts?
Kent Allen (02:18):
It’s often because the parents have some connection with it. Mom or dad were a scout. But sometimes it’s because of a mom by herself or a dad by himself with the kids. And they need another outlet or another example of adult leadership. And they come into scouts. And I’m not speaking for the scout organization. This is just me.
Paul Ward (02:42):
Sure.
Kent Allen (02:44):
But the scouts have a tendency to regiment them in a fun way. We don’t, I mean, we do stand in line, and we do stand in attention. We pledge allegiance to the flag, but after that it’s just kids having fun. and a hundred guides. The adults guide the older scouts who are guiding the younger scouts. So, they learn a little bit about discipline without it being onerous.
New Speaker (03:09):
Right, right. And, and you’ve been at it for a long time, over 30 years with 225. And then you were a Cub Scout leader even before that.
Kent Allen (03:18):
Yes.
New Speaker (03:19):
When you joined, there was actually no hiking in this troop, which you think of Boy Scouts. You think of hiking and backpacking and doing all the outdoors, the activities.
Kent Allen (03:28):
That is correct. It was we followed the scoutmaster, the cub master that we were with when we were Cubs. We followed him to 225 from my older son. And I was surprised because that’s what I thought scouts was about. And I knew of a hike that we could go on. And it was the first hike that the troop had been on in years. So, we went up to the Punch Bowls and turned out to be a really great hike. And that was before the Punch Bulls got washed out, probably the third time this season. So, I mean, there were trails and ways to go up and down it. And we did we had, I dunno, 15 scouts go on it. And it was me and one other scoutmaster leading up the trail. And I’ll tell you that the, I was new to the organization as far as scouts were, although I’d been trained, but you don’t know what you’re doing.
Paul Ward (04:19):
Right.
Kent Allen (04:20):
I’m forcing the kids up the trail, and it was in the evening, we did a night hike so we could get to Johnson Camp.
Paul Ward (04:26):
So, they’re wearing lights on their foreheads, or they’re carrying flashlights in the dark?
Kent Allen (04:31):
They are, but I discouraged them using that because if they don’t use flashlights, their eyes adjust. And so, they can see what they’re doing. And we did, at that time, we had a red cellophane. We have them put around their flashlights so that they, it didn’t destroy your night vision. It doesn’t always work. These are kids.
Paul Ward (04:50):
Right, right.
Kent Allen (04:51):
But so, we’re hiking up there and one of the boys, Matt, was not enjoying himself. In fact, he was telling me he couldn’t make it up the hill. “I can’t go any farther Mr. Allen; I have to stop and..” “You can stop, but we have to keep going. We’ve gotta get down there.” There’s only me and one other scoutmaster. So, we had to stay together. About halfway up the trail, he’s going, “I’m gonna get sick.” And I said, “Well, that’s okay. You just try to miss your shoes because, you know, it’s just messy.” <Laugh>. He’s marching up the trail. And we get there, everything’s fine. The kids all throw down and were sleeping and everything. We make it back, everything’s good. And I don’t notice anything about else about Matt, but when we get back, I’m nervous because my first outing, I’m figuring that he’s gonna tell his parents and that I’m gonna get in trouble. This is gonna be my first and last experience with scouts. But afterwards in the meeting I always asked after an event, “How did everybody do?” And ’cause we had lots of events, and I’d say, “What was your favorite part?”
Kent Allen (05:54):
And Matt’s in the back waving his hand going, “Yeah, pick me.” I mean, it’s okay. And here it is, I’m going to get in trouble. And Matt says, “This was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had so much fun. I can’t wait to go again!” And up there, I’m going, “Yeah, that’s great, Matt.” You know, and I’m thinking in the back of my mind, dodged the bullet.
Paul Ward (06:13):
Right.
Kent Allen (06:13):
And it really doesn’t matter what I do to these kids. They’re gonna love whatever it is we do. So that taught me something as a scout master, because I’m learning along with the kids, you know, as long as we’re having fun.
Paul Ward (06:25):
Sure. Now, scouts are known for the Eagle Project. What exactly is that, and why is that so important to so many scouts?
Kent Allen (06:34):
A scout doing an Eagle Project means he’s reached the end of his career in scouting. And this is his last thing, because you’re kind of cut off on your 18th birthday. That’s like, it’s like a hard stop. So, if you’ve ever tried to get a 17-year-old to do something, you know that’s… So, we normally try to get the scouts to do their Eagle Project before they’re 16, before the fumes set in. And that’s the perfumes and the gasoline fumes <laugh>. So, we try to get ’em done. So, and the Eagle Project is usually, is always, a community project often and affiliated with a school or a church, or it could be the government too. To improve something. Almost all of them have to do with digging, gardening or something like putting drain lines in. And we’ve done many around the UMC, United Methodist Church, which is our sponsor.
Paul Ward (07:25):
Oh. Gotcha. Okay.
Kent Allen (07:27):
And so, we do probably one out five are there. And we’ve done all kinds of gardening and digging and French drains and all kinds of stuff. But it’s always, it has to be community service. And the main thing about an Eagle Project is the Eagle does not do the work. The Eagle organizes it. He sets it up, he makes the calls, gets the materials, all of that. But he is not putting a shovel in the ground. He’s not swapping a paintbrush. He is monitoring that everyone else is working and that all the equipment is there. So it’s his job to organize it. He’s a foreman. He is learning leadership skills, not even really realizing what he’s doing. How it’s gonna benefit him down the road when he’s 25 or 35.
Kent Allen (08:14):
And that’s the whole point of what we’ve been doing up until then. Because by then he’s probably been a Patrol Leader, maybe a Senior Patrol Leader. He’s held some positions of authority in the troop so that he’s learned how to do something, delegate it, and work together as a team. A good leader is also a good follower. So, these guys are they’re learning as they go, and they don’t really even know that they’re learning. They’re having fun.
Paul Ward (08:38):
And he has to pitch the project. Then he has to get approval for the project, lead the project, and he has to go before a board of some sort to do an overview or a recap of what he did. Right?
Kent Allen (08:51):
By the time he’s done it, by the time he’s doing his Eagle Board of Review, he’s been through six boards of review.
Paul Ward (08:58):
Six?
Kent Allen (08:58):
To go from Scout, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life. Oh, five.
Paul Ward (09:06):
And then Eagle, six?
Kent Allen (09:07):
And then Eagle six.
Paul Ward (09:08):
Wow.
Kent Allen (09:09):
And it really is, and we look at it this way and we don’t tell them, but later on they come back and told us, “It’s like doing a job interview.” So, by the time they’ve done Eagle, they’ve had six job interviews, and when they go and do a real job interview, it’s almost like a light bulb goes off and they go, “Oh, this is what I’ve been learning.” And so, it’s the parents, which it’s not just scoutmasters, it’s all kinds of parents and the group have been helping them with this without telling ’em that’s what they’re doing.
Paul Ward (09:39):
Right. And you must have seen an amazing transformation from the time they come in at 11 or 12, and they’re, you know, picking their nose to the time they finish their Eagle and they’ve already been accepted to college. You must see a huge transformation.
Kent Allen (09:54):
Best part of the job. I get to see an 11-year-old turn, 11-year-old kid who’s basically not quite human. <Laugh>, He’s still learning. Turn into a, a fine young man, leadership, able to carry on conversations, initiate volunteer, offer opinions. My most cherished memories are with the older scouts as they’re starting to become adults, coming back and talking to me. It’s really amazing. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a two year, every two years the troop kind of turns over. And so, you get these new squirrely kids and the older kids are always saying, “God, look at how squirrely these kids were/kids are! We were never like that.” And “Yeah. No. You were, yeah. You were like that. You were exactly like that.”
Paul Ward (10:45):
Yeah. And that must be the reason why you’ve stayed at it so long is ’cause of this.
Kent Allen (10:49):
Yeah. I go for the humor.
Paul Ward (10:50):
Appreciation. You go for the humor.
Kent Allen (10:51):
I mean, okay. Yeah. I appreciate too. Yeah. but yeah, it’s if I’m not cracking up at the end of every night, then the meeting was, it’s successful. It’s very good. Teenagers are amazingly funny and they’re, I mean, you know, one of the best ones would come and say, “Yeah, ask me a question before I don’t know everything.” You know, because a teenager, they know everything, and they will tell you that they know everything. So, I get to, I get to experience that over and over. It’s fun.
Paul Ward (11:17):
And there’s also different ways that scouts can get through the program. Right? They don’t have to all be hardcore backpackers and hardcore hikers.
Kent Allen (11:28):
Good question.
Paul Ward (11:28):
I mean, aren’t there 200 and something badges that they can choose from?
Kent Allen (11:32):
136.
Paul Ward (11:34):
136. Okay.
Kent Allen (11:34):
Now the changes, but…
Paul Ward (11:36):
What is a badge and how many badges do they need to kind of..?
Kent Allen (11:41):
The minimum number of badges to make Eagle are 21 and 12 of them have to be in a certain hiking, swimming, riding, first aid, histories, you know, like community, world history, some other.
Paul Ward (11:59):
They’ve got 21 that they have to pick from, but they don’t have to do all 21.
Kent Allen (12:04):
They have to do 21 total. They have to do 21 total.
Paul Ward (12:06):
But they can choose some of those.
Kent Allen (12:08):
Yes.
Paul Ward (12:08):
So hiking, they don’t have to do hiking?
Kent Allen (12:09):
No. They could do swimming or biking.
Paul Ward (12:12):
So, one of those three.
Kent Allen (12:13):
Yeah. They have to, there’s some physicalness and there’s some things that they have to do, like in the community and in the nation and personal finance, and personal fitness. There’s 12 that are core. And that they have to do those. And some of them are, you know, take two months or three months to do. And amazingly, and you might be surprised by this, many of them wait until the last minute to finish the three month merit badges. So they’ve done all the other ones. And so, they might even have 30 merit badges. But they’re doing personal finance the night before they turn 18. So, its…
Paul Ward (12:47):
Wow.
Kent Allen (12:49):
Yeah.
Paul Ward (12:49):
I mean, and it gets harder as you get older because now high school comes and you got the sports and girls and you said the, you know, the fumes. Yeah.
Kent Allen (12:56):
Yeah. That way we are pushing ’em and we’re trying to help schedule them. Most of their motivation has to come from internally. You can only encourage so much. And their parents are a big part of it. I mean, we’ve had scouts that do not have parents that are supporting them. They’re just dropping ’em off. We’re not a babysitting service, but I welcome kids because they need that. They need somewhere to go and to do something. So, even when the parents aren’t involved, and we really encourage, and we’ve been lucky with 225, we have an enormous amount of adults that are very supportive. Such as yourself, thank you.
Paul Ward (13:33):
You said that there was a kid named Gabe, whose parents were not involved at all. Yeah. I mean, he even had to find a ride home. I mean, they didn’t even pick him up. Right. They didn’t drop him off. They didn’t, they didn’t even pick him up at the end. Right.
Kent Allen (13:47):
Gabe was way self-motivated and between myself and Bill and Steve.
Paul Ward (13:53):
The other Scout Leaders.
Kent Allen (13:55):
Right. We helped encourage him and supported him because he wanted it. And he had told us repeatedly he wanted it, and he demonstrated that he wanted it. So, it wasn’t just that, “Yeah, I wanna do it.” It was, “I wanna do it. What do I need to do next?” And so, when they come in and tell us that we’re there to help him and support him, that’s what we do.
Paul Ward (14:11):
,So he was just a rare breed. I mean, his parents weren’t there. Right. He just had some internal motivation and you guys were there to help him.
Kent Allen (14:18):
No, the most normal parents; most parents Right. Are there helping their kids and encouraging them and asking us, what does he need to do next?” and all that. Because the world of scouting, unless, you know, it’s kind of mysterious, you know, what are ranks, what are badges? That you’ve asked all that about they don’t know. And so, it’s, it takes a while for a parent that’s coming to kind of clue into it. And so, it’s fun to have the parents come. We don’t have an outing that parents are not invited to, that siblings are not invited to. I mean, I encourage, and our troop has always. If we’re gonna go on a day hike, which you are the leader of many of them, we encourage the parents. and the siblings to come if they can make it. I mean, you know, some of ’em are old enough. But like today Britain’s younger brother, and I wish I could remember his name, older brother, I’m sorry, came to help pick oranges.
Paul Ward (15:16):
Okay. And he is not a scout.
Kent Allen (15:17):
Not a scout.
Paul Ward (15:18):
He just came.
Kent Allen (15:18):
Came and he’s older than Britain. He’s already, he’s a senior, so he’s not gonna, ’cause I tried to recruit him, of course. But he said, “You know, I’m already this…” But he just came to do it. So, we get lots of sibling help. And That’s wonderful.
Paul Ward (15:34):
That is, that is awesome. But there’s such a diversity of choices too. Like, there’s opportunities to sell popcorn and cakes and Christmas wreaths. And there’s some phenomenal salesmen in his troop that don’t have to pay for anything because they’re such phenomenal salesmen that they have like thousands of dollars n their scout accounts. So, if they want to go to summer camp, which costs..
Kent Allen (16:05):
800 hundred bucks this year.
Paul Ward (16:06):
$800. Right. It’s essentially free.
Kent Allen (16:11):
They work for it.
Paul Ward (16:12):
Yeah. Well, they work for it.
Kent Allen (16:13):
Not free, but yeah. Fundraising is such a part of any organization. And our main enemy, of course, is the Girl Scouts. ’cause they have cookies.
Paul Ward (16:21):
They have good cookies.
Kent Allen (16:22):
Yeah. Very good cookies. So, but we sell popcorn. And it just so happens this year, I think we had the number two and number four in the county of Popcorn sales. The leadership, Brian, who’s was a Popcorn Colonel, phenomenal. I mean, ’cause I hate that part of it.
Paul Ward (16:40):
Yeah. No, I’m not, I’m not a fan of selling popcorn.
Kent Allen (16:42):
No, I’m not a fan of that. It’s, and all of that, it’s just hard. Although we do Christmas wreaths, and we are the only troop that does Christmas wreaths. So, we sell those too.
Kent Allen (16:50):
And all of this stuff is, if the kid just minimally tries, he had put a thousand dollars into his, into his account. And over the year, we sell that bundt cakes candy. But all of it’s just <laugh>. It’s so hard on the parents.
Paul Ward (17:07):
Yeah. It’s a lot of work.
Kent Allen (17:08):
It’s a lot of work.
Paul Ward (17:09):
So, how did you get involved in the first place? I understand you were kind of a reluctant volunteer.
Kent Allen (17:16):
If you don’t mind, as a young man, I backpacked a lot. Not with the scouts through the Sierra Club.. And so as I got older and had kids, I’m wondering, how am I gonna introduce my children to this? You know, they’re not interested in doing anything with dad, especially. Karen, my wife, said, “We’re gonna do scouting.”
Kent Allen (17:39):
Cub Scouts is not my favorite part of scouting. It’s hard. It’s just..
Paul Ward (17:43):
Little kids.
Kent Allen (17:44):
Little kids. We’re not going to places that I would enjoy going to.
Paul Ward (17:48):
You’re not going to Yosemite. You’re not gonna Death Valley. You’re just going to the local park.
Kent Allen (17:52):
Park at best. Maybe once in a while. We have a two mile hike. It’s a lot of crafty things. But she got Kevin involved in it, my son. And she was doing it and she kept dragging me into it. Well, by the time he’s getting ready to go to Boy Scouts, I’d started to get involved. And so, I joined Boy Scouts because this was an opportunity for me to do backpacking with him and the boys. And he’s really great at it now. But so that’s what got me in. And then when my second son came up and he wanted to do all this ’cause we would drag him with us.
Kent Allen (18:31):
Have to <laugh> and he would, he would come with us. And we would, he wanted to be a scout. So, I was the Cub Master at the same time I was also the Assistant Scout Master at 225.
Paul Ward (18:43):
Wow. So, you were in two, you were the Cub Scout Leader, and you were a Boy Scout Leader at the same time.
Kent Allen (18:49):
Yes. That is, that is so common in scouts. I mean, mine is little, last night there was an award ceremony for the people that do it. And the list of things that these people do. I’m ashamed of myself. They are so involved.
Paul Ward (19:05):
So involved.
Kent Allen (19:06):
I don’t know how to Yeah. I dunno where to get the time.
Paul Ward (19:09):
But you also joined a troop that had no hiking. Right? You had to like invent that.
Kent Allen (19:15):
Yeah. I, yeah. That was just, I dunno.
Paul Ward (19:17):
But you grew it to like 60 something scouts.
Kent Allen (19:19):
Right. under Brett Cleaver, who was our Scoutmaster after Chris Smith left was an Eagle. He was one of the best Scoutmasters I’ve ever been with. I learned a ton from him. But he was very good at getting the boys to fall in line, say, “Yes or no, sir.” And all this stuff. And we put on an obstacle course every year for recruitment. And we grew from 20 to 68 kids. And at that point, it’s kind of unwieldy, but it was a lot of fun when we had, like, we would help with the Camarillo Days and we say, “Well, we need, you know, 20 volunteers.” 20 volunteers outta 60 kids. That’s nothing.
Paul Ward (20:02):
Right. Easy.
Kent Allen (20:03):
Easy. And we would have way more there were times when we slept out at the park behind the school. And we would sleep there to guard the theater.
Paul Ward (20:16):
Oh, from theft.
Kent Allen (20:18):
Just theft. And then we would go to and then we would monitor the thing and collect garbage all day. And that was our service thing. So, and it was, we had a great time.
Paul Ward (20:29):
And you have to, to grow that big though too, you have to recruit from, from Cub Scouts and Cub Scouts have choices. Right. They don’t, it’s not just 225. They can choose a whole bunch of different troops.
Kent Allen (20:41):
I think there’s a five active troops in our area. And the as last night at the ceremony, what they’re saying is Cub Scouts recruiting is way up this year.
Paul Ward (20:50):
Oh, is it? Yes. Which is good. Maybe because COVID is over, and people are getting back to nature as part of it?
Kent Allen (20:55):
Oh, that’s part of it. And they want, they want the socialization too. So, we see that’s why in our troop, actually we’re going, we’re starting to grow too. So, it’s wonderful. Cub Scouts is really our lifeline. So, they do a, that’s, they do it in their yeoman’s work. It’s hard.
Paul Ward (21:12):
So, it sounds like there’s some truth in that, in that saying, “Oh, he’s such a boy scout.” <Laugh>. He’s a good person.
Kent Allen (21:19):
Good person. Right.
Paul Ward (21:21):
That’s kind of what you’re molding.
Kent Allen (21:22):
Well, can, it’s also they use it like, you know, “What a boy scout.”
Paul Ward (21:27):
Positive and negative. Right?
Kent Allen (21:29):
Yeah. But boy scouts are well known. And the three things that I always say that boy scouts are known for is one Eagle. Every, they don’t know what an Eagle is, but they know that an Eagle is important. That’s big. The other thing they’re known for is first-aid. And the third thing that boy scouts are also known for is knots.
Paul Ward (21:45):
So, tying knot. Tying knot with rope.
Kent Allen (21:47):
With rope. We spend an inordinate amount of time. I mean, you’ve seen this when we come in and I’ve got the boxes of ropes out there and I’m having the kids tie knots.
Paul Ward (21:56):
I’m just grateful I can tie my shoes spike.
Kent Allen (21:58):
So, well teenagers don’t do that. Okay. They don’t tie their shoes. <Laugh>.
Paul Ward (22:03):
And, you know, having that Eagle badge, I mean, could be tremendous for college applications and all life just, well, way down the road.
Kent Allen (22:13):
Statistics show and, you know, sorry. But that many college graduates value their Eagle more than they value their degree.
Paul Ward (22:22):
Interesting.
Kent Allen (22:23):
And that they put that on their resume long after, I mean, when they’re 40 years old, I” was an Eagle Scout.” I have to say that both of my sons who Eagled out they will be doing something with their friends. And I get the story constantly, “Well, how do you know how to do that?” “I was a Boy Scout.” Boy Scouts teach us so many practical hands-on skills that, I mean, used to be part of a, what shop class taught. I mean, we’ve had projects where we were putting tools in the kids’ hands and we’re mentoring them. So that, I mean, “This is the first time I’ve ever held a saw. How do I make this wrench work? Show me how a power drill works,” all of that stuff. And this is the first time, and these guys are 14 or 15 years old. So, they’re learning real life skills.
Paul Ward (23:09):
Yeah. They’re not learning at home and they’re learning at scouts.
Kent Allen (23:11):
And That’s right.
Paul Ward (23:12):
I mean, if their dad was a carpenter, then maybe they would, but most likely not.
Kent Allen (23:15):
Right. And they, you don’t do shop class in schools anymore. For God knows what reason.
Paul Ward (23:20):
Right. So, when you came into the troop, you were hoping to get into hiking and then soon realized that there was no hiking. Right. And then you had to kind of create this from scratch, and then all of a sudden you took them to Yosemite, which is about a five hour drive. And then you took them to Death Valley. And so how did that all work out? What was that? I mean, you are organizing that and then, and now you’re out with 20 kids that now you’re all of a sudden in charge of.
Kent Allen (23:45):
Right. Which is something we worry about, but happily so, but with my oldest son, we went to Yosemite the first time and we were going to go from Tuolumne Meadows and over, over the top of Vogelsang; it was in July. So, we packed, like it was for July. I think I had 12 scouts, maybe 15. And it was me and two other adults one who knew Yosemite. And so, we did all the normal things at Yosemite down on the ground on the valley floor. Then we went up to Tuolumne. Well, we were getting ready to hike out just having to run across a ranger who was on horseback. And he said, “Do you have your hiking permit?” Well, I handed him the paperwork and it turns out this is the paperwork we had to turn in. So, I sent two scouts off to go turn it in and we’re talking to him and he said, “Where are you guys going?” Not that he cared really, but well, “we’re going over the top of Vogelsang.” He said, You guys got crampons and ice axes?” And “No.” <Laugh>.
Paul Ward (24:46):
Right.
Kent Allen (24:47):
We were summer hiking. Okay. And so, he said, “ell, you’re up about four miles here. You’re gonna run across a sheet of ice that’s gonna cross a trail.” Said, “Gotta be careful so you don’t slip and fall.” And I’m looking at this going, “Yeah, this is the time when an adult says, ‘No.'” So, I said, “We’re not going up there ’cause we’re not ready.” I mean, the boys would’ve done it and if I didn’t know about it, I would’ve gone up there too. But so, I asked him, where to go and he did, was reluctant to give us any advice, ’cause that’s not his job. But he gave us some ideas and we did. And we ended up hiking down Wagon Wheel Falls and a couple other places which turned out to be a great trip. But just through happenstance, we met up with a family that was traveling in the same places we were.
Kent Allen (25:33):
And they had three girls and these three girls. And the five or seven boys that were 14 or 15 and kind of got along together. And as a matter of fact, one of the younger scouts, we were coming back from one of the, our day hikes and the older boy said, “We’re gonna go meet up with the family.” That’s fine. ’cause We hadn’t heard anything bad. And the younger scout goes, ‘Stupid girls!” And <laugh>. So, he was 11. We just said, “You’ll know later.” But we get back at the end of the trip and we’re packing up after having a really great trip. And a gentleman comes up to me and says, “Now you’re the Scoutmaster?” “Yes, I am.” “Well, I’m the father of the three girls that these boys have been talking to.” And I’m immediately thinking, I’m in trouble. This guy’s gonna tell me that these boys did something bad.
Paul Ward (26:22):
Right.
Kent Allen (26:24):
He surprised me. “Your boys were such gentlemen, so pleasant to be around. So polite, so helpful. The girls were having an awful time. Couldn’t stand it until your troop showed up. And just, they loved being with you. Thank you very much for making our trip.” Of course, you could have knocked me over with a feather at that point.
Paul Ward (26:43):
Right.
Kent Allen (26:44):
Because I know what teenage boys are like, but when you don’t see ’em, they’re actually acting pretty well and being boy scouts. So anyway, it turned out to be just a wonderful memory. And they actually kept in touch with the girls for about a year afterwards.
Paul Ward (26:57):
Oh really? Interesting.
Kent Allen (26:59):
Yeah.
Paul Ward (26:59):
That’s awesome.
Kent Allen (27:00):
Well, I also find that traveling with scouts, we always line them up. They have to wear their uniforms. while we’re traveling. This has worked out so many times because we’ll go into a McDonald’s or something, at least two or three guys, “Oh boy Scouts, I was a Boy Scout. I got up to this rank.”
Kent Allen (27:15):
People are always telling me what rank they were at. And the people at the behind the counter give the boys extra attention in a positive way because they’re in uniform and they’re, even though they’re acting like kids Right. They the uniform kind of gives ’em a panache that they.
Paul Ward (27:34):
Interesting. And when you’re out on the trail, it’s not free for all. It’s not, it’s not. Hey, some guy’s in it for himself. You, you gotta look out for the other hikers, your other, your fellow scouts. Right. If somebody falls behind, you gotta go back and find them.
Kent Allen (27:51):
There are two things. First of all, we’re not a random bunch of groups, bunch of guys that just show up to hike on the trail. Right. We are the boy scouts. We are together. And the other thing is, is that we often, my rule is you hike for an hour, and you rest for 10 minutes, but you don’t rest for 10 minutes and wait for the last guy to come in and then go the leaders drop their packs and head back and pick up the trail. Trail sweep. When everybody arrives, then the 10 minutes starts. So, we’re heading up there and I’m normally towards the back. He’s slightly and the boys are heading back and I’m getting up near the top. And the boy who’s just in front of me in the trail sweep, I can see he’s down there. “Can I just wait here, Mr. Allen?” “No. Drop your pack head down there and pick up the trail sweep. Your job is to arrive at the resting point at the same time.”
Kent Allen (28:40):
Why should he get one minute rest? And you guys get 15, right? Everybody comes together. We’re a team.
Paul Ward (28:45):
So, the slowest person gets 10 minutes, and the fastest person might get 15 or 20.
Kent Allen (28:49):
If that. If they didn’t come back, they’re walking in with the trail sweep.
Paul Ward (28:52):
Gotcha.
Kent Allen (28:53):
Because what happens if he’s hurt? Because I’m not looking and he’s by himself or he is got one other person with him and somebody’s hurt. We go, we make sure everybody’s okay every time.
Paul Ward (29:03):
And that’s another form of leadership training without even knowing what that you’re being trained. Right?
Kent Allen (29:07):
Right. And you have to watch out for everybody again there, you know, it’s not, it’s not all for me and not for you.
Paul Ward (29:13):
Right. Good, good life skills.
Kent Allen (29:16):
Yeah. A good leader was a good follower, like I said. And oftentimes you’ll see a kid that was the Senior Patrol Leader or a Patrol Leader who’s now not, be very supportive of his Patrol Leader. ’cause he knew how hard it was when he was doing.
Paul Ward (29:31):
So, there’s a rotation. So, once you’re the patrol leader, it’s not like, “Hey, this is my job and then I’m an Eagle and then I graduate.” It’s like, it’s kind of like you circle through every member of the troop that wants to kind of get that experience.
Kent Allen (29:44):
Yeah. Every six months we have an election and people move up and move down. And a lot of times we’ve had senior patrol leaders that our rule now is two times and that’s it. You know, sort of like president. So, you know and then someone else steps up and sometimes the boys are reluctant, but it’s so true that once they’ve done it and they are learning about it, they don’t mind doing it a second time in a row.
Kent Allen (30:08):
And sometimes you need that because the way the true ages is it’ll be young heavy, and then it’ll be older heavy and then young heavy and then older heavy as it goes through. It’s about a two- year rotation.
Paul Ward (30:21):
So, as the scouts get older, the troop is, you know, better run. Right. ’cause the 17-year-olds know what they’re doing and they’re able to lead a meeting and then they hit that 18th birthday and they’re out. Right. And then all of their, you know, quote unquote, “peers” hit the birthday and then all of a sudden, you’re left with a bunch of 11- and 12-year-olds and it’s all right. It’s a totally different troop.
Kent Allen (30:41):
Right. And then they grow and watch. And hopefully they’ve, a lot of ’em have people that have mentored them along.
Paul Ward (30:47):
So that’s interesting. So, it always happens in a kind of a cycle.
Kent Allen (30:52):
Yes. And that’s what’s exciting. That’s the good part to watch the kids come in unruly and grow up.
Paul Ward (30:59):
And that’s why you’ve been at it so long. You enjoy it.
Kent Allen (31:01):
I enjoy it.
Paul Ward (31:02):
Well, Kent Allen, Scoutmaster Ellen, thank you so much for being our guest on Farm Talk.
Kent Allen (31:06):
Well, I appreciate that, Paul. Thank you.
Paul Ward (31:07):
Love having you. And of course, we wanna thank our sponsor, Opus Escrow. And be sure to tune in next time for the next edition of Farm Talk.