With less than five weeks remaining until Scout-O-Rama, the troop needs to begin preparing in earnest for another fine year of fire-by-friction in the T648 booth. My understanding is that Alex Dahlmann and Mikey Finnegan have scheduled practice sessions on the evening October 27th and November 3rd, and also on Halloween morning. We have also discussed asking the PLC tomorrow night for one additional troop meeting night during the next few weeks, to ensure we are not waiting until the last week before game day to discover that we don’t have enough skills and/or materials in order to pull it off in the booth. Fire-by-friction is an amazing accomplishment, and practice, practice, practice with the right materials is really the only way to get ‘er done.
We are in pretty good shape materials-wise. First off, there is a good base of left-overs remaining from last year. Mr. Finnegan has provided enough cloth and leather to get us started. Mr. Kuhl has provided a great selection of new cedar boards, and has fashioned 6 new oak bows that are state of the art. This past weekend, I found 4 of the Joshua tree-like yuccas with shoots that Mr. Stults prefers for the spindles, so we can also begin work on carving those down for use. I think the key remaining item to get us really ready to go is additional bird’s nest material – most likely natural fiber rope.
Mr. Dahlmann, Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Stults have graciously offered of their time in the upcoming weeks to help the troop re-develop (or develop for the first time) the skills necessary to accomplish and then teach this lost art. If any additional leaders or senior youth can also make an extra effort to participate, mentor, or provide moral support during these upcoming sessions, it will also be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
David W. Cole