Long before Boy Scouts Flag Plaza and Flag foundation in Pittsburgh there was Woodman of the world who are very Patriotic as well

Yes ever since the late  1960's when Allegheny Trails Council now  Laurel Highlands Council  built
there Flag Plaza which includes the National Flag foundation  it  has been ballyhooed about for there collection of historic flags  which have flown over this country and ceremonies conducted there.
http://www.lhc-bsa.org/Flag%20Plaza

Yes as a cub scout raising a 30 ft flag was thrilling but for all the patriotism scouting once showed there is a much older organization known as Woodman of the World an insurance based organization has been giving away american flags since at least the 1930's

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/patriotism.cfm

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/fraternalism.cfm

I ran across this group when a member of Troop 383 when we where invited to the bicentennial Parade in Next door Brentwood and we brought along  flags from flag plaza to carry in the parade.
But standing right beside us where another group of young men  with flags just like ours  called Woodsmen of America
 Seems they had just as big an enthusiasms as boy scouts and thou national they where a much smaller group from butler county .
It was great seeing other youth involved in this and that was first and last time I ever saw the group again but with my travels I run across one of there insurance offices occasionally.
Yes the boy scouts are not the only patriotic group but many would try and make you think it

A New Boy Scouts Alternative Program Plus other programs you can be a real scout not a Politically Correct One

Well looks like some people have gotten feed up with the nonsense of the Boy Scouts and started a new program .

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-alternative-to-boy-scouts-launches-on-new-years-day-with-close-to-500-troops-111930/

While not the first alternative scouting program which is christian faith based it is a brand new organization

and I wish them the best just wish my health would allow me time to help them. 

Yes if you want your son to be able to enjoy the benefits of Boy scouts  with out all the Political Correctness and big corporate shenanigans this may be it.

 Another organization which has been around  along time with scouting concept and christian based is Royal Rangers  associated with assembly of gods churches 

http://www.royalrangersinternational.com/howtochurch.asp

One of the churches I provide services to has a local unit and this is real scouting not what the Boy scouts teach any more . 

There are also Camp Fire  and YMCA Guide and other programs as well  many established well before Baden Powell formed the Boy scouts 

http://www.troop97.net/scout_like.htm

also there is the Woodman of the world programs and camps for youth

http://www.woodmen.org/Members/camps.cfm

So tired of Boy Scouts and there corporate and political correctness  horse shit  check out some of the original scouting programs . 

Why this Eagle Scout turned down a job offer from an Eagle friendly employer

Back in late 70's  I was attending Connely Skill Center to learn how to repair Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment .
It was during this time a friend told me abut this  Industries place on the south side that liked to hire eagle scouts. they where primarily machinists  but I would be doing machine repair not machinist work .
Sounded good so I looked into it and arranged an interview. They wanted to hire me the next day  but I first wanted to finish school . You don't worry about that you do not need to finish school  you will never need those skills in your life working here the boss giving the interview  told me . What give up schooling are you kidding me ? You go to  be kidding me I told him he said no he was not  I told him I was not interested in the job  . He said well when you finish school your welcome to come back and apply I never did , any one telling me not to finish school they where out of there mind and definitely not some place I want to work.
The one thing I learned well from my grandfather and many friends his age who have all passed now with time and who lived thru the great depression was you never ever stop learning and you finish what you start.
because it will give you the skills and knowledge you need to make it in the toughest of times like they did .
 If this was the attitude of this company sorry I  am not interested and in the long run it was a good idea as they where a major supplier to the steel mills which where getting ready to crash which I knew was coming  which means with little seniority I would be out the door and you can imagine how many machinists lost there jobs as CNC automatic machines where coming on the market . The company would see dire times and actually move out of the city and now they have recovered but it took a long time  for them. In mean time using all those skills I acquired allowed me to stay in Pittsburgh and make a living and start my own business as my health declined another issue I would be dealing with while my friends and neighbors would all go running from here and now all wish they had not and want to come back to Pittsburgh . I never went to my parents during the hard times for money like my friends I took out the high interest loans etc and paid everyone of them off  because my parents did not have the money and I was going to stand on my own two feet .
Yes I went thru very hard times but it would have been even harder  had I not finished refrigeration school because like electric that's one skill always needed by some one .
I know many in the Eagle Scout community where upset I walked away from the opportunity but what did I walk away from a job where I would not have had even a tenth of the adventures good or bad  I have had in my life.
That's the one thing that has always made people so jealous of me I live life by my rules and I am self made by the sweat of my brow . Something they could never hope to attain because they had to always play by and follow the  big corporation game.
But then again that's why I am the Lone Eagle Scout
What about you ?

How did Karl Pierson ever become an Eagle Scout expressing Socialist /Communists views

Yes it is a sad fact that some Eagles Scouts  break there oath and ruin the Eagle Scout name one of the most famous Charles Whitman the Texas Tower Terror Killer who acted as a sniper killing 17

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

Now we have the case of the Colorado School shooter  Karl Pierson 18 yr old who left a 17 year old student in critical condition 

and shot and killed himself 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/15/colorado-teacher-praised-for-making-best-tactical-decision-during-shooting/

Now what makes this even more disturbing is the fact how he ever got by  the Eagle Scout Review Board since he vividly expressed Socialist views and often wore communist themed T Shirts .

Not elements you want in an Eagle Scout  when you review the scout oath and law . Which specifically says duty to God and Country .
 Espousing socialist and communist ideas is not duty to country .
Those on his eagle review board  who granted it to him now have to live with  what they did.
At least in the case of Whitman it appears a brain tumor played a role in his behavior and hopefully some day we may find out what caused Pierson to do what he did.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/14/classmates-colorado-high-school-shooter-held-communist-views-was-smart-and-outspoken/

 excerpt From Fox news 

Students and a teacher said Pierson was an Eagle Scout who finished at the top of speech competitions. He competed in extemporaneous speaking — in which students prepare short speeches on current events — in the National Forensic League's national tournament in June in Birmingham, Ala.

http://www.news.com.au/world/two-students-injured-in-arapahoe-high-school-shooting/story-fndir2ev-1226783250108

Excerpt from news article 

Pierson has been described as a dedicated and bright student from a religious family who attends Bible study meetings, leaving those that knew him shocked.

"They're just a normal middle-class family, like many of the families around here," neighbor Diane Shea said.

Thomas Conrad, who had an economics class with the gunman, described him as a very opinionated Socialist.

"He was exuberant I guess," Conrad told The Denver Post.

Well this just goes to show how easy it is to get your Eagle Scout award in today's world  and how low the scouting program in general has gone in bending to political correctness.

What a dam shame they have allowed it to generate to this. Maybe its time to do away with scouting all together  and start a new.

Scouts are suppose to have excellent directional skills not our High Adventure Explorer Post when we went to Kings Mountain

When I was with a High Adventure Explorers Post Based out of Spenser Ave Church in Carrick   they decided to stay for a explorers  weekend at the now closed Kings Mountain Resort  in the Laurel Highlands  of Westmoreland county  off Pa. 711  should have been an easy place to find it was right near 7 Springs Resort in Champion Pa.. Well I knew where 7 springs was and also know  Pa -711 on weekends my father liked to drive all over pa. for something to do and we got everywhere there where attractions which where free . It was a cheap way to have fun we packed a lunch and off we went . He had taken us up to Ohiopyle and general Uniontown,  Fayette county  area  on several occasions so I knew the main routes even at age 17 . I always loved looking over maps and when I was 13  I navigated a trip with my biology teacher all the way to Portland Maine along with  13 year old friend Mark Giles who also loved to travel and was good with maps .
   We lived in Carrick which is in the south hills so the resort would be south east of us an easy 1 hr ride down Pa- 51 to I -70 east to  US 119 to Pa 31 then Pa 711  or we could go turnpike 1 exit at I-70 to  Pa-31.  So I got in my Friends dads car he was driving  that weekend  and off we go down 51 to liberty tunnels to parkway east  OK I figure where going turnpike round about way but a straight shot . No we get off and follow US 30 to Greensburg  in the mean time passing another chance to get on turnpike we went right under it .
We  then get on Pa -130 towards Norvelt and end up on Pa 891 with a bad turn  and end up in Mt Pleasant on Pa 31 then finally get up on Pa 711.
The whole time I am trying to get some ones attention there going the wrong way they did not want to hear it a 1 hr trip ended up 3- 1/2 hours after all the wrong turns and Friday night traffic
We get to the resort  and its really nice with chalets etc but since we where so big a post  we stayed in a double Mobile home which was still nice there was plenty of activities but just trying to stay warm and dry was a challenge while the kids from richer explorer posts had the latest in Ski clothing and fashions on  We had on jeans and work boots  with thermals .
But all in all we had a great time. on Saturday my friend Mike and I who I rode up with  got permission to run into Connelsville to get some extra food as what was being provided  by the resort was lacking not so much in taste but quantity and with the cold you needed to boost calories so we picked up some staples.
Hey while your at it get a case of beer for the leaders one said we thought they where kidding  I was 17 and Mike just 16 you had to be 21 to purchase beer at a distributor . But they said do not worry its Fayette County the good ole boys  will not ask for ID .
So into Connelsville we go with a $10.00 bill for the beer.
We stop at the one beer distributor in town after shopping and sure enough we pull up in station wagon and they sell us a case of beer no ID no questions  we took back for the leaders .There where many places that felt you should be able to drink at 18 not 21 and we could have just have easily went over to W. Virginia and gotten a beer where it was at the time 18 .Of course after all the Drunk Driver deaths etc and crack down by  the Liquor  control Board and  MADD  members  a beer distributor would be out of there mind to do it today.
I never drank  the little I tasted I did not  like the taste and I saw what booze did to how many people around me some who died from it so I never drank it  A very small glass of wine at Christmas at my in laws was it .
In the long run it probably helped me to be able to survive Stage IV  colon cancer .

Well we get back and that evening they had a nice program at lodge and some went ski lifts at near by seven springs. I even ran into my Eagle Scout Dinner sponsor last time I would ever see or speak to him again as I did not fit into the mold of the corporate eagle scout council wanted Too Bad .
That morning we woke up to heavy snow and resort driver came by in 4x4 truck with plow with chains on he said  much more was coming and we should get out while we can. Knowing how it snows extremely heavy and how bad snow  and wind gets up there my friends and I left , while others decided to stay for lunch etc and go to seven spring its not going to be that bad they said .
 While we got out the others got stuck in with little to no food  for 2 days till state could get to them with big plows .
So guess how foolish hey looked and while my friend and I took the short way home down turnpike which they work hard at to keep open the others took the other way not believing us and got caught several times taking 8 hours to get home some people never learn. I was with post couple more months till it was dissolved as leaders had quit and there was not enough on board to run it and so many of us where out on our 18th birthday .

The Eagle Scout Luncheon where USS Chairmen David Roderick revealed how Jobs where going overseas and everyone laughed when I told them what I heard

Back in late 70's the Allegheny County Eagle Scouts Association was formed .
It was open to all Eagle scouts and they would hold luncheons down at the old Press Club that was in a down town Pittsburgh building along Wood street at 6th .Ironically the front of the building had a very large stained glass portrait of  Steel worker myth and hero Joe Magerac .

We had some excellent guests who came and spoke at the luncheons which where not cheap but still affordable .Guests included .  The head of the Pittsburgh FBI Branch  The executive of the Beaver valley Nuclear power Plant who unfortunately lost his job and was prosecuted for theft of employee funds. and The Chancellor of Pitt University Wesley Possvar.
I got to greet and sit with some of the big names in Pittsburgh business who where also eagle scouts.
Then one afternoon the guest speaker was the chairmen of US Steel David Roderick.
Everyone was  thrilled he accepted the invitation  to speak but no one knew the horror he was to bring during it.
He started with the usual part how many employees ,plants etc.
Then he started talking about his journeys to the Nation of China
He described how staying at a hotel was like staying in one from Americas wild west days and how China was very willing to become the new power house when it came to manufacturing and that eventually all manufacturing would go overseas to third world country's and here in the united states  we would be the brains and do the designing and research here to be shipped overseas and manufactured in china to then be sold across the world. The reason the mills where becoming obsolete and too expensive to maintain .The new way was the new mini mills with continuous casters like they where building overseas.
We all sat there kind of shocked I raised my hand and asked . What about people like my father and friends  who are working in the mills now what will they then do for a living. He said they would be retrained to do high tech jobs . With  that there was a  laugh in the room  everyone knew there was little chance of that happening maybe some of the younger workers could learn a new job but not older ones. I knew this was bad news.But everyone looked at me like how dare I even question this man and his plans .  Mr. Roderick concluded his speech and myself Silver tip  BSA Commissioner Bob Newcom and Curt M. a computer programmer who worked for a steel mill all talked as we left the luncheon saying this is terrible and its going to be scary times ahead all we could see was doom and gloom where we ever right.

We seemed to be the only one's effected by his words the rest all seemed to be right in lock step with Rodericks words and unfortunately for some  in the room they would loose there business in bankruptcy because of the mills going down .
Yes my brother eagle scouts sat there and did nothing we had the whole plan laid out in front of us and for most part no one ever spoke of it. The organization broke up  couple months after that and the press club closed  a few years after that.
I tried to tell people what I heard and they all laughed and after that I said nothing no one wanted to believe what was going to happen then it did in 1981  was the death knell for the steel industry in Pittsburgh region over 120,000 jobs lost not only in steel mills but company's who supplied them and lunch counters which feed them and stores which clothed them and there family's.thousands of small business destroyed as well.
Thou the region has some what recovered  with medical and technology jobs
The plentiful manufacturing jobs will never come back like they did  where thousands worked in one plant. those days are over for ever and as study's have proven the lack of education in the US is very evident when knowledge wise we agree behind every other country in intelligence.
Yes the high tech jobs are here but the ability of people being able to fill them is the worst it has ever been since too man can not pass drug or criminal background checks etc.
and we have the highest level of unemployment since the depression.
Yes what happened in america in last 30 years was all planned out and laid out in the eagle luncheon all those years ago and you see the result.

The Eagle Scout Project I started in 1975 thats still going on to this day despite those who tried and help ruin it.

In 1975 I came up with the idea of doing research on my home town  of Carrick 29th ward of the City of Pittsburgh and publishing it ..
When I started the project there was very little collected in one spot and available  . Little did I know that a Carnegie library Librarian would go on to loose much of what I discovered and worse yet a gentleman by the name of Jim Ritz try years later to discredit my work and end up going to his grave a bitter man because he was shown to be wrong. 

When I first went looking for info at the local Carnegie library  they had a total of 2 articles on Carrick's history that tells how carrick was named for a town in Ireland  Carrick On Soiur   which stood for " the Rock " but Jim Ritz despite his best efforts to rewrite carricks history to say the Carrick family which lived in carrick named it  was all wrong he caused major damage which took years to recover the documents he destroyed .
As part of my project I put up a series of rotating boards  in local carrick business with copy's of old pictures etc .  which my scout troop helped out with and wrote and had published many articles on carrick's history in the now closed South Hills News Record  who I was a paper carrier for.

I spent all my free time doing research and this was pre- internet days so I had to physically visit places.
Like the Pittsburgh Press and Post gazette archives the Western Pa. Historical society etc but there was hardly anything around Even the late  Stephen Lorant who wrote the book on Pittsburgh wrote me back saying he had nothing as well so I had to start talking to the older people in town who opened there doors and hearts and provided me with many old articles and pictures etc. all to be lost when the Librarian and Jim Ritz got there hands on them.
Luckily I kept some back up copy's but I got so disgusted all the effort i put into this project was all for not.

But a few years ago a new group started and my mother told me about it and I was able to help them reconstruct a lot of what had been destroyed unfortunately all those I talked to in 75-77  where dead as they where from World War 1 generation and so where many of there children as well who where WWII vets
so almost all those oral history's are now gone, except for couple of tapes I recorded from a personnel care home I visited one time . The group that's now preserving the history has there own problems as well many have left because they have not done proper acknowledging of people like my self who donated items to them. Had I not spoke up during the ceremony for John M. Phillips plaque  as the one who started the effort for it all those years ago you never would have known I was involved let alone gave them the Philips Equippco hand book   which helped fill in answers they needed for the application for the plaque but that's the way it goes carrick and too many of its residents are nothing more than  a bunch of self centered greedy ,bitter its all about me type people . What a shame but then again one of the happiest days of my life was moving out of Carrick which has become a shit pit .   Why do so many people have to be such jag offs
I will never know but it just goes to show why I have installed more camera systems in the last 5 years than I have in previous 35.