Along the way I found a great many items that have been well preserved. It was hard to throw anything out. I now have the whole bottom row of shelves. Among these items include:
- Wood carving kits, which includes the Wood Carving Merit Badge book, several different samples of wood to carve from, items I have carved: including a whistle, neckerchief slide, names, items in relief and in the round.
- Real Flint. This is a special kind of rock that when struck with steel will actually create a spark or split a steel shaving off. Once Dave Hansen showed me how to start a fire with flint and steel, I was on the hunt for some rocks of my own. He said he knew where some were, but he would have to travel miles out of the way to obtain some more. Well he did. Then Craig and Sarah brought home some rock without any elaborate story on how they obtained it. Now the steel is a different story. I found the correct steel at work, but it does not throw sparks well enough. The best steel Dave used was some old broken files. Maybe I will have to purchase some files at Harbor Freight and break them so my fire making kits are complete.
- An example of Lehi's compass. For the first AP Camp we had in 1999 I made a device that could resemble the Liahona. It even has a compass inside. It also has some strange writing on it. This writing is actually the theme of my Wood Badge course. And this saying is 'Beyond the campfire and forever'. It also has a small symbol for the 'Hale Bop comet' that we saw while we were on course.
- Name Tags. Now if you were to take a branch and cut it on a long diagonal you would end up with an oval about 1/4 inch thick. Then you drill two holes in it for string which holds this around your neck. You then write your name with a dark marker. This makes a great preopener. Everyone can make their own name tags.
- Bucket of Song Books. Again for AP camp I made about 200 camp song books in 1999 and again in 2001. We used them in 1999, 2001, & 2003. But for 2005 someone made Song Sheets and we did not use these books. So I ended up with a whole bucket of books. These contain some of my favorite songs. Silly songs and church songs.
- A's and P's in two #10 cans. Again for AP Camp I made A's and P's out of apple wood, then drilled a whole through them for a string that can be wrapped around your neck. The A and P were to represent Aaronic Priesthood. I patterned these after the TL beads we received for Timberline. (Ask Paul he knows what a TL beads are) These also were used until 2003. They were not as popular in 2005.
- Material for making Indian Heads out of clothes pins. And lots of cloths pins. Here was a great example of saying thank you for years of service. Kent & Nadine Johnson had made up these Indian Heads for everyone on staff for the past five years. After receiving mine I asked if I could help by making them. Well I got the can, paint, brushes, picture frames, and samples. For quite a few years I made Indian Heads and mounted them on glass with a frame. After 10 years they again found another project to say thank you for service. I have a book with my name on it with pictures of past camps.
- Whirley Gigs. The material for making these include twisted wire, clips, beads, bobbins, strips of paper for the propeller, and the instructions. For many years I made enough for each boy and parent. It got so as I was making about 600 kits every year. Then one year I told them that someone else needed to make them. It was hard to let this project go, but I had to do it. It was great satisfaction to see a father and boy attempt to assemble the kits. It was especially gratifying to allow the boy to discover this for himself.
- Rope. Raquel said we needed to find a container that would fit all the rope. It is as big as a trunk. Most of the rope is sisal, which is good for practicing all the knots a boy could want. Most of the time it was used for AP Camp or a PowWow and the Pioneering Merit Badge. I also have some specialty ropes. The poles used for lashing are stored offsite at the ward scout closet.
- Basket making material. For one of the camps I was asked to teach Basketry. This was way cool. We learned two styles of baskets. The round kind needs to have an odd number of ribs. This is so that as you weave out it always goes to the opposite direction on the next pass. The other style is a box style. This is where you hook a start then hide the end where you started, then go to the next layer.
- AX and Bow saws. One year Clyde Hawkins purchased two ax and two bow saws. We did not know what to do with these, so I ended up with them. Brand new and hardly been used.
- One Tub of Varsity training materials. Since I am the Varsity Huddle Commissioner I use these manuals for resource materials. We also use them for Varsity Leader Specific Training, which happens about twice per year, in April and September (or October this year)
- On Target Mirrors. The premier activity for Varsity Scouts is once per year on the third Saturday in July, Scouts participate in 'On Target'. They hike a peak, have a program, then signal to other scouts which have done the same on another peak. The purpose is to see if they are 'On Target'. These kits also include test reflectors called old license places, super glue, instructions, several sample mirrors, and raw material for making your own mirrors.
- One marshmallow gun. Yes a gun that is out of the case. I can get in really big trouble when shooting this gun. It is usually mothers that get after the children for shooting in the house or out of doors.
- Bees Wax. Not the kind you pull out of your ears, but from bees. This is a project in the raw. This is because I don't really know what to do with it. But it is just really cool to have my own bees wax. Maybe I will make some of my own candles with it.
- Leather working tools. When my parents lived in Meeker they made many projects with leather and obtained their own tools. I remember several sets of moccasins, then I don't remember anything else. So after my father left, I was given the set of tools. I have used them a time or two, but mostly it just sits.
- Finally one big computer disk. Now days we use thumb drives to store data outside of the computer. Before this we used 3.5 inch floppy drives formatatted to 1.2 MB, before this we used 3.5 inch floppy drives formatted to 750 K, before this we use 5.25 inch floppy drives formatted to 720 K, before this we used 5.25 inch floppy drives formatted to 360 K, before this it was something even bigger. And here is an example of a big and old external data device. You may wonder why I still have a few of these around. I suppose one reason is just to show you what was once used. Another reason is because I think it would make a great clock. Well if you take it out of the case and attach the guts of a clock, then assemble the numbers in the proper order, then a hook to attach this to the wall, it would resemble a wall clock. But this does not take up much space. And it is really cool.
Do you suppose Antique Road Show would be interested in any of this stuff?
1 comment:
What? Cameron has an AP necklace?
But what about all that cool stuff? Does anybody want it, except me?
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