Harry's Gang: Both genders deserve value of Scout lessons

I got a fishing merit badge as a Boy Scout, not because I loved to fish and had grown up fishing. No, I precisely got the merit badge in spite of growing up without fishing, and having little idea of what fishing actually was all about.

My city-slicker father, Tony, wasn’t too into outdoor sports. He taught me how to shoot a cue ball and mix a Manhattan, but building a fire was beyond him. His idea of roughing it was staying at a hotel without room service. My mother loved him for those reasons and more, I presume, as she also was not a big outdoors person.

So I was lucky that one of my buddies invited me to a Boy Scouts meeting in fifth grade, where retired Lake County Sheriff Roland Falk took us kids swimming, camping and hiking. No fishing, though. It wasn’t until I went to Camp Jamar the next year that I learned first aid, how to shoot an arrow, and how to build a fire using flint and steel. I could not wait to get back to Jamar the next year, eager to earn more merit badges, including the fishing badge.

Scout camp offered a wide variety of merit badge classes, and you could take as many or as few as you wanted. I looked over the list and settled on bugling (I knew Reveille and taps, but thought it would be fun to learn more) and fishing, among others. I figured, people talk about fishing all the time, I wonder what the big deal is? I knew it might be my only chance to learn how to fish from people who seemed to know what they were talking about.

Those memories flooded back when I read that there’s a group of young women, girls, really, who are set to become the first female Eagle Scouts in Minnesota.

It’s about time. Despite sharing similar names, Girl Scouts are not simply a female version of Boy Scouts. Each youth group offers distinct programs for kids, and there is no reason why girls shouldn’t have the opportunity to learn camping, first aid, and take part in other traditional Boy Scouts activities. And those who take it seriously, taking advantage of the leadership opportunities the Boy Scouts offer — along with learning honor, service to community, and dedication to the Scout Spirit — can attain the rank of Eagle Scout.

Less than 5 percent of scouts reach that rank, and, until recently, no girls have ever attained it.

So when the Scouts finally allowed girls to join, quite a few of them did — including an all-girl troop in Richfield that is honoring the first female Eagle Scouts in Minnesota.

It was just last year, I learned, that the organization began referring to itself as “Scouts BSA” to reflect the fact that girls were now allowed to join. The troops are still single-gender, which is appropriate. Mixing boys and girls in the same troop is probably a recipe for disaster. And this way, girls can enjoy all the benefits of scouting without having to call themselves Boy Scouts. They are simply Scouts.

I welcome them to the tradition. There’s a certain pride among Eagle Scouts, who still claim the title even years after they grow up and start living adult lives. Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout.

As for fishing, I never really did get into it. After earning my badge, I lost interest and don’t really fish at all. Scouting did pique my interest in canoeing and camping, activities I still enjoy.

This past summer, my boys spent a few weeks at the YMCA’s Camp Miller in Sturgeon Lake. They learned canoeing, took in target practice, and, yes, went fishing. We’ll see if they take to it.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News and an attorney in Esko. He hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Contact him at Pete.Radosevich@PineKnot News.com.