as long as the old Scout gear is showing up i thought it would
be a good time to bring this out..when i joined Scouts in 1958
one of the things Tenderfeet did before the big canoe trip in Canada
was to make a "lost kit"..the other thing was to weave the pack
basket to carry our gear..while the older kids worked on merit
badges or such us little kids sat around washtubs of warm water
soaking and weaving long wood splints into baskets or comming
up with a kit as small as we could with as much in it as we
could manage.. a pocket size metal container was first on the list--i came up with something like this-----



a fish hook can--the 1958 model was painted yellow--using
the paint that came with airplane kits i made mine a bright
color as not to loose it..and sealed it with friction tape.



this is what you found inside---



the razor blade was a big deal..one of the kids had some
that his dad brought back from the Army and we all got one..
packed in below it were everything we thought we would need
to survive if we got lost in the "wilderness in Canada"..
a few years later i found out that we were not all that far
from the "cottage country" on Southern Ontario--



packed neatly inside are some 1958 era items and some repo.
in the lid a dime for a phone call and a sewing needle that
had been magnetized with the north painted red..

a vial of 12 Halazone tablets--from the real kit
a iodine swab--one from a newer kit
the razor blade--the real one still unopened
bandaids--from a old kit but not the real lost kit
a bouillon cube--from last summers canoe trip lunch bag
fishing line--the old braided stuff from a old reel
a fishing streamer--from the old kit and one of my first
two small and one large hook---new
split shot--new
two aspirin in foil--new
two salt tablets--those are half dose aspirin standing in
for salt tablets..i have not see a salt tab in years but
back then they were a major "survival" item..
four wood water proof matches cut to fit the can..
four birthday candles cut to fit to be used as fire lighters.
down in the lower right of the photo is the old box of
wood matches that were used in the kit--i did not want to
cut any up for the repo kit..they still work and i take
one along on a canoe trip every few years just to light a
"remembering" fire---

Very Nice "Remembering" PSK Canoedogs.

I had the same yellow tin as a kid that I kept fishing hooks in. I think it got wet and rusty so I pitched it, wish I still had it.

My first couple of Scout Survival kits (mid-70's) are long gone now, I find the odd piece once in a while (I think I still have the matches but they are not reliable anymore).

Where was your Scout canoe trip into the wilds of Cottage Country Ontario, we may have paddled the same water?

Thanks,

Mike

Now this is almost a historical work of art. Thanks for posting that. As an aside, the other day I found, in as new condition, a vintage Case Brand trout knife complete with sheath like my dad had when I was a little boy (55 years ago now). I had seen him gut dozens of fish and game with a knife exactly like that.

HEy all, asyou know i am 13 nd a boy scout...I just got back from a campout this weekend and I wish we had done this...Im life and brotherhood, and i am a leader of my troop, at 13. Our scouts can't stand in a atraight line, even if we asked them to. Also just a litle update from my side of things...WE CAN"T DO ANYTHING "DANGEROUS". This means no swimming in the lake we just found backpacking if we don;t take a swim test...I hate law suits!! I wish I were a scout way back when! Sitting around making packbaskets and survival kits! HECK YA! Also we can't cut down any trees and on the campout we just got back from...we couldn;t have campfires! We also can't even have sheath kniveseven though in the book it says "the bsa does not recomend "large" sheath knives because they are too large for most camp chores" I tried to bring my HElle fjelkiniv and it is a 4 inch blade, 8 overall and they said "NO" and then I brought my 4.2 inch blade 8.5 inch overall folding knife and they were ok with it? A SHEATH KNIFE IS MORE USEFUL THEN A FOLDER!!! I have also seen scouts who asked "can I practice lighing matches?" because they had never lit one before...now mind you he was not a new scout...in fact he was aroud for a while and he was afraid to do it. Does this show you anything about society today? 12-13 year old boys who are afraid to light a match?

[/rant]

That really brings back some fine old memories Canoedog! I sympathize with what Climberslacker is saying, it is very different today in what Scout's are taught and allowed. There are still some good sound values though, so Scouting is alive and well...different from my days for sure!

CANOEDOGS, my dad had a Pfluger tin exactly like that one in one of his old tackle boxes.

Seeing it brings back lots of great memories.

Thanks for sharing!

Depends on your unit. (And that means the scouts as well as the leaders...) Good thing you at least have some adults that will spend time with the scouts.

Maybe you can come up with some plans for the kind of outings you would like to take your troop on. Put together a real plan and pitch it to your Scoutmaster. If that doesn't work, take your plan to the Troop Committee, but don't stab your Scoutmaster in the back.

Regards,

Scouter Tom

Thanks, Also I am running for SPL and my dad is the commity chairman/asm. Also the other asm likes the idea and the sm is starting to catch on.

Great job Dave. I haven't seen a fish hook tin like that in many years. Quite a good idea.

Climberslacker - hang in there. In scouting, as in many other parts of life, you need to take the good with the bad. When you camp outside of scouts you can observe a different set of rules.