An Intro To Basketry With Bonnie Byrum

I recently had the opportunity to attend a short basketry workshop with Bonnie Byrum who is a friend and supporter of Boy Scouting in North Carolina. The workshop was short but it was her goal to inspire young and older hands to the wonderful world of basket weaving and her enthusiasm was more than contagious.

A newcomer could be easily intimidated from browsing around at her magnificent collection of personal weaving but her helpful demeanor quickly put everyone at ease. On the table Bonnie had four containers holding red, yellow, blue, and green dyes with short reeds soaking in the mixture. Everyone was given four of the reeds with each color.

The reeds were wet and thus easy to work as Bonnie guided us through the weaving of a wonderful symbol that represented our membership in Order of the Arrow. As seen in the close-up pictures below the blue reed represented us. The red represented our lodge chapter, the yellow our lodge, and the green our section.

At first it was a little tricky to get a knack for the weaving but I soon caught on. Although the picture to the right doesn't show it, I later decided to trim the four reed ends to a shorter length and at an angle for more visual effect.

This was a wonderful hands-on activity and I didn't see anyone that didn't have a great time. We also left with a great craft and a much better impression for those who weave.

Tying My First Fishing Fly

Another one of my favorite stations at Conclave 2010 was fly tying. When I  approached this activity the first thing that caught my attention wasn't the fly tying, but instead it was the intense focus of the participants. Unlike other stations that had more action involvement, the fly tying had these folks brains in full gear.  It was a joy just to watch that focus between the eyes and hands as their small fly creations gradually transformed into works of art.

After several minutes I couldn't stand it any more and just when one of the instructors of the fly-tying wanna-be's invited me to take a seat and give it a try. That's all it took and I was off to doing something with my hands that I'd never before experienced and something that I hadn't planned to do.

I was a little skeptical at first and a bit hesitant, perhaps because I've always just picked up my flies and lures at the bait shop when I hit the lake or streams. And besides, I was completely absorbed with just watching the intense focus of the other participants. That was reward enough for me but now I had to shift my brain from observer to participant, from teacher to student.

My coach guided me step-by-step through the process and my eyes were so focused on the small hook clamped securely in the little vise. When you're tying a fly I learned about the intense concentration that is required to get it right so I had little opportunity to look my instructor in her eyes. Perhaps it was also just the "fumble and bumbe" that any new student has when learning to do something new with their hands. It was sort of awkward being in the students chair when I was more comfortable being the teacher so I had to make other adjustments too.
After about 15 minutes of patient personal instruction I gleamed with pride after completing my first fly. I was so excited that I now didn't want to leave the station and I proudly walked around showing off my fly to other onlookers.

Now, I must admit that it's going to be another monumental task for me to pluck that fly from my hat because I just want to show it off. Perhaps I will make another one to actually go for the big one, but I have a feeling that this fly-made with my own hands- is going to be on that hat for a very long time.

Kids Choice: Mallets vs. Stools

As previously mentioned in the last posting the pioneering woodshop station at this years Conclave event you had the opportunity to make a wooden mallet or a rustic three-legged stool, as seen in the picture to the left. I don't know for sure why but during my observations throughout the day, I'd say that approximately 80 percent of the kids chose to make a mallet instead of a stool.

This observation troubled me for a while but after a bit of thought combined with almost 30 years experience of working wood with kids I believe I have an accurate answer. In a kids mind the mallet represents visions of an object in motion with great impact when used. Boys are all about action-oriented behaviors and that must be the lure to these rustic wooden hammers. On the other hand a stool is more sedentary where one can plant their body or perhaps a flower pot. Not much action there but kids still like them. I'm just saying that when given a choice a boy is going to choose "action" over "in-action" most of the time and that's what I'd put my money on.

 As seen in the next set of pictures to the right the first step in making a stool was to saw yourself a nice chunk of log using the crosscut saw and there was plenty of adult help available to get this heavy-duty chore done. Next the log was split in half thus producing two sides for two stools so this is a great project for partnering up with someone but I didn't get any pictures of that. Just think of splitting firewood using a wedge.

As the fellow in the picture to the left is demonstrating, the next step after splitting your chunk of log was to hew down a flat splinter-free surface using the foot adze. I've used a foot adze for hewing a lot of log cabin logs over the years but I did mine freestyle using the traditional technique. At Conclave they had a safety log set up for this chore as seen in the pictures to the left and I suppose that was a good idea for this event.

In one of the pictures above and to the right can be seen folks using the wood mallet to hammer in the legs to their stools. The tips of the legs had to be filed down a bit first so that they would have a good snug fit inside the holes. All of the stools built were 3-legged so builders had to think about proper spacing and slant that would result in a firm standing stool.

And of course, as seen in the picture above to the right, you could take your completed stool to the branding station and enjoy burning in a variety of symbols. Building a small simple wooden stool is a fantastic hands-on exercise for any child (or adult) but be prepared to have a little more patience than would be needed for making a wood mallet. Every kid should have an opportunity to experience rustic woodworking and the Boy Scouts excel in these hands-on activities.

A Boy And His Hammer

My favorite activity (by far!) at Conclave this year was found on the OAX (Order of the Arrow eXperience) at the pioneering station. When I first arrived more than an hour had passed by before I knew it because this was the hands-on mecca of this years event.

Here the kids and a few adults worked with intense laser-beam focus making rustic wood hammers and stools... but for this posting I want to focus on the hammers. Several times before on this blog I have more than stressed the importance of hands-on activities for kids as an important catalyst in development of their character, spirit, and worthiness while finding their place in the world. This pioneering station was one of those perfect hands-on activities that scored ten-fold on all counts.

Seen in the picture to the left is one such Scout that I traveled with to Conclave. It was a joy watching him saw his wood, drill his hole, then learning to set his handle into the hammer head with such intense focus.

Throughout the remainder of the day he carried his new wood mallet everywhere he went and showing it to everyone with gleaming pride. In campsite that evening he was still latched onto it like the velcro on my knife sheath.

Since I was the woodcarver in the troop he politely asked if I would carve something on the handle for him and he was sure to tell me that I had full creative freedom. He was very anxious to see what I would come up with as I rustled around gathering up my carving knives. As you can see in the picture above I ended up carving  a nice little woodspirit into the handle which only generated more pride in the tool that he'd made. Off he went again showing it off to anyone who would listen to his story and look at his hammer.

All the way back on the drive from the beach to the mountains I believe that he held onto that wood mallet all the way. Before departing his father expressed his gratitude to me for helping his son with his hammer and the woodcarving. That must have been the proudest kid in North Carolina and I'm anxious to see if he hangs it on the wall in his room or if he wears it out using it. Either way it will be okay because the power of a simple hands-on project worked its magic and really made the difference in one child's life today.

The first step in making a pioneer mallet was to decide the size of it, then choosing the appropriate wood for the handle and the head. Some would choose to make the biggest mallet possible while others opted on the smaller side. As seen in the picture above they would then use a band saw or a crosscut saw to trim the wood down to usable proportions. For a while I enjoyed helping the Scouts saw their wood and everyone of them gave me a sincere thank-you which was encouraging. Finally they would size up their handle to decide which size drill bit to use then hand-drill their hole into the head.

As seen in the pictures above the next task was learning to manipulate a wood file on the tip of their handle until it would fit snug in the hole. When a good fit was found a notch was sawed into the handles tip to help it dry and fit tightly as seen in the pictures below.

When your mallet was completed some of the kids chose to take it to the blacksmith station and burn a fantastic symbol of their choice into the wood.
As seen in the picture to the right is one very proud Scout as he branded his mallet then showed it off for the crowd. This kid is smiling but what you can't see is the live-action trembling in the core of his soul from being so proud of the mallet that he'd made with his own hands. It just don't get any better than this!


I'm not sure exactly how many kids went through the pioneering station on Saturday but the area was at full capacity from opening to closing. What is for sure is that a LOT of kids are a little better off today because some caring adults had the patience to ensure their success and the vision to make it happen. From such a simple hands-on activity I saw the confidence in a lot of kids boosted upwards and the world seemed to become a somewhat gentler place to be. If you want to ensure that the next generation has the best opportunity to succeed then help a child use their hands in a constructive way. You won't be disappointed.

Conclave 2010: The Video

 As mentioned in the previous posting last weekend was a big time for North Carolina Scouts who have been nominated by their troops for membership in Order of the Arrow. Only once each year do all of these Scouts come together and meet for regional elections but that's only a very small part of the event.

Below I have put together a short video that gives a very small glimpse of what goes on at Conclave, but remember that it's only a very small glimpse. It must be experienced first hand to absorb it's full impact.

SR-7B Conclave 2010 at Camp Boddie

On April 16-18 the Southern Region Section 7B of Order of the Arrow held it's largest event of the year at Camp Boddie which is nestled on the wild and wooded banks of Pamlico sound. All six lodges were represented bringing more than 1,200 Arrowmen and Brothers together for a very spirited weekend of competition, unique exhibits, patch trading, fellowship, and more hands-on opportunities than I've ever seen assembled in one place.

 Conclave is the premier (and the largest) Order of the Arrow annual event of the year. It is also anticipated more than any other event which is usually held in the spring. Each year it rotates around the great state of North Carolina where all six Councils enjoy hosting this action packed weekend.

Next year I'm proud that the Old Hickory Council will be the host for the 2011 Conclave at our very own Camp Raven Knob in the cool North Carolina mountains. Only those Scouts and leaders who exemplify and best role model the Scout Oath and the Scout law in their daily lives can be chosen to attend. Order of the Arrow is the highest honor society in Scouting and truely is the best that America has to offer the future. These kids are the best of the best and continuously renew my faith in the next generation.

Right now I have only posted a few pictures from the event that mostly have to do with Scout spirit because that's what it was all about. Yes, there was a lot of competition for this years spirit award and I'm proud my Lodge 118 won that award for 2010. We were really pumped and showed almost immortal spirit and pride from sun-up to sun-down... and sometimes even more!

The theme for our Lodge was "Flashback to the 60's" so all of the pictures that you see of our fine upstanding citizen boys and leaders dressed like hippies are us. Also you might notice that I carved 11 of the peace-sign necklaces that some of those "hippies" are wearing for the Scouts and leaders that I traveled and camped with in Troops 529 and 561. I spotlighted those necklaces in this posting.

I will post a video of the event as soon as I can complete putting it together. Most of all I look forward to posting the hands-on opportunities provided at this years event which deserve their own individual spotlight. My favorite was the primitive woodworking station where the kids and leaders had a fantastic opportunity to make their own wood mallets or stools. Other stations that I will report on will include flint knapping, games, basketry, tomahawk throwing, blowgun shooting, music, Indian dancing, primitive cooking, and much more.