CHAPTER XXII
Troop. The other can be helped by accounts of town doings sent to it from time to time, and even by the encouragement to take an interest in their own countryside.
It is as necessary for a village Troop to obtain the use of some kind of camping site near home as for the town Troop. The village community is so close knit together that it is a great relief for the boys to get even a few fields away and surrender themselves to the joys of Scouting in the knowledge that hedges and woods intervene between them and the village and so shut them off in a backwoods of their own.
So far as the formation of a village Troop is concerned, especially a village in the depths of the country, the Scouter will get little or no outside help, experts in different subjects are few and far between, and he will mostly have to rely on himself for everything. Too much emphasis, therefore, cannot be placed on the necessity of starting with a small number of boys; to start with a lot spells disaster. A properly working Patrol System also becomes of increasing importance, and it is in this direction that the Scouter should throw his energies for the first few months.
After a certain amount of progress has been obtained an opportunity may arise of meeting a neighbouring Troop at some half-way spot when a few games can be played. It is important early on that the village Scouts should see that there are other Scouts in existence; the earlier this is done the better, as it will have an influence on their own efforts.
The number of boys of Scout age in a village is probably small, but the number can be easily ascertained and its fluctuations year by year easily calculated. It is sometimes necessary to consider this point when starting a Troop, and when a Troop has been in existence for some time. Troops frequently die out in scattered districts for lack of numbers. Sometimes the solution lies in having different Patrols in different villages all attached to one Troop. Troop meetings can be held every fortnight or once a month, but weekly Patrol meetings will be held. The Scoutmaster would have a poor time if he had to attend each of these Patrol meetings, but there is no real necessity for this. If he visits one Patrol every week, he can exercise some kind of supervision and control, but he should encourage the Patrol Leaders to come and see him as often as possible. The suggestion has been made many times before that it is possible to run outlying village Troops with Scouters from a near-by town. The villages may lack suitable people to act as Scouters, but the small country town has a wider field of choice. This idea has been carried out in different parts of the country and found to be of great use. It gives definite scope for Scout work to Rover Scouts, whose activities may be limited by lack of Troops in the town itself.
Another way of encouraging village Troops is to take some pains to see that they have their fair share of district functions. Too often every Association and District activity is centred in the country town; all competitions and displays and rallies are held there. The difficulties of the village Troops are thereby increased. It is worth while considering whether some of these events, and Association meetings, cannot be held in different villages.
Some six years ago the Chief Scout dealt with village Troops in his Outlook in The Scouter, and I take the liberty of reproducing a considerable portion of his remarks, so as to add force to the inadequate help I myself have given in regard to this question:
“I have often heard it suggested that village Troops are more difficult to keep going than those in towns. In some respects no doubt this is so – especially if they adhere strictly to the same programme of work as do the town Troops.
“But living as I do in the country I find there are many possibilities lying open to village Troops which town Troops cannot command. And I believe that many of these possibilities will not only give healthful and educative activities to the boys, but will also be of real advantage to their villages.
“For instance, Village Signs. In a previous issue I gave a description of the village sign which we have put up in my own particular village as largely the work of the Boy Scouts and their supporters. This has had a very satisfactory success. It has taught the villagers, old and young, a
lot of history of the place, and has drawn the attention of tourists and travellers to the interest that the place holds for them. It has established a certain civic pride in their village among the inhabitants, which goes to build up an esprit de corps and closer comradeship among them.
“Then there is Nature observation, keeping record of the early budding and blooming of trees and wild flowers, the migration of birds, the visits of otters, rats and foxes, etc.
“The completion of local maps with latest buildings, etc. The following up of by-paths and rights-of-way to see that they are still kept open to the public. The seeking out of ancient remains, of roadways, camps, wells, fossils, etc. The making of an exhibition, or, if possible, a museum of bygone implements, carvings, pictures, pillories and stocks, etc. The keeping up of old local industries, legends, dances, plays, songs, customs, and dishes or drinks. Tracing back the family descent of the older inhabitants. The care of the War Memorial and garden round it, etc.
etc.
“Those and many other matters of local interest can be made objectives for the activity of the boys if the Scoutmaster suggests them (one only at a time, of course), attaching sufficient romance to them to bring about their enthusiastic pursuit. The results can be not only good but very good.
“There are tons of history lying buried in every village if only we would dig for it; and there are antiquarian and field societies in every county only too ready to provide capable and enthusiastic helpers.
“A little over a century ago villages had their system of paying visits to each other, carrying their totem pole and headed by their band of instruments and singers. This made for a healthy spirit of neighbourliness and courtesy while inculcating a certain pride and esprit de corps in their own village. Something of this kind might well be revived by Scout Troops and would be no small boon to the country.”
It does not seem to be lack of occupation that is required in village Troops, but imagination to see the activities that can be pursued and discrimination in their choice.
There is one additional point worth mentioning. The village is a small community, and because of this its attitude and habits can be the more easily influenced. It is difficult to imagine the possibility of a town Troop having an influence on its neighbourhood, though I could give more than one instance of this. A well run Scout Troop is, however, almost certain to have a considerable influence on the village in which it is situated. This conveys an added responsibility on the Scoutmaster, but it also gives him a real opportunity of marking the effect of the work that he is doing. His results are quicker and easier to see.