Cub Scout Pack 311 Advances its Ranks in Twilight Bridging Ceremony

As dusk fell on Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village, nearly 50 Cub Scouts individually filed across a small wooden footbridge holding a candle. The tiny flame lit the Cubs’ steps as they advanced to their next rank in scouting.

The largest group was made up of 17 1st grade Tiger Cubs. As the boys stepped off the bridge and blew out their candles, their parents greeted them on the other side. The Cubs removed their orange neckerchiefs, neckerchief slides, and caps with the Tiger Cub emblem, and replaced them with ones brandishing a yellow Wolf Cub – the rank for 2nd graders. The Class A uniform trousers that had to be rolled up at the beginning of the school year were now revealing their ankles and calves. These boys are quickly growing into fine young men.

Eight 2nd grade Wolves became Bears, and 13 Bears joined the Webelos rank, and will remain Webelos for two years until they attend their final Cub Scout Ranks Bridging Ceremony and become full-fledged Boy Scouts.
Pack 311 is a popular Cub Scout Pack, mixing boys from over a dozen elementary schools – public and private, religious and non-denominational. They join the Cub Scouts to have fun, make friends, accomplish achievements, and share new experiences with their parents. The Boy Scouts have been in the news often these days, but this pack as well as the entire Western Los Angeles County Boy Scout Council calls for a “true and authentic inclusion policy,” welcoming all boy and their parents, regardless of their sexual orientation or preference.  

Just prior to Thursday night’s Bridging Ceremony, Pack 311 held their last regular monthly meeting of the school year. Cubmaster Glenn Coté handed out belt loops, pins and gold and silver arrows signifying the boys’ accomplishments in areas as varied as baseball, astronomy, pet care, good manners, music, and video games. The medals were placed in sand buckets with American flags. Rarely is any honor celebrated casually with Pack 311.

Enthusiastic applause was given to a scout who had just chopped 11 inches from his hair and donated it to Locks for Love, a charity that creates wigs made from human hair for children who suffer from long-term medical hair loss.

Members of the Hiking Team brought their hiking journals to be stamped and miles recorded. There are frequent hiking trips planned for all over the Los Angeles area – not just the standard Fryman and Runyun trails. It is a sight to behold to see these little troopers climbing slopes without whining, “I’m tired,” or “Mom… carry me!”

There was a suggestion box for scouts to write down a theme for next year’s big campout. Most scouts wrote down their favorite movies – Wreck it Ralph, Star Wars, Jurassic Park. One might not think of movies being a big part of scouting, but last April Cubmaster Glenn and his immense imagination had created an entire 3-day camping experience based on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Scouts maneuvered obstacle courses, solved map puzzles, searched for the Holy Grail, and worked as a team to try and find for Indiana Jones himself. The boys were given their own fedoras and satchels where they could store their maps and compasses. The weekend culminated with Indiana Jones himself arriving at the camp and battling the look-alike bad guy from the first Indy film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

With innovative events like this one, it’s no surprise that last year Cubmaster Glenn was awarded the Cahuenga District’s "Cub Scout Leader of the Year." He incorporates a unique blend of visual and sound effects into each pack meeting, making every hour an entertaining learning experience. On Thursday evening, the pack turned the tables on Cubmaster Glenn, surprising him with an award with Indiana Jones’s famous whip laminated atop.

This Saturday, May 18th from 12 noon – 7:00 pm, Pack 311 will be partnering with Tree People in sponsoring the Growing Green area at the Colfax World Fair. Guests will be able to plant a seed in a compostable pot, add soil, and decorate their own plant marker.  They’ll have their choice of planting sunflowers, Italian beans, or two 2 varieties of peas. Tree People representatives will also have an interactive display on trees and rainwater to show their symbiotic relationship.

May 25th (the Saturday before Memorial Day) Pack 311 will join hundreds of other Cub and Boy Scouts to place flags on graves at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. Other upcoming events for the pack include a Channel Islands Sport Fishing Adventure on May 26th, California Rocks, a gem and mineral event at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on Saturday, June 1st, a hike to Bee Rock and Old Griffith Park Zoo on Sunday, June 2nd, “Wear Your Uniform to School Day” on Tuesday, June 4th, and Recruitment Night for all new interested scouts on Thursday, June 6 at Temple Beth Hillel. All boys who will be entering 1st through 5th grade in the fall are encouraged to attend.

For more information about Cub Pack 311, log on to cubpack311.com.

Thank you to Cubmaster Glenn Coté for providing the following information about the Bridging Ceremony:

As boys advance along the Scouting trail, every year there is a bridge to cross.  Their badges of rank and changes in uniform show how many times they have crossed a bridge and made progress along the trail. 

Tiger Cubs, for the past year, have all been wearing orange neckerchiefs.  The orange represents the beginning flame of Scouting.  An orange flame is not yet hot, but has just started and has huge potential.  

The Tigers received the yellow neckerchief of the Wolf Cub rank.  The yellow shows that the flame of Scouting is burning bright in them and are learning more Scout skills. There is also more expected of them as their flame grows.

Wolf Cubs who bridged to Bear Cubs received the blue Bear neckerchief.  Just as a blue flame is very hot, the Scouting spirit flame burns hotly in them.

Webelos Scouts wear a neckerchief with 4 colors in it: the Blue & Gold of Cub Scouts and the Red and Green of Boy Scouts.  The Green stands for the outdoors and nature, which Scouts are obliged to protect and care for.  Red stands for bravery, being prepared to help others, and pride for our country.  The colors in the Webelos neckerchief are more like fireworks than a flame.  Webelos are exploding with skills, spirit, and energy.