Quote:
Originally Posted by emb021
In the scouting world, when it comes to advancement awards its pretty much the boy must earn the award to wear it. Mother minature pins were created early on, and you will see moms with a ribbon with all their mother pins on them. For Eagle, there are Mother, Father, and now mentor pins. I guess dads could also wear the minatures, but I never see that except for Eagle.
There is no tradition in the BSA of sons/daughters wearing their father's rank pins or the mother pins, except in the case of sons who ALSO earned the award wearing it. (ie a boy earns Eagle, and wears his dad's Eagle medal). Keep in mind that another standard in the BSA is that 'rank advancement is for youth'. By and large, once you age out you stop wearing any rank insignia, tho wearing the Eagle medal at formal occasions and wearing the Eagle square knot on the uniform is encouraged. Life Scout was the highest rank I earned, but I no longer wear it in any form.
AFAIK, there is no tradition of children wearing their parent's APO insignia. As we have been co-ed for 25+ years, it would be very confusing. Are they a Brother, or just wearing their father's (or possible mother's) insignia??? The Sweetheart pin was intended for your SO, not your children. I can't speak of other GLO's traditions in this area.
As to 'den monther for a troop'. It could be a case of an informal relationship, not a formal position. You are correct that Den Mothers are leaders of Cub Scout Dens, NOT Boy Scout Troop leaders. Could be this term was used for the scoutmaster's wife or the like. Many troops in the past had troop mothers that helped out a lot (an unofficial 'mother's auxiliary' if you will). Certainly, things have now changed since women can hold ANY leadership position in any scout unit. Back in the days when they were pretty much limited to certain cub scout positions, there were informal roles that occured.
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Couple of thoughts spring to mind, some serious, some less so.
If you are below age 50 and the pin you are wearing has a screw back then it is your father's (not sure when we went from screwback to the pinback, 1960's).
Is there *anything* that amounts to a guide to how to use the sweetheart pin? It seems like APO caught on to the concept of the sweetheart pin just in time for things to get complicated enough for a guide to no longer make sense. Between co-ed chapters and out of the closet brothers (of both genders) I'm just not sure. Both chapter sweethearts and chapter courts are mostly memories.
As for Den Mother in a troop, the only thing that springs to mind is some of the oddities of the 11 year old patrol in Scouting in the LDS church, but even that doesn't quite make it.