MEN, BOYS AND A CAR – The Pinewood Derby

When I arrived for a visit, there were three young fathers intently talking around my son’s dining room table in their small town in Illinois.

Was it a neighborhood meeting to fight a liquor store being approved in the area?

A local political strategy meeting for an election?  A zoning change?

None of the above. It was a car clinic.

No, not NASCAR.

On the table were three small blocks of wood and they were discussing the Pinewood Derby, a national racing competition for the Cub Scouts.

The ingredients were simple. Four nails, four little tires and a 7 inch by 3 inch block of wood. From these, a racing car was to be carved to run on a metal track. It was one of the most important events of the year in the town – and in many towns and cities in the country.

This was serious stuff. Talk about filing nails down smoothly, adjusting wheels, wind resistance (what?) and the advantages of graphite.

Behind the men, listening raptly, were three small boys dressed in their Cub Scout uniforms who presumably were the competitors.

There’s a standing joke that there should be a trophy for the best father’s car.

There was even a cartoon from the Cub Scout magazine showing two Cub scouts saying, “I hope when I grow up, I can build a car.”

Yesterday was THE day. The fathers and the scouts were up at dawn for the race. Hundreds of people from the town went to the grammar school where the race was to be held cheering on the participants.

It was a huge success. There were concession stands serving food and baked goods at low prices. It was a wonderful time.

And every Cub got a badge whether he won or not. So the kids were happy.

The fathers were laid out on their couches exhausted from the ordeal. Most were in bed by eight o’clock.

This slice of Americana was not about the race. That is only one of the many activities that a volunteer army of men and women contribute to scouting and their communities.

This is about family. About fathers and mothers who are active in small and large towns around the country supporting their children. About the work that the Boy and Girl Scouts do, still these many years, in the work of instilling good values in our young people.

Principles which include their Core Values and the Scout Law:

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, brave, clean and reverent.

Remember those?

I say there definitely should be a trophy for the “Best Father’s Car!”

They earn it all year long! God bless them, everyone.

Did you build a car for your Cub Scout?  “Fess up.

Picture by Anne Bennett

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