Comments on: Fathers and Sons Outings, 1926

By: Mellina

Mellina — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:56:15 +0000

My father had all daughters, but loved camping. He would attend the Fathers and Sons trips, but would feel like he was “missing out” when he couldn’t bring his children along. To make up for it, we would have camping trips as a family all the time during my youth, but every time they would announce the Fathers and Sons trip over the pulpit I could tell my father felt excluded.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:15:47 +0000

Long time no hear, iguacufalls! Glad to see you here again, even if we don’t have chipped beef for refreshments. Would you settle for a truffle?

By: iguacufalls

iguacufalls — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:03:04 +0000

I didn’t get any chipped beef at my last F&S campout. Feeling now like I really missed out.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:30:59 +0000

I remember the F&S outings as a kid — one night affairs, but tent or cabin camping, good eating and organized Dad/Son activities. One year a home teacher took me because my dad was away on business. One year (the one I remember the most) I spent the entire time with my dad because he was so busy with work and his stake assignment that I rarely got to spend time with him.

I have attended a few with my boys in our Michigan stake — also well planned, but less structured. But my favorites were with my youngest son in our ward in Taiwan where we did it on a ward level. Small group, quite informal. Cool chatting at the campfire and the bishopric-prepared breakfast were great.

By: Grant

Grant — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:27:54 +0000

I don’t want to get too far off point or preachy, but in response to your question about fathers spending time with boys, I do think it is very important and extremely helpful for the relationship to promote positive good. My best memories of my Dad are when he took us on Scout outings. That’s why I accept those callings now, and try to do them in spite of my sometimes bad attitude. Fathers and sons activities are good to give a chance in that regard, but unless you’re out in the woods for 3-10 days, I’m not sure it’s enough in and of itself.

And I’ve learned, in part from my dad, that dad’s should interview their children. I had teenagers when I was bishop and as per usual, teenagers sometimes have “issues.” On one occasion my wife woke me up to talk to my daughter and in my waking confusion I was wondering if I needed to talk to her as her dad or her bishop. It came clear to me that it doesn’t matter. Fathers have every right and responsibility to deal with anything a bishop should – and take them to the bishop if necessary. It wasn’t in this case. We have father’s interviews every Fast Sunday. I know of another family that interviews their kids with both mom and dad. To each his own, and mothers usually have a closer connection with their kids, but the perspectives and potential connections are sometimes different and appropriately so. I have been amazed at what my kids have been willing to share with me. And we have become better friends because of it. Sorry for another long ramble, but yeah, I think it’s important for dads to spend time with sons and daughters.

By: MMM

MMM — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:22:34 +0000

I have been fortunate enough to go on 19 consecutive F&S outings. My boys love them, as do I. I take the day off, yank them out of school, and head to the mountains. They know that our outing together is a high priority.

For us it has been a great time to bonding, learning, and doing “manly stuff”.
But, 10 days would leave me jobless, homeless, and the kids expelled.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:18:34 +0000

I could correct that for you, Mark, but it’s too much fun to leave alone.

By: Mark Brown

Mark Brown — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:07:56 +0000

Sorry for the blasphemous typo in the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph. Of course it should say _good_.

By: Mark Brown

Mark Brown — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:05:57 +0000

Most memorable F&S camp memory from raising our sons in the Midwest: waking at 1:00 a.m. (of course, I didn’t really “wake” because I had never been asleep. Is it possible to really sleep on the ground in a tent?) to the sound of a heavy wind, looking outside the tent and seeing counter-clockwise rotation in the clouds and realizing that a tornado was forming right over our heads. By then it was raining buckets and we just picked up the wet tent containing all our gear, folded the whole mess over enough to fit in the trunk, and drove off as fast as we could.

Our stake does a pretty god job. It’s just Friday night and Saturday, and people are often setting up their tents in the dark because dads don’t get home from work until 6 – 7 o’clock, and many of them do just buy a pizza or KFC on the way out of town. But the breakfast is usually a big deal, with all the dutch oven afficionados trying to outdo each other, and the stake provides hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch for our big meal as a group.

I don’t see much communication between fathers and their sons, though. Mostly the boys are roaming around the countryside in packs and the adults are standing around together telling war stories.

By: queuno

queuno — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 22:01:22 +0000

I mean, our stake does one. But you can go just for the evening campfire and drive home, or else get there early enough for the breakfast. No actually camping required.