Troop 301

We started the NEW YEAR with a community service event for our chartering organization, the SJLC.

Each year, to celebrate the EPIPHANY the church hold and event called “The Burning of the Greens”.

It is a church service that begins in the church building and then moves outside where the congregation sings Christmas Carols around a bonfire made up of evergreen bows.

This is where TROOP 301 comes in.

The boys cut the bows off 9 Christmas trees this year.

After the trees are turned from christmas trees to palm trees…..

….the boys piled the bows up in the parking lot.

We had a very good showing of both younger scouts and older scouts this year. When the pile was complete, the congregation then came out and ……

……the mound was ignited.

We all enjoyed the warmth at the fire burned hot and fast.

When the carols were finished and everyone heading back inside, the St. James Fire Department (who was standing by the whole time) put out the flames.

On January 7th through the 9th, Troop 301 attended the Winter Camporee at Baiting Hollow scout camp. We were not lucky enough to win a cabin in the roundtable lottery and we were assigned the Dan Beard campsite to tent in.

Friday the 7th began as a snowy day and with Dan Beard being a very scenic site but facing the cold north wind and not accessible to the trailer in the snow, we asked if there is another option for us. We were moved to the Paddy Clarken field adjacent to the dining hall.

The troop gradually filtered in Friday evening due to traffic and road conditions. We eventually topped out at 15 boys and 8 adults (down from 33 boys the year before when we had a cabin).

Friday night was calm and cold and when we attended the opening, it was just 19 degrees.

Troop 301 was not the only troop to have low attendance. Thirteen Benjamin Tallmadge District troops had signed up and only eight showed up by Saturday morning.

The theme this year was SEARCH & RESCUE and involved the scouts having to outfit the klondike sled with everything they needed to locate a pair of lost scouts in the woods (one was made-up to appear to be severely injured), treat the injury, transport the injured scout, hoist him up a steep slope, explain how & what first aid was applied and then evacuate him via a “field made” (sticks and blanket) stretcher.

The scouts even had to have their lunch with them and it needed to be a “foil packed” meal that could be thrown on a fire to cook.

Former Troop 301 Scoutmaster, David Palmer, had the taske of deciding if the injured scout was properly treated.

After completing this task, the boys all met in the parade grounds in front of the climbing tower to cook their foil packed lunch.

 The camp provided charcoal fires that were ready for the scouts to cook on.

Yummy hot food!

After starting out relaxing on the snow in the field to eat their lunch……

….Troop 301 decided to move back to our campsite to enjoy their hot meal on picnic tables.

All joined together.

After the meal, some horse play ensued and then it was back to the competition.

Troop 301 dominated in the tug-of-war.

The scouts also got to try out the 2-man saws.

Next the scouts stripped down their klondike sled and were off for a mile long race up and down the hills of the camp and the difference between the winners and the losers we only seconds over the mile long course.

The winning sled was from Smithtown troop 565.

After, it was “kick back” time around the fire, dutch oven dinner (or pasta that the boys made), church services, KP, a cracker barrel and off to bed.

The wind howled Saturday night and into Sunday morning and6:00 am wakeup looked like the frozen tundra.

Only 9 scouts and 5 adults stayed over that Saturday night and braved the cold. Mr. Herrmann was one of those that did. Does he look “toasty”

In the end, only 8 boys from Troop 301 attended the closing and District wide, only 5 troops were left.

The boys did not need much coaching to get them to smile though.

The hearty soles that made it through both nights were (Scouts – James B., Brendan C., Cole D., Harry D., Josh G., Grant H., Joseph M., Alex S. & Erik S…..Adults – Mr. Bindert, Mr. DeMarco, Mr. Herrmann, Mr. Madonia & Mr. Stickevers)

Attending on Saturday were: Scouts – Dean B., *Michael C., Michael F.,*Ryan G., Greg R. & Jason T…….Adults – **Mr. Bauer, *Travis Ochs, Mr. Rosasco, *Marcus Shams and Mr. Trutner.

* = Camped over Friday night only

** = Attended the entire time except for between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am

A special cameo appearance too by Mr. Ettari and Ben Saturday night in the wind.