Spring "Winter" Camporee

            On May 13th Troop 321 set out to host their Winter, I mean Spring camporee. When they arrived they started to set up their tents and meet the other scouts coming. Until 10:00 pm the scouts ran around, and played some games. But, at 10:00 pm they started the events. At their first event, they had to set off 4 mouse traps from 5-15 feet away by lashing multiple sticks together and extending it to the traps. On their second event they had to knock down bowling pins with a tennis ball, and a tennis ball hand launcher. On their third event they had all the scouts blindfolded except one who would give directions to the others on how to set up the tent. On their fourth and final event they tested how prepared they were by seeing how many of the ten essentials they had.

On day two of their campout,  Willard K woke up last and earned "Hollywood" for the day. (Hollywood is a game they play where whoever wakes up last is called Hollywood, and must take out the trash.) For the rest of the day the boy scouts invited the cub scouts to their camp and hosted a bunch of games for them! The camp was getting so much attention, even TV6 showed up and interviewed a few scouts about it!  After the cubs finished their games they were served a wonderful lunch by the older scouts. At the end of the day everyone sat down for a campfire and a performance of skits. Following the camp fire Caleb H made a wonderful dinner for the troop, and Nick M made a perfect marshmallow for the first time and earned a package of bacon from Robert Lawton, and Nick M generously shared his prize with his fellow scouts for a perfect ending to the day.

On their last day, Danny P earned "Hollywood" and they had a breakfast of donuts and oatmeal. And at the end of the day the boys all left with a smile on their face, Gary had all his clothes, and surprisingly Darryl had all his arm hair.

Cub Winter Games

Now that we've (finally) shaken off winter... the Scouting tempo has picked up. Along with several other Troops, Troop 321 helped support the area's Cub Winter Games - and squeezed in a bit of fundraising, too.

Lots of happy Cubs!

Nick, Jacob, and DJ helped run a game for the Cubs. Darryl served as Master of Ceremonies. He does a fantastic job every year, though he's never worn a tutu.

Willard and Phoebe helped Grace run the bake sale table. The table was loaded with goodies, and we raised $200 to help buy new Pinewood Derby track parts (we could use a trailer to store it in, too).

Gary and Robert sold chili and Frito Pies (Fritos and chili with cheese) as a hasty Troop fundraiser (the Crew bailed out the night before). Robert also made Cajun cornbread, but he promised to try something the kids will actually like next year instead.

As for the "winter" games, we got our last sticking snow just in the nick of time to keep the event from turning into a "spring fling" instead. Lucky us.

Winter Campout

This year's winter camping was a blast. On the first day we arrived out to camp and those that had cars were almost submerged to because of the huge holes (lakes). Some of us had to wait for Darryl to come back and rescue us. We got to camp and stayed up for a couple of hours having a fire and eating pudgy pies. Then we all settled in for the night.

Saturday Night's Campfire

On the second day we got up and had some bacon, eggs, and toast. Then all of us campers started to build our winter shelters. After that we took a hike to Snowshoe Village and then back to camp. That night some kids slept in their shelters and the rest of us slept in cabins.

On the last day we woke up and had donuts. Then we began to pick up the campsite and left Camp without a trace. Although we almost burned the cabin down with a pair of socks, everyone had a good time. ~ Beau M

Winter Klondike 2016

We started the day by meeting at the United Methodist Church in Ishpeming at 0800 and stared off to Lakenenland. We arrived around 0830 and we got the sled ready to go. We were given a map and a decoder strip. At every event we received three letters to add to our strip.
The kids there were Nick M, Jake M, Robbie R, Gary L, and Willard K. They all had lots of fun going from event to event. At one we had to build a fire and melt as much  snow as possible in ten minutes. Darryl made sure to stand far back so he could keep his arm hair. At another event we carried Darryl in a stretcher that we put together in about one minute. We dropped him a few times, but he made it.

Overall, all the boys had a great time, even though Robby got them lost a few times. The Troop came home with many awards, including the "Laughing Patrol" award and Gary even won an award for solving the decoder strip the fastest!

We would like to say thank you to Lakenenland and the other troops that put it all together making it a very fun day!

"Hessel" International Scout Rally

Beau gets it right

Scouting isn't just an American activity. Scouting began in England and came to the U.S. one-hundred and five years ago. It has since spread internationally - including to Canada. That leads us by circuitous segway to this year's "Hessel" International Scout Rally (held this year near Trout Lake). The rally this year included over 500 Canadians, Girls Scouts, Venture Crews, and Boy Scouts. While the weather looked pretty dismal, it didn't spoil the event, and it wasn't as bad as last year.

Darryl, Carl, and Todd arrived Thursday night to stake out a good location and set up camp. Their efforts paid off. Ours was the first camp past the entrance, and not far from the center of action. We were also able to stake out sites for our local Crews and Troops. Robert arrived late and heated up some shrimp egg rolls to share. The weather overnight was cold, rainy, and windy. That's pretty standard for the rally, and it didn't pose any problems, though Darryl took a few sleeping bags into town to run through a dryer. The rest of the Troop would arrive Friday.

Friday started with an easy morning with French toast and a toasty fire. The day progressed to a steady stream of arrivals. Our Scouts quickly settled in to their established duty roster: cooking, cleanup, and campfire. Through these activities, Scouts are able to check off more promotion requirements. Friday night it rained.

Some years attendance to the International Scout Rally hits over 1,000. This year we saw about half that, and the weather may be to blame - or the change in location, but wherever Scouts gather, there's fun to be had, and the boys had plenty.

On Saturday morning the weather cleared up and the real fun began. The rally's theme was "holidays". Naturally our Troop had settled on Administrative Professional's Day. The boys dressed in professional attire, donned taped glasses, wore pocket protectors, and carried briefcases. Halloween costumes couldn't have been more frightening. Once dressed, the boys raced from campsite to campsite to participate in whatever activity the unit had planned. Prizes went to the Patrols that visited the most campsites. Our boys made it to the bottom of the top ten - a good showing in the face of serious competition. Pete produced an excellent entry for the Dutch oven competition. Though he failed to place, his dish was a big hit with the rest of us.

The activities continued with dinner, prizes, and a dance. Rumors quickly followed that Beau was a hit with the girls, and thus ended the day. I've posted an album for the event if you'd like to experience a bit of it for yourself.

The weather held out for the Sunday morning pack-out, and we put away most of the tents dry. The ride home felt a lot quieter than the ride out - even with all the snoring in the back.

Next year's theme will be "Around the World in Three Days". Already the ideas are bubbling...

Veterans' Fishing Day Picnic

Nick helping clean up

The annual Veterans' Fishing Day picnic rolled around again, and thanks to Amy, the Troop received another invitation to help out.

An invitation you might ask? Yes. These men and women served our country, and it is always an honor to serve them.

The boys made a very good impression last year and aimed to do so again this year, too.

Our Scouts and a volunteer from Crew 356 (yay Molly!) helped the veterans carry their plates and bus tables. The veterans, in turn, asked the volunteers to join them for a really wonderful pig roast. The organizers even let the Scouts take back the returnable cans and bottles.

After cleaning up, the Scouts helped the National Guard load hundreds of folding chairs and scores of tables back into their trailers for the trip back to the armory. After such a great lunch, the exercise felt good, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

You can check out the rest of the event's album online, too!

Memorial Day Ceremonies

Welcome!

The Scouts in Troop 321 did a fine job representing Scouting today. They helped the VFW prepare their hall for the town's Memorial Day ceremonies after the event weathered out, they held the door and greeted veterans and guests, and they participated in the ceremonies with all due decorum.

It's great to for the boys to see the flag ceremony they learned as Cubs performed by combat veterans from both recent and long ago wars.

I regret that I can't tell you exactly how many times the veterans complimented the boys for their good behavior and helpfulness both today and last week decorating the cemetery with American flags, but it's a large number. Our participation means a lot to our city's veterans, and it shows they haven't been forgotten by America's youth.

Our newest media star

Lunch, by the way, was exceptional. Post members and the lady's auxiliary brought in a very nice potluck with a large variety of special treats.

The Troop also owes a special cheer for Danny P who stood before Channel 10's camera and bright lights to represent our Troop in very good form. Nice job!

I've also posted an album with this morning's highlights.