Home.10 March 1998
Welcome back from the holidays. I am sure everyone had a memorable time on Christmas and New Year's with family and friends. And I hope each of you took a moment to be thankful for all of the good things that came your way.
To be sure, our troop has a lot to be thankful for in 1997 adventurous trips and campouts, advancement and achievements galore, and adults and scouts who were willing to pitch in when a job needed to be done. The most recent example of the latter is our poinsettia sale, the troop's only annual fundraiser. The MacDonald's, a few other adults, and many scouts did an incredible job in raising over $1,700 for the troop. As you may know, a delay in the delivery of the wreaths presented a hurdle to the success of this event. However, due to the extra efforts of the MacDonald's and supporting scouts, wreaths and leftover poinsettias were sold after Masses the following weekend, thus enabling Troop 111 to realize its full profits. A big thanks to everyone involved!
Looking into the crystal ball for 1998, I see an action-packed year ahead. The calendar is chock full of activities. I know the Camping Committee has been busy getting things together for the early winter events namely, the just-passed Canaan Valley Ski Trip and the upcoming Tubing Weekend (January 30 -February 1 - date change) and Ski Weekend II (Feb. 20-22). Each Scout should take advantage of at least one or more of these outings, particularly the beginners who made it out on December 31 with Dr. Bob, Jim S. and Troop 189. (Practice makes perfect!) Keep an eye open for those permission slips and try to get them in early or on time!
(Also, remember to check the Web Site. Date changes sneaked up on the leadership and all of us were caught unawares, Eds.).
Jeff K, Acting Scoutmaster
The grand finale to November was the annual Thanksgiving Mountain Hike, this year to Old Rag in the Shenandoah National Park. This is an isolated mountain sitting to the immediate east of the primary Shenandoah range and offers a fun and challenging rock- scramble along a ridge line spine in order to reach the top, and stunning views of the Weakley and Nicholson Hollow areas of the park.
Old Rag has become such a popular climbing spot that the Park Service instituted fees for visitors in an effort to control the crowds. Our solution to crowd avoidance was to get up early !! This year at 6:30 so we could hit the trails by 8:15. Dreary, overcast skies but warm with a touch of breeze minimized the usual hot, sweater typical of this climb (only to freeze once on top). We enjoyed our four-lane highway of hiking trails before we hit the rock scrabble and managed to stay ahead of Ghenghis Khan's hordes (clearly in hot pursuit) to achieve the summit with its magnificent views.
Once on top, we enjoyed lunch and rock-hopping (Scouts, not adults!). As soon as the hordes arrived, we headed down, completing the 9 mile circuit in time for dinner at McDonalds (a clear balance to healthy hiking).
Participants included Dr. Bob, Christopher B., Greg B., Jeffrey C., Matt G., Nathan K., Neal K., Chris W., Eric W., and guests Brianna A., Oliver F. and Christina S. plus six Scouts and 2 leaders from Troop 978. Thanks to Tim A., Baxter C., and Cecilia and John K. for sharing the trail, and congratulations to Greg B., who finished his Life Practical with this event.
Heading into the Christmas holiday break, the Troop got a gift for itself, as John Tuck finished up his Eagle Board of Review on the 19th, becoming the Troop's 56th Eagle Scout. John was also the record 5th Eagle in one year, breaking the previous record of four set in both 1966 and 1969.
John's Honor Roll
John is currently a Senior at Gonzaga and has applied to Fairfield University. At Gonzaga, he is a member of the Young Republicans and Stock Market Clubs plus is a four-year lacrosse player. He is a competition level mountain biker and has been a top salesman for Bikes USA for four years. He was a Senate Page in 1995 and has been an Altar Server at St. Agnes since 1990.
His Eagle Project was planting about 115 new trees at the King Street/I-395 intersection, essentially re-doing a previously failed attempt by Fairfax Re-Leaf. At last check, the trees were doing quite well, despite the tough summer. A project to come see again in 10, 25 and 50 years!
John's Eagle Board was (and a big THANKS for getting together just before Christmas to:) Dan C. (Troop 111 Committee Chair), Hank Dettmar (Patawomeck Eagle District Board), Carl Doughman (Deputy District Commissioner, Arlington County), Sally McMullen (Troop 111 Committee Member) and Jim S. (Troop 111 Advancement Chair).
CONGRATULATIONS, JOHN !
SCOUTING FOR THE HOMELESS
December was a very busy month for Rusty P. Basing his Eagle Project on the Scouting for Food drive, Rusty coordinated the dropping of fliers in the early part of the month to more than 600 homes. Donations of clothing, toys and household goods were solicited. On December 13, the items were collected.
Then began the really big part of the job. All of the articles needed to be sorted and labeled. In addition, St. Andrews Episcopal Church donated all of the unsold items from their Christmas bazaar. Rusty and his Scout helpers sorted, labeled and bagged all the items at Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church. They had 40 to 50 large leaf bags filled with diapers, linens, blankets, sheets, medicine, dishes, clothing, toys and even a few suitcases. A 17 foot truck was rented to deliver all the items to two shelters: TACTS (The Arlington County Temporary Shelter) for battered women and children, and Shelter House in Falls Church, a shelter for the homeless.
So many people benefitted from this wonderful project. Rusty, and the Scouts who helped him, saw and experienced immediate positive results. So many were blessed before Christmas. Now Rusty just needs to complete the Safety and Personal Management Merit Badges, and he'll be ready for the Eagle Board of Review. Way to go!!
Two more soon-to-be Eagles are gearing up for the big event. Kevin K. is hard at work designing the Web Site for St. Agnes. Be sure to take the initiative and ask him what you can do to help. (This is a great learning experience as well!)
Jamie S. has also finished all his Eagle required badges and will be starting his project in March. This is an outdoor project with a BIG hillside, so all able-bodied Scouts and parents will be welcomed.
Tim T. has finished all but his paper work, so stay tuned!
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR DINNER
TROOP 111 FLAG BEARERS
For the third straight year, the Citizen of the Year Dinner committee invited Troop 111 to participate in the Flag Ceremony on December 10th. This year's event honored John Mellor, former president of General Dynamics Corporation.
Prior to the dinner, however, the participating Scouts got to perform a service project, this one delivering winter clothing for the homeless. Sixty-five packages prepared by the Legion of Mary at St. Agnes were delivered to the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department for distribution the following weekend. While it only took about 30 minutes to do, we were treated to a tour of the fire station, particularly its wall of photographs, many dating back to the turn of the century. Unfortunately, there were no pictures of Troop 101, sponsored by the fire department and the first troop in Arlington and one of the first in the country. Marvin Burris, our "guide", promised to look through the old records, and possibly even to hook Dr. Bob up with one of the commanders who had been heavily involved with the troop. Talk about Scouting history!
Once the project was completed, the Scouts were on their way to the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Tyson's. There we were joined by fellow troops 893 (Centreville), 1916 (Great Falls/Vienna), and 1005 (Oxon Hill). The Eagle Scout giving the address at the dinner was from Troop 1145 in Springfield (the same troop we ran into on Old Rag). (We keep running into these same units so must assume that all of us are on the "preferred" troop list as being dependable, punctual, well- behaved and perfectly uniformed.)
Since we had the three tallest Scouts (Joe S., Tim H. and Christopher B.), we had 3 of the 5 primary flags on the dais. Everyone else had medium-sized American flags to outline either side of the head table. The boys did a great job and were awarded with a hearty round of applause as well as a filet mignon dinner following the speeches by Mr. Mellor (who urged Scouts to consider majoring in Business Management) and the Troop 1145 Eagle.
Participants included Christopher B., Charles B., Jeffrey C., Dan H., Tim H., Michael R. and Joe S.. Thanks also to Jeff K. for organizing the service project and the group and to Dr. Bob for leading the production!
Rounding out the pre-Christmas Scouting activities was a quick tree-planting project at St. Agnes, 12 dogwood seedlings donated by one of the parishioners. Planting was essential before the presumed hard freezes of January and February (not yet but they're coming!). The weekend before Christmas, we dug, watered and mulched away, getting all twelve planted, although the proof of our labors won't be evident until Spring.
This was also an excellent opportunity for John T. and Michael S. to finish off their second 50-Miler Awards. They were both about two hours short on their service requirements.
Thanks to John, Mike and Dr. Bob for another contribution to the community from Troop 111.
The one time it decided to snow this year, it did so to keep the Smiths snow-bound in Salem, Virginia, thus delaying the Beginner Ski Trip. However, Troop 111 is nothing if not flexible, and Dr. Bob and Jim loaded our Scouts, plus some from Troop 978, up bright and early on December 31st for the trip to Massanutten, just north of the Smith's snow adventure, which had received about 14 inches of snow the previous day.
Joined by hordes of other cabin-fever bound skiers (Ghenghis Khan certainly follows us around!), and after circumventing looooong lines at the ticket/rental booths by going to group sales, Dr. Bob had Jonathan D., Matt G. and Ian H. sufficiently "trained" to be passed off to Troop trainers John C. and Chris W. Delaying departure time, the group was able to get in 8 to 10 good runs (despite Massanutten's two slow ski lifts) before heading on home. Some of our newest skiers were even able to tackle intermediate runs.
Congratulations to Jonathan D., Matt G. and Ian H. for being such great students, and thanks to Chris W. and John C. for donating training time, to Dan C. and Adam S. (finishing his Life Practical) for arrangements, to Joy G., Jim S., Dennis McI. (978), and Dr. Bob for driving/training duties.
Troop 111's version of a pioneer wagon train headed west on January 17th, not knowing what challenges it would face (snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain - and roads, fog....). Yet, spirits were high and optimism was in full-bloom as Rick W. led what would ultimately be the 38 members of the twelfth annual 111 caravan into the Canaan wilderness (followed by Frank R., Jim S., Pete R-W, John K.). Chris W. had done a great job planning this for his Life Practical. The only thing missing from past years was the knowledge that there would really be snow and Dr. Bob. (We did miss you.)
We shouldn't have worried about the weather, however, because as we proceeded, we had it all (except frozen roads). A misty trip was punctuated by a brief stop in Romney for human fuel (where else but McDonalds) and a seemingly endless (and very dark) journey on Rt. 193. Arrival was at 9:40, with a real-quick-fast-and-in-a-hurry van unloading to head off to the rental shop. Although we made it on time, the rains of that day had convinced the management to release the rental staff early. (We weren't thrilled.) But not to fear, there were movies and a pool table awaiting us back at Dr. Patrick''s Scout Hall as well as a variety of snacks.
Up and at ‘em came too early at about 6:00, in order to go to Deerfield for our buffet breakfast by 7:00. Dining accomplished in fast order, we were at the rentals and skiing-up well before the opening of the ski lifts at 8:00. Everyone skied the first day, except for our intrepid snow boarders Johnny R-W, John T., Jay P. and Chris W., and Eric W. who is a tuber par excellence!
Joining us late Saturday morning were John C., Dan C. and John A. and Tim A. who had been held over until Saturday for a mandatory 7:00 a.m. basketball practice. They deserve the troopers of the event award!
Saturday clearly demonstrated why we adults work so hard for the Scouts. They were terrific! With so many levels of ability, the buddy system is difficult to maintain, but they did it. They just did it rather fluidly. Michael R., who NEVER came inside (except once), was a revolving-door buddy always willing to go back up the slopes one more time with someone whose other buddy was taking a break. There were also numerous examples of triple, quadruple and even quintuple buddy systems operating; the boys just adjusted to meet the need of the moment.
Tim H. and Nathan K. once again showed why they are Senior and Assistant Senior Patrol leaders, respectively. They did a great job....as did Chris W. who was Scout-in- charge for the event.
From the youngest to the oldest, each of the boys showed true scouting spirit. Casey S., our Cub guest, was, according to reports, fearless on the slopes (we're really looking forward to you joining us in the Troop, Casey) while brother Danny was parallel skiing under Dad Larry's and Gordon P.s watchful eyes. Ian H. joined this group most often, and if he couldn't be a world class contender, no one can. The lad is a natural (plus has a million megawatt smile!).
Meanwhile, lessons were afoot for the two newest skiers, Matt G. and Christopher B. After a moments look of skepticism, both dug in their skis and were trying increasingly challenging terrain (under the tutelage of super-skier Dad John K. three stars in your crown! and senior scout Adam S.). By Sunday, they were both ready to give lessons and showed the kind of determination that makes Scouting proud.
Saturday, the older scout skiers, Kevin K., Daniel H., Jamie and Adam S., Greg B., Nathan and Tim, Ryan S. and Matt C. (who rarely ventured off the slopes), later joined by John A., John C. and Brendan M., did their own thing with dad skiers Dan C.,, Tim A., Pete R-W, Frank R., and Jeff K. checking up periodically to make sure all was well (when they were on the same slope). (Which it was. They all know what they're doing!) What was most impressive about these guys was the number of times they stopped to help other skiers (non-troop members) who had gone awry. Scouts are truly helpful.
Our almost Senior Scouts, Dan H. and Neal K., Kenny E., Michael R., and Chris T. (my conditions reporter) were also rarely seen lodge-side, although Kenny E. clearly gets the prize for being the wettest looking Scout there, and not from falling. The Saturday p.m. snow was really wet, and it all appeared to have found him!
Meanwhile, the snow boarders were zooming along the slopes. John T. has it down to a science. Jay, Johnny and Chris were holding their own admirably, although the three of them did manage to block-off 75% of Salamander Run at one point - three snow-boards in perfect perpendicular formation spread across the slope. It seems that one might have wiped-out and two joined in sympathy - or just for a rest. Skiers were presented with an interesting obstacle course!
Allegedly, we were all to meet at the vans at 3:45, but it was snowing heavily by this time, and conditions were just too grand for a few of our guys. Needless to say, take-off was not at 4:00. We managed to get to Mass, however, most in uniform, and the Mass was actually very nice. Kevin K. and Dan H. carried the collection baskets for the congregation, representing us all very well.
A quick turn-around after Mass, and it was back to the valley for dinner at Big John's. The food was good, the place was packed, and it appeared that there was a busload of young ladies in the restaurant. The older boys spent a lot of time watching them play the arcade games, particularly basketball, while the younger ones were beating the socks off their electronic opponents.
Back to Scout Hall went the Troop, ready for more movies (Blazing Saddles - a troop tradition) and some serious pool games. From reports, Kenny E., was the junior champ!
Sunday dawned early once again with a 7:00am at Deerfields, then off to Canaan. Here, life got really crazy! Twenty troopers headed down to snow tubing, including Dads Larry S., Rick W., (our tubing guru), and Pete W.
Meanwhile, 18 were on the slopes (many whom we rarely saw inside on Saturday) either skiing or boarding. At noon, a massive shift occurred, with our tubing contingent heading back up to the slopes. Pete W. "mastered" the snow board; Jamie, Adam, Greg, Nathan and John headed for the ice skating rink on the other side of Canaan, and John C. proved you can have it all. After tubing, then skiing, he caught the shuttle to the main resort and joined the skaters.
After bidding adieu to Jeff, Brendan and Kevin (who had mid-terms Tuesday) and John T. and the Scully/Pennington contingent, it was off to dinner at Siriannis. It was superb (high praise for pizza). The troop serenaded Tim and his milestone, complete with special dessert and candle. Dan, John C. and John A. departed for home and basketball practice, and the troop settled in for their last night (with a few cross country skiing adventures on the streets of downtown Davis).
Skiing, tubing, skating, boarding....it was a full weekend, and a very weary troop headed home Monday at 8:00. Great credit goes to all the Dads who made this event possible, but an extra star goes to Tim A. who stayed over just to drive the Troop (Dr. Bob's) van home, (ably assisted by Greg B. who gave him a CB lesson looks like another convert!). Also, thanks go to home base contact Joy G.!
Closing out January, seven Scouts and three Leaders headed north to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, for our annual Winter Cabin campout. Our destination was Camp Tuckahoe, the summer camp for the York-Adams Area Council, conveniently located less than half an hour from both Ski Liberty and Ski Roundtop. We enjoyed an amazingly easy trip up I-270, courtesy of the new HOV lanes, and then U.S. 15, stopping for a Pizza Hut oink in Thurmont (much nicer than the usual rush-job at the Golden Arches, thank you very much!) Passing Ski Liberty as we headed into Pennsylvania, we were encouraged to see all the lights at Ski Liberty - night skiing means there was some skiing anyway...
Finding the camp itself was a bit of a challenge, as most of the street signs and/or campsigns were missing or non-illuminated, but we finally got our bearings straight, and pulled in around 7:30. A nice cozy little cabin with a wood burning stove and bunk-beds (and for a change, quite neat and clean.) After about an hour of playing games with the stove, we finally got it rolling, and things warmed up nicely. Most of the Scouts played enthusiastic games of "Egyptian Rat" and "Chaulcer," while yours truly picked up his guitar for the first time since Camp Potomac (believe it or not) for about 25 songs. Unbelievably enough, both my voice and my fingers held out, despite the rather extensive rust. Outside, we had a brilliant nice sky full of stars (moon down) and rapidly falling temperatures. Bedtime at last, with a fully stoked fire.
Saturday dawned with a fully overcast sky, however, and I feared the return of the heavy rains of the previous week which almost cancelled the trip. (Snow would have been fine, though.) It turned out OK, however, with a clear blue sky by mid-day. Our departure for Ski Roundtop was a two part affair - skiers left at 7am for a half-day lift ticket starting at 8, while tubers left at 9am for a two-hour session starting at 10. In both cases, we were the first guys on the hill. Daniel H., Chris B., Duke B. enjoyed the beginner/intermediate slopes, while yours truly spent the day trying to kill himself - unsuccessfully - on the black and double-black diamonds. Only did one high speed nose-plant, and that was on one of the intermediate slopes late in the day. Surprisingly, all the slopes save one were open, and in excellent shape, too - much better than I had expected with the previous week's flooding rains; they recovered nicely. And of course, we had the place virtually all to ourselves `til late morning; very light crowds.
Charles B., Ryan H., Stefan N., Daniel O., Eric W., Rick W. had a similarly excellent time tubing, and also had only a small crowd to battle until four buses worth of tubers came in around 11am. By 11:30, however, the sun was beginning to make its mark, and both ski and tubing slopes began to deteriorate, getting sticky and slower by the minute, and we departed the scene at 12 noon sharp. After an excellent lunch at Baker's Family Restaurant in Dillsburg (a great place to eat!), we headed back to camp for cleanup and packup, while being serenaded by a dozen chainsaws right outside the cabin. No, it wasn't a scene out of "Pennsylvania Chainsaw Massacre" - they were putting on a formal Scout Chainsaw Training Session in the adjacent woods (while simultaneously clearing some storm damage.) We also looked around the camp a bit, since it's been 26 years since I was last there - it's a huge camp, and the infrastructure was quite impressive. Unlike most Scout camps (which are going to hell while they pay the professionals' salaries), Camp Tuckahoe is obviously being both kept up and upgraded. Considering how close it is, maybe a place to consider for ourselves for a future summer camp. Home to Arlington by 5; a great weekend! All participants were listed above.
POINSETTIA SALE
The Troop's major, and only annual, fundraising event is the Poinsettia Sale, held the first weekend of December for at least the last half-decade. For the past several years, the MacDonald's have been the sponsoring family, and the troop is clearly richer for it.
This years sale was extremely profitable, no thanks to the delivery of wreaths which did not come per instructions! Instead of being left at Dr. Bob's (given the deliver-no-matter-what instructions), the wreaths were returned to UPS headquarters which are, of course, closed on weekends. So with the wreaths a no-show , selling wreaths became a test of faith. Fortunately, the St. Agnes congregation has faith in Troop 111 and bought them with a promise of later-in-the- week delivery. Thank you, parishioners of St. Agnes.
In the long-run, the Troop, despite its set-backs, had a higher total income than last year.
Profits were down only slightly because of increased product costs. Brendan and Tim prepared a complete Summary and Prior Years Comparison of the sale, so we have a good track record for succeeding years. This years breakdown was as follows:
|
Saturday Sales |
$915 |
|
Sunday 7:30 |
$425 |
|
Sunday 9:00 |
$1,318 |
|
Sunday 10:30 |
$1,335 |
|
Sunday 12:00 |
$645 |
|
Miscellaneous |
$110 |
|
Post Sales |
$1,100 |
The Troop profits for this event were $1,728, about $150 less than last year. This should certainly warm the cockles of our Quartermasters heart (since this is how we buy troop gear).
Thanks to the MacDonalds and to all the Scouts who worked so hard to make it a success!
CALENDAR
Please click here to see the current Troop 111 Calendar.
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