Home.18 November 2001
Greetings to All. Happy Halloween. Be Safe!
Did you know that Troop 111 has participated in every single Scouting for Food Drive since the program started? It's true! Scouting for Food was initiated in 1988 as a nationwide campaign. Although it has since become "optional" for Councils to participate, our Council (the National Capital Area Council) has stuck with the program - and so have we! This will be our 14th year. Our use of insert flyers and reminder signs has helped 111 to be the perennial Number One collecting Troop in our area; in fact, we have increased our total "take" every year since 1988, except one. We are hoping to collect over 5,000 pounds this year - about 1/10th or more of the entire District's haul (even though there are about 40 other District Units participating). Last year, NCAC Scouts collected over 850,000 pounds of food, and we are hoping to better that total this year (when the need is even greater). This may be the most important service project we do - and I thank every member of the Troop who participates over these next 2 weeks!
An unusual month - no Scouts joined, transferred out, or dropped! Could we be seeing some stability again???
We were recently visited by Greg Landrigan (Eagle Scout #46) and Ryan Shanahan (Eagle Scout in Germany). Greg is returning to the area and plans to live in Adams-Morgan. Ryan is now a freshman at U-VA; his email address is: rss6h@virginia.edu if you'd like to drop him a line (he joins sophomore Jamie Smith as our current U-VA reps). In other news, John Brady (Eagle Scout #48) and Ari Houser (Eagle Scout/Troop 24/Berkeley, CA) will be joining us as part-time ASMs.
[Quite a Flock of Eagles, There!]
And speaking of Eagle Scouts, Gordon Pennington relayed the following to me several weeks ago:
Bob - In case you hadn't heard already, I wanted to make sure you knew about Matt Stainback's recent use of his Scout skills. Helene can give you the full story, but apparently Matt saved the life of the Director of Admissions at the Naval Academy by giving CPR. He was given a special commendation by the Academy for his quick action.
Way to go, Matt! (Eagle Scout #64)
And still more on the Eagle Front:
Dear Dr. Bob - A great big THANK YOU to the many parents and Scouts who helped Steven Strasburg with his Eagle project and helped him to complete all of the requirements for Eagle in the nick of time. Steven and his parents thank you all for the many, many hours you have spend with Steven throughout his Scouting career with Troop 111, and particularly during the last few months.
With Heartfelt Thanks, Bill, Catherine and Steven Strasburg
Burton B. and Nathan P. made Tenderfoot, Patrick P. First Class, Sam F. Star, and Todd G. and Stefan N. Life. Michael D., Patrick P., and JJ T. all completed their First Class Practical Exams. Max D. earned Citizenship in the Nation, Sam F. earned Citizenship in the World, Todd G. earned Backpacking, Camping, and Hiking, Matt G. earned Shotgun Shooting, Will K. earned Citizenship in the Nation and Citizenship in the World, James N. earned Fishing, Dale R. earned First Aid, Thomas S. earned Railroading, Neil S. earned Shotgun Shooting, Steven S. earned Railroading, and JJ T. earned First Aid *and* had a 2 year old Leatherwork Blue Card rediscovered!
Congratulations to all the above Scouts!
This weekend, 25 members of the Troop will head off to Martinsburg, WV, for caving in Whitings Neck Cave. This will be our first visit to Whitings Neck in 4 years. On Saturday, November 3rd, we will start our 14th Scouting for Food Campaign, as about 30 Scouts will distribute bags to around 1,500 homes. On Saturday, November 10th, we will collect the donated food, along with worn-out American Flags and Toys for Tots; as mentioned in the "Did You Know?" section, we hope to collect 2 1/2 tons of food this year. On Saturday, November 17th, we will have our annual Junior Leader Training sessions - one session for Senior Scouts, and another separate session for Junior Scouts. Finally, on Thanksgiving Friday (November 23rd), we'll be doing our annual Turkey Hike, this year over Signal Knob (the northernmost point of the Massanutten Range).
Gonna be another dull month, huh?
Laser Tag
Correction "for the Record" - Attendees included Michael C., Matt G., and Mark T.; although listed, Tom C., Jack O., and Steven S. did not actually attend.
On Friday, October 5th, yours truly headed out to the Venture Hike-o-Ree in Front Royal to give a presentation on our recent Wyoming Trek. In the finest tradition of "roughing it," I had a superb meal at the Hotel Strasburg before actually showing up at the Hike-o-Ree - thanks to Hugh and Diane S. for the recommendation. Saw 3 deer and 2 foxes on my way back to Front Royal's 4-H Center. Just over 100 Scouts and Advisors made this year's October Hike-o-Ree; as expected, 9/11 had a pretty severe impact on the attendance. It was a beautiful, star-lit and warm night, and one of the organizers and I managed to catch an "Iridium Flare" while star-gazing. Once the crowd was assembled (about 9pm), I gave them an 80 slide show in a whirlwind 40 minutes. Suffice it to say that the crowd openly gasped at some of the slides - and were equally stunned when I showed a conclusion slide and stated "These 9th Graders have been on 5 High Adventures in their Scouting careers already!" Attitude adjustment achieved! After extended Q&A, home by 1am.
After four straight tries, we finally gave up on the headboat fishing trip this year - we had major Nor-easter's blowing on the Bay for every proposed weekend. Hopefully next year folks! Thanks to Beth D. for her efforts in trying to get this set up.
On Saturday, October 6th and Sunday, October 7th, 18 members of Troop 111 and 2 members of Troop 869 assisted in the special event Arlington Day of Remembrance and Appreciation ceremony at Washington & Lee High School. On Saturday morning, we helped fill memorabilia (flags, pins, programs, light sticks, etc.) into 10,000 bags. On Sunday morning, we helped place those same bags under 5,700 chairs on the stadium field (the remainder were reserved for the bleachers). Sunday night, we assisted with VIP escort and crowd control duties. About 6,000 people showed up, including hundreds upon hundreds of local firefighters, police, and military personnel. [The attendance was hurt by the cold weather and the start of the air assaults in Afghanistan.] Nonetheless, it was a stirring ceremony. I saw at least 2 dozen local Scouters or Scout families at the ceremony itself (and I'm sure many more were present).
Participants included: (Saturday) Peter C., Patrick D., Will K., and Thomas S. (and Adults Rob B., Jim C., Mary-Ellen K., and yours truly); (Sunday Morning) Zachary B., Michael C., Peter F., Brad G., Will K., Patrick O'M., JJ T., and Mark T. (and Adults Rich S. and yours truly); (Sunday Evening) Marshall K. and Steven S. (and yours truly), all three of us thoroughly chilled!
From Marshall K.: Tonight I attended the Arlington Remembrance Ceremony at Washington Lee High School, honoring those who died on September 11 and those who helped in the rescue effort. For the first hour or so I helped a Junior ROTC group escort policemen, firemen, red cross volunteers, and others to their seats. Then, for the next two hours, I sat on stage behind a big flowerpot making sure that it didn't fall over again (it had already fallen over once, which is why they were worried). I nearly died of hypothermia, but I was the only one on the stage besides the emcee, so I got a great view of the ceremonies. All in all, it was really well done.
On October 12th - 14th, we headed west to Camp Potomac in Oldtown, Maryland for our annual Guns 'n Arrows Campout. Although the forecast was threatening for the entire weekend, in fact we had an extraordinarily pleasant campout weather-wise. We headed out the Dulles Greenway, which has once again become our preferred route out of town. Dinner in Winchester, with a magnificent rainbow to our northeast just as we got back on the road. At the camp, we once again did our split for sleeping quarters, with all the Scouts and a few Adults staying on the floor in the Dining Hall, with most of the rest of the Adults down in the camp's larger cabin (a few adults slept in tents). The Dining Hall had an unusual resident, however - a huge walk-in freezer on one end of the main hall! This was a "freebie" that had been donated to replace the camp's main freezer, which had recently given up the ghost. It was being temporarily installed inside the Hall until Spring. Well, the Scouts managed to stack all the tables and chairs all around it, and we did a careful Shop-Vac cleanup of the entire hall. With that, most of the Scouts enjoyed an hour and a half of Logan's Run, while about 10 of us went and repaired the Rifle Range (for the 10th straight year), then we all hit the sack, with cloudy skies overhead.
In the first sign that the weather forecast has turned in our favor, I rolled over at 4:30 and was treated to a perfect view of Orion through one of the Dining Hall's windows. An hour and a half later, Saturday dawned with a brilliant orange sunrise. Hugh S., Luke B., and I were first risers, and got the Archery Range set up. Breakfast was history by 8:30, and we assembled into dual-Patrols for the 3-part "primary" program: .22 rifle shooting from 50 feet, bow and arrow shooting with 10, 20, 25, and/or 30 pounds recurve bows from 30 feet, and hiking the spooky Paw-Paw tunnel. At 3pm, we went into the "secondary" program: 12 gauge shotgun shooting (for the Senior Scouts only), and firebuilding (for the Junior Scouts). As usual, many a Scout earned $5 bills for prowess on the archery and rifle ranges, and two Scouts qualified for Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge. After dinner, we held one of our more successful campfires, featuring a dozen songs and a new story by yours truly: "The Lost Dog." After another 2 hours of Logan's Run, we called it a night. Didn't take long to get quiet!
Sunday morning saw an early reveille, and a careful "reassembly" of the Dining Hall. Then a quick departure for Winchester, where we visited Sacred Heart of Jesus Church for Mass. Back in Arlington just after 12 noon. A great weekend!
Participants included: Zachary A., Burton B., Chris B., Luke and Will B., Jack B., Zachary B., Tom C., Matthew C., Peter C., Michael C., Ryan C., Drew D., Ray D., Michael D., Ross D., Kyle F., Pete F., David G., Matt G., Brad G., John K., Will K., Ryan K., Anthony M., James N., Thomas N., Patrick O'M., Nathan P., Dale R., Thomas S., Charlie S., Jimmy S., Neil S., Steven S., JJ T., Mark T., and Patrick W., and Adults Matt B., Puddy B., Victor B., Michael C., Dan C., Harold E., George F., Mike F., John K. (Sr.), Mark N., Tony N., Dale R. Sr., Hugh S., Rich S., Mark S., Jamie and Jim S., and yours truly. 56 attendees in all - a new record or close to it.
Congratulations to Thomas S., who completed his Life Practical with this event.
The next weekend, October 19th - 21st, a considerably smaller group headed out to Camp Highroad near Aldie, VA, for the Chain Bridge District Fall Camporee. Although scheduled as an "alternate campout" for Scouts who had been unable to make the Guns and Arrows campout, in fact most of the attendees hit both events. Once again, we were treated to some beautiful fall weather: clear and warm. Camp Highroad is a large Methodist Church camp, now used widely by Church Youth Groups, YMCA Youth Groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, and others. It's a really nice place, and Rich S. and I both agreed this is a spot we should investigate further.
Once again, we headed out on the Greenway, cutting south on US 15 to US Rt 50 West; an hour and 5 minutes door-to-door. Not surprisingly, we were the first or second Troop to arrive. In a change, we went ahead and prepared Friday night dinner "on-site," enjoying cheeseburgers and salad. After sunset, we held a small campfire with a half-dozen Webelos from Pack 350, being shepherded by Jim and Michael D. A pleasant but rapidly cooling evening, under a beautiful star-lit sky. Unfortunately, we got a night-long serenade by a large herd of cows in the next field over - the first time I have ever experienced this (and I hope, the last!) Weird. As best as we could guess, the farmer had neglected to milk them the previous evening. Maybe he hates Scouts??? Well I never sleep on Friday nights anyway....
Saturday dawned clear and nippy, with a minor dewfall. Our "second wave" arrived between 8:00 and 8:45am; Luke and Will B., Will K., and 4 Pack 111 Webelos with 3 parents in tow (a fifth Webelos and parent joined us later). After some discussion, we decided to join together as one mega-Patrol for the day. The "Survivor!" games kicked off at 9am sharp, with each Patrol getting a topographic map listing 7 stops for events. Map and Compass skills were at a premium, and many a Patrol went awry during the day. The "Scooters" managed to stay pretty much on track, however, with master-tracker Luke B. showing the way (with minimal assistance from Rich). We started off with a Compass Game, then moved to rock climbing and repelling, after which we enjoyed lunch. Tomahawk Throwing was next, then Ladder-Lashing, then Paint-Ball Markmanship (disappointingly quick but still fun), then Catamaran Canoe Racing, and finally Wilderness Shelter Building. Each of the events was fully participatory - no standing around and watching. We finished up around 4pm under warm, sunny skies, and headed back to camp for some frisbee tossing.
The two Wills (B. and K.) hit the road with Deb O. while the rest of the guys prepared dinner (an instant repeat on the cheeseburgers). Meanwhile I went around and arranged the evening campfire program with the various Troops (14 out of 16 participated). Matt, Luke, and I also set up the lighting at the campfire site. As darkness fell, Mark Wray (ASM-167) and I practiced playing our guitars for awhile. At 8:10, I rousted about 200 attendees to go out to the main field and watch the International Space Station go right over the Camporee - a neat sight.
At 8:45, we headed over to the campfire (about a half-mile walk), with the rest of the Camporee 5 minutes behind us. I started out as the emcee, quickly giving way to Luke and Matt. 13 skits and 5 songs (one by another Troop); kind of neat having Mark and I play together - and the crowd did sing, believe it or not, though 111 is louder alone on one of our campouts than the 200 of everyone else together! I also did Drew D.'s favorite solliloquy by Mike Cross "Dear Boss," which went over pretty well I think (see Drew, you shoulda come!) All in all a pretty good campfire, done in a crisp 45 minutes and with decent behavior all the way through. Back at camp, Mark W. and I continued to entertain our Scouts and Webelos right up til lights out (11pm). Another quiet night quick, with minimal synchronized mooing from the neighboring pasture.
Sunday again dawned clear and cold, with a very heavy dewfall. After a group discussion, we decided to have a leisurely breakdown to allow the gear to dry out on site (rather than having to set it all back up again in a crowded St. Agnes parking lot). Although there was a second competition on Sunday morning, it was optional and the guys voted unanimously to pass on it. By 10am, things were finally dried out and we finished our packup, leaving around 10:30 or so. After a quick snack at the Rt 15/I-66 Sheetz gas station, back to Arlington. All-in-all, probably the best Camporee of the 16 I have attended as a Scoutmaster.
Participants included: Luke and Will B., Matt G., Will K., Patrick O., Patrick P., and Nathan P., and Adults Deb O., Frank P. (Saturday only), Rich S., and yours truly. In addition, Webelos Scouts Patrick B., Brian and Connor D., Jake G., Sean M., and Adults Marcia B., Roy D., Brian G., and Tom M.
Senior Scouts Neil S. and Thomas S., joined by Junior Ironman David G., gathered at St. Agnes on Saturday, 20 October 2001 for a 75-mile bike ride. They were joined by fathers Ted G., Hugh S., Mark S. and Rob B. They departed at 8:15am by way of the Custis Trail down to Georgetown, where they hooked up with the paved Capitol Crescent Trail. After several miles they shifted to the unpaved C&O Canal Towpath trail. The day was superb for bike-riding and drive-by yodeling. Ted G. left the crew at 10 miles to make his way back for a pig-out in horse country. The C&O trail was in unusually good condition, with barely any standing water. The foliage was spectacular and the air was clear and brisk. With barely any bicycle breakdowns, the crew of six continued at a leisurely pace out to White's Ferry (about 40 miles). They were joined at 12:30 by Jane "Iron Woman" S. who brought provisions, her bicycle and the sag-wagon. Rob and Thomas hoisted their bikes aboard the sag-wagon and loitered in the Leesburg area while the remaining four riders, now joined by Jane, made their way across the Potomac and joined the W&OD Trail in Leesburg for the ride back into Arlington. They arrived just after 5:30 and reported a complete success and injury-free ride.
On Saturday, October 27th, we human-wave "attacked" the 2003 Philmont telephone lottery. I don't know how many Troop members participated, or how many calls we made in all; suffice it to say that we likely beat last year's previous record of 25,000 calls. And the results were impressive, too, as not one, not two, but three members of the Troop connected in less than 9 minutes. Joy G. got through first at 11:33 and reserved a July 4th Arrival Date for 3 Crews (our optimal date). Rick W. got through about a minute later, but the reservation computer system confirmed Joy's booking. Ted G. was last in at 11:42, just about the time I sent out the "Stop the Madness" email.
Note that the 2003 reservations closed out (as expected) at about 11:45. 10,000 slots filled in 45 minutes; unbelievable.
Hopefully this success will make it easier to get in on our 2002 Waiting List slots. A lot easier to play when you got trade-bait.... Thanks again to one and all who assisted!
The next weekend (are we sensing a developing trend here???), on Sunday, October 28th, we headed into Georgetown at the crack of dawn to participate in our 14th Annual Marine Corps Marathon (the Marine's 26th Annual Marathon), along with Troop 149. Despite some concerns about terrorism (which had cancelled the Army 10 Miler 2 weeks before), the marathon was a "go," and so were we. Once again, we assisted at the Georgetown Water Point, on M Street about 100 yards east of Key Bridge, about Mile Marker 9.5 or so. Surprisingly, the Marines fully staffed the point, even though they had told me that they were going to half-staff it because we were coming. This actually turned out for the better, however, as later men were specifically detailed to keep an eye on the water buckets. Oh You Brave New World.
This was the first really cold weekend of the year, with temps in the 30's to start and a bitter wind coming right out of the north. For all that, however, a lot better than the previous day! After doing the usual set-up (20,000 cups pre-filled on a long line of tables), most of the Scouts headed down into Georgetown to storm the Bagel Shop; the Adults, however, headed for Starbucks. Most drifted back around 8am or so, and (being Scouts) sensibly sat in the sun on the opposite side of M Street while most of the Adults and all the Marines half froze to death. By 9am, however, we were on the line. The first wheelchair riders came through at 9:12, and surprisingly, the first runner at about 9:25 - quite late. The lead runner (who, BTW, did not win) was at least 5 minutes ahead of everyone else, too - an absolute first in my 14 years. This was the first hint of an odd marathon, and we never did get the usual bonzai charge, but rather a slowly growing and slowing fading crowd, with a few brief spikes. It went MUCH longer than usual, too, at least an hour more than previous years. As best as we can tell, they are staging people in smaller groups at the starting point, with some pretty significant gaps between the starting groups. Either that or it was a really slow group this year. Whatever, we didn't finish til nearly 11:40. As usual, the Marines were quite happy with our work. Most everyone went on home, but a dozen of us headed up to Joe's Pizza and Pasta for a celebratory lunch. A good event, but boy oh boy somebody turn up the heat!
Participants included: Luke B., Charles B., Matthew C., Peter C., Ryan C., Patrick D., Michael D., Pete F., Todd G., Matt G., Dan H., John K., Will K., Anthony M., Thomas N., Patrick P., Dale R., Alan R., Paolo R., Brian and Michael R., Thomas S., Carl S., JJ T., Mark T., Patrick W., and Eric W., and adults Rob B., Jim C., Mike C., Rose D., Jim D., Mike F., Ted G., Joy G., Wayne G. (friend of Steven S.), John K. (Sr.), Mary-Ellen and (later) Hovey K., Lourdes and Mark M., ASM Glenn M., Hugh S., Fred S., John and Therese T., and yours truly.
Was this our busiest month ever or what?????
- Dr. Bob, Scoutmaster
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