Greetings to All. As most of you know, October was without question one of our busiest months in memory, with no less than four major Scouting outings, one minor event, a King-sized Board of Review, and four solid weeks of Junior and Senior Scout Advancement. November will start off equally as intensive, but things will ease considerably after the completion of Scouting for Food on November 13th.
"And now for something completely different...." This month, we welcome Amelia Nahza Mazloom to our ranks. She arrived at 7:48am Sunday October 24th, weighing in at 7 lbs, 7.4 oz, and 19 inches long. Mother and child are doing fine. ASM Father was a wreck, but is (slowly) improving.
It's been a great month for Rank Advancement, with a triple set of Boards of Review mid-month. Reaching higher were: Chris B. (2nd Class), Richard B. (Life), Luke B. (2nd Class), Todd G. (2nd Class), Will K. (2nd Class), Patrick P. (Tenderfoot), Thomas S. (2nd Class), Carl S. (2nd Class), Neil S. (2nd Class), Dan T., (Life) Nick T. (Life), Chris T. (Life), and Tom W. (Tenderfoot).
It was also a busy month for Merit Badges; earning badges were: Chris B., Luke B., Max D., Matt G., Thomas S., Carl S., Neil S., and J.J. T. (all earned Stamp Collecting); John P. (Cycling); and Tom W. (Aviation).
Congratulations to all the above Scouts! - and Thanks to every Adult who sat on a Board of Review or ran a Merit Badge.
Finally, in related "advancement," our newest ASM's (Glenn McGregor and Dan O'Hearn) both completed Scoutmastership Fundamentals (Basic Leader Training) - Congrats! - and Thanks for taking the time....
This weekend, we're going caving (Stillhouse Cave and Sinks of Gandy), and also visiting Spruce Knob (the highest point in WV.) We'll also be starting our annual Scouting for Food drive this Saturday, with the distribution of over 1600 bags across the 22207 zip code area. We'll be collecting old American Flags for retirement, and also collecting for Toys for Tots, all in the same campaign. If Mother Nature cooperates, we may also try and get the upper parking lot at St. Agnes resealed and painted during the Veteran's Day week and/or the following week (stay tuned.) This will be followed by Scouting for Food Pickups (we're hoping to hit 5,000 pounds this year!) This year's Junior Leader Training session will take place the weekend before Thanksgiving, and is slated for all Scouts in 7th Grade or higher (separate sessions for 7th/8th Graders versus H.S.-aged Scouts.) Finally, we'll have our annual Turkey Hike on either the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving (Saturday preferred, Friday if Saturday's weather is uncooperative); this year, Ted G. has his eyes on Sugarloaf Mountain, off I-270.
Did I actually say things were going to ease later this month? Yeah, right!
1) Scouting for Food - Current Signups will be the subject of a separate mass emailing this week. All Scouts and parents will have to pay strict attention to when they are signed up - we will not be able to make reminder phone calls to anyone regarding this service project. Many Scouts who signed up for duties on Thursday, November 11th, may be washouts because they in fact have school that day - be careful! Note that we will not allow "after dark" bag distribution, so if you're in school all day, you'll have to work on Saturday the 6th (and will need to notify Heidi C. of that fact asap!)
2) St. Agnes Parking Lot Job - I still have not received word from Father Gould on whether he will allow us to proceed on the lot in "bit pieces." However, Mark Shirey (Dr. Guggemos' replacement) talked to me today, and is gung-ho to get it done. In addition, Chris W. is suddenly interested in this project as an Eagle Scout Project, which would definitely add some extra value. Of course, winter is coming, too. Stay tuned....
3) Philmont Story in Outside Magazine - As most Troop members are aware, the Troop purchases Outside Magazine subscriptions for all our H.S.-aged Scouts; this is our replacement for Boy's Life, which is a good magazine for Junior Scouts but inappropriate for Senior Scouts.
In general, we have been very pleased with Outside Magazine; however, there is an article on Philmont in this past month's issue which has greatly irritated me. Without going into great detail, the author basically strung together a farcical and negative caricature of Philmont which does a grave disservice to the Ranch. Any of our Philmont 2000 families reading this trash may rest assured that this is not the Philmont reality that WE have experienced, and that you may safely treat this as the tabloid journalism it is (designed to excite sales via controversy - not present an accurate depiction of the Ranch.)
P.S. - I have already sent off a blistering Letter to the Editor protesting this article. Would any of you expect any less of me? If you wish to add your own thoughts, the email address for the Editor is: letters@outsidemag.com
4) I regret to announce the death of Bill McCahill on October 8th, at the age of 83. Although only a few current Troop members knew him, Bill was a force for two decades in local, regional and national Scouting, and served as Troop 111's Committee Chairman for (I believe) over 15 years. Both of his sons are Troop 111 Eagle Scouts. In addition to his service to the Troop (and the Parish), Bill was a driving force in developing Scouting for the Handicapped (nationwide), and received the Silver Beaver and Silver Buffalo Awards in recognition for his efforts in that previously neglected field. He was the hidden Patriarch of Troop 111 (a mantle that now falls to John Manning), and will be missed by all those privileged to have known him. RIP.
PS - Click here for Bill's obituary.
John Manning, by the way, was the Cubmaster of Pack 111 from about 1965 through 1970, the Scoutmaster from 1970 through 1975, and a Committee Member since 1975. He is also the newest member of the District Eagle Board, and sat on numerous Troop 111 Boards of Review in the 1980's and early 1990's. Perhaps most importantly, he and Bill McCahill (and also Sally McMullen) were among the Troop's primary advocates at St. Agnes when Scouting was less than popular among a powerful group of senior Parishioners. I hope he will attend the upcoming Court of Honor.
With the postponement of the September canoe trip due to Hurricane Floyd, our Annual Guns and Arrows Campout again became our first major outing of the new Scouting Year. Our sixth straight GnA Campout, and again held at Camp Potomac in Oldtown, Maryland. This has always been one of our more popular events, and this year included .22 rifle and shotgun shooting, bow and arrow shooting, the Paw-Paw tunnel hike, hours-long sessions of "Logan's Run," and a campfire. The weather was excellent the entire weekend long - mostly sunny and clear, with just a trace of autumn in the air. Notable was some night vision gear brought down by Rich's friend Harold (which, by the way, made Harold quite the sharpshooter during Logan's Run!) Everyone got a chance to check out the night sky with the gear; pretty neat! Glad I don't have to sneak around a real battlefield with the Red Team wearing this stuff!
In addition to the shooting activities, we also performed a service project for the camp (clearing away a brush pile and a large tree alongside one of the camp roads), plus got some Junior Scout Advancement in; Rich and Harold also did a superb job on unusual firebuilding techniques, very much enjoyed by the Scouts. As usual, many a Scout earned $5. bills for prowess on the archery and rifle ranges, and we only lost one arrow (and broke 4 others) the entire weekend - our "best" showing ever. Daniel Ho. proved to be a Deadeye Dan with Harold's shotgun.
All in all, a great weekend; participants included: Chris B., Luke B., Charles B., John B., Sam F., David G., Todd G., Matt G., Daniel Ho., Will K., Daniel M., Nick Mc., Stefan N., Patrick P., John P., Dale R., J.T. R., Thomas S., Charlie S., Carl S., Neil S., JJ T., Mark T., Tom W., and Chris Y.
(by Ted Gerarden) The September canoeing trip, having been postponed by the arrival of Hurricane Floyd, took place on the weekend of October 15-17, with Hurricane Irene blowing up the east coast. We sure can pick 'em! The pleasant surprise is that the weather along the James River south of Charlottesville cooperated, and the trip was a great success.
Twenty-five Scouts and 14 adults pulled out of the St. Agnes parking lot on Friday afternoon and headed out I-66 to Route 29. After a fast food stop in Warrenton, the Troop caravan rolled around Culpepper and Charlottesville, through Scottsville, and on to the James River Runners campground along the north bank of the James at Hatton Ferry. The ferry is historic-it is a four-vehicle raft connected to a cable stretched above the river. To cross the river, the ferryman angles the raft into the current, and the current pushes the raft across. For the return trip, the ferryman turns the ferry so that it is angled the other way into the current. It is not only the smallest ferry operated by the Virginia Department of Transportation, but is also one of only two such ferries in the entire United States!
We had the campground to ourselves, and pitched tents among the trees. After setting up camp, the Scouts organized a short game of Logan's Run before turning in under a brilliantly clear sky. The campground is adjacent to the CSX railroad line that hauls coal out of western Virginia and West Virginia, and three coal trains rolled through during the night. Nothing like 115 railcars, each loaded with 100 tons of coal, to shake the ground under you! Incredibly, several Scouts and Adults (claimed to have) slept through the evening trains, despite an earsplitting horn warning as each crossed the siding 100 yards away!
Clouds moved in during the night, and the morning was gray and cool. After a tasty waffle breakfast, the Troop packed lunch (lunch for the entire troop fit safely inside Hugh's giant-size dry bag) and got ready to tackle the river. Younger Scouts picked their canoeing partner (many Dads were rewarded for going when they got picked by their sons) and then we headed over to the James River Runners' shop for instructions. Jeff (the owner) gave us a first-class orientation, and took a digital photo of the Troop which was later put up on the JRR website. Everyone piled into two JRR buses for the drive upriver-we were the last group going out on the water this year!
After launching, we split into four groups of five canoes each and practiced strokes on a wide and placid stretch of the river. The water was clear, and the depth averaged about 4-5 feet. The canoes spread out along the river, but rejoined a few miles downstream at a sand bar for lunch. Just as we landed, the sun came out, bringing the air temperature near 70°. There was shallow water for chasing fingerlings and warm sand to lie on. We marked a swim area in the river for swimming after lunch. The river water was a cool but pleasant 63°. We continued downriver through a series of moderate rapids, enjoying pleasant weather and beautiful scenery. A large flock of several hundred Canadian geese flew over, honking loudly as they went, and two trains passed us on their way to Newport News.
Shortly before the end of the float, many of the canoes explored a stream coming in from the south bank, while other canoes stopped to play Tarzan on a great rope swing hanging from a large tree. Several Scouts experimented with how far their canoes could roll before capsizing, with predictable results! A final short set of rapids brought us back to the JRR campground as clouds again moved in. The total river distance was nine miles. JRR had been watching the progress of Hurricane Irene, and we debated with Jeff whether we would get rained on if we stayed Saturday night-we decided the odds were improving as Irene drifted on its more easterly course, and settled in for the night. There was still time for football and volleyball, an enormous spaghetti and meatball dinner, more Logan's Run, and then an excellent Troop 111 campfire. Each patrol did a skit or song (including a fine rendition of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Eric W.), and Bob followed up with many songs, including the perpetual favorite, Ghost Chickens in the Sky. We had many visits from Bones, the JRR mascot, an energetic dog that loved to chew on the rocks around the campfire rings! The sky cleared again for another fantastic display of stars, shooting stars, satellites, and aircraft. After lights out, most of the Scouts slept through the night's coal trains!
Sunday morning was cloudy but dry. After breaking camp there was time for more volleyball before the drive home. With the threat of rain coming, we left a bit early and drove into the remnants of Irene. We once again hit Warrenton for lunch, and then did a thorough clean-up at St. Agnes. All together, an excellent trip! Participants were: Luke B., Charles B., John B., Jeff C., Baxter C., Matthew C., Mike C., Drew D., Todd G., Ted G., Matt G., Dan H., Will K., Hovey K., Neal K., John K., Dr. Bob K., William L., Daniel M., Kevin M., Jack O., Dale R., Dale R., Sr., John R., Jim R., Charlie S., Dan S., Thomas S., Casey S., Daniel S., Larry S., Neil S., Steve S., Dan T., Nick T., Mark T., Tim T., Eric W., and Rick W.
(by Ted Gerarden) On Saturday, October 23, 15 Scouts and 7 adults attended the annual Baltimore Area Council Scout Orienteering competition at Patuxent River Park near Upper Marlboro, Maryland. This is a very well organized orienteering meet that provides instruction exercises followed by team and troop competition events. There were 372 Scouts from 37 Troops competing. The weather was sunny but cool, with clouds moving in during the day-ideal for running down markers in the woods! Most of the participants are working on the Orienteering Merit Badge with ASM Rich Sheehey.
After registering, each Scout and adult was issued a seven-color orienteering map of the park. We began with a map walk exercise to learn how to read the map and compare the map illustrations with the surrounding vegetation and terrain. The Troop passed on the optional relay event in favor of Troop practice on use of a compass, especially taking and following compass bearings to locate targets.
Scouts competed in pairs either as younger or older Scouts (Scouts were counted as older if they were 14, First Class, or had the Orienteering Merit Badge). We had six pairs of younger Scouts (one was a triple) and one pair of older Scouts. The first scored event was route orienteering, where the Scout pairs walk a guided trail to numbered targets, then mark on their maps where they think each of the targets are. This is not a speed event, but emphasizes the ability to recognize vegetation and terrain features and landmarks, and to compare them with the map of the area to pinpoint a location.
After lunch and games of football and ultimate Frisbee, we tackled the all-Troop event, score orienteering. New maps were given to each pair of Scouts, with different targets marked. Eric W., acting SPL for the event, assigned targets to each Scout pair based on their abilities and the difficulty of locating the targets. Many targets were well over a mile away, deep in the woods! This was a timed event, placing a premium on both speed and accuracy. After planning their routes, the Scouts scattered in all directions; adults George L. and Mark S. also tested their "cunning running" skill-with great success-on the hardest targets.
There were 105 teams competing in the younger Scout division of the route orienteering. The triple of Max D., William L., and Neil S. took FIRST PLACE; Ian H. and Casey S. snagged 9th place; Drew D. and Dale R. finished 22nd; Jeff C. and Matt G. finished 27th; Tom W. and David G. finished 51st; and J.J. T. and Matt C. finished 69th-an excellent showing! Not to be outdone, the older Scout pair of Eric W. and Daniel S. finished 4th in their route orienteering competition out of 62 teams! In the afternoon all-Troop score orienteering event, Troop 111 finished 11th out of 37 troops competing. The Troop's overall finish (the combination of both scored events determines the Maryland Scout Championship) was FOURTH PLACE out of 37 Troops! It was the first time in six years that a Troop new to the event finished in the top four!
Participants were: Jeff C., Matt C., David G., Drew D., Tom W., JJ T., Dale R., Matt G., Casey S., Daniel S., Ian H., Max D., William L., Neil S., Eric W., Ted G., George L., Rich S., Rick W., Sean H., Mark S., and Larry S.
Next up - in fact, the next day! - was the 24th Annual Marine Corps Marathon - also marking our 12th Anniversary of participation. 65 members of combined Troops 111 and 149 showed up at oh-dark-thirty on the (rather chilly) morning of the race, and got going on setting up about 40,000 cups of water and "Ultima" (this year's Gatorade - nasty stuff!) Great racing weather, but not so hot for fans or worker-bees. Unusually, the Marines essentially gave us the entire water section, while they handled most of the "Ultima" section; we only had a half dozen marines for "local color." As always, a nice vote of confidence, especially since the water section was three times longer than the Ultima section, and double-decked in cups. Of course, 12 years experience and the fact that we bring a lot of setup gear does tend to impress even the Lifers in the Corps.
We did have some serious weirdness this year, however. First, after running out of cups last year and also in 1996 (because they only brought 30,000 each of those two years, and it was hot out), they had no less than 120,000 cups on hand. Yes, you're reading that right. Second, after 23 years of using Dalecarlia Reservoir water, this year we used bottled water imported from Fiji! Yes, you're reading THAT right, too! Finally, in an effort to protect the runners from all us scummy volunteers, we had to wear latex gloves to hand out cups. Looked like a bunch of med students out there.
After cup set-up, just about everyone headed into Georgetown for the now famous Bagel Bakery Breakfast for some delicious chocolate-covered blueberry-onion bagels with garlic sprinklies. By 9am, the bagel fest was over and we were all on hand to greet and cheer on the first "fast-walkers," who had started at 6am (they said.) Next up were the wheelchair racers - only about a half-dozen this year, but all moving at real speed; the first arrived about 8:45am. The first runner didn't arrive until almost 9:40am (it was the guy who eventually took second place), with another guy (the eventual winner, from the Royal Navy) in hot pursuit about 15 yards behind him. One of the Mexican Army contingent was next, then things rapidly built up to the usual human stampede, 24,000 strong. So much for the 19,000 they were supposed to have! At the peak, the runners filled 3 full lanes of M-Street, wall-to-wall. Of course, we were working as fast as possible, handing out all our prepared water, plus another 10,000 cups or so filled on the fly.
Overall water consumption was way down due to the weather conditions, but we gauged it just about right, with only a thousand cups or so leftover by the end of the race. The Ultima didn't fare so well, however; the Marines were only given enough to make about 5,000 cups worth, and that was history within 30 minutes, after which they also just handed out water. Judging from the runners reactions (many tossed theirs, or spit it out), just as well. By 10:30, we were down to a trickle, and we helped with the cleanup - breaking down all the tables, collecting all the gear, and sweeping up about 40,000 flattened cups scattered from 34th Street to Wisconsin Avenue. The Marines were suitably impressed with our efforts, and gave us extensive thanks for all our help. Another good year - and T-Shirts and Patches all around! Hey, your Tax Dollars at Work! Same bat station, 2000.
Participants included: Luke B., Charles B., John B., Matt C., Matt C., David G., Todd G., Matt G., Daniel Ho., Will K., Stafan N., Jay P., Dale R., Michael R., Thomas S., Carl S., Mark S., Steven S., JJ T., Tom W., and Chris W., and Eric W.
(by Ted Gerarden) On Halloween, Scouts Stefan N., Todd G., Neil S., and Brian McC. (from Troop 162, Westover Baptist), along with Bill N. and Ted G., took advantage of picture-perfect fall weather to bike the Capital Crescent-Rock Creek loop. The group left St. Agnes and rolled down the Custis Trail to Key Bridge, then to the C&O canal in Georgetown-just in time to watch the Georgetown canal boat, complete with mules and Park Service interpreters in period costume, pass by. After grabbing a few pictures, the group headed down to Water Street to pick up the Capital Crescent trail, a rails-to-trails route that curves and rises gently to Bethesda along a mostly wooded route. From there we went under the Air Rights Building on to the Georgetown Branch Trail, then into Rock Creek Park.
The Scouts enjoyed a stop at a playground, passed by the Meadowbrook Stables, Candy Cane City, and on to the closed section of Beach Drive for a pleasant ride through fall colors. We followed the Rock Creek trail past Pierce Mill and the Zoo to the C&O Canal, back to Key Bridge, then up the hill to the finish at St. Agnes, with plenty of time left for trick-or-treating! Total distance was 28 miles.
That's All, Folks! (What a dull Troop, huh???)
- Bob
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