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Scouts BSA Troop 108, Fort Mill, SC
We hope to see you guys tonight for our first post summer camp troop meeting. We hope you enjoyed taking last week off because we’ll be going strong now until the Winter Court of Honor in December.
See you tonight!
Wow! It is practically over! The Friday night campfire is over, and while Troop 108 didn’t rock every award, we came away with some pretty significant awards:
Additionally, we brought home the spirit stick that we won and had to give up earlier in the week! We’ll be bringing that puppy home to show off and then put in our troop glass display case.
Our guys completed a total of 80 merit badges and had 43 partial merit badge completions that will need to be completed at a later time (for a total of 123) and of the total, 31 of the merit badges were Eagle Required. We also had guys to earn 5 Tote-N-Chit and and 6 Fire-Man-Chit cards showing that they know how to handle knives, axes, saws and have knowledge of fire safety.
The leaders are so proud of our guys. They were real troopers in the heat that we had this week. Later in there week there was more whining going on, but we asked Scoutmaster Harllee to cut it out.
Thank you for the opportunity to spend a week with our scouts at camp and seeing each of them grow and mature and gain ground on the Eagle Scout. We are all better for the experience.
Be ready for a call from your scout when we are about 30 to 40 minutes away from home tomorrow. We hope all of you will be able to be on time for pickup so our leaders can return to their families as soon after arriving in Fort Mill as possible.
The Grand Ole Adventure is over and while I can’t say that we scored well, I can report that every scout got to participate and that we had a fun time in the process. Every scout did his very best, and that is all that we can ever ask of anyone – even if it isn’t up to the level of someone else. We tied knots, identified leaves, built fires, ran foot races, shot rifles and bow and arrows, swam a relay, canoed without paddles and more.
Of particular note is our entry into the Chariot race. It was the only four-wheeled entry and we knew going into the race that we were going to have challenges on the turns – since our front wheels were fixed into position. The race started and we very quickly took last place along the front straightaway. Surprisingly, the vehicle turned beautifully through the first turn, much to the credit of the two pullers. Then, just as we moved to the inside of one of the other chariots to pass, tragedy struck halfway through the back straghtaway. We hit the inside safer barrier and ripped the front driver’s side wheel from its mount and the vehicle stopped dead in its tracks. Just after the others crossed the finish line our pit crew (the other Troop 108 scouts) ran out to retrieve the vehicle and assist the rider and his two pullers.
It was great to see those parents that were able to make the trip to Camp Bud Schiele on Thursday evening. The Family Night Cannon Firing was an awesome event. I’m glad that you were able to experience it with our scouts.
It is a shame that the evening’s pageantry was cancelled, but I am glad that we were able to carry on with our own ceremony to recognize those scouts and scouters who had been elected by their peers into the Order of the Arrow. Please remember to visit the Skyuka Lodge webpage to get signed up the the Summer Ordeal Event on August 10-12, 2012. The website is www.skyukalodge.org.
As we near the end of the weeklong adventure, energy levels seem to be on the rise and the boys spirits are high. Several of our scoutmasters are participating in the scoutmaster golf classic this morning where they play nine shortened holes using a single golf club that they made themselves. Merit badge classes are half as long today as during the rest of the week, and all will be finished before lunch.
Kudos go out to Matthew Heidenreich, who was the ONLY scout in his Climbing merit badge class to actually complete the merit badge.
Our afternoon will be full with the catapult competition, the Grand Ole Adventure (a series of games of skill where troops are awarded points), the chariot race, the scoutmaster belly flop and the relay race.
This evening, weather permitting, we’ll have our closing campfire and awards ceremony before heading back to camp for watermelon and cobler and then off to bed.
It sounds like we may very well get an earlier start than expected from camp tomorrow with a staff member showing up at camp by 7:45 to assist us with getting packed up and checked out. We may very well be out of camp by 9:30 or 10am. That would put us back in Fort Mill between 11:30am and 1pm. We’ll be calling when we are about 30 minutes away from Fort Mill so you will have time to meet us at the Bi-Lo parking lot (where we departed).
As we make this website entry on Thursday morning, Wednesday seems like a blur. The boys have been very busy working on their merit badges and in the Trailhead area on Tenderfoot and Second Class rank requirements. A couple of the leaders were nice enough to take everyone’s stinky uniform to town and launder them yesterday. We all smelled a little better when we put them back on for assembly at dinner last night.
Leader Hugh Gladden, assisted by committee chairman Steve Finch, cooked a scrumptious “Very Berry” dutch oven cobbler for the scoutmaster cobbler cook off on Wednesday evening. There were several entries and the judges tasted them all – carefully making notes on the scorecards. The winner will be announced on Friday evening at the closing campfire. Following judging, many of our scouts who had gathered to cheer our chefs on were able to partake of the coblers that were brought for judging.
Following the cobbler contest, scouts gathered in the dining hall for Wednesday Night Vespers service and then an Order of the Arrow crackerbarrel.
Several of our scouts who are taking the Wilderness Survival merit badge left the developed part of camp after dinner on Wednesday night to “fend for themselves” overnight. They were able to take just a couple of items with them to help them build a shelter to sleep in overnight. Luckily the night was free of rain and all returned to camp this morning having slept little in their self-made shelters.
The scoutmasters were treated to a steak breakfast this morning. Following breakfast the scouts headed off to their morning classes. Below is a link to a short movie of the Space Exploration 8:30am merit badge class this morning where they were launching their rockets into the skies over Camp Bud Schiele.
Rocket Firing at Camp Bud Schiele
Those scouts that are aware that their parents are coming to visit tonight are really excited. We wish you all a safe and pleasant trip to camp and back home again, and we all look forward to seeing you later today.
The scouts and scouters of Troop 108 had a great time on Tuesday at Camp Bud Schiele. The facilities are nice, the food is amazingly good and plentiful and the staff is energized and keeping the spirit level of the entire camp high.
After a hearty breakfast, our boys headed out to their classes on Tuesday and before you knew it, it was time for lunch. Sub sandwiches and chips filled everyone up and they headed off to their afternoon classes. We had a thunderstorm roll through the area about mid-afternoon, but all we got was thunder, cooler breezes and a little rain.
At each evening assembly a small cannon outside of the dining hall is fired. They didn’t fire it on Sunday night, and on Monday night is really caught us off guard. If you never seen a grown man try to duck while jumping at the same time, let me tell you that it is a sight to behold. We were more ready for it on Tuesday evening and took a short video of the canon being fired.
Cannon Firing at Camp Bud Schiele
After supper of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls and brownie (with cold milk), we were almost too full for the evening troop activity – SWIMMING! The boys and leaders had a fun time in the water (see the pictures in the sidebar).
The evening activity was a showing of the 1960’s version of the “Clash of the Titans” (following the Spartan theme of the week). The boys all kicked in a couple of dollars each for pizza and the troop furnished ice cold Pepsi’s. What a great night!
Though it was midnight before we got the boys in the bed (and even later before some of them went to sleep), we were all up and ready to go this morning and another great start.
We’re blessed with a good group of scouts and a bunch of dedicated leaders who were willing to take vacation time to spend with our boys in the heat of the day (and night).
Be sure to check out the pictures in the sidebar of the website.
Troop 108 is having a great time at Camp Bud Schiele. We had a hot walking tour of camp shortly after our arrival on Sunday. Thankfully that was followed up with a small shower just before dinner, which cooled things off. Dinner was a tasty fried chicken meal.
The staff put on a fun and entertaining opening campfire where our troop was awarded the Spirit Spear. We then had to decorate it and then return it on Monday morning to be awarded again to another deserving troop
About 2 this morning we had an intense thunderstorm roll through camp with lightning and thunder as well as high winds and heavy rain. Thankfully all of our tents held up fine and nobody was worse for the wear when it was over.
This morning, after a hearty breakfast, the boys all headed off to their merit badge classes. We all gathered again at lunch time and everyone was still in good spirits and having fun.
The leaders believe that the temperature is at least 10 degrees cooler today than yesterday – it may not be, but it feels much better today.
Important information can be found in this letter emailed to the parents of scouts going to camp: 06-23-2012 Parent Letter – Camp Bud Schiele
We are just a week away from leaving for a week of fun and adventure at Camp Bud Schiele in Rutherfordton, NC. Classes have been chosen, payments have been made and camp physicals have been completed – yes, most of the hard work is behind us. Note that Monday night, June 25th during the regular troop meeting is the last opportunity for parents to make sure that they are paid in full and that we have their scout(s) physical form. We will NOT be accepting paperwork or payments when we gather to depart for camp.
Parents of scouts that have been to camp before have a pretty good handle on how we make things happen as we are departing for and returning from camp, but we’ll list a few items here for everyone’s benefit.
The first rule to going to camp (and even our monthly campouts) should be to MARK EVERYTHING with your scout’s name and/or initals.
Scouts should pack their gear in a footlocker. These come in various shapes, sizes and colors. Everything except the scout’s daypack should fit in this footlocker (including their sleeping bag). If it isn’t difficult to get closed, then you can bet that you’ve probably forgotten something. I’ve seen these for sale at Lowes, Home Depot, Big Lots, Walmart and Sports Authority.
Each scout is asked to take time to prepare a day pack which will be his constant companion during his time at camp. This pack should have just about anything that he might need at a moment’s notice while in camp. We’ve put together a Day Pack Contents Listing, in PDF format, which you can click on print out. Scouts are invited to bring their prepared day packs to the June 25th meeting for a courtesy check if they wish.
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We will gather in the Bi-Lo parking lot in the end closest the intersection of Hwy 160 and Munn Road beginning at around 9AM on July 1st, 2012. Scouts should bring 1 case (24 bottles) of water to contribute to the troop supply for the week. We typically load the scout’s gear in the troop trailer and then assign the scouts a vehicle to ride in to camp. We always get a group picture just before departure.
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We expect to arrive back at the Bi-Lo parking lot from summer camp around mid-day on Saturday, July 7th, 2012. Typically the scouts will call parents when we are about 30 minutes away from arriving to make sure that the parents are waiting for them when we arrive. Our adult leaders will have spent seven glorious days with your scouts by this time, so please do them the courtesy of being on time to pick up your scout.
If you have questions about anything not covered here, you may contact the Scoutmaster or Troop Committee Chairman by clicking HERE and selecting them from the drop-down list of available recipients.
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We went over “what to bring” and “what NOT to bring” at tonight’s meeting. The scouts should have taken notes on this. More information to follow…
Tags: Summer camp