It was a nice day for a spring clean of the grounds at Trinity Episcopal church on Saturday May 18th. What a great way to do a Good Turn and to be leaving up to being a Helpful Scout. Our clean up amounted to trimming several tree limbs and brush. We started the clean up at 8:30 AM and we were done at 11:00 AM. We then went to lunch where we got a real treat. We were taken to HI-BOY’S where Stacy and Mr.Howell said we could order whatever we wanted. Lunch was great and well worth coming to help clean up the church grounds.

What a great overnight the scout troop had this weekend at Rotary Camp. We started out overnight by doing a service project for the camp. We picked up limbs, littles limbs and trash to allow the grounds to be mowed. We also placed mulch around some small trees. The service project was great as the scouts all worked together and listened to the Sr. Patrol Leaders.

We then got our personnel gear off our Troop Bus and moved it to the cabin we were assigned. We ate lunch and then we got to go fishing. The fishing was fun even if we didn’t catch any fish.

Now it was time to play Gaga Ball which is a favorite game of all the scouts. We played for a few hours. Then it was time for supper. Supper was great as we had caesar salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, meatballs and to top it off we had garlic bread.

Then it was back to the Gaga Pit where we played till it was dark. Then our scoutmaster had a meeting around a fire that had been built by the leaders where we sang songs and just relaxed. The funny part was there was no campfire planned for this over night but we ended up having a campfire. It was great. We had a troop cracker barrel. Where we had cobbler, apple, cherry and black forest. The cobblers were great. Then it was time for bed.

When we got up on Sunday morning we prepared our personnel gear to move it to the Troop bus. Then it was time for breakfast where we had french toast(made with Texas Toast) , syrup and bacon. It was great. Then it was back to the Gaga Pit till it was time for church. At church we had an opening prayer, a song, a sermon, a responsive reading, a song and a closing prayer. I really like our troop church services. Then it was time to move our gear to the Troop Bus. A little more gaga ball and one last sweep of the camp to pick up trash and it was time to get on the Troop Bus to head back to the church for our parents to pick us up.

I can not wait till next month’s overnight.

The Troop bus left the church parking lot at 7:15 AM from the church parking lot to head to scout camp. I was so excited as this was my first time to ride on the troop bus and to see scout camp. The bus ride took approximately 2 hours. Once at camp our leaders checked in a place they called the reservation office. After checking the troop bus took us to our departure spot to start the hike. Before we left we were given our dehydrated  meal for dinner and three breakfast bars for our Sunday morning breakfast. I just want to get started on the 5 mile backpacking trip as I want to see this place they call Cedar Bluff. Finally it is time to strap on our backpacks and head out. It didn’t take long to get deep into the woods. The hike was up and down a few hills and we had several creek crossings. The hike was a little tuff as I had never walked so far with a backpack on my back. We were on the trail for around 3-½ hours before we reached Cedar Bluff. I was very tired from the hike and really didn’t know if I liked the hike until I was actually standing on Cedar Bluff. The view from the bluff was breathtaking. We then ate lunch and took a break. After lunch the scouts were given free time to explore. After a while the scouts were asked to come and gather up so we could have church. I was thinking what a great spot for a church service overlooking the lake. After church the leaders got out the backpacking stoves and we heated up water for fixing our dehydrated meals for dinner. I was not sure how these dehydrated meals were going to taste. Once the water was added it took approximately 15 minutes for the meals to be ready to eat. It seems to take forever for the meal to be ready to eat. Once it was ready I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but the meal was actually great. After dinner the scouts and leaders just sat around and talked. When the sun went down everyone went to bed. As it was very dark and cold. On Sunday we got up when the sun came up. We packed up and headed out on the hike back to the troop bus. The hike back was once again up and down hills but it was funny because it felt as if we went down hill more.

That may be because all I could think about was the stop the troop was going to make at McDonald’s on the way home for lunch. Overall the trip was great and I am glad I was able to make the hike and I hope the troop does it again.

Troop 282 has an upcoming actress in our midst Celestine Matthews. Celestine has taken part in several plays at the Community Theater of Independence (Power House Theater). The latest role she played was the Scarecrow in The Marvelous Land of Oz The Young Girl Returns.

The Troop is very proud of Celestine and we look forward to her being in more plays.

What a great weekend Troop 282 had. We went on a weekend Overnight to Zion Church Camp. What a great place. We left Trinity Epispoal Church on Saturday morning. Once we reached the Church Camp we unloaded the Troop trailer. Each Patrol set up their Patrol Campsite with tents, Patrol Fly, Patrol Equipment Boxes and Patrol Kitchen. After we ate lunch we had a troop demonstration on how to split wood with our handaxes. After that we had a troop scavenger hunt on nature and the Scout Law. Then we got to play Capture the Flag as a troop. All these events were very fun. Hope we get to do it again. Once we were done with these events the patrol were off to start their fires for dinner. In our case we cooked pork chops in applesauce with green bean, carrots and potatoes all covered with apple pie filling. It seemed to take forever for the food to get done as we were all starving. Thirty five minutes later we had food. It was great. Now clean up must be done.

 After clean up was done our patrol practiced their song and skit for the Troop Campfire. We can’t wait for the campfire to start.  Because after the campfire we have a Troop Cracker Barrel with Cherry, Apple and Black Forest Cherry Cobblers. The cobblers were all great. After cracker barrel everyone went to bed.

On Sunday morning we were awaken at 7:00 PM to start taking down our tents due to a rain storm and heavy winds that were to be coming by 11:00 AM. We all got our personnel gear picked up and moved to our troop bus. Once this was done we got busy taking down all the patrol equipment we set up on Saturday. It is amazing how much faster it comes down than it goes up. Once this was all done we moved our patrol stuff up to the covered shelter where we cooked our bacon, hash browns, eggs and cheese. Once again breakfast was great. The only problem was we had dish to wash and clean up. I wish we could have meals that we didn’t have to clean up. Our Patrol got it done. Then we moved everything to the Troop Trailer.

We then moved to our Troop Church Service. Where we had an Opening Prayer, we sang, had a sermon on Palm Sunday, we sang and had a closing prayer.

We then moved to the Troop Bus to head back to Trinity Epsicopal Church where our parents picked us up. What a great weekend. Can’t wait for April overnight. We’re going fishing.

Troop 282 held their 75th Annual Pancake Day on February 13th from 6:00 AM t0 7:00 PM. The troop had a great day and it was hard to believe that we have been doing this fundraiser for 75 years.This fundraiser takes the scouts, leaders and parents to work together to pull it off and once again we did it. This year was very special as the City of Independence Mayor came and presented a Proclamation to the troop for 75 years  of having Pancake Day.

However Pancake Day started five weeks ahead of the actual day when the tickets were passed out to the scouts and leaders. Several scouts met on three Saturdays from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM going door to door selling tickets. These scouts did a great job.

Great job to everyone who came and worked and ate at the event.

We will be having our 76th Annual Pancake Day on March 4, 2025. Mark your calendar and come see us.

On January 20th my troop and I participated in the 2024 Klondike Derby, and I think we all had a great time. The events were extremely interactive and somewhat challenging and my group had fun using our different strengths to help us complete the event. 

We tried to use scout spirit and teamwork to the best of our abilities and that helped us a lot, doing the events also took our minds off of the freezing temperatures. Speaking of temperatures, the snow really helped exemplify the feeling of a real klondike race with dogs and stuff.

This event was challenging for our younger scouts but overall I think we all enjoyed it very much and I hope to go back next year.

As viewed by one of the two patrols the troop had taken part in the Klondike Derby. The derby was good and we used our scouting skills that we have been taught in scouts. We used knot tying, lashings, 1st Aid, fire building, cooking and shelter building. I will say that our first event knot tying did not go well. But after the knot tying event our patrol did start to work a little more as a team and was able to get caught up and was able to complete all of the events.

In the future we need to work on learning our scouting skills better, especially knots.  To allow us to get this event done much faster.

What a great day the troop had at the Blue Elk District Klondike Derby. We actually had snow to pull our sleds on. The temperature was 0 degrees when we started but it reached a balmy 9 degrees when we finished up. The Troop is so proud of our scouts who came out to this very cold event. There were 15 events that each patrol had to complete for a score. The events were as follows: Sled Lift, Knots, First Aid, Splint/Stretcher, Lashings, Survival Shelter, Compass Course, Archery, Tomahawk Throw, Whiteout Walk, Panning for Gold, B-B Guns, Snowball Throw, Fire Building and Cooking. I would like to draw everyone’s attention to these events. Everyone of the events have to do with scouting skills. Scouting skills is what our scouts teach and use every Monday night at scout meetings during skills instruction and patrol competition. I would say that our scouts need a little more work on their scouting skills and working as a Patrol(team).

We will work on more Patrol Teamwork at our scout meetings and upcoming overnights.

As the Scoutmaster I must do a better job to get the scouting skills taught to our scouts. Just like a coach of a team I must do a better job in making sure our team can perform all of the scouting skills.

I would like to say I was very proud of the scouts that went to the Klondike Derby. It was cold, not one of them complained. Today was a true scouting event and a great day for a scouting event. Congratulations to our scouts.

Scout Troop 282 Boys and Girls is a great troop. The troops are led by our youth leadership. Our youth leadership (Patrol Leadership Council) meets once a month to plan our weekly troop meetings and to talk about future events for our troop. Our Troop meetings are fun. We have a Pre-Opening game starting at 6:30 PM. Then at 7:00 PM we have our Opening where we recite the Pledge of Allegiance, Scout Law and Scout Oath. At 7:05 PM we have Patrol Corners where our Patrol Leaders cover the patrol business. We have Skills Instruction at 7:15 PM. Here we learn a scouting skill (1st Aid, Knots, Lashing, Winter Camping, Backpacking, Cooking, Building Fires, Use of Hand Ax and Pocket Knifes etc). Then at 7:35 PM we have Inter-patrol Activity where we compete against the other patrols on what we learned in the Skills Instruction. I forgot to tell you our troop is one big team which is led by our Troops Sr. Patrol Leader the troops team leader but then we are broken down into teams of eight called patrols. Our Patrols are led by a Patrol Leader, the team captain. Each week we have 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place awards awarded to the patrols. The patrols are recognized individually. After the competition we have Troop Advancement at 7:45 PM. Here we work on rank advancement for Scout, Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Star, Life and Eagle. Our youth leadership teach the Scout, Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and 1st Class Ranks. For Star, Life and Eagle Rank the scouts work on merit badges taught by our adult leadership. At 8:15 PM we have our closing where any rank advancement or merit badges earn that week are awarded to the scouts who earned them. Announcements are made and our Scoutmaster has a minute to talk to us. That’s our weekly. We also have monthly activities which could be an overnight, a trip to the Omaha Zoo, the Cosmosphere or a day activity.

We have a GREAT TROOP.

We are always looking for Young Ladies and Young Men who are in at least the 5th Grade to COME AND JOIN THE FUN BY JOINING OUR TROOP.

We meet on Monday Nights from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM at TRINITY EPICOPAL CHURCH 409 N. LIBERTY INDEP MO 64050