As a Scout leader, I have had the opportunity to sit in on a number of “boards of review”, which are done when a Scout is ready to advance in rank. One of the questions that is always asked is what a Scout’s favorite thing about Scouting is and the answer is always the same—going to Scout Camp. One of the things I have heard our Scoutmaster state many times is that Scout Camp is where everything that happens during the rest of the year comes together. Despite it being 40 years since going to camp as a Cub Scout and camp being held in late July/early August, I decided I had to go see for myself–as a leader and father of a Scout–just what it was all about.

After arriving at camp, adult leaders are assigned a selection of merit badges the Scouts will be completing to monitor and track the progress of. While it isn’t required that a leader attend the merit badge sessions, being that it was my first year at Scout Camp, I attended most days. It gave me a chance to get to know where everything at Bartle was, and it is a big place with a lot to see. The merit badges assigned to me were the shooting sports and climbing (two of my hobbies). It was exciting to see as the Scouts progressed in their skill and confidence. I also enjoyed meeting Scouts and leaders from other Troops and getting to know the staff who make it all possible.

As camp progressed, I had a lot of time to observe our Troop’s more experienced leadership and one thing that stood out time and time again is how this Troop puts the Scouts first and works hard to help them reach beyond what many of them think they can do. For a number of Scouts, the swim test required for their First Class rank is no easy task. Each Scout hopes to earn a “blue band” to wear on their wrist which shows they passed the test and are allowed to swim anywhere in the pool. Within just a few days, due to dedication and encouragement of the leadership, every Scout in the Troop had earned their blue bands, which I can assure you is no small accomplishment and something that truly impressed me!

Speaking of impressions, the others leaders mentioned that the evening of Night 4 would certainly leave one as it was “Call Night”. When I asked a bit more about it, I was constantly met with the reply that it is just something you need to see for yourself. Looking back on it now, I have to say it was my favorite part of camp. For those of you who haven’t seen or experienced it, I have to echo the replies I got—it’s something you just have to see for yourself! What I can say is that it is where selected Scouts are informed they are under consideration for being called into Tribe of Mic-O-Say (Foxman) or called to begin their journey into the Tribe (Brave). This year our Troop had 4 Foxman and 4 Called Braves among its ranks!

Day 5 was an eventful day as well, but not because of camp activities, but because of COVID. Our Troop was informed that afternoon that due to direct exposure, we would need to leave the following day. While the disappointment in our camp was as heavy as the summer air, the safety and well-being of the Scouts had to come first. While this was hard to hear for the Troop, it was especially tough for the Scouts who had just been called into Mic-O-Say or who were already members and had earned advancement, as they wouldn’t be able to be awarded what they’d earned before having to leave the next day. Yet, even as we made preparations to go that evening, I overheard our Scoutmaster speaking to Camp leadership about making provisions for all these Scouts to return later that year and receive what they were due, which was a much-needed bit of encouragement on a day with too little. And it turned out to be a sign of something to come…

Earlier in the session, we had a Scout join us from another Troop who had attended an earlier session, but had to leave before he was awarded his Mic-O-Say advancement. But, due to our COVID exposure, it looked like he would once again have to leave Bartle without receiving his advancement. That evening, as I passed this Scout in camp, I told him how sorry I was about what happened and assured him that our Scoutmaster wouldn’t forget him. That next morning as we were packing up to leave, I saw someone in our camp I didn’t recognize with this Scout and one of our Scouts that was due the same tribal advancement. As I watched and listened, I realized he was a Mic-O-Say Chief and he had come to award this Scout and our Scout their Firebuilder paint. There are many wonderful memories I took away from my first year at Camp, but that will always remain a treasured one no matter how many times I am fortunate enough to return to Bartle and made me as proud as I can be to serve under our Scoutmaster.

As I reflect on my time as a first-year camper, my experiences exceeded my expectations and I can now join the chorus of those who sing the praises of Scout Camp. It truly is where it all comes together and you get a chance to see the ideals of Scouting on full display. On our Troop t-shirt, the word “PRIDE” is written in large letters. While I have always been proud of our Scouts and their accomplishments, it has taken on a much richer meaning for me after spending time among our leadership at Scout Camp. Troop 282 is a troop led by men and women who put the girls and boys first and work tirelessly to see that they are shown clear examples of what the Scout Oath & Law look like lived out. I am proud to have a son in Troop 282, proud to serve as a leader in Troop 282 and proud to be a part of Scouting!

This is a story about stories, and by that, I mean, a campfire. Specifically, the campfires we held at our campsite.  We did these with the neighboring troop 6282, we are troop 7282.  We were going to have a real fire, but it started raining cats and dogs so instead we went to 6282 pavilions where we performed skits and songs.  Since we couldn’t have a real fire, we opted for flashlights.  We had multiple different people’s flashlights in the center of the pavilion, and we treated it like a real fire. So, if someone walked through or over, we would yell “get out of the fire, you are burning yourself”.  Each troop did 2 songs and 2 skits, we had to improvise because we came with only 1 song and 1 skit; we made up a new skit and song.  We screamed one of our songs which started the other camp next to us to also scream, after that we screamed even louder.  I am not sure if they were battling us in a screaming match but that is just a hunch. After our skits and songs, we got to do other stuff, we sat around telling 3 to 4 urban legends; we had to be careful though because some of the campers were getting scared and then it was also thundering and lightning. 

Overall, it was pretty fun to meet other troops, make friends, have fun, and TOTALLY win that screaming match.

On June 24th, 2021, I went to Scout Camp. On July 3rd, 2021, I went home. During those ten days I spent every night in a tent with one of my friends, Celestine. We slept on two dark green single-sized cots that we had put our own bedding on. This was my first time sleeping in a tent.

Every morning, one of our leaders would wake us up. at 6:30 AM, make our beds, get ready for the day, and one or two people would be sent down for Kitchen Patrol or KP. After KP was finished, the other scouts would head down for breakfast, and after we ate, we went to class.

On the first day, we went to the Handicraft Lodge for Basketry, Leatherwork, and Woodworking classes. On the following days, we stayed at our campsite. During Basketry class, we made a medium sized basket out of wooden reeds we had soaked previously. It was square at the bottom and round at the top. I struggled with weaving the bottom under the base of the basket, and I snapped a reed in the middle of the basket, One of my scout leaders had to stick a new one in. After completing it, we moved on to a smaller basket; this one was also made out of wooden reeds. It was a circle at both the bottom and the top. It had a circle base instead of a square one. And after finishing both of these, we made small chairs with rope seats. We glued the wooden rectangles and short wooden cylinders together, and weaved the rope around the corners.

For Leatherwork class, we made a keychain and leather circle. For the circle, we took a flat piece of leather and metal print pieces and printed little symbols, our names, and our troop numbers, on the leather. For the keychains, we got two colors of vinyl chord and wrapped it around a key ring. We were told to weave it to make a square shape going up. All of us, Celestine, Maeli, and I, struggled. It took a while for me to understand what I was doing, but after a while I got the hang of it.

For Woodworking class, we were taught about hard and soft wood, we made a block of wood with our initials on them, and we made a matchstick or hatchet neckerchief slide. For the block of wood, we took the block, put our initials on them in bubble letters, and carved around them. For the matchsticks, we took a stick with a block at the end and a handle on the side of the stick. I made a matchstick so I had to carve the square into a circular shape. The leaders actually ended up working on it for us and gave them to us to finish it off.

My favorite experiences were when my troop and I made friends with troop 6282, when we went to Iconium to get Ice cream and floats, and when we went swimming. We didn’t get to as much as I would have liked though. Doing these things was very enjoyable for me, and it actually helped when one of my friends needed to go back to camp, but didn’t have a buddy to go with because they hadn’t shown up. So, Maeli and I walked with them back to their camp.

My least favorite experiences were when we had snakes in our tents and bathroom, the spiders in our tents, and all the rain. Once when we were supposed to have a campfire, it started raining. So we were invited to 6282’s troop campfire. We had a lot of fun! We did skits, songs, and stories for a long time. My favorite one was when we all screamed the chorus of I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys. We later found out that there was a snake that had gotten into the bathrooms and needed to be caught. When we came to camp, we found at least three spiders in our tent and there were four in another tent. They ended up naming two of them Cheese and Cracker. I also hated the rain. It rained most of the days that we were there and it stopped us from doing a few things including swimming and having the campfire I mentioned.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun at scout camp, I learned a lot, and I made new friends. I learned things that will help me in my own personal life like manners for when I’m going out or first aid for when I get injured. I’m excited about the things I will learn in the future. I can’t wait to go to camp next year!

Recently at Scout Camp I got Foxman in Mic-O-Say. I’m so happy that my Scout Leaders found me responsible enough to be called a Foxman. I have been told that I am a great leader and getting Foxman made me realize that I am a good leader. There are many areas I know need improving to meet the responsibilities of a Foxman. I have been working to improve myself and the improvements are helping me be a better person as a Patrol Leader, a family member, friend and student. I’m beyond glad I got Foxman.

Well I have been getting ready for Scout Camp for quite a few years now. First as a young Scout, then as a Scout going on Camp Staff and finally as a Scout Leader. I am going to talk about the first year I was to get ready for camp. Because that first time of getting ready for Camp was a real learning curve. The reason is I thought I have got this made in the shade, because my mom will do it all for me I will not have to do anything. See my mom always did the laundry and put my clothes away in my dresser and closet. So i knew were all of my clothes were no questions asked. Knowing this I figured no sweat I have the best organizer and packer in the world that is going to pack my camp box, My Mom. Well I was right she was a good organizer and packer but she did not pack my camp box. She taught me how to. Now I had some of the basic stuff because I had been on a few overnights before I went to camp, but I needed to get few other items like soap, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and a few other items that are not normally taken on overnights. So a few days before camp mom has me stage and stack the items I was needing for camp. Mom told me to get the list and double check that i have everything on the list. If something is missing then we need to go get it. Once I had everything on the list she said now you can pack your camp box. I looked at her and said you pack better than I do. Mom told me if I do it for you, you are not going to learn how to do it or know where it is in your camp box if I do it. She reminded me to pack it like you similarly do for an overnight, also put your swim trunks and towel on top. So even today I remember what mom taught me about packing my camp box, use the list and check it off. And when I don’t use the list and check it off I forget something. Then I hear mom say “Use the list and check it off.”

This past Saturday, May 1st, Troop 282 had our second Amazing Skills Race Day. We had 10 different activities including packing a backpack, wood tools, a physical fitness course, boil or filter drinking water, rope making with whipping or fusing, shelter building, bear bag, fire building, lashings, and knots. My favorite activities were the bear bag and the lashings.

Eliana

Several Scouts have been working towards earning their Cycling merit badge, and it has been a very fun and learning experience.
We began with learning all about our bikes, safety, and the rules of the road. Once we were familiar with those, we set out on different trails, and began with 2 and 5 mile rides. As we improved, and built up endurance, we began taking 8, 10, and 25 mile rides.
There are definitely trails that I liked better than others. My nickname is now “Crash” because of a bad spill I took on a 10 mile hike, but my fellow scouts were there to pick me up and encourage me to continue.
We are now preparing for our final bike ride that will be 50 miles long. I never thought I would be able to make it this far, but I’ve proved myself wrong!

Dylan

We are working on our Cycling Merit Badge to show our achievement of a completed 50-mile bike ride.  It is an Eagle Requirement.  We will accomplish this by doing required and practice rides.  Our rides started in 2020.  We have completed 10mile and 15 miles.  The first practice ride for 25 miles started last week.  We are riding the Little Blue Trace Trail.

Last week started at 9:00 with the Troop arriving at 8:45. Wehad 3 Scouts in attendance with 2 Leaders riding with us. The ride was difficult because we had not ridden since last Fall.  The weather was not the best, it was cold. The trail was a little difficult, we had a lot of uphill riding on the way back.  The trees are growing back the leaves, the last time we rode the leaves had already fallen. I am looking forward to our next ride but not the crash when we finish the ride.

Lincoln

Blue Elk District Award of Merit Recipient for 2020 – Scott D. Howell, 3rd

Each year all scouting districts in the Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America, select outstanding volunteers within their district boundaries who have given extraordinary service to the Scouting program over a period of years.  These individuals are also selected for extraordinary service given to their communities outside the Scouting program as well.  

Services rendered can range from a Committee Member in any kind of scouting unit to key leadership positions in any kind of scouting unit.  The only real requirement is that the service or services rendered must be voluntarily given and without prejudice and performed unselfishly.  

The highest award that a district can bestow on a volunteer in the scouting program is the District Award of Merit.  The number of recipients that a district can bestow on a volunteer is governed by the number of units within each district.  Each district can bestow one Award of Merit for every twenty-five (25) units.  In the year 2020 the Blue Elk District recognized four (4) individuals with this distinct honor.

One of the individuals recognized in 2020 for the Blue Elk District Award of Merit is Scott D. Howell, the 3rd.  

Scott has been in the scouting program since he was eight (8) years of age joining Cub Pack 282 and earned Cub Scouting’s highest award – the Arrow of Light.  He then transitioned into Boy Scout Troop 282 and earned Scouting’s highest award – Eagle Scout.  He also earned nine (9) Eagle Scout Palms.  

Scott served the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation as a staff member for several years earning various paint levels and is now a Keeper of the Wampum in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say.  

He has served as a Committee Member and an Assistant Scoutmaster in Boy Scout Troop 282.  In Cub Scout Pack 185, he has served as a Committee Member, Assistant Cubmaster and now as its Cubmaster.

In 2021 at the Annual Blue Elk District Recognition Dinner Scott D. Howell, 3rd will be officially recognized as a recipient of the District Award of Merit – the highest award a scouting district can bestow on a volunteer in the scouting program.

What a great weekend for a camping and fishing overnight. Troop 282 and 3 Webelos  from Pack 185 spent the weekend fishing and just having a fun and exciting overnight. The Scouts learned how to cast a line, reel in a fish and how to add bait to a hook.  They spent most of Saturday fishing and even got to fish for a few hours Sunday morning. Emma Rider was the winner of the most fish caught with 8. The weekend was challenging since we had to practice social distancing and everyone wore a mask the entire time. See photo below.