Troop 1131 at Raven Knob Scout Camp 2006

Raven Knob 2006 #4

Troop 1131:

Rain drops keep falling on my head! It rained all night, and it'll be raining most of today we are told. However, the rain is fairly gentle and no major storms are forecast. The rain started just after the main parts of the campfire program ended. One of the young men on staff is majoring in theater; he wrote and directed an inspirational campfire program honoring the armed services and the flag. He recruited a female singer and youth group from his church to perform in the show. One of the props was a very large American flag that took 20 people around the perimeter to hold. The Order of the Arrow usually follows the campfire program with an amazing American Indian based ceremony and dances including a call out of the newly OA elected scouts and leaders. This part of the porgram was cut short, and only included the call out.

The new arena was not packed, despite the large number (~1000+) of people present. Our troop sat near the top of the arena close to the projection booth. After the show, most of the boys and leaders wandered back to our campsite. Some stayed to mingle with the crowd at the Trading Post and Canteen. Since it was raining, I told the boys to go to bed early, around 9:30 p.m..

At the PLC meeting, we decided that if it was still raining in the morning, we would cancel our before breakfast Polar Bear swim. I set the alarm for 5:30 a.m., and woke to the pitter patter of rain drops on my tent. My rule is on "rainy days and Sundays" we get to sleep in! So the boys got about an extra hour or more of sleep last night. None of the tents leaked. Well rested, we made it to the dining hall in time for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Wednesdays at camp are visiting days for the families of scouts in camp from the local area. Many families bring food for their troops; KFC Chicken and Domino Pizza seem popular. The dining hall offers a meal to any troops that want to eat in the dining hall, but we create our "world famous" Troop 1131 Taco Bar! Many scouts say it's the best meal of the week. The camp gives us 20 lbs. of ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and we bring or buy salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, diced green chili, refried beans, tortillas, taco shells, and pita bread. Last night, Wes Barnhill, David Mazzocco, and Matt Wolfe cooked the beef with taco seasoning in two 12 quart Dutch ovens. Several other scouts diced the tomatoes and onions, and Sean Tkacik cooked the refried beans. When it was all prepared, the boys lined up; Ryan Taylor, Jesse Lavendt, and Joe Rolen lead us in grace (rub-a-dub-dub, etc.). The boys ate well; some had third helpings, fourth helpings and even more, but at the end there was food left over. We packed several care packages that Matt Wolfe brought back to the Aquatics staff. In years gone by, we almost never have much left over, and while pondering why this year was different, Mike Tiffany and I realized that Gary Klinger was not with us. Camp just isn't the same without our esteemed troop treasurer!

So all is well, and we're definitely on the home stretch with only today and tomorrow left to go.

Philip Sternberg
Scoutmaster, Troop 1131