Troop 1131 at Raven Knob Scout Camp 2008

Friday, 7/4/08
Report 5

This will be the last message from camp. Several parents arrived in camp yesterday to either take boys home this evening or to spend the last couple of days with us.

The troop rifle shoot yesterday was a lot of fun. I have attached an image from the event. After lunch today, we will do a conservation project for the camp. Our scouts will get about an hour of service for cleaning out the depressions on the side of the road that leads to our campsite.

Most of the scouts taking Wilderness Survival and Camping merit badges spent the night in the woods, and missed our incredible Dutch Oven Black Forest Cobbler. Sam Garretson and Matthew Letourneau helped cook the cobbler. A couple of cobbler related images are attached. The scouts in the Communications merit badge program organized an awesome campfire program for the troop. Each patrol put on a skit or sang a song or told jokes. Three adults acted as judges.

Tonight, we'll attend the camp-wide closing campfire to celebrate the 4th of July (without fireworks). I am sure the campfire program will be inspirational. Then, we'll return to our campsite and make donuts, another favorite with the scouts.

This afternoon we will give each scout a camp T-shirt to wear on the trip home, and we will also give each scout a camp patch for his uniform or collection. Scouts who climbed the knob will also get a pin.
Tomorrow morning, we'll bring muffins and drinks to our campsite from the dining hall, pack up and should be on our way home between 9:00-10:00 a.m. Chris Dills and Vicki Barnhill will have copies of the camp advancement report with information about the merit badges that boys have earned. Scouts who do not complete all the requirements for badges they took at camp can finish those badges back home with our troop merit badge counselors.

The Patrol Leaders' Council, PLC, voted Matt Robb as the Honor Camper this week; and I heartily concur. Matt has shown remarkable leadership and initiative. The other nominees, all of whom did a great job at camp, included Jake Larmour, Ian VanArsdel, and Bryce Summers.

Members of the PLC,the Junior Leadersin our troop, will go to Cape Henlopen for our annual Planning Camping trip July 25-27, 2008. We'll put together the calendar of activities for next season. Our plan is to distribute the calendar to everyone by email, and have a copy on our troop web site. After Summer Camp, I will put together a DVD of the images from our activities this past season, and we will make copies to distribute at our Fall Court of Honor.

I want to thank all the parents and other leaders for their support this week, driving, leading activities, and boards of review. The week at camp was excellent, and our scouts were terrific.

Have a great summer, be safe. Looking forward to seeing everyone in September.

Philip Sternberg
Scoutmaster, T-1131