Troop 202 Crier

Febuarary 2010

http://tier.net/bstroop202

     

Happy Birthday BSA!

An hundred years is a birthday to commemorate and the Boy Scouts has come a long way from its beginnings.  Organized by Robert Baden-Powell as a support arm for the besieged British troops at Mafeking in South Africa, the idea spread as an informal movement of young men following the hints and advice in Baden-Powell’s Aids to Scouting before growing into a formal movement dedicated to helping young men to become good citizens and find their place in the world.

 

                Although Baden-Powell had been a career military man, his Scouting Organization was never intended as an introduction to military service.  The man who had made a name for himself in war became an advocate of peace.  He worked tirelessly to build bonds of brotherhood and friendship between countries through the movement that he founded.                When Scouting came to the United States through the chance encounter of the magazine publisher William Boyce with an unknown British Scout, it found fertile soil.  Organizations such as Dan Beard’s Sons of Daniel Boone and Ernest Thompson Seton’s Woodcraft Indians were already tapping into youth’s natural desire to know nature better and to develop independence through learning woodcraft.  The Boy Scouts of America quickly absorbed a number of these organizations and under the leadership of its founders it became the BSA we know today

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One Hundred Years Ago

The BSA was born in 1910 into a world much different from our own and the United States in 1910 was a younger country.  With a hair under ninety-two million people and waves of immigrants entering the United States through Ellis Island in New York City, our country was growing.  Cities were booming, and our society was about to embark on what has been called “The American Century”. 

   

In 1907 Oklahoma had become the forty-sixth state of the Union, but it would not be until 1912 that New Mexico and Arizona would complete the “Lower forty-eight”.  President William Howard Taft occupied the White House and gave a much-needed pause after the “strenuous” pace of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency.  American society was still primarily rural with small farms worked by hand and some machinery feeding the country and exporting to the world, but industry was growing and cities were home to many millions of workers who often labored long hours in Factories and sweatshops.  Children often worked next to adults and for many their education ended in the Elementary grades.  The Coalfields of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the West fueled industry, railroads, and ships and helped to heat the country.  Life could be difficult and a growing Labor Movement fought for decent conditions and fair wages – a fight that was sometimes carried out between management and labor using fists, weapons, and dynamite.  Labor-related violence and socialist/anarchist political movements gave our country a very real taste of “domestic terrorism”.

                To meet this social challenge, the Progressive Movement took to the ballot box to institute change through peaceful political action.  President Roosevelt had been a leader in this charge and Progressives in government and society worked from within the system while more violent revolutionaries – Socialists and Anarchists, for example – attacked from without.  It was a simmering and unstable brew, but somehow change came to the United States without the violent upheavals experienced in Russia, Germany, Mexico, and many other countries.

                The world was bigger in 1910.  Travel was difficult unless you lived near a railroad.  Bands of steel tied villages and cities together moving goods from factory to market and people from one place to another.  Automobiles were few and expensive (although Henry Ford had begun production of the Model “T” in 1908).  Those who owned a car knew that roads were often unpaved, rutted, and treacherous.  A trip by car was always an adventure.  Oceans were spanned by coal-fired steamships making their passage in days and the Panama Canal would not be complete until 1914, after ten years of hard work.  Some ships carried Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph, but it would not be until 1912 – in the aftermath of the Titanic sinking – that radio would be required on board ships.  In 1910 it was still possible for a huge ship to vanish without a trace and for its fate to remain a mystery.

                Airplanes were a new and untried curiosity.  The Wright Brothers had made their twelve-second “hop” in 1903, but it would not be until 1911 that Cal Rodgers became the first to fly across the United States from coast to coast.   (Eighty-four days in the Vin Fiz -- he crash-landed sixteen times and was followed by a trainload of spare parts to support his effort.)

                The bits and pieces of everyday life were different in 1910.  Kerosene and gas lighted many homes and farms, although Thomas Edison’s electric light was making headway in cities and towns.  Indoor plumbing was common, but many people – especially in rural areas – still pumped their water by hand and visited the outhouse.  The first Lincoln Penny had

Green Bar Bill in the October 1932 issue of Boys’ Life.

                The following spring I made one of the most important decisions of my life. I had found the girl of my dreams, Grace Brown, the Chief Scout Executive's personal secretary. As a teenager, she had vowed never to marry a foreigner, never to marry a blond, not to get married in June. But when a blond foreigner said to her, “The boat leaves for Europe on June 3, will you marry me?” She didn’t say “No” and she didn’t say “Yes”-she said, “Of course!” She knew that all Danes spend most of their lives riding bicycles. She decided that our honeymoon trip through Denmark, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria and into Hungary for the 4th World Jamboree should be by bike. We had an adventurous journey of exactly 100 days….

                [Hillcourt and Grace eventually lived and worked at Schiff Scout Reservation.]  …possibly, the most important thing to come out of the years we lived at Schiff was the relationship we established with the Chief Scout of the World and his wife, Lady Baden-Powell.     It began on a visit by the Baden-Powells to Schiff in 1935, when Lady B-P, by the coincidence of being with “the right people” at the right time came for breakfast with the Hillcourts and asked her husband to join us afterwards in our cottage. The relationship was greatly strengthened two years later during and after the 5th World Jamboree in Holland. The Baden-Powells adopted Grace while I was in camp and had us for house guests at Pax Hill, their home in England, afterwards….

                …The day for my retirement from the national staff of the Boy Scouts of America arrived August 1, 1965. Grace and I, in 1971, celebrated it by taking off on the trip around the world I had failed to complete at 23. We made it coincide with yet another jamboree, the 13th, in Japan. It was Grace’s sixth and last before she died in 1973. It was my ninth. I finally managed to attend 13 world jamborees out of 15 and all of the national Jamborees….  [extracted from http://www.scouter.com/ features/0290.asp]

          

    Winter Camporee Notes

For the Honor of Troop 202 and the Glory of Scouting!

Troop 202 upheld its honor at the Hiawatha Winter Camporee, held February 19th-21st in this Centennial Scouting Year. 

                Taking first place in the First Aid Relay, second place in Wood Cutting, and third place in both the Travois Race and Tower Building our Boys upheld the honor of Troop 202 and had a great time as well!  Other events included a One-Handed Knot Relay and Ice Fishing to name just two.

                Long after our boots have dried and our socks thawed, we will remember the excitement of the Klondike Derby on the slush that covered the ice that was atop Summit Lake.

                The Boys working on their Environmental Science Merit Badge completed their second round of Field Observations and reports indicate that they enjoyed themselves.

                All-in-all it was a great Camporee and we look forward to next year.

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Committee Notes

Most of our February Committee Meeting was spent reviewing Wily Stephen’s Eagle Project Proposal.  Wily will be our next Eagle and we look forward to supporting him in his project work.

                The Committee also discussed Fund Raising and the upcoming Bake Sale at Sam’s Club (on March 20th) and the Spaghetti Dinner (April 17th).  We plan to sell Spaghetti Dinner Tickets at the Bake Sale.

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Summer Activity Plans

We remind everyone that the Summer Trip this year will be a visit to Washington, DC, Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Assateaque Island, and the 2010 Centennial Jamboree.  This should be a great trip and visiting the Centennial Camporee will certainly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

                If you are interested in attending, please see Mr. Hector or Mr. Burlingame and turn in your deposit now – we need to develop a list of committed campers and to start lining up reservations and finalizing a cost.  We are working hard to keep the cost of this activity in line with our trips to Council Summer Camp, but prices are rising and some of the cost will depend on the number of people signed up.

 Calendar

Mar 12 - 14 - Cooking Campout Apalachin Fire Dept Camp Gardber

Mar 20:  Fund-Raiser at Sam’s Club

Apr 17:  Spaghetti Dinner

April 23 - 25 - Fishing Campout Camp Babcock Hovey Ovid NY (Seneca Lake)

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Merit Badge Camps

The Baden-Powell Council has announced a new program of three-day Provisional Summer Camps from August 8th through August 14th.  Each camp will offer the opportunity to work on several Merit Badges, but the cost has yet to be determined by Council.  The tentative schedule is as follows:

·         Aug 8-10:  Waterfront (Swimming, Canoeing, etc.).

·         Aug 10-12:  Shooting Sports (Rifle, Shotgun, etc.).

·         Aug 12-14:  Advanced nature

If you are looking to pick up several badges – especially required badges like Swimming – this is a great opportunity for some Merit Badge work.

                Please see Mr. Shepherd if you have questions or contact the Baden-Powell Council directly.

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Bake Sale at Sam’s Club

Please plan to help out at the Bake Sale we will run at Sam’s Club in Vestal on March 20th.  We will be at Sam’s from 10 AM to 4 PM and we are planning to staff two-hour shifts with 3-4 boys and 3 adults per shift.

                Profits from the sale will directly benefit the Boys.

                We will also be selling Hershey brand Candy Bars and tickets for the Spaghetti Supper.

                Please plan to help out by baking goods for the sale and by volunteering your time. Mrs. Williams is organizing this event (hwilliams97@stny.rr.com or 786-5185).

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Upcoming Events

·         Friday, March 13th through Sunday the 15th:  Cooking Campout at Camp Gardner in Appalachian.

·         March 20th:  Sam’s Club Bakesale.

·         Swimming Requirements will be covered at a special Sunday Meeting (possibly on March 21st or March 28th at a location to be determined).  Please try to attend if possible as we will cover all basic Swimming Requirements for the Ranks.

·         April 5th NO SCOUT MEETING!

·         April 17th:  Spaghetti Supper!

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Scout Sunday

Our celebration of Scout Sunday was impressive and reverent.  We thank all of the Scouts and Parents who attended and we thank the First Baptist Church for its long and faithful support of Troop 202.  Pastor Rice read a kind and thoughtful letter from the Church to the Troop and our Scouts assisted in the service as appropriate.

                The luncheon after the service was first-rate as parents renewed old friendships and formed new ones.  It was especially nice to see the brothers and sisters who were in attendance.

                After lunch we had our annual Friends of Scouting presentation my Mr. Andy Zilnik, the Hiawatha District Executive and a Court of Honor.

 

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2010 Scouting Expo

Once again Troop 202 set the bar at the Scouting Expo at the Oakdale Mall.  Our Boys worked hard to help Webelos Scouts earn their Readyman Badge and gave anyone else who wanted to learn about First Aid the chance to do so.  An informal count indicates that more than thirty youth came through our display.

                We thank all the Boys, Parents, and Leaders who helped to make our exhibit a success and we thank Mr. Shepherd for coordinating overall activities the day of the event.  But we also remind our Boys that their success and good showing were due to their hard work in December and January.  Good Job, Gentlemen!

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Mr. Donald Carlson

A Scout With a History

On March 22nd, Troop 202 was honored by a visit from Mr. Donald Carlson, an Eagle Scout since 1946 and a former member of Troop 105 (Johnson City in the old Sesquenango Council).

                Mr. Carlson is David Wilson’s grandfather.  He gave us a flavor of what Scouting was like in his day, the Camps he attended, and the Merit Badges he earned.  It was a privilege to meet him and to be reminded of our rich history as members of the BSA.

 

  Committee News

There’s not much space left, but everyone should know that the Popcorn Numbers were not as good as last year and we are exploring other fund-raising options.  Parents are ALWAYS welcome at the Committee Meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM.  Please feel free to attend and help make our Troop a success!

 

Highland Forest

Teriffic weather, lots of snow.  Everyone who left returned.  Mr Hector is an awesome driver and Mrs. Mumbles says “Howdy!”.  Wish there was more room to tell you about the weekend and to add a few snapshots….

A Word on the Newsletter

This February Issue of the Crier was expanded and set in this format to Commemorate the Centennial of the Boy Scouts of America.

 

Newsletter Editor is Mr. E. Plesnar eplesnar@stny.rr.com or (607)341-3745) & Webmaster is Mr. G. Shepherd gshepherd@stny.rr.com   Submissions Welcomed.

 

  

Troop 202 Group Page

You can go to the Troop 202 Yahoo Group Page, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/troop202endicott/, and talk privately with the whole troop, calendar, news, access files and pictures related to the troop. Contact Mr. Mullock, the moderator, for access. This page is limited to members only.

 

See photos on the Group Page.

 Newsletter Editor is Mr. E. Plesnar eplesnar@stny.rr.com or (607)341-3745 & Webmaster is Mr. G. Shepherd gshepherd@stny.rr.com   Submissions Welcomed.

 

 

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