Yesterday was another busy day of SUN, FUN and advancement (but yes, one brief shower to remind us that we’re at camp). Merit Badges are going along well, and many of our boys are finishing at least one Merit Badge. The Rawhide campers will have accomplished much!
After feasting on corn dogs, chips, and pudding at our campsite for lunch (can’t remember the last time I actually ate a corn dog), the boys headed back out to finish up their afternoon merit badges. Much discussion at lunch about the various requirements and finishing up the “homework” for the various courses.
After lunch, we had our second campsite inspection, where the SPLs (Zack and Anderson) did the math and realized that honor troop was still a possibility if they got their act in gear quickly.
So, the afternoon was spent then re-arranging the bike garage (so it wasn’t right in the middle of camp), adding a camp “entrance” (flagpoles moved to indicate the front entrance), building a camp “gadget” (a trash can holder), cleaning and stowing personal and troop gear, and ensuring the litter was picked up.
As a well-known neat and control freak, it warmed my heart to see the boys working to neaten up the campsite. And if I’m completely honest, lowered my blood pressure a bit as well (although I’m not sure why the cooler was stowed in the Adirondack shelter and the rest of the camp food all the way on the other side of camp, but small steps).
The rest of the honor patrol criteria is doing a flag ceremony, check; cleaning a shower house, (hopefully) today at lunch, attendance at SPL and Scoutmasters’ meetings, check; camp duty roster (check), campwide duty roster (ooops, we’ll add that), attendance at adult training, check. There are probably a few more, and definitely some confusion around the fact that you need 7 of 9 criteria to get the ribbon, but there are 12 criteria listed… Somehow I think these math mistakes are on purpose.
Last night’s dinner was meatloaf, gravy, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, and chocolate chip cookies. And while the campers were finishing up merit badges and resetting the campsite, I worked on re-seasoning cast iron in the campfire.
Zack and Anderson have been doing a good job leading the troop here at camp and, in the process, getting a lot of “on the job” training on how to motivate their peers to get things done. Some successes, some failures, but definitely progress.
One of the things I mentioned earlier was the idea of “troop cohesion” and the desire of the SPLs to have the troop walk to flags together, in Class A uniforms, and arrive all together. This was accomplished last night, completely by the boys, and it was great to see. Small steps, yes, but convincing older boys to get engaged while still keeping younger boys focused is no small feat for a seasoned Scoutmaster, let alone a teenager who has to lead his friends and peers.
Cracker Barrel last night was delayed due to a “star gazing night” on the front lawn at 9pm in front of the flagpole, so after a few aborted attempts at making popcorn on campfire, I called an audible and switched over to rice crispies treats. Everyone was definitely running on fumes last night, and it was our earliest bedtime yet.
This morning, the boys enjoyed French toast sticks and sausage while the camp put together the “Scoutmasters’ Brunch” featuring bacon, sausage, grits, eggs, waffles, and a lot more. It was another nice touch from the camp and a way to say thank you to the leaders who are volunteering their time to bring their campers to Bert Adams.
As I type this up, the boys are out finishing up their merit badges (hopefully not too many partials this year). We’ll then double-check the records tonight right before campfire with all the program directors (aquatics, shooting sports, handicrafts, etc.) to make sure the boys get credit for what they’ve done.
Today at lunch Lissa and I will distribute patch grab bags (from the store at $1.50 each) to all of the boys and encourage them to trade and start their collection. We’ll then send them off to campwide games and (weather permitting, the weather rock was less optimistic today) run around and observe.
Finally, one of the great traditions here at Bert Adams is the “friendship neckerchiefs.” Each one of the staff members here at camp gets an orange neckerchief tied with a “friendship knot” that they are then supposed to distribute to a camper. So, by definition, not everyone will get one, but so far, there have been four distributed to boys in the troop. If your son comes home with one, please ask him what it’s all about and how he earned it.
So there you have it — another successful and FUN week at Bert Adams. If you’re one of the drivers who have signed up to help shuttle us back, please be at camp around 7:30am. We’ll have coffee and a continental breakfast for you. And if your son is getting shuttled back, we should probably be back at 1295 North Morningside (same as drop-off) by around 9:00am.
If all goes according to plan, we’ll drop off your boys tired, dirty, and (hopefully) looking forward to many more Scouting adventures together.