Troop 242

On November 1, 2025, Ben completed his Eagle Project, with the help of 37 volunteers.

Their first task was to take down the old siding of the Scout Pavilion.

Then they put up new siding.

For a break, those hard workers had a delicious lunch provided by Ben’s mom.

The last task of their 13 hours of toil, was PAINTING.

We camped at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake on November 14-16. Four girls and six boys attended this campout. 

 A Trail Life troop and another BSA troop were camping at the same site.

On Saturday we had a lot of fun ziplining and climbing at The Adventure Park at The Virginia Aquarium.

The Thanksgiving dinner was a great success! The boys made green beans and stuffing, and the girls made mac and cheese. Scoutmaster Grieme fried a turkey while Scoutmaster Mead made a trash can turkey 

Three Arrow of Light scouts, two girls and a boy, from Pack 242 visited us before dinner to see if they were interested in joining our troop.

Thanks to Maximus, who is a Life Scout working on his Eagle Project, decided to enhance B.C. Charles Elementary School with new benches for the staff and students to use.

Several scouts had the opportunity to obtain the Surveying Merit Badge over a course of a few weeks. For the final stage, scouts were invited to the Timmons Group for an hands on experience conducting practical surveys.

Alligators, maybe! Definitely swamp water and bugs. Perhaps one of the more exciting camping experiences is survival campout. Troops 242 B and 242 G combined a campout at Merchants Millpond in North Carolina. In order to get to the campsite, you have to “canoe-in. On average, it takes roughly 45 minutes depending on the weather and whether or not the gators are awake or sleeping, so I’ve heard!☺️. All 8 scouts earned their Wilderness Survival Merit Badge.

Scouts from Troop 242 took an evening field trip to The city of Newport News’ Emergency Management Operations Center, set up by SPL Josh. The ops building is the central hub for natural disasters. Several monitors line the walls, and computers are in abundance. John Northam, the Fire Department’s Emergency Operations Manager, explained to the scouts how information is processed.

Congratulations to Matthew for earning his Eagle rank. Mr. Grieme said the Eagle board “was extremely impressed” with Matthew. One board member commented, “Come back to Scouts, we need leaders like you.” We hope he does.

Great job, Matthew!

Brady’s Eagle Scout project involved making treat- dispensing dog toys for a local animal shelter. He and his team built sturdy toys that released treats when the dogs rolled or pawed at them. These toys will help keep the dogs entertained and more active play.

After all their hard work and dedication, scouts were recognized for earning new ranks and merit badges. Pizza and a variety of cookies to feed an Army was our eatings for the CoH. It was a great night for all!

Donovan had his moment of truth to sit in front of the Eagle Board. He was nervous, but confident. According to our ScoutMaster, Mr. Grieme noted that, “The board was extremely impressed with their discussion this evening with DJ. He had well thought out answers and carried the conversation throughout. The board said he has an excellent future ahead of him.”

Outstanding board DJ!!

Well done!!