Troop 242

Our May campout was at Chickahominy Riverfront Park for hiking, biking and fishing.  Scouts participated in one of the 3 activities on Saturday from about 10am to 3pm.  Troop Leader, Mr. Meyers was the only one to successfully catch a fish, even though numerous attempts were made by the Scouts and Scouters.  The bikers, led by Mrs. Williams, completed a 16.9 mile ride.  We also collected old t-shirts and turned them into dog toys for a service project.  After the campfire program on Saturday evening, we discovered that a storm was quickly approaching and determined that we would probably need to seek shelter in our cars.  The storm brought rain, wind and lightning for a couple of hours and when we were finally allowed out of the cars, we noticed that many tents were flooded and even our canopy tents were damaged.  Due to the flooding, extra gear was needed to provide dry shelter for some scouts.  Although we had some difficulties during this campout, we worked together and used our scouting knowledge to preserve and make it a great campout.

Jacob Grieme completed his Eagle project with help from 18 of his fellow scouts and leaders. His project was for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Various stations were in place to cut and bend wire and tie rope to the completed cages. Over 60 cages were made to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s effort to replenish the oyster population keeping the bay clean. In addition to helping this great effort, the scouts received conservation hours for their work.

After 2 long years the troop was back in action for a fundraiser at Ace Hardware in Newport News. On the menu we’re hotdogs, bratwurst, chips and soda. It was nice weather and people leaving Ace Hardware bought a lot of food and thanked us for being in scouting. Special thanks to Ace Hardware for allowing us the opportunity to host our fundraiser.

15 scouts went to the overnight ski trip and only 15 came back! While at Wintergreen this year, several scouts who never skied before, challenged themselves to do the best they could. All the scouts, including scouters had a blast! When skiing was over, the scouts had pizza for dinner. Everyone stayed overnight at a local church and had breakfast at IHOP the next morning.

The Knights of Columbus, Council #5480, held their annual Run for the Heart, scouts from both Troop 242 and Pack 242 volunteered to work water stations to provide thirsty runners with hydration. Even though it was really cold, the scouts did a great job supporting the runners while keeping them motivated with cheers and clapping. When the race was finished, the scouts returned to York High School and celebrated with the runners eating pizza, chips, and Gatorade as awards were given out to the top runners.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon on Saturday, February 19th, Troop 242 Scouts assisted at the Pack 242 Pinewood Derby held in the gym and cafeteria at OLMC. The Scouts from the Troops assisted in several ways at the event. Some of the scouts worked rotations in the cafeteria serving concessions while others assisted with a STEM activity involving testing gravity and building bridges. Fun was had by all ages at the event!

The Boy Scouts celebrated. At the Mass the Scouts served as the greeters, ushers, and altar severs. Also present at the Mass were the Cub Scouts from Pack 242. Scout Sunday is where the Cub Scouts are awarded their Emblem of Light Awards. They also get awarded their duty to God Awards. The Boy Scouts of America annually celebrates its founding on February 8, 1910, based on the program started by Lord Baden Powell in England on August 1, 1907. Scout Sunday was added to the Scout celebration in the middle 1940s. Scout Sunday is always the Sunday proceeding February 8th, unless the 8th is a Sunday, in which case the 8th would be Scout Sunday. The Saturday following February 8th is Scout Sabbath. If you want to learn more here is the link http://www.nccs-bsa.org/index.php/scout-sunday.

December Court of Honor

At the court of honor many rank advancements were announced, and more than 200 merit badges were awarded. Go Troop 242!!! The master of ceremonies was Donovan and ranks/awards were handed out by the SPLs – Keekoh and Lois. Pizza and drinks were enjoyed by families and scouts prior to the awards portion of the night.

The following is a list of the different merit badges:
American Cultures, Animation, Archery, Architecture, Art, Astronomy, Automotive Maintenance., Backpacking, Basketry, Camping, Canoeing, Chemistry, Chess, Citizenship in Community, Citizenship in Nation, Citizenship in World, Climbing, Communication, Cooking, Disabilities Awareness, Electricity, Electronics, Emergency Preparedness, Energy, Environmental Science, Family Life, Fingerprinting, Fire Safety, First Aid, Forestry, Geocaching, Hiking, Home Repairs, Indian Lore, Kayaking, Landscape Architecture, Leatherwork, Lifesaving, Mammal Study, Metalwork, Model Design, Nature, Nuclear Science, Orienteering, Painting, Personal Fitness, Personal Management, Photography, Plumbing, Pottery, Public Health, Reading, Rifle Shooting, Robotics, Sculpture, Signs Signals Codes, Space Exploration, Sustainability, Swimming, Traffic Safety, Weather, Welding, Wilderness Survival, and Wood Carving.

The following ranks were earned:
Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star Scout, Life Scout, Eagle Scout, and a number of Eagle Palms were earned by our Eagle Scouts.

And last but not least we also welcomed a new scout to the troop, Alexander. Welcome to Troop 242!

During our Thanksgiving in the Woods campout, the troop stayed at the Northwest Riverpark & Campground. During the meal preparations the adults fried the turkey. Eagle patrol had “mashed madness” with the mashed potatoes. Panther made “in-pasta-bly delicious and in-cheddar-fully delightful” mac and cheese. Lightning made “super” stuffing. Phoenix made “gratefully great” green beans and “kernelled” corn. Once all the food was prepared, everyone gathered together to celebrate Thanksgiving in the Woods. After dinner there was a friendly Dutch Oven dessert contest with Spartan winning 1st place with their Banana Bread, Eagle did Dutch Oven Smores and Phoenix did brownies. But in the end, it just provided everyone with a delicious way to close out the wonderful campout.

P.S. Thanks to Mrs. Marcy, Mr. Major, and Will for their invaluable intel on the campout.