Livingston, Montana    July 2001    Volume 4    Issue 6

Jamboree Overnight Pre-Trip in the Park: On Saturday, June 16th, eight of the ten Scouts and three of the four Adults going on the Jamboree Trip had a pre-trip. Mr. Lemke and the group went for a 5.5 mile hike with fairly full backpacks on Appalachian Trail like terrain in Yellowstone. After, we had a snack and then ditched our packs in the cars. We then completed the second part of the hike of 5.1 miles on more rigorous terrain. In all it was a 10.6 mile figure 8 day hike which the Scouts applied toward Hiking Merit Badge. That evening we camped at Eagle Creek Campground above Gardiner. We had camp built and we were eating a delicious dinner within an hour of arriving at the site. We then spent an hour and a half discussing the trip plan, the gear and answered questions about the trip. We were quick moving in the morning, having breakfast and getting packed for the road in less than an hour. We are all looking forward to an exciting and memorable three week trip from July 15 to August 4 with lots of hiking, sightseeing and caving planned. Backpacking Merit Badge: During July and August our Troop focus will be Backpacking Merit Badge. This badge requires one Patrol backpacking pre-trip of two miles; three backpacking trips of 15+ miles including three days/two nights with two different campsites on each trip; and a five day/four night trip of 30+ miles with at least three different campsites. Those Scouts attending the Jamboree Trip can use the Appalachian Trail trip as their one 30+ mile trip or they can apply it to the 50 Miler award, one or the other. We will also have a backpacking trip on August 21 - 23 just before school starts again.

Spring Court of Honor: On Monday, June 18th we held our quarterly Court of Honor. The Scouts performed a new Opening Flag Ceremony which worked well. Hugh was the Master of Ceremonies. There was a new Scout induction for Zach and then he officially received his Scout Rank. Receiving their Tenderfoot Ranks were Zach, Mark, Calin, and Tanner. 2nd Class Rank was awarded to Mark. 1st Class Rank was awarded to Tyler and Mark. Star Scout Rank was awarded to Jack and Bret. Life Scout Rank was awarded to Billy and Jerome. In all 29 Merit Badges were earned including: Atomic Energy for Jay, Danny and Nicholas; Citizenship in the Community for Brent; Citizenship in the Nation for Bret and Jerome; Computers for Brian, Jay, Nicholas and Cory; Electricity for Brian and Tanner; Family Life for Billy, Bret, Hugh, Mark and Tanner; First Aid for Tyler and Mark; Hiking for Brian; Personal Management for Tyler and Billy; Pulp and Paper for Jay and Nicholas; Scholarship for Jay and Mark; Soil & Water Conservation for Brian and Jay; and Wilderness Survival for Brian. Gold Eagle Palms were awarded to Brian and Danny. Service Stars for 2 years were earned by Tyler, Billy, Brent and Mrs. Hughes. Fire'm Chit cards were earned by Ken, Zach, and Mark. Totin' Chip cards were earned by JR and Mark. The 100 Degrees of Frost Award was earned by Tyler. The 100 Celsius Degrees of Frost Award was earned by Nicholas and Jerome. The National Honor Patrol Award was earned by the Cosmos Patrol consisting of Brian, Daniel, Danny, Nicholas and Cory. Religious Knots for God and Country were awarded to Mark and Tanner. Positions of Responsibility patches were given to all Scouts holding a new position. The 2001 Quality Unit patches were given to all Scouts and Scouters with uniforms.

Summer Camp at Bear Lake: After a long drive to Utah, a small contingent of Troop 563, consisting of Brian, Zach, Danny, Mark, Calin and Nicholas, arrived at Summer Camp. We set up tents at 11 p.m. in the middle of a giant weed patch. We found out in the morning that the whole camp was in fact a giant weed patch with a few small trees. There was however, a beautiful lake and a little A-frame shelter to protect us from the merciless sun. We met our Troop Friend, Will, who was a great help and lots of fun. He took us on a tour of the facilities and then the Scouts began their merit badge classes. The food was good but low in quantity. We supplemented the meals with "Fat Boys" from the trading post. It was very hot so much of our productive time was spent in the shelter working on merit badges and playing hearts. The Scouts enjoyed the waterfront although the water was a bit chilly and the wind was insufficient for sailing. Many difficult science merit badges were completed during the week. In all, the six Scouts finished 27 merit badges or about four or five each. They only brought home seven partials of which three should be finished next week. On the final day of camp there was a relay race broken into nine portions. We only had six Scouts so Brian, Zach and Nicholas had to pull extra duties. Of the sixteen or so Troops at the camp we came in third place! That night was the closing campfire during which we were treated to dances and songs from Polynesia. There were three Salt Lake Troops at the camp that came to the U.S. from Tonga and Samoa. They brought a rich culture with them and shared it with us. Finally, the Troop scored 1350 points toward the Honor Troop award. We needed only 1250 to win the award so now we have another ribbon for our Troop Flag. Thanks to Mr. Moody and Mr. Carlson for each spending two nights with the Scouts and to Mrs. Martenson, Mr. & Mrs. Lemke and Mr. & Mrs. Jones for transporting us.

Future Events Summary: July Backpacking Merit Badge Focus  6 Green Bar Meeting 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. at SGMS room A105.  9 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory with the third of three mandatory meetings for the Jamboree Trip and a Board of Review.  11 Fingerprinting Merit Badge at the Police Department at 1:30 p.m.  13 Weed Pull at Lincoln School 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Bring gloves!  15 - August 4 Jamboree Trip to Virginia.  16 Dog Care Merit Badge at the Humane Society at 9 a.m.  16 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory. (No Committee Meeting)  23 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory.(Assistant Scoutmasters)  27 - 28 Crazy Days Fund Raiser  30 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory.(Assistant Scoutmasters) August Backpacking Merit Badge Focus  6 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory.  10 Green Bar Meeting 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. at SGMS room A105.  13 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory. Finalize 2001-2002 Year Plan.  20 Troop Committee Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory.  21 - 23 Backpacking Trip, location TBA  27 Scout Meeting 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. at Armory. Deadline for Merit Badges and Rank Advancement awarded at the Fall Court of Honor.

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