Apr 21
Off on Friday for a 5+ hour drive to the western part of the state … to Hiwassee (near Radford and Christiansburg) for the 2010 SR7A Order of the Arrow Conclave. The weather is supposed to cooperate, so that would make for around 1000 happy Scouts and Scouters 
. Barring any technical difficulties, I should have a video posted early next week.
Yours in Scouting,
Dick
Mar 31
Well, we delivered our final 1500 bags or so of mulch this past Saturday. The turnout as not as good as we had hoped for, but all the bags were delivered to the customers by around 3 pm or so. Our partnership with Peninsula Hardwood Mulch for a second year in a row was the way to go. Previously we had dealt directly with the manufacturer, and had to order in trailerloads. This way, we could order exactly what we wanted with no leftovers.
I supervised an OA election for Troop 242 this evening, and all went well. They only had one eligible candidate, and he was elected. One for one!
The weekend before, the Troop did a day trip to Washington DC in conjunction with the Citizenship in the Nation Merit Badge. Bruce has promised me some video of the trip, so when he comes through, I’ll post it.
We’ve got 2 Eagle projects coming up Saturday. Most of the projects has been “prebuilt”, and we’ll finish up Saturday. To top that off, Saturday is my Daughter’s 14th birthday so I’ll be busy!
Yours in Scouting,
Dick
Apr 28
This past weekend was the SR-7A Order of the Arrow Conclave, where the seven lodges in the section came together at Bayport Scout Reservation in Jamaica, Virginia, for a weekend of fun, competition, and training. I arrived early Friday morning to help with registration of the 235 members of our lodge scheduled to attend. Registration went much easier this year, due to some committed individuals and prior planning. We were essentially done by late that night, except for a few stragglers.
Saturday morning, before sunrise, the Vigil Rededication took place, followed by a hearty breakfast. Throught the day, displays by groups such as the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, City of Newport News Parks & Recreation, Hampton Air & Space Museum, Busch Gardens Willamsburg, and many more were available. There were also inter-lodge sporting competitions to capture the coveted “Golden Arrow”, training sessions, and lots of fun and fellowship. As usual, there was patch trading with a group of diehard traders looking for the elusive patch to complete their collection. The dining hall volunteers did a great job with meals, making everyone happy, not to mention well-fed.
Saturday night the results of the competitions were announced with Tutelo Lodge taking the Golden Arrow once again. Then Ranger John from Nawakwa Lodge regaled us with one of his great narratives that had everyone laughing. After he finished his act, we had a great band perform … GatorHead. The keyboard player is a former Wahunsenakah Lodge Chief and an Eagle Scout.
Folowing the show, it was time for the feast. Each lodge brought food and shared it with all the other lodges. There was Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Jerk Chicken (in several degrees of hotness), Venison, drinks, desserts, etc. All of the food was great and I don’t think there was much left! I crawled into my tent around 10 pm, but I know the noise went on until after midnight.
Sunday morning, following breakfast, there was a chapel service, and then it was time to help the other lodges to move their gear and people to the satellite parking so they could begin their trips home, some of them driving more than 6 hours. After that, it was time for us, as host lodge, to start the cleanup, policing the grounds, cleaning the facilities, and then packing ourselves up. I left camp at about 1:30 pm and made my hour and a half drive home. It was a great weekend, and I think all of the the one thousand or so attendees went home satisfied.
Yours in Brotherhood,
Dick
Apr 1
Last weekend, the Troop made its way to Shipman, VA, which is between Charlottesville and Lynchburg on US 29. It was sort of an introduction to basic backpacking and primitive camping for the newest members of the Troop. They backpacked in about a mile and then set up camp around a small lake.
For most of them, it was their first experience with dehydrated or freeze-dried foods, but the general consensus was that it was edible and really wasn’t too bad. I think they sampled chicken & rice, beef stew, spaghetti, and a few other entrees in addition to GORP, energy bars and the usual backpacking fare.
As you can see in the video, we had a perfect camping spot … a small pond with grassy banks in the middle of a wooded area. Saturday all day was gray with occasional drizzles, and then late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, we had some heavier showers. Of course, as we were breaking camp, the sun came out and the clouds dissipated … typical Spring camping .
The area we camped in is private property and we are indebted to the owners for allowing us to camp there. Nelson County is bordered by the Blue Ridge mountains, and is the location of Walton’s Mountain, for those of you that remember the TV show or the book. Nearby is the Wintergreen Ski Resort.
It was a great weekend, but the Scouts were glad to get home Sunday afternoon. This month, we have a planned trip to backpack a section of the C & O Canal, and of course, the Section SR-7A Conclave is being hosted by our OA Lodge at the end of the month.
Yours in Scouting,
Dick Barnes
Well, I’ve been busy this week. I supervised an OA election on Monday night, and I can’t remember one that I was more unprepared for. I got off very late from work and had to rush to get to the Troop’s meeting place in time for the election. First I couldn’t find my sash … then I couldn’t find the scripts for the participants … never did find them before I had to leave the house. I did find the generic ceremony in the Guide for Officers and Advisers and rushed out with that. To make a long story short, I did make it just in time, and the generic ceremony worked just fine, but I really gained a lot more respect for the phrase, “Be Prepared”. I did find my sash this evening in my sock drawer .
Tonight, I added some Summer Camp forms to the Library page, updated the Troop Information Booklet, added a link to the Mulch Sales page on the index page, and added a pdf of the Mulch Sales Form. Mulch sales (our big spring fundraiser) is going well, and hopefully sales will be good in these tight financial times. We take orders for mulch in March, and then deliver in April.
There are a couple of new videos up at my YouTube page. There’s a link on the left side of the page under Resources. Take the time to go there and view them.
Yours in Scouting,
Dick Barnes
Feb 19
We had our weekly Troop meeting tonight, and preparations for the Klondike Derby were well underway. The SPL had the Scouts out in the wind and cold making sure that the Troop equipment was in the trailer and in good condition. Chuck boxes were checked, propane bottles, lanterns, stoves, and so forth. Afterward, an energetic game of … well, I’m not sure what it was exactly, but they seemed to have a great time running all over the place! When they came back inside, the Scoutmaster asked how the equipment checks had gone, and the SPL replied, “Great! The chuck boxes and equipment are all there and all OK!” The SM then said, “What about the sleds?” The SPL got a blank look on his face, and replied,”Uh … .” Guess what he hadn’t even thought of for the Klondike? Next Thursday the Scouts will bring their personal equipment and we’ll get that into the trailer for a departure the following evening.
Two or three boys showed up, off the street, so to speak, with their parent. One joined tonight, and the others will be bringing their paperwork next week. They’re even going to have the thrill of a Klondike derby for their first camping trip! The SM has two Blue and Gold Banquets to attend this weekend, one of the other adults and several Scouts are attending another Blue & Gold and doing color guard duties, and I have been invited to yet another Blue and Gold on Saturday evening. Looks like a great recruiting weekend. We may pick up quite a few new Scouts from the Webelos ranks.
The weekend, we have two adult leaders and three Scouts undergoing their Order of the Arrow Ordeals at Bayport Scout Reservation. Unfortunately, I can’t make it this weekend, but they’ll have plenty there from the Troop to cheer them on. There’s a slight chance of snow Saturday night, but a little snow never hurt anyone .
Sep 8
Loren and I spent the day at Bayport. The OA Lodge is clearing a nature trail and building benches for rest and teaching areas. The majority of the clearing work was done at the Summer Ordeal in August, and today we were building benches, drilling holes to set the bench supports, and building a gateway for the trailhead. The work has to be completed by a certain date to qualify for grant money from National OA.
My actual reason for going up today was to cook lunch for the work crew … Loren volunteered as a second for the kitchen. We raided the walk-in freezer and fridge for leftovers and finally came up with a menu of grilled ham and cheese, baked beans, chips, cookies and pie a la mode. Of couse there was bug juice and coffee as well. We must have done a good job, because there was very little left!
We didn’t spend all our time in the kitchen … we actually did some trail work! Some rough carpentry and manual labor rounded out the day. Finally, we made the hour and a half drive back to Newport News and home. It’s a great day when you can do something for the camp!
Yours in Brotherhood,
Dick
Feb 26
We had four members of Troop 11 undergo their Ordeal this past weekend at the Bayport Scout Reservation. Congratulations to Tim, Andrew, Connor, and Ethan. We also had Brian, from Troop 313, inducted this weekend.Well done!
We got lots of work done … mainly clearing brush and trees at the new campsites and running them through a chipper. Lots of other miscellaneous jobs done, too. One neat distraction was Butch, from Troop 29, carving a stump behind the admin building. Butch works with chainsaws, and the stump is now a great looking eagle head.
The weekend started with the temperatures in the low 30’s and 30-mph winds on Friday night. Saturday wasn’t too bad with the mercury in the 40’s, but Saturday night and Sunday morning we had rain, heavy at times. After the Sunday morning meetings and Chapel service, we all started on the hour and a half trip back home. I noticed rain, and occasional sleet during the drive. so it was nice to get home (and get warm).
Yours in Brotherhood,
Dick
Oct 29
October is just about in the bag, and it’s been a great month. Ed G had his Eagle Court of Honor, and two more Life Scouts are at the project stage. One has just about finished his project for the York County Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the other is at the materials collecting stage for his project at Bluebird Gap Farm.
Last Monday night we hosted a bridgeover for two crossing-over Webelos IIs, who I am happy to report fit in just fine at their first Troop meeting. Talk about enthusiastic! They’re both going along next weekend to the United Methodist Fellowship in Blackstone as their first real camping trip. The long-range weather forecast calls for the mid-50’s during the day and the low 30’s at night. Typical Blackstone weather! Somehow, I volunteered to help out the Lodge Engraving Committee on their first trip there, and will be grinding out nametags all day. With 1500 Scouts and Scouters, the Lodge should make a bit of money.
Now to put on my OA Chapter Adviser hat … I spent the past weekend at the OA Ordeal at Bayport Scout Reservation. Surprisingly, we got a lot of work done. The way it rained Friday evening and early Saturday morning, I was afraid it would be a washout, but with the dawn came sunshine and it turned out to be a beautiful day. The Candidates and members got the new COPE area completely cleared, and lots of landscaping done at the high-adventure portion of the camp. Shelby, from our Troop underwent his Ordeal and is now a full-fledged arrowman. Our Chapter picked up six new members from the 27 candidates.
Did I ever tell you that Fall is my favorite time of year? The colors and gusty winds swirling the fallen leaves around make me stop and think why I love camping so much. Couple that with good friends and the boys, and you’ve got it all.
‘Til next time …
Dick Barnes