February 1997


Marhsmallows, Moose Heads and Stolen Skis

By Dan

From all the talk at the meetings it looked to be a historic camping trip. Could we leave on time? No! We left, as usual, late.

After a stop at Mickey D's, we arrived at the cabin. It was heated and had a "fireplace". There were tons of mattresses. It was cozy, except for the giant moose head hanging over the fireplace. It gave the place a homey atmosphere.

We all got into our sleeping bags and were talking. Then we began to realize, THIS WASN'T A WORKING FIREPLACE! The room was getting filled with smoke. A typcial camping trip. Several scouts fell asleep because they had to close their eyes.

Luckily, in the morning, the smoke had cleared out and we could breathe. After a breakfast of pancakes and a lot of bundling up, we left for the slopes.

There were check-in-times with Chad to check for frostbite. How cold was it? Just ask Mr. L with his thermometer. Luckily no one did get frostbite. Lunch was the usual hot dogs and soup at B's truck.

After a check-in, I returned to find I only had poles! Someone had stolen my skis. Luckily (if you want to call it taht) it was already after 2:30 and not that much day skiing was left. Unfortunately, a snowboarder lost his board, too.

We returned to the cabin and had a delicious spaghetti dinner. Then the whole troop bundled up again to go night skiing. You had to go, even if your skis were stolen. For the Cracker Barrel later on we celebrated Mr. B's birthday. We had cookies and marhsmallows. That was a mistake. A marshmallow war erupted. Later that night, pillow and sleeping bag fights broke out!

The next morning, we had bagels for breakfast. We attnded a prayer service and then left. We again stopped at McDonald's. Everyone, including Chad, got back to the church parking lot early.

This trip was historic, though. No one got hurt! Let's see if we can keep the trend going for next year. Now if I could only find my skis.


Coming Attractions

March
Delmont, Green Lane, PA camping trip (think snow for snow dome building)
April
Ultimate Commandos and West Point Trips
May
Distric Camporee
June
PaddleRama and New Scout Outing


THank You Note Received The following is an excerpt from a lovely note that was received by the troop from the family we helped out this Christmas. Your efforts at that very busy time of year really do help those less fortunate than we. And remember, this was an anonymous family living in our Council Rock community. Misfortunes know no boundaries.

"... This year was very hard for my family and the figts were great, but the thought of all your hard work and time to do this for us was more appreciated that you could ever know."


Spaghetti Dinner Check in the Mail

A hearty thank you to all the scouts who helped out at the November Spaghetti Dinner. The Northampton Lions Club has forwarded a check to the troop as a donation for the services rendered by our scouts. Keep those service hours coming.


Troop 75th Anniversary

The few, the proud, those from Troop 5! In june of 1998, Troop 5 will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary. This is an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are all part of it. Do you know any former members or Eagle Scouts? Do you have a neighborhood contact who would know names from decades ago? If so, we're looking for former members' names and addresses. Or, are you interested in joining this committee? Please contact Chad.


Astronomy Merit Badge Interest?

Mrs. K has made arrangements to take some scouts to the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton on Saturday, February 22. THere, scouts will be able to complete some of the work required for the astronomy merit badge. The trip will be from 10:00-12:00 and will cost approximately $1.50. Anyone interested should contact Judy K via phone. Space is limted, so hurry.


Check out the new Leadership Picture Board in the Scout Room!
Coming Soon:
Match the baby picture to leadership (mike will be too easy!)


Veront Ski Trip

By SPL Mike

It all started Friday morning at 7:30 AM when all five adults, Chad, Mr. D., Todd, B, and Jeff, picked up the venture crew. What kind of adult has a name like "B"?

The crew, which consisted of Phil, Matt, Mike, Alex, Jon, Paul, and Mike, took off from school and suffered through the six hour car ride (with a few mishaps).

Because we got there a little early, we decidewd to waste time at Wall-Mart (shall we say, doing some research?) and then got to bed in a nearby elementary school gym.

Saturday morning came all too early. Breakfast was 6:30, the crew grabbed ski rentals at 7:30 and we hit the slopes by 8:30. Conditions were good because of the new snow on Friday night, with rain on Saturday.

Since the slopes closed at 4:00, we cruised off to dinner at 5 and at 7:15 we blew into town (Manchester) to catch a movie at their two-screen movie plex.

Sunday morning came as quickly as Saturday's did! this time, we had breakfast over atht the slopes and started skiing at 8:30.. Conditions were OK with ice because of Saturday's rain and the temperature was in the 20's. The wind was a problem, though. Gusts were up to 30 mph. We left Bromley at 11:45 and were on the road by 12:45. for the long trek back. Another enjoyable ski trip under our belts.


Klondike Without Snow

By Assistant Scoutmaster Todd

The annual Playwicki District Klondike Derby was held on Saturday, February 1 at Tyler State park. This event has eben hosted by the scoutmaster corps of Troop 5 for the last five years.

The lack of snow did not discourage 204 scouts from roughy 20 troops and packs from participatingin this event.

Representing our own troop was scouts John, Adam, and Nick, and two Webelos scouts who will be crossing over in March. The entire event was coordinated by Chad, Jeff, Wendell, Mike, Phil and myself. Brian was responsible for the troop's entry.

It was a little disappointing to have such a low turnout from our troop when in fact we are the sponsors of the event. It was also not very impressive from the prospective of the two Webelos scouts and their fathers to see only three out of forty-nine scouts participate in the event.

Next year, the scoutmaster corps of Troop 5 wil again host the derby. We will be looking for leaderhsip scouts to help with setup and station judging. The klondike is scheduled for the first Saturday in February 1998, and I hope we can assemble a larger entry.