November 1998

Upcoming Events
2 NovMeeting
8 NovCommittee Meeting
9 NovMeeting
16 NovMeeting
20-22 NovFrench Creek Father/Son Trip
21 NovLions Club Dinner
23 NovMeeting, Court of Honor
28 NovLeaf Raking
30 NovNo Meeting
5 DecPancake Breakfast
7 DecMeeting
10 DecPLC
12 DecValley Forge Hike
13 DecCommittee Meeting
14 DecMeeting
21 DecMeeting
28 DecNo Meeting

Dues Past Due

The 1999 Troop 5 Registration was due last month. The $35 annual registration fee should be turned in at the next meeting, or sooner.

The dues collected are used to register each boy, subscribe to Boy's Life, purchase supplemental accident insurance, buy merit badges, support advancement expenses, Court of Honor refreshments, contribute to administrative costs such as stamps.

If you haven't already done so,please bring the $35 registration fee due, due from each scout, to next Monday's meeting.

Holiday Community Service Project

Scouting has always had a commitment to community service. And so does Troop 5. One of the more poignant activities the boys get involved with each year is collecting goods to assist a needy family in Bucks County.

In early December, each patrol will be assigned an anonymous family member for which to gather gifts. The patrols will also be responsible for deciding which food items they will be providing. At the December 21 meeting, scouts will get into the holiday spirit by wrapping the presents. These special gifts will be delivered by the troop to the family before Christmas. Thanks for your help in sharing the Spirit of the Season.

Support the Lions Club Dinner

Pat is looking for scouts to volunteer to serve as waiters at the Lions Club Dinner held at the Church on Saturday, November 21. Be there in full uniform at 4:00pm to earn service hours.

Our Troop's 75th

by Andy

Troop 5's 75th anniversary certainly made history! As one of the oldest troops in the area, we were able to get many people to attend, not to mention borrow the mess hall at Camp Ockanickon.

Well, it started Friday night, where only the leadership's most elite (Myself and Dan, along with B, Mr. G, Jeff and Todd) traveled to Ockanickon to discuss plans for the banquet, setup the tables and chairs, rediscover the troop log, and most importantly, eat food and drink soda! The next day we woke at the crack of dawn to begin the hard labor on our masterpiece, The Monkey Bridge.

We first went down to the lodge to get all the wood we would need and then went to work on lashing. We worked long and hard to create a monkey bridge that was six feet off the ground and would hold Brett and Todd at the same time!

Aside from this, we also had the Knot Tying Relay as a site where people could try their luck tying basic knots. Brett set an astonishing record, tying all eight in 54 seconds.

Meanwhile, we had all the big names showing up, including Congressman Jim Greenwood. From there it was to banquet, where there was food and drink and a good time was had by all, except those of us who had to go and give announcements.

But it was a good experience to see all the older scouts from the first days of our troop. Everyone had a good time, and it was a memorable occasion, though it was nothing compared to what we will go through for the big Hundredth! While at the banquet, you may also be interested in viewing various Proclamations teh troop has received from both Northampton and Southampton Township recognizing our impressive three-quarters of a century of scouting.

Forget Turkey...

.. We're Talking Pancakes

The pancake breakfast to be more precise. major Troop 5 fundraiser has been set for Saturday, December 5 from 8:00 to 11:00am, featuring all you can eat pancakes, sausage, coffee, OJ and milk. The funds raised through this annual event go towards buying equipment and offesetting camping fees.

Mr. K, recently appointed Prince of Pancakes, is assembling a fine culinary staff of parent volunteers. Please expect a call asking you and your scout to help for a few hours. Parent volunteers may choose between two shifts. The early-bird hitch runs from 7:00-9:30am, and the red-eye shift will be from 9:30am until 12:00noon. If these times don't fit your busy schedule, pelase consider offering to help with the set up crew or clean up shift.

Can't you almost smell it now? The aroma of freshly brewed coffee (

ready-even though all the decanters have run dry), lots of fluffy pancakes but not enough sausage ready at the moment, and warmed syrup spills microwaving for hours. Yes, it's all that and much more. You'll love being a part of the fun. Just wait until you meet The Bahama Mamma.

Each scout family is required to sell 10 tickets for the Breakfast. Additional tickets are available from Mr. K. There will be grand prizes awarded to the two scouts that sell the most tickets. Additionally, every individual scout that sells 15 or more tickets will receive a prize as well. A family with two scouts must sell a minimum of twenty tickets for an individual scout in that family to qualify for a prize.

Congratulations to Jonathon, Troop 5's 77th Eagle Scout!

Upcoming Trips

The next camping trip is scheduled for November 20-22 at French Creek. Activities planned include shooting off the hand-built rockets that the scouts will be building at the November 16 meeting. ALso on the agenda for that weekend is Frisbee Golf/Football.

Families are invited to join the December 12 tour of historic Valley Forge National Park. This one-day trip includes historic trails, George Washington commemmoratives, views of reconstructed Revolutionary War huts and monumnets to this significant point in our nation's early history.

And finally, the Big Kahuna of al camping trips is always the SKI TRIP! This year's trip will again be to Jack Frost/Big Boulder scheduled for January 8-10. The troop is returning to the huge scout dining hall at Camp Acahela to sleep overnight. Check next month's Anthill Times for more details.

Have you driven lately?

Because of an increase in the Troop's enrollment this year, the Troop needs drivers for trips more than ever. A good rule of thumb is that each family will be expected to help with the driving for at least two trips. Please note, you need not sleep over (i.e. camp) on this trip. We simply need some adults to drive our scouts to the sites. Expect a call from Buzz whose job it is to coordinate not only all the camping permits and fees, but also to determine the necessary numberof cars and drivers for each trip. Please lend a hand. It's actually turns out to be more fun than you'd expect.

Scouting for Food

This month Boy Scouts across America are collecting non-perishable food items as part of the nationwide Scouting for Food Campaign. Every year the Bucks County Council of Boy Scouts sponsors this food drive to add to the inventories of local food pantries.

Troop 5 is proud to support this worthy effort. please bring your non-perishable food items with you when you join us on November 23 for the Court of Honor.