Scouting Report

Troop 21 went to Camp Horseshoe over the past week for summer camp. It is easily my favorite event that our troop does all year. The week is always hot and humid, but it is worth the time and the experiences with the rest of the people. We always play Risk every night for 3 hours. A few years ago Joey circumnavigated the globe, and on the next turn he was almost wiped off the board. There is retreat every day at 5:45 PM, and we won the marching competition for tghe first time in 7 years. Also, there was staff hunt on Monday, which we won. The Turtle Derby was on Friday. We won the turtle derby for the first time in at least 15 years. Maybe this was our first time winning it, because normally we don't find a turtle to compete, but we did this year and he won. Also, Water Carnival was the event of the year, and that was on Saturday. There were a bunch of events, including wet shirt relay, scoutmaster bellyflop, and other funny events. 

• By Danny Callahan, Life Scout

The guys in troop 21 went white-water rafting in May. We had soaking battles during the calm parts of the river. Before we left, the trailer lights weren't hooked up because the wire broke. That was an interesting time. During the rafting, one of the rafts flipped, and of course it was the one in front of my raft, so the guy in the back held up the raft, while water rushed into ours. We almost sunk, which would be an accomplishment because the rafts are filled with air. Cold water almost ran away with our lunch, but I got it. They played manhunt before we had the fire, and scattered all over camp. 

-by Danny Callahan, Star Scout

The guys in troop 21 went to Washington D.C. They visited the national museum of natural history. The Smithsonian museums are free to visit, but you need a time ticket for some of the museums. Natural history is an interesting museum because it has all the evolution of animals in exhibits and it has the time periods of Earth's geologic and Biological existence and timelines. The museum is all about minerals, rocks, and when the geologic time periods of Earth took place. A long time ago. I personally wasn't there, so I can't say all that happened, because I was at NYLT, National Youth Leadership Training, which is a program hosted to teach scouts how to be leaders. Scouting isn't always only about camping and volunteer hours, it teaches valuable life lessons as well.

By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

Owen got his eagle project finished on March 18th. His eagle project was building a fire pit and a pole stand in the colonial plantation in Ridley Creek State Park. He had help from Jake, Evan, Kevin, Michael, Eliot and me. We had to dig holes that were 3 feet deep so we could level and fill in 10 foot wooden planks. It was a pain to level them, and we were joking around that it would take until the next year for us to finish drilling one of the 6 holes for the hole to be held up by the wood. While we were there, Eliot also made some renovations to his project, because a giant tree fell on it. 

By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

The guys in troop 21 went on a trip to Rodney Scout Reservation in February. We shot rifles, and they were actually really easy to use. We did pretty well, all of us had at least 4 bullseyes. Then, we went to a river underneath a bridge, and built a wilderness survival shelter. It was tedious, and not all of us cooperated the whole time. The cabin was really nice, and it was really close to the parking lot. It had a kitchen, bathroom, and tons of bunks to sleep on. We all took turns scrambling and solving Rubik's cubes.

 By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

The boys in Troop 21 took a day trip to Bear Creek Ski Resort. They were out on the mountain for 5 hours. Normally, we take a full weekend trip for all of our monthly camping trips. I think that we did a day trip was because it is sort of far away, the weather is very cold, and there isn't really a place to sleep besides the hotel at Bear Creek. Elliot went flying down one of the slopes, and yelled up at Kevin, "Somehow this is all your fault." At the time, Kevin was helping another scout, Daniel, after he fell. 

By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

Troop 21 celebrated their annual holiday party on December 19th, the last Monday before Christmas. We also had the last 5 years worth of alumni come back and visit the troop like they always do. We had our desserts after we played our traditional game of Captain on deck, and we ate with the alumni. There was a bunch of conversations about how their college lives are, and Will, who is still a senior, was talking to Peter and Ian, who had graduated high school, about what their college was like, and what they experienced after the last time we saw all of them. 

By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

The troop 21 camping trip in November was a cook to impress trip. We have one trip like that a year, and it is special because both patrols compete to make the better meal. They are then judged by the senior patrol, and the winner of the competition doesn't have to do KP. KP is kitchen patrol, which is essentially just a different way to say cleaning the dishes. No one likes to do KP, so we are pretty serious when it is a cook to impress trip. The winner of the cook to impress trip was the Paw Patrol, which I am not a part of.

By Danny Callahan, Star Scout

The guys at troop 21 had a recruitment meeting yesterday, on the 7th of November, when 7 Cub scouts from troop 55 came to the troop meeting. They learned how to tie a bowline knot, learned how to put up and take down a tent, learned about extreme weather, and about when to use first aid. Troop 21 was also preparing to go on their yearly cook to impress trip, where the 2 patrols have a cook off to see who can make the better camping food. We were doing our usual meal-planning meeting, where, as the name says, we plan the meals that we will cook on the camping trips, and list what we need to buy. 

• By Danny Callahan, 1st Class Scout

The guys at troop 21 went backpacking over the weekend of October 21st through 23rd. Backpacking uses a different kind of backpack than the one used for school. It is a lot bigger, and It is specifically designed for carrying heavy loads. Everything that the guys used when they went, they had to carry in their backpacks. They also stored their tents, food, and everything else in their backpack. Also, those backpacks can get really heavy , especially if you aren't wearing them right. They usually weigh somewhere between 25 - 35 pounds, depending on the tent, pad, and supplies carried per backpack. They backpacked in Wharton State Forest over in New Jersey.

• By Danny Callahan, 1st Class Scout

The troop 21 fall court of honor was on Monday, October 10th. The boys were very busy over the summer months earning 80+ merit badges. Four of our scouts advanced to the next rank of Life, Star, First class, and Scout. Congratulations to all the members of Troop 21 - East Goshen, PA for all your hard work! 

• By Danny Callahan, 1st Class Scout

Saturday October 8th, the guys in troop 21 were at the apple butter festival day at the east goshen united church of christ. They set up the entire program, and were the ones who cleaned it up at the end of the day. Some of the guys were there during part of the festival, but most of their volunteering happened before and after the festival. They made the apple butter sauce by using a wooden pole to stir the apples and butter (with other things) together. 

• By Danny Callahan, 1st Class Scout

Most of the kids in Boy Scout troop 21 went on the Cape Henlopen state park trip in Delaware. They had a really good time and they took a lot of pictures along their experience. They visited the beach, towers, nature center, and other historical sites. Most importantly, they camped out in the elements, and they had a good time doing so. The guys also went fishing with a huge net and caught a decent amount of fish. They used a technique called net trapping, where they literally trap the fish and other animals inside of the loop in the net, and then they bring it onto shore and see what they got. 

• By Danny Callahan, 1st Class Scout