Summer ’19: Marching, Camping, Leading

It’s Labor Day weekend and on one hand, this summer has flown by, and on the other hand, June seems like so long ago.

We kicked the summer off by marching in the Lebanon Borough 4th of July Parade. This was the 72nd Annual 4th of July Parade and this year’s theme was: “One Small Step” – very timely since July 20th marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The parade marches through Lebanon, ending at Holjes-Sheppard Park which is near and dear to our hearts as it’s named in honor of two of our Scouts. In fact, our neckerchiefs have fireworks on them because of our ties to Lebanon.

Later in the month, a group of us headed off to Camp Powhatan in southwestern Virginia for a week of camping. We had a great time, learned new skills and earned a ton of merit badges. It was Jeff C’s first time at summer camp and he had fun at Brownsea Island. A few of the workshops we attended included: rifle and shotgun shooting, environmental science, first aid, leatherwork, nature, chess, kayaking, swimming, geocaching and space exploration. We were able to take advantage of the location and check natural water slides, too! You can read more about our adventures here.

Our new Senior Patrol Leader, Ethan spent the summer working at Resica Falls in the Pocono Mountains. We’ve attended summer camp at Resica in the past and it’s a great camp. On a local level, First Class Scout, Owen M. spent a week volunteering at the Cub Scout Day Camp at Round Valley Youth Center. Owen served as a Den Chief and was in charge of the Field Games station. It was a hot week at Round Valley, but he really had a great time helping the younger scouts.

Nate N. continued working on his Eagle Scout project at Echo Hill Park. He had two work days and met with Mr. Maslanka and Mr. Boyd several times. By the end of August the project was shaping up. It was great seeing scouts, scouters, friends and family coming out to support Nate.

In August, two of our Scouts attended an Order of the Arrow Ordeal Weekend at Ockanickon Scout Reservation. This is another great camp that we go to a few times a year. George is became our newest OA Arrowman and Ethan achieved the rank of Brotherhood.

Finally, our scoutmasters and PLC met over the summer to finalize plans for the upcoming scouting year. There are a lot of great things planned and we couldn’t do it without the dedication and leadership of everyone involved…and for that we thank you!