March, 2003 Newsletter

Table of Contents

Scoutmaster Scribbles

I have always thought about what it means to be a Scoutmaster and wondering how I would feel if I were to ever have that privilege. Well, I stand on the brink of that very adventure right now, and I can tell you that I am both scared to death and thrilled to have the chance to be your Scoutmaster.

Before I continue, I must first stop and recognize Bob Williamson, our outgoing Scoutmaster, for the outstanding job that he did with Troop 10 during his tenure. I have been amazed with the ease with which he has guided the young men in our troop. His commitment to our Scouting program continues to be strong even as he leaves his central role. Bob has agreed to become the assistant Scoutmaster responsible for guiding the new Scout patrols. I am sure that all of you will join me in thanking Bob for a job well done and for stepping up to a critical role with the new Scouts.

The success of Troop 10, however, is not a one-man job. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Charlie Dekar for his commitment and dedication as the Committee Chairman for Troop 10. Charlie has played an essential role, often behind the scenes, to insure that the boys of Honeoye Falls - Mendon have a strong scouting program available to them. Charlie will stay active with Troop 10 as an advisor to future Eagle Scout candidates.

...and now back to the daunting task of leading a Scout troop. In its 90th year of continuous operation, Troop 10 is growing in many ways and has a very bright future. I am looking forward to continuing that growth and guiding the young men of Troop 10 along the scouting path. Personally, I am committed to helping develop the future leaders of our community, our workforce and potentially our nation. Together, we will embark on the next 90 years of Scouting by playing, as Baden Powell once put it, "a game with a purpose". Let's have fun!
Dale McIntyre
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Troop 10’s Official 90th Birthday Celebration

This is a picture taken by Troop 10's own Mr. Mantegna at the 1937 International Scout Jamboree in Washington D.C. The elderly man in the hat is none other than Daniel Carter Beard himself. Mr. Beard was about 85 years old when Bill took this picture. A woodsman, illustrator, and naturalist, Daniel Carter Beard was a pioneering spirit of the Boy Scouts of America. Already 60 years old when the Boy Scouts of America was formed, he became a founder and merged it with his own boys' organization, the Sons of Daniel Boone. As the first national Scout commissioner, Beard helped design the original Scout uniform and introduced the elements of the First Class Scout badge. "Uncle Dan," as he was known to boys and leaders, will be remembered as a colorful figure dressed in buckskin who helped form Scouting in the United States.

See this and many other photos of this era during the Official 90th Birthday Celebration on Thursday, March 13th at 7:00 in Guild Hall (church next door to Scout House). Come in your Class A uniforms for cake, entertainment and a movie and join in 'happy birthday' along with the Troop 10 Band. Don't forget to pick up your '90 year' shoulder patch at this time.
Dave McCunn
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February 2003 Winter Campout

The second annual winter camp out at Cutler was smashing success. Recall last year we had wonderful sunny weather, but we were a little shy on snow. This year we had ideal conditions for a true winter camp out. The camp was covered in all the untouched snow we could ask for. Temperatures around 0 to 10 degrees with no wind were ideal for being in the snow without getting soaked from lots of slush.

We arrived at Cutler just before 9:00 am Saturday morning. After hiking our gear up to the beautiful Mac Rae lodge and having a quick roast around the wood burning stove (no, it wasn't marshmallow - see Mr. Vojt for details), everyone grabbed their shovels and started building quinzees. Three difference techniques were tried: 1) the basic snow mound, 2) burying backpacks, and 3) the adult technique of burying the garbage can.

After turning the snow mounds into porcupines with foot long sticks, they were left to harden while we cooked up nice warm lunches then headed over to Cummings Nature Center for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Trail conditions were outstanding. Not many people had been down to brave the weather, so the cross-country ski trails had mint-condition machine groomed tracks. The skiers greeted the snowshoers as their trails passed on opposite sides of the stream.

After returning back to camp, the work of digging out the quinzees began. Technique #1 worked well but required some extra digging. #2 helped speed up the digging-out step but made eating lunch a little difficult for those that buried their mess kits with their pack inside a pile of snow. #3 sounded good in the planning stage, but required digging a really big entrance tunnel to remove the garbage can. (At one point before it was finally extracted, Mr. Dooley and Mr. Vojt were seen flipping a coin to see who would have to sleep in the garbage can!)

Finishing touches were added to the quinzees and everyone moved in their sleeping gear. It was clear that the quinzees were doing their job when some of the Scouts emerged and said, "It's cold out here!"

Everyone put together excellent, tummy warming dinners. Mr. Dooley featured delicately browned pear pie a la mode. Mr. Dooley was proud to announce, "When else can you have ice cream on a camp out?" Still stuffed from their dinners, everyone had a light cracker barrel snack then headed into their quinzees, tents, and lodge for a well-earned rest.

A beautiful full moon playing on the white snow provided all the light needed around camp. Some of the thinner sections of the quinzee roofs had an almost eerie glow throughout the night.

Sunday morning everyone had to emerge from the warmth of their quinzees to stoke up a hearty breakfast. Although not on the original menu, one patrol featured flaming ham for an entree. Some lessons were also learning about the freezing point of eggs.

For once, we truly got to "break camp". The Cutler Camp Supervisor requested that we not leave the quinzees intact, for fear of accidental collapse on others during warmer weather. This gave everyone the chance to see just what their over night shelters were made of. Not only did every quinzee withstand the weight of their occupants standing directly on top, it required serious jumping to punch their way through the frozen roofs. Yes, this truly was a 'smashing success'.

Everyone who participated can feel very proud that they were able to survive and have FUN on a winter camp out in an estimated -10 degree weather! Applause to the brave crew - Jason Asarese, Paul Deinetti, Chris Bower, Peter Bryon, Sam Corey, Liam Dooley, Tim Gemme, Bret Henderson, Christoph Napp, Evan Schmidt, Zack Vojt, Joe McLaughlin, and special thanks to all the adult leaders - Dan Asarese, David Beinetti, Bob Bower, Tom Dooley, Dave Henderson, Edmund Napp, Fred Vojt.
Steve Schmidt
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Massawepie

Massawepie 2003 is getting closer! Scouts should be thinking about the 3-4 merit badges they'd like to take. 1st year scouts should think about 1-2 afternoon merit badges, (like Archery or Basketry). And if you haven't paid your second deposit, you're late! Please call Liam Dooley TODAY!
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Gettysburg

The trip to Gettysburg is on! Adventurous souls from Troop X will journey down to Gettysburg PA April 13th and spend the next three days walking through history! Come with us and retrace the battle. See how the Union Army was forced to retreat and surrender the town of Gettysburg to the Army of Virginia. Remember because we're Boy Scouts, we'll be camping right on the battlefield in an area that is not open to the general public!
There may be room for one or two more so if you're brave (not afraid of long hikes and a little rain) and adventurous, get in touch with Tim Gemme or Mr. Monnat. DON'T DELAY!!
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Skiing Anyone?

I'd like to send a reminder out to the skiers in the Troop that if anyone is interested in a group ski outing to Swain or Bristol they can let me know and I will be happy to lead a trip if we have enough interest.
Glenn Stewart
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Smooth Registration

Parents, my heart felt thanks and gratitude to all of you for getting your registrations in on time and without much fuss. I believe this has gone smoother than in previous years to the credit of Paul Collard and Luanne Bixler. I appreciate their council, process and forms ready to mail. You may not realize the effort these two have put in through the years to get all of us signed up. Parents, I know you were thinking, how many medical forms do I need to fill out. Those were some of my most frequent thoughts when I joined the troop last year. I could have sworn I had just turned them in the previous week. Fear not, we are getting a better handle on them and have a volunteer to manage the forms this year (thanks Janet!). However, remember to make copies for occasional use throughout the year. Sometimes when we go to a camp like Massaweppee, they keep a copy! That's why we want to receive a new batch from those going to the event. Also, they are only good for given period of time. See the web site for guidelines. You will always be getting the class 1's for registration; these are only good for 1 year. Leaders over 40, yes the class 3 are due yearly and require doctor’s input (i.e. the doctor needs to answer things like, can you stay awake through a campfire and hike to the mess hall without collapsing). The Class 2 form, which gets doctors signature (only for leaders UNDER 40 and scouts) is good for 3 years. So make copies, have your Immunization records somewhere handy. No Mr. Ogden, you can't tell me you just got your shots last year.
Jim Whitnor

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A Real Winter Campout

On February 15th, early in the morning, 15 eager boys and 8 adults showed up at the scout house to embark on the February campout, planned by the Tiki Patrol. The plan was to spend a night at Camp Cutler, survivor type style, building your own shelter, combined with a trip to Cummings Nature Center for some cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.

Who would have thought that we picked the coldest weekend on tab for this outing? Temperatures dipped to near the -10deg.F. mark, snow was plentiful (several feet on the ground), and luckily there was no significant wind to drive all that cold air through the many layers of our clothing. The scenery was beautiful, highlighted by the full moon at night.

Once we got to Camp Cutler and moved all of our plentiful gear into the lodge, we all started working on piling up huge amounts of snow for the quinzees. It took us about two hours to create 5 seven to eight foot tall snow hills, that had to sit for a few hours to settle and pack. A few of us were skeptical about the strength of these quinzees, given that the snow was so cold and powdery.

After a quick lunch, we all left for the Cummings Nature Center to spend a couple of hours on cross-country skies or snow shoes. The trails were magnificent and the snow was many feet deep. It was an enjoyable early afternoon activity for both boys and parents alike.

Coming back to the campsite, we all started working on the quinzees, mainly creating a cave inside these big snow hills. It took a good 1 1/2 hours to finish them and the boys moved their sleeping gear in just in time for the sun to set. Everybody was hungry for dinner. Three different patrols did their own cooking and around 10 pm we all hit the sacks. With exception to one boy and 3 adults, everybody slept in a quinzee or a tent (brrrr!). The boys did great! Only one of them got cold feet around midnight and did the right thing by moving into the slightly warmer lodge. In fact, most of the boys had problems leaving the quinzees in the morning, as they felt very comfortable in them.

After packing up the campsite, the boys were asked to "take the quinzees down". A bunch of them would stand on top of a quinzee and jump up and down until finally the roof collapsed (the roof was much stronger than one would expect). Off course, the boys had a lot of fun with this activity.

This was a great winter camp out! The scouts that participated all earned bragging rights for building and sleeping in their own shelters during real harsh weather conditions, and this trip surely will hang on in their memories for a long time to come …..
Edmund Napp
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Woodworking Merit Badge

I recently approved as a merit badge counselor for Woodworking and Personal Management in the Eagle District. I am currently running a workshop for the Woodworking Merit Badge. The scouts; Josh Turner, David Knab, Dan Smith, and Alex Micciche have already completed about half the requirements for the badge and will be wrapping it up within a few weeks. We're having a lot of fun learning about wood, lumber, design, and building a project.

I have a nice shop at home and can accommodate groups of up to 5 scouts. I am happy to run 2 or 3 workshops a year. A workshop will be 4 or 5 hour and a half sessions spread over a month. If you are interested in pursuing this badge, please let me know. As soon as we have at least 3 scouts, we can arrange for a workshop.

Vince Micciche
95 Cheese Factory Road
Honeoye Falls, NY
624-7571 Home
385 -3130 xt. 15 Office
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