April 2008 News

 

Committee Chair’s Corner

Marsha Kofman, Committee Chair, rdhetal@yahoo.com, 429-0794

 

“And the winner is…”  WOW!!!!!   That is all I can say to a very successful Silent Auction and Dessert Buffet!  The Team effort that was contributed by all was incredible. Thank you for the numerous hours spent calling businesses to secure the generous contributions made to the Troop. Thank you to those people that picked up the donations. Thank you to those that passed out flyers and encouraged the public to attend. Thank you to all of the families for their generous and creative “gift baskets.” Thanks to all of those that helped set up and clean up. AND the desserts were very tasty and plentiful.

 

A big thank you goes to Mr. & Mrs. Seeley for doing the creative organizing and creating of packets to get to the businesses and families; the planning of the layout & presentation; securing our larger donations and sponsors to support this very successful event. Great work done by all!

 

The numbers are still being finalized, but as it was stated in the letter sent by the Troop 401 Fundraising Committee in January, 2008, the troop will count on these “funds to update aging equipment and purchase new equipment, and keep established programs going and to add new things” that the scouts would like to do and get excited to learn about. Thank you again for your hard work, valuable time and support to help make this a successful event this year.

 

There is still a great deal of scouting to do now that the weather and snow piles are finally clearing. Don’t forget to take notes at the Troop announcements, check the web page, the newsletter or have your son contact his patrol leader. PLEASE do NOT send an email to the Troop email listing. This is only checked weekly, not daily or hourly. Your question would be best answered by a leader than to be left waiting and frustrated.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, and would like to become more involved with this program, please feel free to contact me at 429-0794 or rdhetal@yahoo.com.

 

Marsha Kofman, Troop 401 Committee Chair.

 

 

 

Scoutmaster’s Minute

Ken Sanborn, Scoutmaster, ibdscoutmaster@comcast.net, 423-9835

 

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but the one thing I know; the only ones among you who will really be happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve…" -- Albert Schweitzer, doctor, philosopher and Nobel Prize winner

Dr. Schweitzer’s quote above was provided to me by Mrs. Seeley along with a quote of her own, “If I were to apply these words by Dr. Schweitzer to the Troop’s participation with the Easter Bread Bake and the last Library Book Sale set-up and take down, I would have to conclude that our Troop contains a lot of happy people!”

 

With Spring now here, our focus turns to the outdoors and to several Community Service Projects coming up next month. Let’s keep that great participation going and let’s prove that we all know how to serve! There is no better feeling than knowing you have helped others.

 

Let’s make the Adopt-a-Road clean-up, the St. James clean-up and the next Library Book Sale set-up and take down all service projects with record participation. Let’s be happy!

 

training

Robin Rich, ASM-Training Coord.

r-rich@comcast.net, 880-8222.

 

Training Opportunities

 

·         Scoutmaster/Assistant Scoutmaster Outdoor training:

            Weekend training June 7th – 8th

·         Powderhorn training – July 11 -13th and 18-20th at Hidden Valley (training for high adventure outdoor activities)

·         Wood Badge training – September 12-14th, 26-28th (leadership skills course recommended for all Scout positions)

 

You can obtain applications and more information from Troop Training Chair, Robin Rich or from the DWC web page (www.nhscouting.org).

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

April

 

26 – Hike-a-thon Family Hike on the Freedom Trail

30 – All day camping box build-a-thon at St. James

 

May

 

4 – PLC

7 – District Roundtable

8 – Committee Meeting

10 – Hiking Club 1st Spring Hike – Pond Parish

16 – Adopt-A-Road Clean up

16 – St. James Church Clean up

17 – Hiking Club – Joe English Reservation

29 – Library Book Sale set-up 5:30

30 - June 1 – Frank Daley Campout

 

Announcements

 

District Family Hike

 

Troop 401 descends on the Freedom Trail in Boston this weekend for the annual Hike-a-thon!  Ryan Sanborn has done a great job of planning the event for the Troop. The itinerary for the event follows: 

 

Those carpooling should meet at St. James by 7:30 am (leaving at 8am). The meeting spot in Boston will be the USS Constitution around 9:15am. Parking is located nearby. Families are encouraged to attend.

In addition to completing the hike the Troop will be touring the following spots along the Freedom Trail:

 

·         The Paul Revere House where you can see what life was like in the 17th and 18th century ($3 for adults, $1 for ages 5-18)

·         The Old North Church where the lanterns were hung to warn the patriots that the British were coming by sea (This is free but a $1 donation is suggested)

 

Everyone should plan to bring a lunch. We’ll have lunch along the way.

 

If any scout is interested in working on the American Heritage merit badge, this will fill requirement #4e and all scouts attending can earn three miles toward their hiking club totals.

Troop Canoe Trip

 

This year’s canoe trip will be August 8th-10th on the Connecticut River. The base camp will be set up at Wilgus State Park on Friday afternoon. Canoeing orientation will take place on Saturday morning. In the afternoon the group will put in 8 miles up river and travel back down to the campsite. Sunday morning everyone will pack up and travel down river 13 miles to Fort #4 and explore while some of the adults retrieve vehicles.

 

A large turnout is expected for this event. Ten canoes have been rented from Troop 424. Troop 401 has 3 canoes but additional ones may be needed. If any families have canoes that the troop can borrow for this event, please contact Mr. Sanborn.

 

Youth Protection Video

 

Thank you to all that participated in the viewing of the Youth Protection Video on 3/31. Due to a time issue, the video that was not shown was on Internet Safety, Peer Harassment and for the scouts over 14 years of age, Date Rape. The Troop owns these videos. If, at any time, anyone would like to borrow these videos to watch with your children or relatives, please contact me. They are an excellent tool to help open a discussion on a sensitive and, for some, awkward subject material.  Marsha Kofman, 429-0794.

 

New Adult Applications Due

 

The deadline to turn in the new leader applications will be Monday, May 5th. If you haven’t turned one in yet, please get them to me as soon as possible.   Marsha Kofman, CC, rdhetal@yahoo.com or 429-0794.

 

WANTED:

 

PARENTS are wanted to become members of the Troop Committee, to sit on Boards of Review for Advancement and to attend Committee Meetings to insure a Quality Program for all of the boys. Get involved, you won’t regret it!

 

Merit Badges

 

Scouts who have already started the Family Life, Personal Fitness, Dog Care, Pets, Gardening, Reading or Scholarship Merit Badges or are interested in starting any of these, please see Mrs. Kofman.  Remember, these are ongoing Merit Badges. Don’t forget to bring your Blue Cards!

 

Mr. Seeley would like all those working on the Public Speaking Merit Badge to schedule your 10-minute talks with one of the Senior Patrol Leaders. Once the date is confirmed with the Senior Patrol, please let Mr. Seeley know the date.

 

Summer Time Merit Badges

 

Planning your summer activities already? There are Merit Badges that you can work on over the summer. See Mr. Sanborn, for some suggestions. Be sure to grab a Blue Card before you start.

 

Hiking Club & Backpacking Club

 

Mark your calendar with the following hiking/backpacking dates. This year’s hikes are now being determined so if anyone has hiking or backpacking trips that they’d like incorporated into the schedule, please forward those suggestions to Mr. Seeley at kseeley2005@yahoo.com.

 

Hiking Club

5/10 – Pond Parish

5/17 – Joe English Reservation

6/7 – TBD

7/26 – Little Monadnock & Rhododendren St. Park

8/16 – Full Moon Hike – Pack Monadnock

8/23 – Waterfall Hike – TBD

9/13 – West Rattlesnake

Sept – Nov Fall Hikes TBD

 

Backpacking Club

5/10 – Pond Parish (Backpack Practice)

5/17 – Joe English Reservation (Backpack Practice)

6/7 – TBD (Backpack Practice)

6/14 – 15 - Father’s Day 1 night trip

     Monadnock area - TBD

7/18 – 20 – Howl to the Moon 2 night trip –

                   Full Moon! – TBD

 

Please note that in order to go on either backpacking trip, scouts must have already earned their hiking club walking stick. In addition scouts and adults must attend 2 of the 3 above backpack practice hikes in full backpacking gear….there will be more info about the full backpacking gear in an upcoming meeting.

 

Sweatshirt Reminder

 

To pick up your order please bring your check payable to Troop 401.  If you ordered a Hoodie, the price is $30.00.  A crew neck is priced at $25.00. The wicking T-shirts are $18.00.

 

Don’t despair if you missed this order. Another will be going in this Spring!!!  Thank you Mr. Sanborn for making the arrangements!

 

Troop Committee Meetings

 

Meetings are scheduled on the second Thursday of each month. We meet at St. James Church, at 7 PM in one of the classrooms. All adults are welcome to participate in the meetings.

 

When the Scouts plan an outing, parents are always needed to call and make the reservations, to provide transportation to the event, or even to suggest a new activity. So become an active participant in your son’s scouting adventure.

 

Hope to see you there.

 

District Roundtable

 

Scheduled for the second Wednesday of each month, the meetings take place at the Church of Latter Day Saints in Nashua, next to Greeley Park at 7 PM.

 

All adult leaders are encouraged to attend this valuable training. Parents are also welcome to attend these meetings to learn more about the scouting program.

 

Upcoming Topics are:

 

May 14th – Continuation of how to prepare Scouts for an Eagle board of review

June 11th – Looking for volunteers to do a Dutch oven cooking demonstration

 

Community Service

 

Easter Bread Bake

 

This year’s Easter Bread Bake was a huge success! Thanks to the following scouts for baking the bread for this worthwhile community service project:

 

Tommy, Ricky, Matthew B., Nick, Ethan, Paul, Nathan D., Tyler, Robert, Holden, Max, Connor, Casey, Sam, Kyle, Ryan, Logan, Sid and Austen.

 

 

 

Upcoming Community Service Projects

 

Mark your calendar!

 

Remember, if you do a Community Service Project with your Church, Youth Group or other organization, let the Scoutmaster know of your Service Hours.

 

Fundraising

 

Grocery Receipts

         

Please continue to save and bring in your Shaw's receipts to Mrs. Prive.

 

Silent Auction and Dessert Buffet

 

The income and expenses have been gathered and the Troop’s fabulous hard work has resulted in a profit of just under $4,000!!! This figure would have been much smaller if it had not been for the outstanding participation and excellent teamwork from the Troop’s scouts, parents, adults and families….not enough thank yous can ever be said.

 

The Troop Committee will be deciding just how to allocate the profits but you can be assured that it will go directly toward improving equipment and programs for our scouts.

 

There four items that still need homes. Please contact Mr. Seeley if anyone is interested in purchasing these items:

 

 

 

 

Planning for next year’s event will occur beginning in the Fall. If you have any suggestions or ideas on how to make things even better, please contact Mr. Seeley. Also contact Mr. Seeley if there is something specific you’d like to help with next year.

 

Thank you ALL for making a difference!!

 

Past Events

 

Maple Syrup Tour

 

This year’s maple syrup tour was at Folsom’s Sugar House in Chester on March 15th. The Landrys, Killkelleys, Miltons and Prives were in attendance. They all saw a tree being tapped and experienced the sap being boiled down 40 to 1 and then filtered. The highlight of the trip was the official tasting of maple syrup, maple candy and maple butter. A good time was had by all.

 

 

 

Orienteering on March 22nd

 

Four scouts (Matthew, Logan, Robert and Max) from Troop 401 setup and ran the orienteering course for the Peabody Mill Environmental Center in the snows of late March.

 

 

Navigating the course were:

 

 

 

 

YMCA Lock-in 2008

 

Despite a last minute change in location, the YMCA lock in was fabulous fun! Very little sleep, if any, was had by the participants. From basketball to swimming to a counselor who had more energy than three scouts combined at 3 a.m., the following scouts made it clear the Sandman was not allowed in!! Brendan, Ricky, Tommy, Nick, Ethan, Paul, Tyler, Bailey, Jacob, Holden, Conor, Casey, Kyle, Logan, Andrew, Matt S., Austen and Jackson. Thanks also to Mr. Sanborn, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Berube and Mr. Brodell for making the lock-in such a great time!

 

Souhegan Sling

 

A perfect weather weekend greeted our scouts at Camp DePlant in New Ipswich for a Catapult building campout and pioneering adventure with Troop 42 of the Monadnock District.  The camp was prepped by a group of hardy souls the week before and the weather was kind enough to remove the snow (thanks to Mr. Marston, Eric and Mr. Retelle, Logan and Mr. Seeley, Andrew and Matt Stockhousen and Ethan and Mr. Brodell for prepping the site). 

 

Most of Troop 401 attended this fun activity and learned a great deal about lashing and getting rope slivers removed.  The Cobras won the dessert contest with the creative almost-pumpkin pie they cooked in the Dutch oven.

 

We had a fun contest with our catapults, the Bisons threw furthest, the Pumas most accurate and the Cobras had the most creative design.  Troop 42 won the overall contest since they had the fewest repairs during the contest.  Regardless, the snapping turtles will feast on the apples launched into the lake.

 

Mr. Seeley can be quoted as saying “this weekend was wicked awesome!”

 

Supply transportation

 

 

Bison Patrol – won distance

 

Pumas – won accuracy

 

Cobras – won best use of lashings

 

Mr. Milton’s Recipe Roundup

 

Bannock Biscuits

 

Bannock biscuits are an old Northern Manitoba trapper favorite. I first had these camping with my grandfather….a good trapper in his own right. I have modified the recipe as it calls for “any animal fat you have handy.”  In a survival situation anything works. These are delicious and very easy to make in camp.

 

1 cup flour

1 pinch of salt (1 teaspoon)

¼ tablespoon of baking power

3 tablespoons of margarine

¼ cup of cold water

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 handful of raisins (many berries you find on the trail work as well)

 

I usually triple the recipe it makes about 8 to 10 biscuits depending on how big you make them. Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the margarine with a fork. Mix in the water to make a stiff dough.  The amount of water you will need depends on the humidity.

 

Make a patty about three inches across and ¾ of an inch thick. In a hot skillet over coals brown the patties on both sides in a small amount of margarine or oil. Then remove from the pan and wrap in a piece of foil, and place beside the fire to bake. You can also tilt the pan facing the fire and let them bake that way. At home bake in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness

 

These are best eaten warm with jam or butter. They can also be packed away to snack on along the trail.

 

Enjoy!

Dave Milton

 

Hey! Great news! The Troop will be putting together its very own Troop Cookbook. Please submit any and all of your favorite camping recipes. These can be using Dutch ovens or not. We will include at least one recipe in each newsletter and then combine all we have for the cookbook. Please submit them to troop401news@yahoo.com!

 

 

 

Troop Birthdays

 

Troop Birthdays for May are:

 

James              5/12

Kyle                  5/27

Nick                  5/29

 

On Being a Scout….

 

Be prepared! When hiking or camping, be sure to take items that have multiple uses. For instance…..

 

Baking Soda

This is a standby of the camper and hiker

Major uses are:

 

Chapped lips

To avoid having chapped lips when you don’t have lip balm use:

 

Submitted by Mr. Milton

 

Newsletter Contact

Kelly Seeley, Newsletter Coord., 424-0734, troop401news@yahoo.com