January 2005

The hustle and bustle of the holidays has us spinning like a tornado.  Make sure you take some time to enjoy the meaning of the holidays – family, giving thanks and sharing.

On behalf of the Troop Committee, I would like to thank everyone who helps with the Scouting program.  If your New Year’s Resolution is to spend more time with your son, join him at scouts!  It is amazing the adventures you can have together.

Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year to all.

Marsha Kofman

Happy Holidays,

I hope everyone has a great Holiday Season this year. This is not just the season to receive gifts but also the season to give. Thank you everyone who participated in the Box Wrap and the Pie Bake service projects. Both of these events have many people involved and not just the scouts from the troop. This is just one way in which we can help someone have a better Holiday Season this year. Thanks also go to Robin Rich, Pat Becker and Kathy Mithoefer, along with their assistants, for helping to set these events up.

This past week we passed out the troop phone tree. On there you should find your son's name under the Patrol he is in. On the bottom you will find most of the adult leader's names and numbers. I hope this will help everyone in knowing who to call when you have a question. Yes you can still call me or any other leader with your questions comments or concerns.

The next court of Honor will be in Feb. This should give everyone time to try and finish up your next rank or merit badge you are working on. If there is a particular merit badge you would like to work on, see one of the assistant scoutmasters or myself and they will be able to help you get started. Remember that you will need to find a councilor first before you start working on the merit badge. This way you will know just which requirements need to be done first and just how the councilor wants you too do them.

Next time you see Mrs. Gontarz tell her thank you. She will be leaving Troop 401.  Mr. Tucker is now the Advancement Chairman. Thank you, Kim. I know you have done many things to assist the scouts in their advancement up the Eagle Trail. Welcome Ed to the new position. We all look forward to the many Eagle Scouts that Troop 401 will have soon. Scouts please keep up the great work you have been doing.

Again I would like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Holiday Season. Enjoy yourself and see you all in 2005.

YIS

 Mr. Courtemanche

January

 1/3         Board of Review

1/8          New Leader Essential/Troop Specific training

1/8-9       Whip-O-Will Campout

1/12        PLC Meeting

1/13        Committee Meeting

1/19        Roundtable

1/22        Trainer Development Conference

1/28-30  Winter Campout/Ski Trip

1/31        Scoutmaster’s Conference              

February

2/4          Klondike Freeze Out

2/5          Klondike Derby

2/7          Board of Review

2/8          District Eagle Banquet

2/9          PLC Meeting

2/10        Committee Meeting

2/13        Scout Sunday

2/16        Roundtable

2/21        Scoutmaster’s Conference

2/26        Ice Fishing

March

3/5          New Leader Essential/Troop Specific training

3/7          Board of Review

3/9          PLC Meeting

3/10        Committee Meeting

3/12        Lowell Textile Mill

3/12        YMCA Lock in

3/16        Roundtable

3/21        Easter Bread Bake

3/25        Snow tubing

3/28        Scoutmaster’s Conference              

The patrol assignments for February are as follows:

Jan 3:     Vipers                    Opening/Closing

Dragons                                  Game

Lizards                   Set Up/Clean Up

Badgers                                No Assignment

Jan 10    Vipers                    Set Up/Clean Up

                Dragons                                No Assignment

                Lizards                   Game

                Badgers                                Opening/Closing

Jan 17    Vipers                    Game

                Dragons                                Opening/Closing

                Lizards                   No Assignment

                Badgers                                Set Up/Clean Up

 January's troop meetings will focus on building patrols into energetic teams to prepare for the Klondike.   4 Meetings will be run like a Klondike with

Patrols competing for a trophy by scoring points at 3- 4 stations each night.   So...Patrols- GET INTO THE SPIRIT!   The more members of a patrol that come- the better the chance of winning.

Klondike will be held Saturday, Feb 5 at Pelham Fish and Game.   At this point, each scout who sleeps out on Friday night will earn one additional Klondike point for his patrol.  Parents-- There is a heated hall as a backup sleeping location for those scouts who attempt sleeping out and need to come inside.  Freezeout participants earn a really cool snowflake patch!   To stay warm, you need to dress in layers with clothing that is NOT cotton as it stays wet.  Wool, polypropylene, fleece and synthetic clothing is best.

Wear a windproof and water proof layer on the outside.  Wear boots with 2 pair of socks, preferably wool.  Bring a change of clothing.   If you have

any questions on how to prepare- PLEASE ASK!  There will be a signup in January for those scouts who wish to form a patrol for the Klondike Derby.

Cost $7 per person.

Mrs. Rich will be looking for additional adults to assist her with this event, both to transport sleds and scouts to Pelham and to sleep overnight at the Freezeout.

The Klondike staff is looking for adults to man/ run stations for the day. Are there adults in Troop 401 who wish to volunteer?  Contact Mrs. Rich at

880-8222 or r-rich@comcast.net if you have any questions.  

Committee Meeting

The Troop 401 Committee meets on the second Thursday of each month. The next meeting will be on

January 13, 7 PM at St. James Church. All parents are encouraged to attend and participate.    See you at the next meeting.

Merit Badge

Family Life Merit Badge is an on going program.  I will be starting a new group on December 22, 2004 at St. James Church at 6:30 PM. Bring a signed Blue Card, a  notebook, pen and the Family Life MB Book. Please let me know who will be attending.

Any questions, please call me at 429-0794.

Citizenship of the World  

For any “older” scouts interested in working on the Citizenship in the World Merit Badge, there will be a session running on Wednesdays from 5 pm to 6 pm at the church.  The first session will begin on January 5 and will run until February 2.  If interested, please sign up on the bulletin board or see Mrs. Collette.

The next Troop Committee and Assistant Scoutmaster Training is Jan 8 at First Church in Nashua starting at 7:30 am.  If you have already attended New Leader Essentials you need to come at 10:30.  Cost $6.  Contact Robin Rich if you wish to register or have questions.

Trainer Development Conference:  Sat. Jan 22, Camp Carpenter, Manchester, NH

University of Scouting:   Sat., March 19, Alverine High School, Hudson, NH

Congratulations to the following boys for earning the advancements listed:  

BADGE OF RANK

Tenderfoot                            Michael Dougherty

MERIT BADGES

Backpacking                         Robert Frost

Citizenship in the Nation    Daniel Becker

                                           Matthew Becker

                                           Gregory Tucker

Communications                                Scott Rich

Environmental Science      Robert Frost

Family Life                            Matthew Becker

Geology                                 Trent Mithoefer

Leatherwork                         Trent Mithoefer

Orienteering                         Robert Frost

Personal Management      Steven Shidlovsky

Shotgun Shooting               Trent Mithoefer

Viper Patrol 

On Sunday, November 28, the Viper Patrol showed up at Boulder Morty’s.  Boulder Morty’s is an indoor rock-climbing barn.  Those attending were Greg Tucker, Shawn Collette, Ryan Collette, Scott Shidlovsky, Derek Trippet and his brother, Josh.  We climbed for roughly four hours before tiring to the point of sleeping on the way home.  We raced each other to the top of barn on several different walls.  Josh seemed to have his game down and got his time down to eleven seconds. Over all it was a great time.  The uncomfortable harnesses were the only downfalls.  I would highly recommend Boulder Morty’s to any patrol who is looking for a good time, and who loves the feeling of adrenalin coursing though their veins.

Submitted By:  Shawn Collette

Annual Turkey Campout

Boy Scout Troop 401 had its annual Turkey camping trip the weekend of Nov 20-21.  The boys arrived at Camp Whip-O-Will (here in Merrimack) and set up camp while enjoying the campfire and unwinding from the week.

Waking up at 7 AM and preparing breakfast of pancakes and sausage, the troop left camp to pick up the bags of food you left on your door steps, with the help of the Cub Scouts of Pack 401.  The Boy Scouts returned around noon with the Webelos Cub Scouts being invited for dinner and the afternoon activities.

The boys had set up a turkey shoot with paint ball sling shots, under the supervision of two Eagle Scouts.  Other events to test their skills involved lashings, search and rescue and something called a laser wall.

The test of their cooking skills came next.  A full turkey dinner for 53, all cooked outdoors at the camp site.  The meal started with 70 pounds of turkey – one fired, one baked, a turkey stew and one turkey cooked in a trash can (20 pounds of coal and in 2 hours you have a golden brown turkey).  Mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, salad, cranberry sauce, rolls and gravy finished the main meal.

The big finish came with the deserts the boys made, including pumpkin pies, apple pies, peach cobblers, fudge brownies, and a two layer white cake with chocolate pudding in the center.  All this was cooked outdoors in Dutch and cardboard ovens.

Troop 401 would like to thank the Merrimack Fire Department and the men of Rescue One for coming out to the campsite to inspect our site and fire pit.

Waking up Sunday morning, we had breakfast and broke camp, ready for our next adventure.

Submitted by:  Mr. Dave Milton

"It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail."

     -Gore Vidal

A Scout is Obedient:   A Scout follows the rules of his family, school and troop.   He obeys the laws of his community and country.   If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.

A Scout is Cheerful:  A Scout looks for the bright side of things.  He cheerfully does tasks that come his way.  He tries to make others happy.

The deadline for articles to be included in the next newsletter is January 19.