'Tis the season

SPL Will (right) and incoming SPL Andrew (left) call the court of honor to order
prior to the dinner and Friends of Scouting portion of the court of honor program.

Troop 50 Scouts, leaders, and families gathered at First Presbyterian Church on Monday, Dec. 15 for food, fellowship, and awards as part of its annual Christmas court of honor and party. The evening offered a chance for the troop to highlight the hard work of Scouts' advancement efforts, to install new troop leadership, and to celebrate giving and fellowship of the season.

In addition to collecting toys for the Auburn Fire Department's "Toys for Tots" program, Troop 50 joined together in support of the Chattahoochee Council's "Friends of Scouting" program. Charter Organization Representative Michael Tullier offered a brief overview of the FOS program and invited families to consider contributing in support of the council's fundraising initiative. By the end of the meeting, troop families had exceeded its fundraising goal by contributing or pledging more than $2,500 in support of the council.

Aiden (center) accepts his Second Class rank patch from
Scoutmaster Baird, SPL Will, and incoming SPL Andrew.

Senior Patrol Leader Will, with the help of Scoutmaster Andrew Baird and incoming Senior Patrol Leader Andrew, presented four merit badges and 16 ranks to Scouts in the troop. Ranks ranged from the Scout rank for the troop's newest Scout, to Star rank earned by Scouts who joined the troop just 18 months ago.

The troop's newly selected youth leaders, (left to right) SPL Andrew,
Troop Guide Michael, ASPL Will, and Patrol Leaders Louie and Josh,
accept the oath of office from Scoutmaster Baird.

New assistant scoutmasters (left to right): Will Levendis,
Wes Williams, and Billy Lytle.

Following the presentation of awards, Scoutmaster Baird called forward the troop's recently elected youth leaders to be installed. At the troop's Dec. 8 meeting, Scouts elected Andrew, a founding member of the troop, as its new senior patrol leader — the second time during his tenure in the troop to be elected to serve in this capacity. Andrew selected outgoing SPL Will as his assistant senior patrol leader. The troop also elected Louie and Josh as new patrol leaders — the first opportunity for either to be elected to serve in these positions. Finally, Michael was appointed to the post of troop guide.

Overcome with appreciation for Mr. Baird's
high praise for his two terms as the
troop's senior patrol leader, outgoing SPL
Will couldn't hold back the second
hug-the-scoutmaster moment of the evening.

Mr. Baird continued to highlight troop leadership by officially installing the troop's newest Eagle Scout, Ethan Smith, as junior assistant scoutmaster. He also presented assistant scoutmaster position patches to three of the troop's newest adult leaders: Billy Lytle, Wes Williams, and Will Levendis. Scoutmaster Baird concluded his focus on troop leadership by paying tribute to the leadership shown by outgoing SPL Will during this two consecutive terms as senior patrol leader. To commemorate Will's commitment to the troop, Scoutmaster Baird presented Will with a handmade wooden neckerchief slide featuring the profile image of a Native American chief. The presentation resulted in a spontaneous hug — Mr. Baird's second one of the evening!

Scouts and some of the leaders gathered around for the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, where there seemed to be a carefully selected gag gift for every practical one opened. A variety of camping gadgets became hot commodities that were stolen a few times during the gift-swapping.

Scouts with Auburn firefighters and some of the toys donated by
the troop to the fire department's annual Toys for Tots toy drive.

Following the gift exchanges, Scouts and leaders ventured from the church to the Auburn Fire Department, delivering the toys donated by the troop's families. Toys for toddlers, board-game players and sports fanatics were all part of the dozens of items donated for less fortunate children in the community who are helped through the firefighters' annual toy-drive program.

The troop will take off the next few Mondays to enjoy the holidays (and the the vacation from school) with their families. The troop's next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, Jan. 12, 2015.

For more photos from the court of honor and Christmas party, visit the troop's online photo album.

A hike through Civil War history

The troop posed in the commemorative courtyard, entitled
"The Price of Freedom Fully Paid," which serves as a memorial
to all prisoners of war.

Scouts and leaders left Auburn early Saturday morning to for a weekend of Civil War history and a better appreciation of the plight soldiers face as prisoners of war — appropriate topics for a week that included the celebration of Veterans Day. The troop's visit to the Andersonville National Historic Site in Andersonville, Ga., included the National Prisoner of War Museum; the site of Camp Sumter, the most famous of Civil War-era Confederate prisons; and the Andersonville National Cemetery. Guiding the contingent's journey through Civil War history was the park's historical trail questionnaire, which challenged Scouts to glean facts from displays and kiosks throughout the site. The troop developed a similar questionnaire for the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park as a service project during its March 2014 visit to the historic site outside Alexander City, Alabama.

The troop began its walking tour at the National Prisoner of War Museum, which since opening in 1998, has told the story of prisoners of war throughout American history. Visitors are met with an exhibit answering the question “What is a POW?” Hands-on and multimedia displays following that introduction explore themes of capture, living conditions, news and communications, morale and relationships, and escape and freedom.

With a majority of Scouts "locked up," adult leaders resisted the
temptation to reenact their own prison escape! Find individual photos
of many of our "prisoners" in our online photo album.

The next stop on the historic hike was the site of Camp Sumter, also known as Andersonville Prison. The historic prison site, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2014, is 26.5 acres outlined with double rows of white posts to indicate the location of the original prison walls. Two sections of the stockade wall have been reconstructed — the north gate and the northeast corner. In walking the grounds, Scouts and leaders learned more about the living conditions faced by those imprisoned there, as well as their efforts to escape.

After a picnic lunch, the troop provided service to the park by partnering with another visiting Boy Scout troop to fold the more than 150 American flags recently displayed during the park's Veterans Day commemoration. This gave newer Scouts the opportunity to learn proper flag-folding techniques and older Scouts the chance to refine their skills. In all, Troop 50 folded nearly 90 flags in just about an hour. The troop also helped strike and store two tents used during the recent holiday activities.

From there, the troop picked up its historic fact-finding hike in the Andersonville National Cemetery. Initial interments, beginning in February 1864, were trench burials of the prisoners who died in the nearby military prison. Today the cemetery contains nearly 20,000 interments — including the nearly 13,000 soldiers who died during their imprisonment at Camp Sumter. The cemetery is one of 14 administered by the National Park Service and remains open and active for burials.

After completing its tour of the cemetery, the troop arrived at its camping location, quickly got settled, and returned to the park for its quarterly night museum — an opportunity to experience the prison site grounds after dark. Scouts and leaders learned more about the role and perspective of prison guards as part of a character reenactment, as well as heard from a guest lecturer visiting from Texas A&M University who shared her research on Confederacy prison management, Union soldiers' efforts to escape, and prisoner exchanges between the North and the South.

Scouts returned to camp to start a fire, grab their extra jackets, and fill their bellies as cooler weather settled in. As temperatures approached the upper 30s., no one complained about retreating to tents and the warmth of sleeping bags. The troop awakened Sunday morning, prepared breakfast and packed up gear. Before departing, the troop marked a moment of reverence with a devotion centered around Thanksgiving and remembering to be thankful for all we have, even in times of adversity. The topic was timely not only with Thanksgiving being less than two weeks away, but with Thanksgiving's origins as a national holiday tracing back to 1863 when, during the height of the Civil War, President Lincoln called for its celebration and prayers to “heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it … to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

At part of its post-campout critique, the troop's Patrol Leaders Council the following Monday credited the historical elements, menu planning, the campsite location, and the inaccurate forecast from earlier in the week predicting a 60-percent chance of rain Sunday morning as positive elements of the campout. The PLC cited needs to improve basic knot-tying skills, food-preparation efficiency, and campsite/field trip etiquette.

For more photos from the event, visit the troop's online photo album.

Throwing & shooting for a good cause

On very chilly and breezy Saturday, Scouts and leaders bundled up and joined with other community supporters by volunteering their time in support of the The Kevin Bell Memorial Blast & Cast, a fundraising event held annually that includes a variety of marksman and outdoor sports events in a four-person team, round-robin format. This year's event marked the second year the troop assisted with the event by staffing tomahawk-throwing and slingshot-shooting stations. Other events included various rifle-, shotgun-, and pistol-shooting stations, as well as a knife-throwing station. Highs for the day barely reached the 50s, but with the constant winds throughout the morning, temperatures felt more like the mid-30s through the mid-40s during most of the 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. event.

At the troop's slingshot event, teams tested their marksman's skills shooting both slingshot marbles and paintballs at various stationary and moving targets. Not only were some targets in excess of 20 feet away, many also required careful aim past trees and through branches to score points. Scouts served as "caddies" to each shooter by holding their slingshot ammunition as well as keeping each shooter's score.

At the tomahawk station, teams demonstrated their ability to not only hit a stationary target roughly 12 feet away, but with the precision and force required to cause the tomahawk to stick. Scouts assisted teams by retrieving thrown tomahawks and offering tips on throwing techniques. Those suggestions must have worked, as two participants each hit bulls-eyes five times in nine throws.

The event raises support for the Kevin Bell Memorial Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to deserving Auburn High School students pursuing degrees at Auburn University. The event and fund's namesake, Kevin Bell, passed away in 2010 at the age of 29 after a 22-year battle with Friedreich's Ataxia, a neurological disorder which robbed him of the ability to walk and write by age 11. Having earned two degrees at Auburn and serving as a substitute teacher at Auburn High School, family and friends chose to create scholarships in his name as a means of perpetuating Kevin's own love of education. After the proceeds from past Blast & Cast events endowed a scholarship at Auburn University in 2012, the Blast & Cast began in 2013 to fund scholarships awarded by the Auburn Veterans Committee and benefiting veterans or their dependents pursuing degrees at Auburn-area post-secondary educational institutions. For more information about the scholarship fund, visit the fund's page on Facebook.

For more photos from the event, visit the troop's online photo album.

Trailheads

Troop 50's trailheads: the Buck Patrol (top) and Turn Up Patrol (bottom)

October's focus for Troop 50 Scouts and leaders has been on backpacking, all leading up to the troop's October 18-19 excursion on the Pine Mountain Trail. The trail is comprised of 23 miles of footpaths that cross and follow the beautiful Pine Mountain ridge in west central Georgia, and is located inside the Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park, near Callaway Gardens. Much of the land that the Pine Mountain Trail crosses once belonged to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since 1975, the Pine Mountain Trail Association and its volunteers have labored to build the best trail system possible.

Buck Patrol Leader and Philmont
veteran Robert instructs Scouts
on proper use of a compass.

Relying on the experience some of the troop's senior Scouts acquired during their summer 2013 expedition to Philmont, the October 6th troop meeting was devoted to increasing Scouts' familiarity with packing and cooking techniques. Until now, many of our Scouts had camped only feet from the troop trailer and prepared food on camp stoves using equipment from chuckboxes and food stored in coolers until needed. Scouts learned that they would have to pack in their patrol's food and cooking equipment, in addition to their own personal gear, and pack out those same supplies along with their trash. The expedition would also provide many of our senior Scouts the opportunity to do some backpacking cooking to complete requirements for the now-Eagle-required Cooking Merit Badge. At the October 13th troop meeting, our Philmont-hardened Scouts presented tips for navigating trail maps using a compass, and patrols met to organize menus and discuss the gear needed for the trip.

Turn Up Patrol members Jack, Mark and Jason enjoy the
scenic views of Odie Overlook.

The troop set out early Saturday morning for FDR State Park. Upon arrival, patrols oriented themselves to the trail map and set out on the 6.7-mile Wolf Den Loop. The Buck Patrol set out first for the Bumblebee Ridge Campsite, led by Assistant Patrol Leader Josh, joined by SPL William and Quartermaster Andrew, and under the supervision of assistant scoutmasters JP Pendleton and Wes Williams. Soon after, the Turn Up Patrol departed for Old Sawmill Campsite, led by Patrol Leader John, joined by ASPL Davis, and under the supervision of Scoutmaster Andrew Baird and Chartered Organization Representative Michael Tullier.

The shady canopy of the initial portion of the trail gave way to sunny ridges and warmer temperatures. Odie Overlook was the first opportunity to see the expansive ridge that bordered the Pine Mountain Trail. It was soon after that the two groups intersected for the first and only time as the Turn Up Patrol sought a spot for lunch around the same spot the Buck Patrol was finishing up its lunch stop. 

Buck Patrol members stop to commune with nature,
including a tree-hugging demonstration by SPL William.

The Buck Patrol passed Old Sawmill Campsite on its way to Bumblebee Ridge Campsite—which was about another mile down the trail and part of the roughly seven miles the patrol covered on Saturday. Upon arrival, the patrol discussed logistics, with some traversing the quarter-mile downhill climb to filter water and others setting up tents. With one group focused on preparing the patrol's dinner of chicken and rice, other groups prepared a sump (to dispose of cooking and cleaning waste) and readied the patrol's bear bag (to help prevent animals from raiding remaining food stores and trash). Before hitting the sack around 8:45 p.m. central time, the patrol made one more run to filter water and then conducted a "Rose, Bud, Thorn" assessment that included enjoying working together as a team (the positive, or "rose"); hitting the trail in the morning, finishing up the trip, and getting home to good food like pizza (the opportunity, or "bud"); and dealing with the challenges of hiking inclines and dealing with backpack issues (the negative, or "thorn").

Turn Up chefs John and James Robert—
and their tasty chicken and rice dish.

After logging just more than six miles for the day, the Turn Up Patrol's Old Sawmill Campsite featured a scenic stream and plenty of space for the patrol to stretch out. After settling in, the patrol encountered a significant challenge: a malfunctioning water filter that required the patrol to resort to boiling its drinking water. With hot water left in water bottles to cool, the patrol focused on preparing its dinner of rice, chicken, and gravy—along with a host of cookies, crackers and other sweet side items in each person's food bag. As cooler temperatures settled in, a nice fire kept everyone toasty until the patrol called it a night—by 8 p.m. central time, if you can believe that!

After the Turn Up Patrol covered the distance to Bumblebee Ridge Campite and troop regrouped mid-morning Sunday, it traveled together to the nearest water source where the Turn Up Patrol had a chance to refill its water bottles. The group's next stop included the troop's opportunity for reverence, during which time Mr. Tullier led a devotion entitled "Carrying Your Burdens" using the backpacking trip as a theme and centered on Mark 12:30-31 and Galatians 6:2.

Perhaps the fastest Scouts (and leaders) were witnessed traveling was from the sight of the trailhead sign to the cars in the parking lot! Upon reaching their cars, Scouts and leaders boasted a total of 8.6 miles during the two-day trip. For our newest Scouts, as well as many of our older ones, the trip represented the most trail miles ever covered on a troop backpacking trip.

At its post-campout Patrol Leaders Council critique Monday evening, the PLC members offered positive comments on the scenic views, weather, food, and cooperation within the Buck Patrol. The PLC felt the troop could improve for the next trip by refining Scouts' packing techniques, which for a first backpacking trip were generally good; and to reinforce forgotten outdoor skills, including "Leave No Trace" principles.

More photos from the trip are available in the troop's online photo album.