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Fall Camporee - 10/99
Troop 75 Attends Benjamin Talmadge District Camporee, walks off with Third Place!!!
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Disappointed by the lack of a Matinecock District Fall Camporee, Troop 75 decided this weekend to attend the Fall Camporee in neighboring Benjamin Talmadge District. Benjamin Talmadge is where the other half of the Troops from the old Dan Beard District went, and is the home of such old friends and rivals as Troop 301, Troop 565 and Troop 349, among others.
The Camporee, held at Heckscher State Park on a beautiful fall weekend, was quite a bit different from what we're used to seeing. The weekend revolved around a Revolutionary war theme, and included not only such challenges as surveying and map-making (fairly standard Scout skills, but done in a different way) but also historical trivia and quill-pen writing (definitely not your standard Camporee fare.)
At each station, Scouts were graded not only on their skill, but also on their patrol spirit and teamwork and on whether they were boy-run. Troop 75, Scout-run and fully uniformed as always, did well.
In keeping with the theme, campsites had to be set up in accordance with a specific pattern, modeled after that used by George Washington's Troops. Even the meals had to be selected from a provided menu, based on what, historically, Revolutionary troops might have eaten in their camps. The beef stew recipe was universally popular and came out great in a dutch oven. The Hoe Cake -- sort of a corn-bread like recipe, was interesting. The first batch was actually pretty awful. But after applying our cooking skills and making a few adjustments to the recipe, a second batch was actually not bad at all. A third batch just might have been downright good, but time didn't permit further experimenting.
The closing ceremony was held on Saturday night, another switch from the practice we're used to. There were not a large number of awards, but there were honors for the top 5 patrols. Out of this huge District (it covers part of Smithtown and all of Brookhaven; there must have been at least 50 patrols present) Troop 75's Green Mountain Boys came in as third-best patrol. Congratulations to PL Rob Cubbon and his crew! (And for anyone interested, First Place Patrol honors went to -- guess who? -- Troop 301).
- Mr. Carlson
