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Welcome to Troop 149's Web site!About Us
What's New
(Quick Links to Important Troop Information
& Interesting Scout Reference &
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 | Den Chief training at November Pow Wow - forms available at July 22 troop meeting - see Mr. Guy or Mr. Vannerson |
| Parents & Family invited to diner at the
August outing
at Camp Sol R. Crown in Wilmot, WI
(map
 )
on August 23, 2008. We will conduct a flag retirement ceremony at the campfire
so collect any flags ready for retirement from friends, family and local
businesses. Thanks |
| September Court of Honor rescheduled to September 21 to avoid conflict with the Devils Lake outing. |
| New tip on taking Backpacking Baths |
| Three new topics on the Tips & Tricks page; Altitude Sickness, Canister Stoves in Cold Weather and Washing Fleece |
| Date for September Devils Lake outing moved to Sept. 26-28 |
| Total Eclipse of the Moon photos from February 20, 2008 by Mr. Vannerson |
| Wilderness Survival Merit Badge sign up at Feb. 12 meeting with Mr. Vannerson |
| Be sure to complete your remaining requirements for Electricity Merit Badge! Don't let this opportunity slip past you. |
| New rank advancement requirements for Tenderfoot,
Second Class & First class (the Advancement page has been updated) The National Youth Protection Committee recommended additions to Boy Scout rank requirements that were approved and will become effective January 1, 2008. These changes will help us advance the importance of Youth Protection training beyond the initial Boy Scout joining requirements, and keep youth informed and actively engaged in understanding the key elements of personal safety and protection. Tenderfoot Rank Revised requirement 9: Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is and how you should respond to one. Second Class Rank New requirement 8b: Explain the three R’s of personal safety and protection. First Class Rank New requirement 12: Describe the three things you should avoid doing related to use of the Internet. Describe a cyber bully and how you should respond to one. |
| Here's a useful link for Scouts on the official BSA site that has videos for
Tenderfoot,
Second Class & First Class Rank Requirements () I've added separate links to the individual videos for each of the requirements as well. Note that they have not updated to include the new requirements yet, but it's still useful for the rest. |
| A new link to an Online version of Woods of Wisdom, a great youth program ideal resource, has been added to the TLT program page. |
| Scout Long Range Planner documents for Dec. 11 Meeting
(Excel Spreadsheet
 Acrobat File
 ) |
| Positions of Responsibility updated with election results |
| Cavalcade Crew 803-CX has returned, New photos added to crew page |
| New Attendance Award |
| Sea Base Crew roster set |
| New
changes to many important Merit Badges -
Please
read
on U.S.
Scouting Service Project web site for:
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| Silver Spoon Award Cobbler Cook-off Results |
| New page documenting our Gateway Bridge project at the October Camporee |
| New camping tips "Pack Put Down Sheet" |
| A new link on the Cavalcade page to a cool Philmont Trek Selection Search Engine |
| "Magnetic Influence" Opening Ceremony from Court of Honor (Acrobat PDF File) |
| Troop Policy Manual |
| Parents, please fill out the Troop Resource Survey and return it to Dave Dicker |
| New Driver Update. Please complete even if you have do so before |
| Troop email lists updated with new Philmont and Scout lists added (requires password) |
| Troop rosters and advancement reports updated (as of 3/3/07) |
| Merit Badge Counselor Opportunities |
| Scout Long Range Planner Worksheet (Excel
Spreadsheet
Acrobat File
) |
| BSA’s 100th Anniversary National Logo Contest |
| New BSA Fieldbook & Companion Website |
| Scout Gear Tips & Information page started with information on compasses |
| Orienteering Courses at McHenry Township Park! |
| Animated Knots link added in Program Section |
| Winter Camping Handouts from Mr. Guy's presentation |
| Cooking with Cardboard Box Ovens |
| Mr. Chess' Model Rocketry Presentation available for download |
| Raptors "Birds of Prey" presentation follow up |
| Owasippe legends, Ballads & Vignettes songbook |
| Wilderness Survival Kits for sale |
| The 206th is Home!!! |
Ryan Guy is our Youth OA Rep and Mr. Vannerson is the troop's adult OA Coordinator. Ryan will be your main contact point for information and coordination of OA activities. Mr. Vannerson will provide additional support in his absence or for issues Ryan is unable to respond.
See Ryan G. if you haven't paid your annual dues for 2008. Dues are $13 per year and you can pay with cash, check or scout account slips. Make checks payable to Blackhawk Area Council. Ryan has the forms or you can also download the form from the Wulapeju Lodge web site (http://www.wulapeju140.org/). Your dues need to be paid in order to participate in OA activities and to wear your pocket flap. You can send them into the lodge yourself, or pay at an upcoming Kishwaukee chapter meeting.
The next chapter meeting is the February 1-2 Pizza Party Lock-in at the Belvidere YMCA. This is an all night sleep over with access to the YMCA pool for swimming and gym for basketball. Past sleep ins have included all-night games of Risk and other board games. This is a fun outing that all OA members should plan on attending. Cost is $12
The March 20 meeting will include indoor archery at Midwest
Cimarron Archery in Richmond, cost $11.
The April 17 meeting will be Frisbee Golf at Lippold Park in Crystal Lake. More
information coming soon.
Cody W. & Michael O. were elected as our youth candidates and Mr. Feltes as our adult candidate. Both Cody and Michael completed their ordeal at the Spring Fellowship. Great work Cody and Michael! And thank to their dads who provided transportation to Canyon Camp. Mr. Feltes plans on attending the Fall Conclave to complete his ordeal. I also encourage our Ordeal members to consider completing their conversion to Brotherhood at the Conclave. See Mr. Vannerson or Mr. Feltes for information. Also read Brotherhood Conversion below for more information.
Tom V. completed his conversion to Brotherhood at the Spring Fellowship. Congratulations Tom! So now we have three Brotherhood members, Tom V., Dave Dicker and myself. I strongly encourage all of you to goal yourself to complete the transformation at the Fall Conclave. It's not that hard at all and it can be easier if you all help each other. You can work on learning and memorizing the requirements together (song, oath, legend, etc.). All of the requirements are found in the OA handbook that was given to you at your ordeal. You can also learn more at the Brotherhood Jumpstart site (http://www.jumpstart.oa-bsa.org/). You need your handbook for the password. The lodge also has provided a worksheet to help you record your answers. (http://www.wulapeju140.org/BrotherhoodConversion/Brotherhood%20Workbook.pdf)
More information coming soon
Mr. Twomey reports that Troop 149 has been awarded a slot for Sea Base in 2008! Our Troop was selected to participate in a Bahamas Adventure on 06/07/08 to 06/13/08. The cost will be $675.00, Plus Air Fare, Spending Money ($50.00-$100.00), and Passport. Our crew will consist of ten youth (age 14 by September 1, 2008 and under 21 with a Max weight of 300lb/) and two adults (age 18 and over with Max weight 300lb). Here's the roster:
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Youth
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| Alex B. | |
| Jake K. | |
| Zach N. | |
| Jay P. | |
| Kyle S | |
| Kyle T. | |
| Nick T. | |
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Adults
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| Joe T. | |
| Scott S. | |
| Charlie P. | |
| Kenny K. | |
| Matt M. | |
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Waiting List
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| Matt F. |
Please Contact Mr. Twomey for information. (Joe Twomey in Troop Roster)
The official Silver Spoon Award Cobbler Contest is over
and the winning patrol is the Leaders Patrol with a total of 5,983,210 votes.
Wait a minute! The election board has just announced that the leaders patrol has
officially been disqualified because of potential
"irregularities", also known as ballot stuffing or voter fraud!
That means the real winning patrol is the Screaming Eagles with their Apple Cobbler (which needs a better, more exciting name), closely followed by the Anacondas Kiwi-Strawberry Cobbler. The presentation of the award will take place at the January 23 Troop Meeting. The winning patrol must have their patrol flag on display and demonstrate their patrol yell sufficiently loud enough to qualified as a yell! I also at the front of their patrol line January 9, 2007 Court of Honor are in for a treat.
I would like to add that I thought this Court of Honors was one of the best. I was impressed by the "boy run" opening and the way in which each patrol planned and cooked their cobblers. Congratulations to all of the patrols and all of the Scouts for their role in making this Court of Honor one of the best ever.
| Patrol | Cobbler |
I also need to ask that each patrol either send me a copy of their recipe, or drop it off in my mail box so they can be added to the troop recipe page, which is in dire need for more recipes. Anyone can send your favorite recipe to the webmaster to add it to the list of delicious campfire fare. |
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| Anaconda | Kiwi-Strawberry Cobbler | ||
| Screaming Eagle | Apple Cobbler | ||
| Moose | Chocolate Cherry | ||
| Flaming Arrow | Mountain Cobbler | ||
| Scorpion | White Chocolate Cherry | ||
| Leaders | Banana Dummy Cobbler |
BTW, The winning patrol also wins the honor of coordinating the next Silver Spoon Award contest. It can be at the next Court of Honor or at any campout, especially if one of the other patrols issues a "Cook-Off Throw Down" challenge (hint! hint!) in a blatant, but legal attempt to wrestle away the Silver Spoon from the Screaming Eagles.
Mr. Guy has created four separate loop course of increasing difficulty at the McHenry Township park at Route 31 and Johnsburg Road. Successful completion of the longest, Course 4: Difficult - Flag Loop, qualifies for First Class requirement #2, Orienteering.
| Orienteering Course - McHenry Township Park, by Mike Guy, Scoutmaster Troop 149, McHenry, IL |
For several years I have been working on compiling stories, songs and skits heard around the campfire or ringing off the dining hall walls at Owasippe Scout Reservation for ninty-five seasons. Owasippe, America's oldest and largest Boy Scout camp, has been sold pending the outcome of the Chicago Area Council's application to rezone the land. That request is pending a decision of the Blue Lake Township government. It is my hope that this songbook can help in some way to keep the long standing Scouting traditions from this historical camp alive, because once it's gone, there will never be another camp like it... ever. So I ask each of you who download this songbook to share it's legends, ballads and vignettes with your scouts and scouters around your campfires.
| Owasippe legends, Ballads & Vignettes (Acrobat PDF)
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Cast iron Dutch Ovens aren't the only way to bake pizza, cakes and pies. You can build an inexpensive camp oven out of a simple cardboard box and aluminum foil. How? Follow this link for instructions: Cardboard Box Oven (PDF)
We made a few ovens at the Aug. 16 meeting and then cooked up a storm at August 23. We were all eating pizza, cookies and cinnamon rolls. Remember your ovens when planning for the September outing at White Pines State Park. Think of all the nice goodies you can cook up for a cracker barrel on a cool autumn night!
New navigation buttons to the Camping & High Adventure Tips & Tricks page and the Patrol Roster Page have been added to the Scouts page. Also buttons for the Troop 149 Email Lists, Troop 149 Roster and Troop 149 Advancement Status pages have been added to the Parents page. The buttons that link to pages in the password protected area, the rosters, advancement report & list pages, require you to enter the ID and password in order to display. See your patrol leader or one of the adult leaders for the ID and password.
The new, fourth edition paperback is now available. The
BSA Fieldbook is an excellent manual for experienced scout who want to improve their
camping skills and knowledge. The quote below from the Scout Stuff website gives a more detailed description of the
book. A unique aspect of this edition is the creation of a companion website.
The Fieldbook Companion site
maintains references to organizations, books and other sites where Scouts and Scouters can
find additional information to fine tune their outdoor interests. The soft cover
book should be available at local Scouting Supply Retailers. The spiral bound and
hard cover editions, including a cowhide and faux leather ("faux" is French for
"false") covered versions, will be available later this spring.
(P.S. I plan on purchasing one. When I do, I'll bring it to our troop meetings. I'll also try to remember to bring several old editions of the Fieldbook to a future meeting for those interested in seeing what they've looked like in the past. I even have a copy of the Fieldbook my father used when he was a Boy Scout! - Mr. Vannerson)
"The 4th edition of the BSA Fieldbook is a comprehensive reference for Boy Scouts, Venturers, unit leaders, trainers, and other outdoor enthusiasts with intermediate and advanced outdoor skills."It's divided into four sections: leadership and trek preparation, leave no trace, trek adventures, and appreciating our environment. The book features more than 600 full-color photographs of the great outdoors and more than 200 informative graphics. The Fieldbook's 34 chapters cover a range of outdoor skills, including critical issues like backcountry hygiene and waste disposal, navigation, and monitoring weather, as well as high-adventure possibilities like caving, sailing, and ski-touring. Safety in the outdoors is also a focus of the new edition, featuring chapters on search and rescue, extreme-weather traveling and camping, and watercraft adventure safety.
Several special editions of the Fieldbook will be available in March, including a hardbound edition, a spiral bound edition, and two limited editions—one bound in genuine cowhide and one in faux leather. Watch for upcoming details."
Troop 149 is fortunate to have a fairly extensive list of merit badge counselors for our boys. But we could always use more, and you can help. You don't have to hold a committee position or be an Assistant Scoutmaster in order to help. All you need is experience or expertise in one of areas where a merit badge is offered and willingness to share that with our youth. Take a look at our list of merit badges with no counselors and our list of active counselors (Requires password, see a troop leader or ask your scout!) to see if you can help with any of badges offered. Contact or Merit Badge Counselor Coordinator to learn how you can sign up.
On Feb. 17, 2005 we had an excellent presentation by Mrs. Linda Breuer from Barnswallow, a non-profit organization she runs to help rehabilitate injured raptors (eagles, hawks, falcons & owls). If you'd like to contact Mrs. Breuer to learn more about Barnswallow or if you need to report an injured bird, you can reach her at 847.487.3606 or by email. Remember, never try to approach or capture an injured bird yourself. Not only is it dangerous, it's also against the law. Mrs. Breuer is a licensed profession who is trained on how to properly handle these beautiful creatures.
The Equipped To Survive (ETS) website is an invaluable resource for anyone, not just scouts, interested in wilderness survival and emergency preparedness. Doug Ritter, the founder of ETS, has compiled an incredible library of information from his experience and product trials as well as articles from various experts. Doug's Pocket Survival Kit (PSK) is an ingenious yet practical collection of tools and materials one may need to survive in an outdoor emergency. A version of his mini PSK contents has been reproduced on the Scouter149 website with his permission for those scouts interested in assembling their own kit. I recommend that any scout interested in Wilderness Survival and the merit badge review this list as well as the ETS website.
Doug emailed me and asked that I include information on where scouts can purchase many of the items pre-assembled in an affordable pocket survival kit.
"NOTE: In response to the occasional request, this survival kit is not for sale or available commercially.
If you are interested in a commercially available pocket-size survival kit that has been designed by Doug Ritter, check out the Pocket Survival Pak™ by Adventure Medical Kits, an affordable pocket survival kit that really could save your life."
Most of the items in the mini PSK appear in this new kit and is likely less expensive than trying to locate and purchase the same items individually. You can use this kit as your starting point and add to it the remaining items from the mini PSK. The kit is available from many retailers, including Campmor for under $25. See Mr. Vannerson at a troop meeting if you have any questions about this kit or the Wilderness Survival merit badge.
This page was last updated on 07/21/08 11:49 AM.
