Introduction
I got that email flyer today: Dreaming of adventure in the out of doors? It told me where. when and how I could have this adventure with my friends. We could join Scouting! I’ll go to my church hall on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. with my friend Curtis. I’ll talk to Curtis about the meeting.
I have heard about Scouting and my sister’s boyfriend, Pat Klocek is in a troop in Mt. Pleasant that goes to this camp in the mountains, Camp Conestoga, I think. He’s been going there for years and last summer he joined the staff working at the pool.
Curtis and I go to the meeting, we both sign up and join the Rattlesnake patrol. It fits, we roll in the dirt and we bite! The Senior Patrol Leader announces that next meeting we will have a Camp Conestoga presentation by the Camp Aquatics Director, Scuba Steve!
Scuba Steve tells us what we want to hear! A week in the mountains, in the woods with our patrol, learning skills, earning merit badges. He gave us a Camp Conestoga wooden nickel. It had a picture of the Conestoga wagon on it. He told us to carry it with us on all Scouting activities in our right pocket. If we really wanted an adventure, put it in our left pocket and hang on tight! My friend Curtis looked at me funny and said ” What is he talking about?” I just shook my head and said, ” He’s just pulling our chain.
We have to be prepared, learn the basics, hone our skills. With the skills come recognition, with recognition comes responsibility. Responsibility is leadership and leadership leads to service. Service to our troop, church and community. This what we hear from our Scoutmaster Jack Ivory at our weekly meetings.
Wow! What does all that mean? Don’t we just want to have fun with our Rattlesnakes? Let’s do it!
Chapter One- First Campout, Camp Tenacharison
I learned very quickly that Mr. Ivory has a Scout run Troop. I ask him when our next campout would be and he said,” ask your patrol leader!” What would Jason know that Mr. Ivory wouldn’t? I asked Jason who said” Dummy, don’t ask him. We have a PLC meeting tonight after our Troop meeting. I’ll find out then, I think we’re going to Camp Tenascharison.” “What’s a PLC? “,I asked. “Patrol Leaders Council, is a meeting run by the SPL Tom Jones held once a month to plan troop meetings and campouts” said Jason. I attend representing the Rattlesnakes and all the guys are there from the other patrols and other members of the Leadership Corps, he replied. “Gotta go! See you later!”
At the next troop meeting, Tom Jones announced the Campout. “ It will be a Skills Competition Campout with patrol competitions in Fire building, Map and Compass and First Aid,” he reported. “ Those skills will be practiced at the next three troop meetings and each patrol will be responsible for teaching one of the skills.” At our patrol meeting Jason told the Rattlesnakes our skill we need to learn to teach and that we have to plan our suggested menu for the Campout for our patrol.
He handed out sign- up sheets and directions to Camp Tenacharison. “Where’s that Camp T at?” yelled Curtis. “Where did that name come from?” ” It’s down near Smithton off 982 in the middle of nowhere'” I said after glancing at the directions. ” I heard it was named after some Indian chief.”
The weeks went fast preparing for the weekend at Tenacharison. The Rattlesnakes were prepared for our skill that we taught at troop meetings, firebuilding. We have to run the fire building competition on Saturday. On Thursday night I was packing my gear for the weekend and reviewing the list of stuff we needed. Jason had told us not to forget our wooden nickels, cause Mr. Ivory is sure to ask to see them sometime during the weekend. I saw it sitting on my dresser and just shook my head. All that over a trinket,lol.
We got to Camp T on Friday night and set up our patrol campsite just off the power line right of way in an established site with a pavilion. We make mountain pies, Jason showed us how! We were supposed to go to sleep after 11, but Curtis and I are up all night talking and listening for the Coyotes that were supposed to be prowling the camp.
The Rattlesnakes are making our own breakfast in our patrol site. I am burning the eggs and Curtis says,” bacon’s done!” But it’s still raw! Jason pulls out the peanut butter, jelly and bread of the patrol cook box. “Let’s Eat”, he yells.
We had a flag ceremony to start the day. Curtis and I checked our right pockets and looked at each other and then put our wooden nickels in our left pockets.
Whoosh, a gust of wind sweeps us up, spins us around and deposits us roughly in the back of a Conestoga wagon.
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