Troop 804 - Summer Camp 2016 Camp Horseshoe, Chester County Council, PA

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  

We are all home!

Just a few final pictures today... we didn't take many since we mostly just broke down camp. There are some shots of us at a nice service this morning at a stunning chapel up above the camp.

It really was a great week. The weather was near-perfect and many aspects of this Camp were just superb. We hope your son(s) had a great time and learned a lot - and that together you enjoy looking at the pictures and letting him tell you what was going on for them.

Taking 61 Scouts to a Summer Camp is no easy feat and the group of incredibly dedicated adult Scouters with whom I was privileged to share the week really - truly - made all the difference:

• Jake Cameron - Jake attended his second Summer Camp with the Troop, spending the entire week with the thirteen first-year Scouts in the "Trailblazers" program. This is probably the toughest job in Camp and Jake handles it with such grace and good humor that it almost seems like he enjoys it. If asked, however, he'd probably just stare at you for a minute, say "Nah", and leave you wondering. The kids adore him and it is no wonder that he is our current "Scouter of the Quarter" and was elected for entry into the Order of the Arrow. He is a great guy and I know that both me and my son are thrilled to have him around.
• Marty Frederick - Marty attended his second Summer Camp with the Troop, spending much of the week in the STEM area helping oversee Scouts working on badges such as Chemistry, Space Exploration, and Electronics. He also helped out with countless tasks around Camp and was a valuable confidant and co-conspirator when trying to work tough questions about the boys.
• Ric Gardner - Ric attended his third Summer Camp with the Troop, helping coordinate activites in the "Campcraft" area, where he monitored boys working on badges such as Cooking or Camping. He is a master with nearly all outdoor skills (knots, plants and animals, wilderness survival, etc.). Interestingly, his "Cornhole" skills are not quite as strong and he had to resort to cheating in order to defeat the Scoutmaster. His humor, his willingess to say his piece no matter what, and his clear devotion to the boys' development are special and greatly valued.
• Steve Horning - Steve attended his second Summer Camp with the Troop and spent most of the week in the pool. He started each day leading boys down to the "Polar Bear Plunge" (an early morning swim), then helped boys with aquatics badges (ie. Swimming, Lifesaving), and then ran across camp to help boys with the Fishing merit badge. He was very concerned about each and every boy and took most of the pictures you've seen this week.
• Shane Keating - Shane attended his sixth Summer Camp with the Troop, but the last one was a while back when his older son Josh was just about to turn 18. Shane is an incredibly thoughtful and creative guy and keeps Camp fun for everyone while also teaching the boys about self-reliance and personal responsibility (although it's not clear which of these he was emphasizing when he used his son's "whoopie cushion" to help the boys earn the complement to the Totin' Chip, which he called the "Tootin' Chip". We doubt his humer will ever get more sophisticated but we can dream...
• Ted Durig - Ted attended his sixth consecutive Summer Camp with the Troop and was the main coordinator for most of our Summer Camp operations. Ted starts this job many many months before Summer Camp and then works just about continuously in order to make sure things run smoothly during our week in Camp. He is always ready to run any errand, fix any problem, or lend a helpful ear to any Scout or adult with an issue. He was the main liason with the Camp staff in the weeks and months leading to our time there, as well as daily interactions during this past week. The Troop owes him a great deal for his dedication and hard work.

There are, of course, others who helped in many ways, big and small. A special thanks to Jim and Karen Ruff for their management of the collection and review of the medical forms (a very tough and thankless job if ever there was one), and to Todd Gardner, the Troop Treasurer, for keeping the books, writing lots of checks, and even worse - receiving and tracking many dozens on incoming checks (sometimes mixed with envelopes of cash). Thanks to all of you who worked hard to make this week possible!

So, we close the curtain on 2016 -- knowing that Mr. Durig has probably already started looking at 2017!

Bye! Dave Shade, Scoutmaster, Troop 804

posted by Dave Shade at 7/17/2016 10:16:41 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

Well, the week has drawn to an end.

We got our first real rain for a while this afternoon. It did not really interfere with anything and it did help cool things down a bit. The biggest problem was that the threat of continued rain caused the camp staff to relocated the closing campfire inside to the Dining Hall.

The morning was devoted to final last-minute work on merit badges. The boys that had no work remaining worked on a camp service project (constructing a fire-ring near one of our campsites).

Following lunch, the Camp went all-out on the "Paul Bunyon Games", a series of inter-Troop challenges in areas such as Scoutcraft (ie. knots) and lumberjacking. The Troop did reasonably well, placing 2nd in one of them, and doing OK in many others. Perhaps the best was Mr. Cameron entering the "Paul Bunyon Look-a-Like" contest (along with his faithful blue ox "Babe", otherwise known as 4 Scouts under a tarp).

After the games, it was back to Camp to get dressed for flag-lowering and then dinner. The flag-lowering was a bit different today. It started as usual with the flag ceremony itself, but then we participated in the Order of the Arrown "Tap Out" ceremony, and then the usual marching. Scouts Josh Dempsey and Andrew Lukas, and Scouter Jake Cameron, were selected by the Troop for possible membership in the Order of the Arrow.

Dinner was roast beef and the usual (and fantastic) salad bar. The nighttime campfire, moved indoors due to weather, included many awards for our Scouts. In particular, Gabe Owen was awarded the "Silver Buckle", a special Camp award for one boy in each Troop elected by his peers.

Although it has been a great and productive week, we are all quite ready to come home! We expect to be ready for parents to meet us at Baldwin Hall at 3pm (we do still want drivers to arrive by about 1230). See you soon!

posted by Dave Shade at 7/17/2016 12:48:01 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


It is late, so few words but plenty of great pictures.

Good weather, good food, and good times today. Most classes ended formal instruction today but will have last-minute drop-in hours tomorrow.

First-year Scouts graduated from the "Trailblazers Program" - but not before earning their Totin' Chips (which allows them to use a knife).

Still have a day to go. All are doing well and everyone looks forwrd to a decent shower.

posted by Dave Shade at 7/16/2016 12:52:13 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

We had a heavy rain - complete with lightning and thunder - overnight (about 1:30am), but today remained dry and eventually very hot, with a high of 92. Needless to say, the boys were hounded to keep drinking lots of water.

Just like with most camps, Camp Horseshoe gives the kitchen staff a day off on Thursdays, so the Troop had to cook all the meals today. These included French Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and over 140 hamburgers for dinner. Things actually went pretty well - well, except maybe for the cleanup, which took a while after dinner. The food was actually pretty good too!

At this point during the week, attention starts to turn to making sure badges will be completed. Of course, not all will be finished - some can't be, and some boys will just not do what's needed - but they are doing good work.

The first-year Scouts had a great day, starting with learning about the history and Scouting and ending with a special ice cream treat to top off the day of self-cooking. In-between was some swimming, some shooting, some fire building, and some oceanography. Their Trailblazers program will culminate with a five-mile hike on Saturday monring.

The oldest Scouts have been having a great time with morning mountain biking and late-day COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience - ropes, climbing, rapelling, etc.). They have been very helpful in keeping the younger guys on track with their programs.

Mail call remains a big part of the day. We do it right after lunch and the Scouts have decided to add the "Daily Dab", which is a contest among the Patrols to demonstrate the most original "Dab" dance move (Google it if you don't know what this is). The Camp continues to "remark" (might be complain) about the incredible volume of mail our Scouts have gotten. It dwarfs that of other Troops here this week!

The boys are all doing well but everyone will be ready to come home when the week is over.

posted by Dave Shade at 7/14/2016 11:44:32 PM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Today was another great day in Camp! Breakfast was waffles and sausages, along with the yogurt bar. The Camp had set up a "Troop Shoot" for 9am and about one-third of the boys took advantage of the chance to get some extra rifle shooting. Then, it was off to classes and for many classes, Wednesday is the first "do" day after a couple of days of safety talk and introduction. Less popular is that some classes also start giving "homework" to be done back in Camp. The boys do not all approach this with the same "enthusiasm".

The first-year Scouts began - and just about finished, their very first merit badge, Pulp to Paper, in which they learned about the process of making paper. They also made small sheets of paper out of pulp. The ever-thinking and clever adults immediately realized that this could be a potential solution to the problem of the boys failing to requisition the correct amounts of toilet paper for the latrines!

Mail Call is a huge part of the day and the Camp has been overwhelmed with the amount of mail we have received. They claim that it is more than they've ever seen and in fact have taken to delivering it to our campsite because it would be unreasonable to expect us to carry it all!

In the evening, the Troop had a "lazy river tubing trip". About half the Troop floated for about an hour down the nearby river. Other Scouts competed in the Camp-wide shooting sports contest, participated in a number of different activities (including a game imitating Pokemon Go, or just stayed in Camp playing cards. Most of the boys have made plenty of trips to the Trading Post, which has a modest selection of treats and stuff but which seems to be plenty for the Scouts.

It clouded heavily and we were prepared for rain - but the rain never materialized beyond some very light misting. It did get more humid and a bit warmer and we have been told to prepare for some real heat tomorrow.

Another challenge for tomorrow will be the fact that the Dining Hall is closed and so the boys have to prepare all the meals (planned: French Toast, sandwiches, and hamburgers). They will not find it easy to prep, cook, eat, and clean in time to get to classes by 9am - but that's the job and we'll see if they can do it!

posted by Dave Shade at 7/14/2016 12:28:22 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Another spectacular day. The best possible weather - reasonable temps, very light breeze, and bright blue skies - helped make it a great day in Camp.

First-year Scouts in the Trailblazer program got to do more rotations through stations such as rifle shooting, climbing, swimming, knot-tying, and more. They also began work on the "Scouting Heritage" merit badge, and continue working on Oceanography merit badge. On Wednesday and/or Thursday, they will also work on the "Pulm to Paper" merit badge.

Older Scouts also continued working on their badges. The meals today were breakfast burritos, brats and coleslaw, and jambalaya for dinner. As mentioned previously, there is a fantastic salad bar available at every lunch and dinner, and a yogurt bar at breakfast. Overall, the food has been quite good and there is plenty of it.

The rumor is that tomorrow calls for a chance of rain and that will present some new challenges. We will see if the boys hae listened to our warnings about closing tent flaps and not leaving things outside. On Wednesday morning, we are scheduled to have a "Troop shoot" during which the whole Troop can try out the rifle range, and on Wednesday evening, the Troop will do a "lazy reiver tubing trip".

All is well here and we hope the pictures are fun.

posted by Dave Shade at 7/13/2016 12:05:16 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 

Well, Monday was a great day in Camp Horseshoe. For starers, the weather was just spectacular all day long! The day began with 13 Scouts and 2 adults waking super-early to participate in our "Captain Dan Daily Run", a long-standing Troop tradition in which Scouts do a morning mile run (Scouts who do at least 3 days get a patch, and Scouts who do all days get the patch with a special pin). The group included three first-year Scouts.

The boys attended their first programs - merit badges and other areas in Camp with focused content. So far, the classes have gone especially well. First-year Scouts started their "Trailblazer" program by dividing into 4 Patrols with other first-year Scouts from other Troops. Their day included some doing shooting, others doing climbing, and time in the pool. Eventually, all 4 groups will do all activities.

At dinner, the Troop participated in the evening retirement of the colors ceremony, which included all 61 boys maring in unison with only a few minutes of training. They did a great job.

In the evening, some of the boys participated in a Camp-wide scavenger hunt, whil other boys go to do special things in the various program areas.

It was a great day and all of the boys are sleeping soundly right now. More tomorrow.

posted by Dave Shade at 7/12/2016 12:15:57 AM

   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Welcome to the 2016 Troop 804 Summer Camp Blog! We arrived on time and in great spirits - and with fantastic weather too!

Today, the boys checked in and got to see their cool 8-person stockades. These are open structures - a roof but open on 3 sides - with 4 bunk-beds. If it rains, there are canvas flaps that roll down on two of the sides to keep out the wet. So, far the boys seem to love them!

After check-in, the Troop took a quick tour, some boys did a swim test, and then it was off to dinner. The food was good (with a fantastic salad bar, by far the best we've ever seen), and some great songs.

Then, there was about an hour of free time (many trips to the trading post!) and then off to the campfire - which was also among the best we've ever seen, very creative and funny (although much of the humor was clearly targeted at 12-year-old boys - which meant that the adult Scouters loved it most of all).

After the campfire, it was back to camp for toothbrushing and then bed. In the morning, some will wake early to go for a run, or to try the "polar bear plunge" early swim, and then everyone gets started on the regular program.

So far, no problems (other than the frisbee that got thrown into the "jungle" but was safely retrieved by the adventerous Nate Daly). Lots of smiles, lots of card games, and hopefully lots of sleep. Not as many pictures today - they're hard to get on the first day of Camp. More tomorrow we hope....

posted by Dave Shade at 7/11/2016 12:57:43 AM