From: Richard Axtman (scout_king@YAHOO.COM)
Date: Fri Apr 21 2000 - 07:10:53 CDT
On Sunday, April 16, 2000, I visited the Boy Scouts camping in
Acton, Massachusetts. This was the night before their annual
hike of the Isaac Davis Trail Hike and this year it was the
225th Anniversary of the First Day of the War for Independence
between Colonial Minutemen and British Redcoats.
The Isaac Davis Trail, a Boy Scout hike and campout, is run by
a group of all volunteer Scouters and isn't sponsored by a BSA
Council.
Thirty years ago this year, some very dedicated Scouters got
together and started this hiking event for their Scouts to the
Old North Bridge in Concord. The trail they hike is named after
Captain Isaac Davis, who was a gunsmith by trade, and the leader
of the Acton Minutemen. On April 17th, 1775 Isaac Davis and his
brave men were the first to meet and fight the British Red Coats
at the Old North Bridge. That fateful morning Captain Isaac Davis
was shot at killed by the British and was one of the first
American Patriots to give his life for our freedom.
Thanks to many Scouters over the years this event has continued
to grow and become an annual event. It offers Boy Scouts a place
to camp and a chance to reenact a part our Historic New England
past.
This year there were 60 Scout units from Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts and Vermont that camped in the farm field at the
junction of School Street and Route 2 East bound on the eve of
Patriot's Day. Here's a list of the Scout units that attended
this years special event:
Troop 1, Acton, MA Troop 78, Norwell, MA
Troop 1, Bolton, MA Troop 81, Townsend, MA
Troop 1, Portland, ME Troop 87, Groveland, MA
Troop 1, Princeton, MA Troop 100, Dover-Foxcroft, ME
Troop 1, Warwick, RI Troop 110, Millbury, MA
Troop 2, Ashland, MA Troop 116, Spencer, MA
Troop 2, Ayer, MA Troop 132, Plainville, MA
Troop 5, Walligford, CT Troop 149, Bridgton, ME
Crew 7, Acton, MA Troop 151, West Boyalston, MA
Troop 10, Clinton, MA Troop 158, Shrewsbury, MA
Troop 15, Shelburne, MA Troop 182, Wellesley, MA
Troop 17, Fitchburg, MA Troop 189, Sterling, MA
Troop 20, Jewett City, CT Troop 212, Chelmsford, MA
Troop 22, East Taunton, MA Troop 214, Newton, MA
Troop 24, Bradford, MA Troop 232, White River Junction, VT
Troop 24, Braintree, MA Troop 238, East Brookfield, MA
Troop 26, Pepperell, MA Troop 284, Acton, MA
Troop 39, Cambridge, VT Troop 327, Sanford, ME
Troop 41, Fitchburg, MA Troop 355, Sanford, ME
Troop 43, Merriden, CT Troop 368, Arlington, MA
Troop 44, Taunton, MA Troop 371, Saco, ME
Troop 45, Lee, MA Troop 436, Waterville, ME
Troop 47, Sandwich, MA Troop 442, Cambridge, MA
Troop 51, Methuen, MA Troop 479, China, ME
Troop 52, Cotuit, MA Troop 603, Augusta, ME
Troop 54, Worcester, MA Troop 648, Brunswick, ME
Troop 57, Rockland, MA Troop 820, Westfield, MA
Troop 61, Norton, MA Troop 826, Bourne, MA
Troop 73, Holliston, MA Troop 1728, Lunenburg, MA
Post, Tewksbury, MA Crew 2163, Sturbridge, MA
Sunday afternoon the scouts held a patch swapping meet and enjoyed
a Revolutionary War display put on by Dan Lacroix. At 8 PM the
Acton Minutemen opened the evening with a ceremony on the history
of the American flag, starting before the revolution and working
up to our current flag. They displayed actual full size flags and
as each one was being held up the Minuteman Commander told a story
about them. On the side of the stage two young men dressed in
Minuteman costumes played drum rolls as each flag was walked up
onto the stage. At the end of the flag story ceremony the Acton
Minutemen, in full regalia, fired several volleys from their
flintlock muskets as a salute to the many soldiers and Patriots
that had died for these flags and our freedom.
Next the Gischachsummen Dance Team from the Grand Monadnock Order
of the Arrow Lodge of the Nashua Valley Council, consisting four
youth dancers and six drummers/singers, performed a campfire
lighting ceremony. This was no ordinary campfire it was a
huge bonfire! The firewood stood an estimated 15 feet tall
and 20 feet square. Two Native American dancers carrying
flaming touches lit the fire which grew swiftly shooting
flames over 40 to 50 feet into the sky. It was one of the
greatest Boy Scout campfires I have ever seen! As the fire
blazed on the dance team performed three more very energetic
songs and dances. What a sight it was, the huge fire lit the
whole area and sent waves of sparks flying high into the night
sky, all the while you heard Native American singing and
drumming. As you looked up to the heavens and listened to the
rhythm of the drum and chanting, you could feel yourself drift
back in time.
The volunteers Scouts and Scouters, the Acton Minutemen and
the Gischachsummen Dance Team deserve a large round of applause
for putting on such a fine event and ceremonies for the Boy
Scouts. It was most inspiring indeed!
The Isaac Davis Trail hike began mighty early, at 4 AM, on Monday
morning (4-17-00). Troops were shuttled by buses in about 15
minute intervals to the hike's starting point, Acton High School.
>From Acton the Scouts marched behind the Acton Minutemen following
the Isaac Davis Trail to the Old North Bridge in Concord. At the
bridge, the Minutemen walked to the center of the wooden bridge
spanning the Concord River and fired their flint-lock muskets,
just as they had done 225 years ago, when the first shot for
American Freedom was heard around the world. On the opposite
river bank stood the British Red Coats who returned the gun fire,
then turned tail and ran back to Boston with minutemen chasing
and firing at them all the way.
This year more than 300 British reenactors flew in from the UK
just to participant on this special day. The crowd at Concord
was estimated to be 200,000. This was one of the largest Patriot's
Day ceremonies and reenactments held since the 1975 Bicentennial.
The cost of this event was only $4.50 per participant. For this
small price, they received a special patch, a hiking medal, and
bus transportation to the hike's starting point and back from
Concord. What a bargin that is in today's Scouting world!
I wish all the events we attended were so inexpensive. Imagine
what the Scouter's who ran this event could do to reduce the high
cost of going to Philmont or the National Jamboree.
I'm sure the Scouts and Scouters will long remember what they saw
and did on their Patriot's Day Weekend. Maybe some of you that
missed this years Isaac Davis Trail can come and do it next year.
For more info on the Isaac Davis Trail Hike and Campout contact:
Call: 978-263-7596 (before 10 PM evenings)
E-mail: cllandry@juno.com
Write: SCOUTERS OF THE ISAAC DAVIS TRAIL
P.O. BOX 763
ACTON, MASSACHUSETTS 01720
Also visit these web sites:
http://www.scoutscapecod.org/Events/Davis/davis.html
http://www.2000lexington.com
To stay up on news and future events like this be sure to visit
"Scouts NewEngland" and join our FREE Scouting E-mail List Group.
You'll find us at: http://sne.tripod.com
Serving You and Scouting,
Richard Axtman
Founder of Scouts NewEngland: http://sne.tripod.com
SA, Troop 1, Littleton, MA: http://members.tripod.com/troop1_bsa
My Personal E-mail: scout_king@y...
My AllAdvantage ID# is: JEO-783
Get paid by the hour for Surfing the Web like I do. It only takes a
minute to sign up: http://www.alladvantage.com/go.asp?refid=JEO783
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