Great Week at Camp!
Peter Farnham (pfarnham@CAPACCESS.ORG)
Mon, 29 Jul 1996 21:54:11 -0400
Hi all,
Well, I'm back from Camp Olmsted, at Goshen Scout Reservation in Goshen,
VA, after a great week at camp! I took down six boys, all but one of
whom were tenderfoot or less (I had one brand new Star who was acting
SPL), and they came back with an average of 3 merit badges each, and
several of the boys had almost completed partials, all in MBs we have
counselors for in the troop. My son also completed second class, and
several of the boys earned Toten Chip, so, all in all, I'd say
advancement-wise, it was highly successful.
More importantly, however, is that they allseemed to have had a splendid
time! I didn't hear one complaint about being homesick; they all wore
their uniforms to retreat and eveing dinner like they were supposed to;
they all got into our troop cheer, and were mightily disappointed when we
were robbed (excuse me, beaten out) for honor troop of the week.
The weather was great (only one rainy morning, and by afternoon it was
goregous); the stars were awesome, with the milky way visible late at
night; the cobbler I made Wednesday night turned out great; the campsite
was wonderful; in short, I had so many Norman Rockwell moments I almost
can't talk about it without getting choked up!
I am also proud to announce that I attained my BSA Lifeguard
certification--this may not seem like much to a lot of you, but any of
you who are 47 ought to try spending most of a week in camp in the water,
wrestling with teenage lifeguards who are trying their best to make it
hard for you to rescue them! I can tell you, that new patch on my swim
trunks is one I'm sure proud of!
Of course, my son's four merit badges and attainment of 2nd class is
right up there, too!
I also want to tell everyone that there is no finer camp staff than the
young men I met at Olmsted last week. All were absolute models of what
scouts should be. I was called "sir" so often by strange teenagers that
I started turning around to see who they were talking to! Impeccable
unifroming, great physical condition, polite and friendly beyond belief,
and an attitude and passion for scouting that just wouldn't quit. I had
at least two of my tenderfeet tell me they wanted to find out how to
become camp counselors themselves!
become camp counselors themselves! The food in the dining hall was even
decent.
Anyway, you scouters from out of NCAC could do a lot worse than taking a
break from your usual camp and heading to Goshen for a week next summer.
I can hardly wait until next July.
YiS,
Pete Farnham
SM, Troop 113
GW District, NCAC
Alexandria, VA
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