(Editor’s note: This is the last in a three part series to run about the Bald Eagle United Methodist Boy Scouts. This part will focus on crew activities. Parts one and two focused on pack and troop activities.)
Venture Crew 103 had a very rich and esteem-building year. They attended most of the events, with the Troop, acting as mentors for the younger Troop members. Their year started off with a fantastic trip to the Chesapeake Bay, for a weekend of sailing a 40 foot schooner owned by Bill and Shirley Hall of Tyrone, and touring the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md.
They split into two groups and had a hands on sailing excursion with the Halls, one day, and a day spent at the Maritime Museum, learning about the crabbing history of the Bay Area. It ended with a complete “CrabFest” at the marina where they stayed overnight in tents. The Crew located a crab fisherman and bought a bushel of crabs. Then, the Crew traveled back to the campsite and proceeded to turn the crabs into the most interesting dinner these youth have eaten as Scouts at a campout. They ate crabs late into the evening and created the largest pile of crab shells, any of them have ever seen!
The February event for the Crew was the organization and execution of a Council-wide event, called the Venture Winter Camporee. They start planning this event in late October and most of their meetings are designing events for it, such as snowshoe racing, cross country sking/rifle shooting biathlon, night time search and rescue instruction, and demonstrations of winter camping gear usually given by the great folks from Appalachian Outdoors in State College. This year the weather did not cooperate with any snow to speak of and within two weeks prior to the event, the Crew redesigned the entire program with events that did not require snow. It had an attendance of approximately 70 people and a great time was had by all.
The Crew had three youth that attended Summer Camp at Seph Mack, and they asked the staff at camp if they could work on specific requirements that Venturing uses for advancement towards the Bronze Award. The staff was very accommodating, and it seemed they had as much fun teaching advanced camping and aquatics to these older youth. All three youth worked approximately 40 hours in the aquatic area and received their BSA Lifeguard certificates, which is held in as high as esteem as American Red Cross Lifeguard certification. They also completed a rifle shooting requirement that required nearly 10 hours of training and shooting in multiple positions. All of their targets were scored as if they were shooting in an adult match. Last but not least, they actually took the trained staff members duty of teaching Leave No Trace to the adult leaders as the course directors position.
The adults that took this course, were then certified as trained in LNT camping. These youth really got a kick out of teaching back to the adults that they have previously been students of. At the closing campfire, a special award was given by the Camp Director, to one of these youths. The first Venturing Bronze Award, awarded within Penn’s Woods Council, was presented to a youth from Crew 103. It was a very special moment in the history of scouting within the council.
The Pack, Troop and Crew would like to extend an invitation to an open house August 13 at Camp Anderson to any interested youth or adults in the area, to experience being a Scout for a Day. This is open to any youth seven to 20 years of age. Female members of the Crew need to be at least 14-years-old. There is no cost to this event, and it starts at approximately 12:30 p.m. and will end at approximately 9 p.m. for anyone that does not want to stay overnight. Meals will be provided. Activities will run all day into the evening.
