Troop Camping Trip – Camp Pouch – January 15th -17th
Place: Camp Pouch, Staten Isalnd
Date: Saturday, January 15th – Monday , January 17th
Cost: $30 & Scouts should bring a bag lunch.
Return your permission slip at the troop meeting.
For more info contact Tom Kramer - Scoutmaster.
Ten gifts that Scouters are asking for this holiday season
Are you buying a gift for a special Scouter in your life this holiday season? Or has a loved one or friend asked you for your wish list?
We’re here to help. Or, more accurately, you’re here to help one another. We asked for holiday gift suggestions on our Facebook page, and you shared some great ideas.
Here are 10 that should get you started. Including today, there are only 18 more shopping days until Christmas, so Be Prepared!
- The most-requested gift was a Dutch Oven, an essential piece of any Scout unit’s kitchen.
- Iain A. wants non-cotton clothing for his Okpik campout. “I don’t know about you, but I never used to read clothing tags, and apparently everything I own is cotton,” Iain says.
- Several Scouters wanted a new tent, including Pam G. “Ours has a hole in it,” she says.
- Sleeping bags were another popular request. “Our council camps are during a time when it’s still quite cold at night,” Tabitha K. says.
- Peg T. has a simple wish for her unit: “Our pack would be happy with new flags!” she says.
- For Jeremy S., the request is for something intangible: a camping trip to Zippel Bay, a Minnesota state park.
- SmartWool Socks are at the top of Jason M.’s list. They’re the “best socks to keep feet warm in the winter and cool and dry in the summer,” he says.
- A GPS unit was on the minds of many who responded. Kelly G. wants one so she can teach her Webelos Scout son how to geocache.
- With temperatures falling, snowshoes might be under the tree for Scouters like Jeanette R., who wants some for an outing with her pack.
- And finally, Lucy C. has something that we’d all like. This gift, though, won’t fit in a box, and it can’t be wrapped: “Time for more camping!” We’re with you on that one, Lucy!
What’s on your wish list?
Troop 23 Annual Wreath Sale & Fundraiser
YES! It is that time again and I know how exited you are to participate in this year’s annual fundraising efforts’.
The Christmas Wreath fundraiser event is the most profitable and involved event we have. It is important for the success of this event that we have full cooperation from the boys as well as the parents.
We did reduce the wreath order from previous years in hopes of wrapping up the effort over the course of 2 weekends.
We will begin our sales this weekend Saturday December 4 and 5th and ask that boys make themselves available between the hours of 8:30am and 6pm both days. All scouts are expected to be in full uniform. Lunch for both days will be supplied by the troop
You will find a number of attachments to this letter which are explained below.
1- OLA BSA Troop23 Selling Sheet, This sheet is to be used for placing your child’s order. We are asking that each Scout make an effort to sell a minimum of 10 wreaths. Every wreath sold in advance is one less we will need to sell on the street so these sales are preferred and beneficial to all. The order sheet and payment should be returned this weekend December 4 and 5th. Since we were little late setting up sale this year ,they may be turned it at Monday’s meeting.
2- Sales Schedule /Calendar, Scouts are expected to contribute in the fundraising efforts’. Each scout will need to contribute 15 hours towards the sale of the wreaths. Parents are also needed to volunteer. Use the attached schedule to indicate the time slots that work best for your schedule. Although every effort will be made to accommodate the times you have requested we may need to make changes as needed to have coverage. December 4h and 5th is the Christmas village and usually our best sales weekend. We will need as much help during this weekend as possible. We will also need help on Saturday December 11 for 1 hour after the 5pm mass and Sunday December 12 from 8:30
We understand that asking of this time of you and you son before the holiday may be an imposition however, the funds raised help us keep your out of pocket expenses to a minimum.
Please contact me with any questions and SELL! SELL! SELL!
Thank You,
Tom Kramer
California Scouts play a record-breaking game of marbles
When there’s a Guinness World Record on the line, playing a game becomes serious fun.
That was surely the thought going through the minds of the 876 Scouts who broke the record for “Most People Playing in a Marble Tournament” in late September at the California Inland Empire Council’s 100th Anniversary celebration.
Some 6,000 Scouts, Scouters, and parents attended the three-day celebration, but the highlight for many was the record-breaking marble tournament. The final count of 876 people beat the previous record by 148 players.
But this wasn’t your father’s game of marbles. The guys were playing WarStone, a new card and marble game from Duncan Toys. Michael Brown, WarStone project leader for Duncan Toys, said the record’s significance extends beyond this one event.
“Breaking the Guinness World Record is a win for all of the 3.5 million Scouts across the United States,” he said. “It was an incredible effort by all of the Scouts to work together as a team to achieve success.”
DAY TRIP TO ADVENTURE BASE 100 – NOVEMBER 27th
A day trip has been arranged for Saturday Nov. 27th. We will be going to The Boy Scout Adventure base 100. This is the travelling Boy Scout museum which has been travelling around the country. There are some interactive exhibits. It is being set up right next to to Intrepid Museum. We will also be visiting the Intrepid, free passes have been supplied thanks to the efforts of ASM Suarez. Anyone wishing to get more information on the Adventure Base can go to http://www.adventurebase100.org/ We will meeting by OLA at 8:00 am and return between 3:00 and 4:00 pm. I know some Scouts will be away for the holiday weekend and will not be able to attend this trip. Attached is the permission slip for this trip. I wish all Troop 23 scouts and their families a Happy Thanksgiving.
ROCKWELL AND THE MOVIES
What do George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have in common with millions of Scouts and Scouters? These great American filmmakers both love and admire the work of Norman Rockwell, who spent decades illustrating stories and painting covers for Boys’ Life and the annual Brown & Bigelow Boy Scouts calendars.
 Rockwell’s Spirit of America (1929) represents just one artistic highlight of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition and catalog. |
Of course, when your movies have brought in billions of dollars, you can do more than just admire an artist: Lucas and Spielberg have long been major collectors of Rockwell’s work.
Now you can see a sizable portion of those collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The filmmakers, who teamed up on the popular Indiana Jones series, have aligned again—this time to arrange the loan of 57 of their Rockwell paintings and drawings for an exhibition that opened in July.
Exploring the relationships between Rockwell’s images of American life and the movies, the exhibition showcases the artist’s ability to distill a narrative into a single frame—a characteristic that inspired both Lucas and Spielberg as they contemplated careers in filmmaking.
As did the Boy Scouts, in Spielberg’s case. “When I went for a Photography merit badge, I made a little 8mm movie,” the Eagle Scout says. “And the Boy Scouts in my troop—294, Scottsdale, Ariz.—liked the movie, made a lot of noise, laughed, clapped, and all that. I got that great virus of ‘I’ve got to do this the rest of my life.’”
Lucas, who started collecting comic art as a kid, adds that “growing up on Rockwell” gave him an edge as he entered the movie business because of the artist’s ability to “cast” a painting.
“They’re designed, they’re written, and they’re put in there very specifically,” he says of the people Rockwell used in his artworks. “Each one—their faces, their expressions, their thinking—everything about them has been cast. That’s what you do in the movies. He’s fabricating a story.”
See “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell From the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg” before it closes Jan. 2, 2011. Admission is free, and you can find more details at americanart.si.edu. It’s a perfect opportunity to view the art that “captured society’s ambitions and emotions,” says Lucas.
HOLIDAY HISTORY
As Scouting’s centennial year draws to a close, here are a couple of holiday gifts that will please any Scouter: The Best of Boys’ Life (Lyons Press, $21.95) and The Scouting Party: Pioneering and Preservation, Progressivism and Preparedness in the Making of the Boy Scouts of America (Red Honor Press, $24.95).
The first, a treasure trove drawn from Boys’ Life’s 99-year history, is full of great writing about camping, sports, patriotism, adventure, and more. It’s studded with articles by famous names such as Theodore Roosevelt, Jack London, Orville Wright, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, and Ray Bradbury.
Sports fans can read first-person advice from the likes of Willie Mays, Johnny Unitas, and Olympic star Bruce Jenner (long before he met the Kardashians). More serious fare includes first-rate reporting from Germany, Russia, and other then-distant countries.
Among the many pleasures of this fine collection, don’t miss the Think & Grin jokes and the vintage ads. Those were the good ol’ days, back when a boy could get an excellent BB gun for $12.95!
Then, go all the way back to the beginning.
Almost everyone associates Sir Robert Baden-Powell with the creation of the Scouts, but few may know about the British-Canadian naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton, whose Woodcraft Indians organization helped shape Baden-Powell’s thinking. And how many know that President Theodore Roosevelt disagreed with Scouting’s pacifism in the run-up to World War I?
All this and much more is the subject of David Scott and Brendan Murphy’sThe Scouting Party. Readers will learn about the questions and conflicts that James West, Chief Scout Executive from 1911 to 1943, dealt with as he, Seton, and Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Sons of Daniel Boone, debated the growth and direction of the BSA.
Historian Douglas Brinkley calls it “a gift to America,” which makes it the perfect gift for any Scouting enthusiast as the organization launches into its second century.
Space Shuttle Discovery set for final countdown
Discovery awaits her final countdown on launch pad at Kennedy Space Center
Photo: (photo: NASA)
NASA is preparing for the final voyage of the Space Shuttle Discovery, scheduled for an early morning launch on December 3, 2010. As of Friday, November 19, the veteran orbiter is being prepped on-site at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according toNASA.gov. The mission, officially dubbed STS-133, will take spare parts to the International Space Station to continue deployment of the Express Logistics Carrier-4 payload project at the space station. The December voyage will be the 13th-time Discovery has docked with the International Space Station in its 26-year history.
Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts of America claimed some highly coveted space on the payload of Discovery. In April, four Year of Celebration patches circled the globe on the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. Chief Scout Executive, Bob Mazzuca explained why the BSA connection to the space program is relevant. “At the earliest opportunities in Scouting, we expose young people to space exploration and prepare them for future work in science and technology fields.”
This year, the Boy Scouts of America celebrate their centennial anniversary. The year-long aim is to use ambitious engagement programs, focusing on high-energy, ‘cool’, high profile events meant to propel the organization forward into the 21st century. Read the FULL STORY here, about the BSA’s connection to NASCAR, NASA and the Union Pacific railroad… planes, trains and automobiles.
Adventure Base 100 is Coming to: The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
| On Friday, November 26th the Adventure Base 100 will open at the Intrepid where it will provide an amazing opportunity for everyone until Sunday, November 28th. Please consider being a part of this great experience. The Adventure Base 100 is a 10,000 square foot interactive base camp that celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. There are many ways for you to be involved. We are in the search for volunteer for the many positions available as a part of the Adventure Base 100. Nearly 40 volunteers will be needed for every 3 ½ hours shift. Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. As a volunteer you will: • Bring information and enthusiasm to new Boy Scouts • Create a lasting impression for existing Boy Scouts • Re-engage those who have a history with Boy Scouts Volunteer opportunities available are listedhere. Please note: All volunteers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to participat and all volunteers must wear an official BSA field uniform.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Adventure Base 100, please register at: To find out more information about Adventure Base 100 click here. |
