2004 Troop Scribe Journal
Written by Scott Hill, Troop Scribe, Troop 226
On Thursday April 29, 2004 our troop went to the Post Office in Bluff City, TN. There they told us what they do Monday though Friday. First at 4:00 in the morning a truck arrives carrying everyone's mail. Then in the building they separate all the packages from the letters and magazines. After they sort everything they sort the mail by the route it's supposed to go on. Then they put everything on a truck depending on which route it goes on. We had 5 boys from the Flying Eagles patrol attend.
On Saturday May 1, 2004 our troop went to the JCRC and flew radio controlled airplanes. Out of 12 boys in our troop, 9 boys attended. We went to different classes where we learned about different kinds of engines, how to build a plane, how to use the controls to fly the planes, and the different types of planes available. We each got to fly a trainer plane. Flying a plane was very confusing. It's just one of those matters where you would have to memorize how to do it because the controls are backwards. But it was really fun to do it. Everybody did something different when they flew a plane. For example Josh Landers did a loop with his plane and he didn't even know how he did it. And Casey's plane kept on going up and down when he flew it. We all had a great time.
On Tuesday May 4, 2004 our troop had a Court of Honor. The following badges were awarded. Josh Baker was awarded the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Quality Unit 2004 badge, and the Scribe badge. Daniel Taylor was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Merit Badge University badge, Quality Unit 2004 badge, the Trained badge, and the Patrol Leader badge. Casey Link was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, the Photography merit badge, the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Merit Badge University badge, the Quality Unit 2004 badge, the Trained badge, and the Assistant Patrol Leader badge. Grayson Krtausch was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, the Photography merit badge, the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Merit Badge University badge, the Quality Unit 2004 badge, the Trained badge, the Reptile Study badge, and the Chaplin badge. Scott Hill was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, the Photography merit badge, the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Merit Badge University badge, the Quality Unit 2004 badge, the Trained badge, the Quartermaster badge, the BSA Fund Raiser badge, and the Top Expo Ticket Sales plaque. Josh Landers was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, the Klondike Derby 2004 badge, the Merit Badge University badge, the Quality Unit 2004 badge, the Trained badge, and the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader badge. Cameron Morelock was awarded the Chemistry merit badge, Klondike Derby 2004 badge, Quality Unit 2004, the Merit Badge University badge, the Trained badge, and the Senior Patrol Leader badge.
On Friday May 7,2004 we went to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Expo. On Friday, we set up camp then fixed supper. Saturday we set up our booth and then went to the trading post to trade in our scout bucks for prizes. Daniel got a pair of binoculars, Josh Baker got a hatchet, Casey got two knives, Grayson got a camera and a pair of binoculars, and Scott got a hatchet, a camera, a knife, a flashlight, and a hydration pack. After that everybody worked the both twice except for Daniel and Matthew, who had to leave early. After the expo we took down our booth and went back to camp. We fixed supper and then at 8:00 we went to a scout meeting. There we watched a movie and Cameron was elected to the Order of the Arrow. We got back to camp at 10:00 and stayed up until 10:30 or lights out time. Sunday we packed up camp and went home.
On Tuesday May 25, 2004 Mr. Carter from the Dream Team came and spoke with us about peer pressure. We learned peer pressure is when people your age, your class mates, and your friends offer you drugs and alcohol. There are 4 types of peer pressure. One is when they ask you nicely if you want a drink or cigarette. Two is when they just tell you about it. For example that someone's having a party at their house and there's going to be alcohol there. The third kind is when they make fun of you and call you chicken if you don't do it. And the last kind is when they force you to do it by telling you they are going to beat you up if you don't do it. After Mr. Carter's presentation, we had patrol meetings to decide what we want to do for June and July. After that we closed the meeting and went home.
On June 22nd we had our 2-year anniversary party. We had some food, talked, and gave out awards from the Expo. Everyone in the Flying Eagle patrol, except Cameron, got their 3-year anniversary pin. Cameron got a 7-year anniversary pin since he has been scouting since he was a Tiger Cub. After the awards Cameron won the basket filled with candy. We all had a good time at our anniversary party.
On June 26, 2004 we went on a bike hike. We rode from the top of Whitetop Mountain down to Damascus, Va. Everyone did a great job staying together this time. We stopped for lunch at this little restaurant about halfway down. Matthew got a flat tire and had to ride the last few miles with the flat. It was hard for him to pedal but he made it back.
On July 24 -31 Troop 226 went to Camp Placid. We chose to attend Camp Placid this year instead of Camp Davy Crockett. And boy are we glad we did. The food was great, we got to sleep in cabins, and we got to have devotions every night. We completed 7 merit badges during camp. These included Mammal Study, Farm Mechanics, Orienteering, Art, First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, and Citizenship in the World. We almost completed 2 more. Emergency Preparedness and Citizenship in the Nation. We got to practice our First Aid immediately upon arrival when Malachi got hit in the head with a shovel. He had a huge knot on his head. But he was ok and got to stay. We had 6 people to get bee stung. But other than that we had a pretty safe week. J.C., the leader of the other troop camping with us, scared us when he “fell out of a tree” and we had to administer first aid and carry him back to camp. He did such a good job faking his injuries that Grayson almost threw up and Matt along with a member of the Dragon patrol ran to get help. It was funny when we realized he really wasn’t hurt. We got to ride on either a lawn mower or a tractor. That was pretty cool. We also had a great time on our hike. We had lots of free time to swim which was really cool. And on our last night we went to a tent revival where 4 people were saved. We had a great week and are looking forward to going to Camp Placid next year.