On Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, Eagle Scout Silas Knox was honored at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor recognizing his accomplishment in attaining the coveted rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Silas's ceremony was well attended, including his brother, Troop 45 Eagle Scout Johnson Knox, at home for Christmas from the US Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.
(Pictured above, left to right: Micah Knox, Johnson Knox, Brace Knox (mom), Eagle Scout Silas Knox, Isaiah Knox, and Noah Knox)
Mark Parsons (aka "Peanut"), former Librarian with Troop 45, received his Eagle Scout rank Saturday night, December 17, 2011, at Faith Lutheran Church in Madison, Alabama. Mark (first on left) is shown here with three of his fellow Scouts from Troop 8 in Madison. Since moving to Madison, Mark has hiked Philmont, made other high adventure treks out west, and served in numerous capacities in Troop 8, including OA Rep and Quartermaster.
Troop 45 Dominates 2011 Fall Camporee
Troop 45 arrived at Camp Seminole the last weekend of October, and managed to come out as the best troop at the camporee, as judged by receiving the red, white, and blue Presidential Streamer for most outstanding troop.
Our Scouts set up camp Friday night, hauling gear across the levee into Apache campsite, and started Saturday by serving the camp as the camporee flag team, a duty they also served on Sunday. They participated in all eight shooting matches (.22 rifle, shotgun, archery, blowgun, slingshot, water pistol, spear chucking, and tomahawk throwing), as well as the campfire coffee competition and both dinner competitions.
When all was said and done, ASPL Micah brought the Troop 45 patrols (Duct Tape Patrol and Avacado Patrol) to victory with 12 ribbons, and the red, white, and blue.
Summer Camp 2011
Tuesday-Friday, July 5-9 Randomphotos and comments. Dining hall where we eat three meals a day. Isaiah and Chris on the steps.
Thursday night dinner, cooked in camp on the fire in the background. Jambalaya (by Daniel and Noah), salad, rolls, chocolate/cherry cobbler (Daniel made this in a dutch oven), peach cobbler (Noah made this in a dutch oven). The fire is in the background.
Wednesday night several boys made their own moccasins in camp, sewing by lamp light.
Thursday morning. I'm tired, not really awake, and I'd like to go back to bed.n The mean old Scoutmasters insist I stay here and have fun instead.
Thursday it rained several times. This is a group of Scoutmasters playing golf in the rain with home-made clubs. Tournament was postponed after one round when it started to thunder. Perry's head is third from left.
Thursday morning just after flag assembly at 8:00.
Friday morning at breakfast. Sometimes it helps if you have a good sense of humor when you sleep in a tent.
Monday, July 4
Monday started with coffee delivered to our campsite at 6 AM. The staff said they only do that the first day, so "don't plan on this again". We had breakfast at 7:15, and flag assembly at 8:00.
SPL Ethan in front of troop line Monday at 8:00.
Merit badge class (don't recall which one) i the chapel at CDB. Several of our Scouts were in this class. Note the vaulted ceiling,
Nick on one of the many bridges on camp that cross the mountain streams in camp. The water here is cold, cold. The Knox boys guess the lake water is about 55 degrees, which is VERY cold for swimming.
Lunch today was nachos with all the fixings. Nothing says "Fouth of July"like a plate of corn tortilla chips, beans, meat, and cheese sauce.
Each meal also has a salad bar, and fruit is usually available. Seconds are frequently available.
We have a fire drill planned at 5:30 this afternoon, dinner at 6:00, patch trading at 8:30, BSA chainsaw safety certification (for adults), horsemanship merit badge, and and an adult leader cracker barrel at 9:00.
Sunday, July 3
Sunday morning was really good. Three Scouts, Perry, and Chris went to 7:30 Mass, the rest of the troop had a chapel service and paced/loaded gear. We left Zoar in Snellville, Georgia, and made it to Golden Corral about 9:30. The breakfast buffet, with drink and tax, was about $8.50 each. They had everything from sirloin steak (tender and tasty) to waffles and pancakes, fruit, lots and lots of choices.
On the road about 11:00. About 40 miles east of Atlanta, we stopped to fuel up.
Two Scouts examine the snack choices at the refueling stop.
Not too much later, we crossed the North Carolina line. There was no place to stop at the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign, so we got this photo a few miles in, at the first rest stop.
"Smile for Mom!", and this is what you get. This is at the rest stop in NC.
"Are we there yet?" About 35 miles from Camp Daniel Boone.
Arrived at camp about 3:30, met Jasmne, our personal staff member, took the tour of camp, had dinner (lasagna), went to vespers and campfire, and retired late.
Saturday, July 2
Troop 45 before leaving for North Carolina. 24 youth (#25 joining us there), and seven adults left the Scout Hut 1t 9:50 AM today. We stopped at a Kangaroo Mart east of Birmingham, ate lunch while rolling, and arrived in Atlanta about 4:45 PM Atlanta time. One the way, we watched the movies Gremlins and Transformers.
We arrived at Zoar UMC in Snellville, GA a bit after 5:00, dropped off our overnight bags, and hooked up with Yvonne and Doug Gulley, our tour guides for the evening. The Gulleys rode with us and directed us to CiCi' Pizza, where we did our best to get filled up.
Perry drove the whole day. Here he is at the Kangaroo Mart. I think he was either reflecting on the day, or praying. Could be either one.
Scouts head in to CiCi's Pizza in Snellville, GA
Richard and Charles after enjoying the pizza buffet
Our next stop was Stone Mountain Park, where we joined a lot of other folks (our adults' estimates range from 5,000 to 10,000) in watching an hour-long laser and fireworks show.
Not a great photo, but you can get an idea of how many people were there to see the show. Yes, that entire mass is people.
The troop broke up into four patrols, and each patrol had six youth and an adult in it. Each patrol stayed together the whole evening, and met back at the park entrance when the show was over.
Steven arrived at Stone Mountain with yellow mustache. I'm sure there's a story behind that.
Eagle Scout, Eagle Scout, SPL, and ASPL at Stone Mountain
We got back to Zoar about 11:30 tonight, the SPL gave instructions for tomorrow. The Catholic boys will go to Mass at 7:30 with Perry and Chris (thanks, Randy!), and the Protestant boys will have chapel here at Zoar. When everyone is back at Zoar around 9:00, we're headed to Golden Corral for a late buffet breakfast. Camp Daniel Boone is about 190 miles from here, so it won't be much of a drive on Sunday.
I'll try to update this daily, if the internet connection at camp is as available as we've been told.
