Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our readers!
Coordinating "worker bees" for a "Day of Service" at Davidson Elementary School Saturday were DCPC Senior Paster Lib Simmons (left) and elementary school Assistant Principal Laney Edwards.
Not much need to wear green when we all are sprouting a wee bit of mold and mildew after so many days of rain! But in honor of St. Paddy, we hope for some sunshine and certainly have yards that are much greener.
Inclement or cold weather does not deter scouts from their camping trips or churches from their workdays. Today we have news of Boy Scout Troop 58 with their Klondike Derby and Cold Weather Camping. Also a report on the Pinewood Derby for Cub Pack 58 – an annual late winter event that produces works of art from a block of wood. In addition we bring you a few notes from last Saturday’s DCPC Day of Service.
SCOUTING AROUND
1. CRAZY FOR COLD!
Camping and hiking are two familiar words to Davidson’s Boy Scout Troop 58. The last weekend in January, Scoutmaster Van Beck with Assistant Scoutmasters Ben Yarborough and Jim Harris took a group of boys to South Mountain. Prepared for the below-freezing weather, the boys stayed warm, ate well (real food according to Ben Yarborough) and enjoyed their hikes. Bet the hot chocolate tasted great!
Younger scouts hiking a total of eight miles with the Assistant Scoutmasters were Chandler Harlan, Andrew Nielsen, Andrew Harris, Patrick Griffeth, Daniel Griffeth, John Wacker and Christopher Hoffler. Many of the boys in this group were first time backpackers and enjoyed their outing very much as they were, of course, “prepared.”
Van Beck led a group of older boys on a 12-mile hike. This group included: Jonathan Lopez and Philip Taylor, and college students Michael Raymond and Thomas Christy. It is always important for the troop to have older scouts mentoring the younger boys, which makes these camping trips so successful.
Adults, college students and scouts in Troop 58 experienced cold weather camping and hiking at the end of January.
2. KLONDIKE RUN
With the annual Iditarod taking place in Alaska, it is only fitting that we report on young scouts in Troop 58 competing in their own “Iditarod” at Camp Grimes at the end of February. Actually called the Klondike by troops in our area, scouts under 14 years of age travel to this Mecklenburg County Boy Scout Reservation above Morganton to pull a sled five miles through a designated course.
Members of the Troop 58 Klondike Team for 2009 were, from left: David Shaw, Ben McGonnell, Colin Griggs, Andrew Harris, Daniel Griffeth.
This year adults Van Beck (Scoutmaster), Jeff McGonnell and Joe Griffeth accompanied the troop’s patrol of five eleven and twelve year old boys and their sled to the event. Daniel Griffeth, David Shaw, Colin Griggs, Ben McGonnell and Andrew Harris were the youngest patrol in the competition. They endured 18 degree temperatures the Friday night before the race but with better weather on Saturday they completed the all-day course with a great feeling of accomplishment. Although Van, Joe and Jeff were there if needed, there was no adult guidance for the boys who had to rely on their own skills and teamwork in camping, cooking and running that sled over rough terrain. As Van Beck commented, “This was the essence of a scouting experience as well as a fun weekend.” Indeed it was a great example of the fact that winning is not the most important part of the event.
3. PINEWOOD DERBY TIME
Tiger rank Cub Scouts gather at the finish line for Saturday's Pinewood Derby.
Cub Scouts in Davidson’s Pack 58 headed to the Davidson College Presbyterian Church Congregation House Saturday afternoon for their annual Pinewood Derby, one of the highlights of the year.
About 40 cars raced on the Pack track, each a separate work of craftsmanship. Scouts transformed blocks of wood into race cars for the event, and some of the more fanciful entries included a car-shaped pencil, a snarling wolf-mobile, and even a firetruck, complete with blinking lights. The event was organized by Pack Committee Assistant Chair Zane Elrod.
Winner of the Pack Cup!
Awards were given for coolest cars, most unusual cars, shiniest cars and the more, and also for the fastest three cars at each Cub rank level.
Winning the Pack Cup for the fastest car on the track was Garrett Forthofer, whose entry was, most appropriately, painted Cub Scout blue.
MARCH MEANS COMMUNITY WORK DAYS
For years two churches in Davidson have reserved a Saturday in March to spread their congregations around the community in a Day of Service. Last Saturday, March 14, was the work day for members of the Davidson College Presbyterian Church (DCPC). (March 28 is the designated work day for the Davidson United Methodist Church, or DUMC).
Davidson Elementary School librarian Norma Dunbar posed with handsome helpers Steve Kessler (l) and Scott Woodmansee.
After a 8:30 a.m. gathering in the sanctuary of DCPC for an opening worship service, more than 300 members departed for project sites in our area. The rainy weather changed assignments for some who planned outdoor planting but also swelled the numbers with indoor assignments since many families had their children’s outdoor athletic games canceled and instead came to work. When work details completed their jobs, all gathered for soup and sandwiches in the church’s Congregation House. (And as soon as they were finished, out came the Cub Pack 58 derby track, for the news item mentioned above!)
Church members sorted clothes, wiped down bleachers, put pansies in pots, arranged shelves, shelved books and painted walls. Many hands do in fact make light work – and the fellowship was an added bonus. Work sites included Ada Jenkins, Barium Springs, Crisis Assistance, the Levine Hospice House, the Mooresville Soup Kitchen, Angels and Sparrows, Lydia’s Loft and Habitat. Kudos to Chris Willingham, Linda Griffeth, Stephanie Glaser, Cambria Nielsen and members of the Community Missions Committee who coordinated this most worthwhile effort.
Putting books in proper order were Greg Snyder and his children, Halynna and Stephan.
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Have news for Brenda? Write to her at hbarger@bellsouth.net.
