WEBLOS Camp Out Part 1
The phone was ringing when I got home, it was ZT. “Hey Doogie, are you excited about the Webelos campout tonight?'
“ I am so excited I can’t sit still and I am driving my mother nuts or so she says. I cannot wait to pack up the car. I have piled all the gear and duffle bags up on the porch. I am waiting for my Dad. I can’t believe we are going to be awarded our Arrow of Light badge tomorrow night I’m…”
“Doogie take a breath and slow down.” Said ZT.
It seems I was talking and couldn’t stop. At least that is what ZT said.
This weekend was the annual summer Webelos campout. I managed to get into a Cub Scouts Pack right away when we moved to Greenhills. I had been involved with Cub Scouts before moving to Greenhills and was on target to complete my Arrow of Light Award in the summer of 1964.
My family was into Scouting. My dad was into Scouting in a big way and made sure I kept straight and true to the Scouting path towards Eagle. He is an Eagle Scout, as are my two older brothers. You see, once you earn the Eagle Scout award you are always an Eagle Scout.
ZT and I were members of Pack 422 which was sponsored by the Methodist church where Boy Scout Troop 422 met. ZT and I had finished our Arrow of Light requirements as a Webelos Scout and we both wanted to be in Boy Scouts when school started. So we were excited about the campout because that’s when the Pack has the Arrow of Light Ceremony.
Every August the Webelos Cub Scouts would have an overnight campout in Winton Woods Park. Going on the campout would be eight Webelos Scouts, our dads, the Cub Master, our Webelos Den leader, and our Den Chief - an older Boy Scout from Troop 422. There were only four boys earning the Arrow of Light this summer. We would be crossing over the Arrow Light Bridge to Boy Scouts at the Saturday night Webelos Court of Honor and Arrow of Light ceremony.
“Hey Doogie, Doogie are you there?”
“Yeah sorry ZT I was just thinking about tonight.”
“Right,” said ZT. “Hey, my dad can’t spend the night with me on the campout. He got called away on business, but he promises that he will be there tomorrow. Can I ride over to the campsite with you and your dad?”
“No problem. You have a tent?”
“Yeah, but I really don’t want to spend the night by myself.”
“I have an idea. I will sleep in your tent with you. My dad won’t mind. He snores. I mean he really snores, he sounds like a chainsaw when he snores!” I chuckled.”My mom says my dad snores so loud that he can wake the dead. ZT, I hope I don’t snore, I mean…”
“Doogie stop talking! I gots to go. See you later.”
We picked ZT up at 5:00 and headed to Kingfisher Lake. Kingfisher Lake is a small lake in Winton Woods with a nice campground area for tents. Boy Scout Troop 422 takes care of the park for service projects. ZT told me everybody just calls it the “Scout Camp.” When we got there, our Cub Master and some dads had already started to set up camp. Our Den Chief, Jonathan Stewart, was helping some dads set up the kitchen tent and dining flies over several picnic tables. ZT and I were helping others unload gear and get settled. All the boys had set up their tents. We worked in pairs, the buddy system, so that no one was alone. Soon we had our own little tent city.
After dinner, cooked by our Pack leaders, we were free to explore the area in pairs - the buddy system again. There is a nice hiking trail that takes you completely around the lake and is about a mile long. We were going to hike the trail tomorrow morning and do some trail cleanup and fix-up after seeing what we needed to do. This was an annual project of the Boy Scouts for community service. Most of the scouts from Troop 422 were going to be there.
ZT and I went fishing for a couple of hours until we heard the camp bell ringing and we knew it was time to return to camp.
“Hey, Doogie, that was fun.”
“Yeah. Too bad we couldn’t keep some of those fish. I wonder what’s up now?” I replied.
“Oh, you don’t know, do you? Mr. Barnes is going to talk to us about what is going to happen tomorrow with the Court of Honor and the Arrow of Light Ceremony. Then we will sing corny campfire songs and tell ghost stories. We will hit the sack at 9:00 and try to go to sleep with all the noise from bullfrogs, tree frogs, and hoot owls.
Soon 9:00 came. Mr. Barnes, our Pack Master, said a closing prayer and told us to hit the sack after we got ready for bed. Soon ZT and I were in our sleeping bags listening to all the noise from the night sounds and the hushed conversation of all the dads. Before I knew it my eyes were closed and I was down for the count.