Troop 87 Court of Honor June 30th, 1999
Since our last Court of Honor in February twenty boys have earned advancement in rank and/or merit badges. Sixteen boys earned an advancement in rank: Alan Beyersdorf, Jason Law, Ryan Mallory, John O'Brien, Matthew Siebeneck, Joseph Voyles, and Christopher Yaslik earned the rank of Scout; Zach Malosh and Patrick McCarthy earned second class; Peter Blank, Christopher Gang, and Chris Kujawa earned first class; Brent Beckham and Robbie Solt earned Star; and Mike Brazeau and Greg Kissner earned Life.

Ten boys earned a total of thirteen merit badges: Christopher Gang, Todd Humphrey, and Robbie Wisniewski each earned two merit badges and Peter Blank, Greg Kissner, Chris Kujawa, Zachary Malosh, Patrick McCarthy, Vernon McCollough, and Adam Miller each earned one merit badge. Congratulations boys!

THANK YOU to Adam Miller and Mike Brazeau! They gave up a Saturday afternoon to organize and inventory our food supplies. In addition, they cleaned the patrol boxes. They then divided the extra food for distribution for the Pokagon camping trip to the patrols. What a GREAT JOB they did for us! All this work could not go without reward. Our hard workers were treated to an ice cream delight at Timbo's. Thanks guys your work was very much appreciated!
-Mr. Malcom

The following articles were submitted by Shawn Rogers, Troop Scribe:

Yes you did hear correctly, our troop did go to the Football Hall of Fame. I have interviewed Laurie Rogers A.K.A. my mom, and here is what she had to say. We did not have a large turnout of scouts and leaders but we had a mighty fun group. We stayed at a Scout Camp on April 2nd near Canton, Ohio. It was most likely the dirtiest cabin we have ever been in. The furniture in the room was so disgusting that no one would even sit on it. It had indoor plumbing and toilets, but Mrs. Rogers would have preferred an outhouse, due to extremely filthy bathrooms.

We managed to clean it up enough to be semi comfortable. We did the usual card playing and the boys their usual goofing around. Then on Saturday we went to the Football Hall of Fame and entered the world of Football Mania. The boys got to play a game where you guess the plays in a game and that kept them occupied for some time. Then it was time for a movie with surround sound and the theater actually turned while you were in your seat. Cool! All the guys seemed to really be in heaven, especially in the Hall of Fame Store.

From there we went to the President McKinley Monument. It was huge and had a lot of steps to climb. The boys enjoyed running up and down the hills. After returning to camp we all went on a hike, where we all kept getting lost because the trails were not marked very well. None of the boys had wanted to go, but by the time we were finished finding waterfalls and a really cool outdoor meeting place for Scouts, I think they were happy they went. Another night of playing cards and sitting by the fire and it was time for bed. The next morning we went to church on Palm Sunday and then headed home. All in all it was a great trip! The cabin may have been really dirty but the area surrounding it was very beautiful.

On the weekend of June 18th to 20th Troop 87 went on a trip to Pokagon State Park. We arrived around 8:00. It was later than planned because of the Red Cross and a wrong turn. This was the first time using the new tents. It was also the first time for many of the new scouts. In the morning we went on an orienteering course, followed by a trip to the nature center. We found the queen bee in the beehive and a hummingbird. Then after a nice lunch we went swimming and rode on Mr.Gang's jet skis. We spent the rest of the day at camp and playing capture the flag at night. In the morning we tore down camp and went to church. Then we went swimming before we left. All in all it was a good camp out and no one was hurt.

Parent Meeting July 21, 1999
Summer Camp Update: A total of 19 scouts attended summer camp this year. 52 merit badges were earned and 9 partial merit badges were earned. The Troop earned the Baden Powell Award, the Camper Award, and the Marksman Award. As promised, a pizza party will be held July 28th. Great Job Scouts! Hats off to the S.P.L. Greg Kissner and the A.S.P.L. Mike Brazeau who were instrumental in obtaining these awards. A very nice time was held by all. See Sean Rogers' (Troop Scribe) article on Summer Camp in this newsletter. Don't forget, those partial merit badges can still be completed!! However, you have less than one year to do it or you will have to start all over.

Congratulations to the following scouts who were nominated for the Order of the Arrow: Mike Brazeau, Adam Miller, Mike Morris, and Robbie Wisniewski. If you missed the "Tap Out Ceremony" on Parents Night at summer camp, it was a sight to behold. The first O.A. Ordeal is set for September at Miakonda, which is also the same weekend as our Kelly's Island trip.

A big thank you to the following parents who took time out of their busy schedules to spend at summer camp with Troop 87. Mr. Tom Blank, Mr. Jim Brazeau, Mr. Jon Hook, Mr. Greg Kissner, Dr. Dave Mallory, Mr. Marty O'Brien, and Mr. Mike Rogers (who spent the entire week). Without such a strong support from these leaders, summer camp would not be possible.

August 20, 21, and 22 Canoe Outing: The Troop will be going canoeing down the Rifle River (north of Midland/Bay City Michigan). We will be staying at Cole Canoe Base(Detroit Area Council). In order to reserve the number of canoes required, the Troop will have to pre-pay. Therefore, I am asking if you are interested in attending this outing, please bring $25 and the permission slip to the meeting by July 28. Cost will include canoe for two days, camping and food. Interested adults please sign up at this time. The cost for adults will also be $25.00.

Other August events: Mud Hens game August 4th. Mr. Tom Blank has volunteered to coordinate the Mud Hens night. We will be going as a troop and families on Wednesday, August 4th. Please let your patrol leaders know how many tickets your family needs by Sunday August 1st. Patrol leaders, you must let Mr. Blank know how many tickets your patrol needs by Monday, August 2nd so that he can get the tickets. The plan is to meet at the pole barn BY 6:15 PM to get your tickets from Mr. Blank and proceed to the game. If you think that you will not be able to be at the pole barn by 6:15 PM, you can call Mr. Blank to arrange to get your tickets earlier and meet us at the game. He will need to know numbers of child's (14 and under) tickets to get also. Price will be determined by the number of tickets we purchase.

The Car Wash date is still to be determined - hopefully sometime in August.

Scout Uniform: While at summer camp, several troops were noted to have their entire troop in full uniform for flag ceremony and dinner (i.e. BSA shorts, socks, and either Class A or B shirts). This impressive sight gives a very powerful image. I believe Troop 87 is a quality troop as evident by the many awards and accomplishments the scouts earn. I would like to raise the image of our scouts to the next level. Therefore, I am recommending that for both Troop meetings and outings the scouts be dressed in BSA attire. Woodville Surplus sells BSA shorts for ~ $17.00 while the socks are ~ $4.00 a pair.

The Scout Class B T-shirts were given out to the scouts. Hopefully, everyone got what they ordered. However, it appears that someone picked up Chris Yaslik's Class B shirt on the Pokagon camp out. Likely, Chris put a CY on the tag. So parents, please check the Class B shirt to see if a scout accidently picked up Chris's shirt. Thanks

The Toledo Area Council has changed it's name to the Erie Shores Council. There are new shoulder patches available so this means that the old ones are now becoming collector's items. Do not discard those patches when you change them! Many boys use these to trade at national jamborees and even purchase extra for trading purposes.

While I am on scout uniforms; scouts, don't forget that when you show up for Scoutmaster Conference and the Board of Review, the scout needs to be in full uniform. Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class: Don't forget the requirements have changed for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class effective April 1999. So if you are working on one of these ranks, you need to meet the new requirements.

Atomic Jamboree: Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is sponsoring the second annual Atomic Energy Camporee October 8, 9 and 10. At this event the scouts can earn the Atomic Energy merit badge. The cost of this outing is $25.00 and includes camping, food, and the training. If you are interested, please sign up for this outing by August 18.

Dues As a reminder, if you have not paid the first half of 1999 dues, they are way past due. Also, September is time for the second half dues. Dues are $50.00 a year and one can pay $25.00 twice a year. Remember to please use up any wreath money your son has earned as soon as possible to make Mrs. Seth's job a little easier. The money can go towards dues, camping trips, or camping clothing/merchandise (bring receipt to show).

Driver Information: I would like to update our records for parents who help drive the scouts to or from an outing. This information is also required by council when we fill out a Tour Permit. The information needed is: Name, Driver Licensing, Make and Model of Vehicle, Number of passengers, and the amount of insurance. If you have or would like to drive at some point, please provide this information to the Troop. Thanks

It is also time to update our medical and emergency contact information notebook that we take on all the camping trips. Ann Marie O'Brien has agreed to take over the responsibility for this notebook. Everyone needs to complete a new set of forms and bring in a more recent picture of your son for Mrs. O'Brien. Thanks!

Mr Ken Wisniewski is preparing to revise our list of merit badge counselors within our troop. All adults please consider becoming a merit badge counselor especially for the required merit badges. See Mr. Wisniewski or call him to let him know of your interest ASAP (before he prints out the new list, hopefully!). Thanks to all you merit badge counselors (both new and old) and especially to Ken for doing this much needed update!

Train the Leaders: The fall date for Training the Leaders is: October 9, (Sessions I and II) and then October 29, 30, and 31 (Session III). It is strongly recommended that if you are interested in being involved with scouting, that you get trained. This is also one of the requirements BSA has to ensure that there are at least two qualified leaders on all outings.

It is time for the boys to start thinking about next year's camping calendar. The schedule is now out for the district camporees so we can start to plan our calendar. Older boys, be thinking also about some sort of higher adventure trip, either just our troop or along with the district or council. Watch for notices in the Scout o Gram of these district trip offerings. One possibility Mr. Hook mentioned could be to the Gettysburg area for 3 to 4 days, plus white water rafting and hiking. Any boy interested in Philmont, keep in mind that registrations usually fill up at least a year in advance. The 2001 trip is now filling up.

The September Court of Honor and parent meeting has been changed to September 22nd instead of 8th. We will be in the Guardian Angel room for two meetings, September 8th and 15th so we will wait until we have the Banquet Hall again to hold our next Court of Honor.

Next Parent Meeting: August 18th