Sunday, January 17, 2016
Boy Scouts apply skills at
CANFIELD
It was Boy Scouts versus the rain and mud at the 2016 Whispering Pines District’s Klondike Derby at Camp Stambaugh Saturday.
Some 115 Boy Scouts, age 11 to 17, from Mahoning County and Hubbard, struggled in the inclement weather with fire-building, tying knots and lashing to build flagpoles and simulating administering first aid.
Other skill-station competitions, either under cover or indoors, were map-reading and compass use and plant and animal identification.
Hosting the Greater Western Reserve Council event, dubbed the “Yukon Gold Rush” because the six stations each had names reminiscent of the Klondike gold rush days in Alaska, were Whispering Pines District Troop 25 of Canfield, Troop 44 of Poland and Troop 60 of Boardman.
Thirty adult leaders guided the youths and judged the patrols, which are units within a troop, in accomplishing their skill stations.
“Scouting builds teamwork and leadership that leads to stronger communications skills,” said Ryan Hockensmith of Poland, who has two sons in Troop 44: Jacob, 17, and Philip, 13.
“In my mind, communication is the biggest skill we can give these kids,” said Hockensmith, who was grading the skill competitions that ran from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The purpose is to learn winter skills that are fundamental to their future Scouting activities and how well they work together as a team, camp officials said.
Working in the rain and cold increases the challenge, said Ray O’Neill, assistant Scout Master of Troop 9071 in Ellsworth, who was at Camp Stambaugh with his son, William O’Neill, 18, a member of a Venture Crew in Troop 101 of Struthers.
Among Scouts participating were members of the Great Bear and Longhorn patrols of Troop 2 in Poland.
Noah Dearing, 11, and Ashlin Rabindra, 13, talked about practicing knots and lashing in building a flagpole, and Nick DiTommaso, 13, and Chris Olsen, 12, described fire building.
Nick, who said it was fun, brought flint to use in the flint-and-steel method. That didn’t work, however, and Chris said the patrol got fire with one of their two permitted matches.
The value of the Klondike Derby is that it builds teamwork and prepares the Scouts for real world-possibilities, said Nathan Plesea, Camp Stambaugh ranger, who started in Scouting as assistant Scout Master of Troop 122 in Howland, noting that the patrols were graded on their projects.