[Bsa-troop85] Day 1 Camp Tom Hale

[Dan Harder]

Oh no just the first day and they're already raising a distress signal!


"26.    The 
flag should never be displayed with union down, except as a signal of dire 
distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.."


http://usscouts.org/scoutduty/sd2gc90.asp



Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2015 15:20:33 +0000
From: davidlharder at yahoo.com
To: bsa-troop85 at troop85tulsa.org
CC: jayne_ann_harder at yahoo.com; hharder at blessing.org
Subject: Day 1 Camp Tom Hale





















Camp Tom Hale:  Day 1,
2015

 

Well, we arrived safely at Camp Tom Hale.  It started to sprinkle just a touch as we
arrived.  But the weather has been
absolutely beautiful.  Cool.  Sunny. 
With just a touch of clouds.  Good
sleeping weather—for any of you who might want to come next year!

 

Of course, last week it was like it was in the days of Noah
here.  The camp director got stuck in the
camp behind a flooded creek on the day his staff was scheduled to arrive.  So he had 42 people, in a tiny town, without
their leader and no place to sleep. 
Fortunately a nearby Baptist camp had some space for them.  But they didn’t have any food for them.  No problem. 
A local Mexican restaurant was able to step to the plate (pun intended)
and provide several hundred tacos.  On to
camp!

 

Speaking of food…there have been no complaints.  Perhaps that’s because the trading post was
open the first afternoon we arrived so the intrepid scouts could spend some of
your hard earned funds on post-lunch junk food. 
At dinner I sat next to one scout who, as soon as we sat down, ate his
piece of cake first and then not much else on his plate.  Perhaps it was because he ate a giant cookie
in the afternoon and only had room left for more dessert.  Well, you know what they say: life is
uncertain, eat dessert first.  

 

Jonah White wins the award for best entrepreneur.   He’s making those survival bracelets and has
already sold several.  And he made even
more money when we found a $20 bill lying on an empty trail.  Technically, I saw it first but I didn’t think
I should shove a younger scout out of my way so I could pick it up.  He might need it anyhow to spot another kid
some additional funding to buy more desserts. 


 

Everyone slept well, they say.  When they did, finally and eventually, fall asleep.  One tent reported killing a black widow
spider in their canvas abode.  No
evidence was seen of the alleged venomous spider.  But, I won’t tell you which tent it was in so
all the moms can worry equally.  Two of
our smarter scouts, Trey and Colton, have very fine mosquito nets set up. Their moms don’t need to worry at all.  

 

Last night we had the campfire put on by the Hale
staff.  This year, they actually managed
to light the campfire.  My personal
favorite entertainments of the evening included:  The original song “H-A-L-E” put to
the tune of “Y-M-C-A” and including some lines about not falling out of a
canoe.  I also enjoyed the
pseudo-documentary “life of a rain-drop” in which some six camp counselors sat
on the ground with their legs pulled up, looking peaceful.  Suddenly, the “raindrops” started screaming in
sheer terror for several seconds. Then, lastly, they “splatted” out on the
ground.  Quite original. 

 

I’m the Camp Chaplain this week.  And I must say the morning chapel services went
well.  A preacher can always tell a
message is going over well when a kid in the second row starts vomiting.  Hopefully my message wasn’t too revolting.  At least it will be memorable for
others.  (note:  he wasn’t one of our scouts, and I did pray
for him to recover from my sermon…and/or whatever had been bothering his
stomach the last day or so).

 

The scouts are all off in their classes this morning.  The course range includes:  rowing, metalwork, plumbing, environmental
science, lifesaving, first aid, wilderness survival, archery, communications,
citizenship in the world and basic knot tying. 
That certainly covers a lot, and that’s just from the first of four
teaching blocks.

 

More updates to come!
Yours in Scouting,
David (on behalf of our Scoutmaster Paul and Asst. Jeremy)






 		 	   		  
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