Welcome to Troop 53

Browse through the short articles below and check out the pictures attached to those articles of the fun and exciting things the Scouts of Troop 53 get to do…

Click on this link to see an early copy of the information sheet for Troop 53.

Click here: Troop 53 Information Sheet (You will need “Acrobat” – free software download)

Please come visit us on Monday:    October 26

                                          or ->      November 2

                                          or ->      November 23

                                  Start time:   7:15 p.m.

                                  Finish time:   8:30 p.m.

Call or email me to tell me when your Webelos II den would like to visit.

We look forward to meeting you and being your next big step in Scouting!

Jay Morris, Assistant Scoutmaster
Membership Coordinator
sodaker@sbcglobal.net
550-7440

Jayhawk Campout – November 2009

It was a perfect weekend for a campout!  Troop 53 ventured up to the Falley Scout Reservation  – Camp Jayhawk just East of Perry Lake.

The boys got the chance to build a working rope bridge that had to be strong enough to support the “Squatch”.  Mitch is always the first across to check the workman ship.  Job well done guys.

After dark everyone gathered up to go “Owl Listening” .  Silently we left our camp sites to try and call in some owls from the area.  While a great effort was spent…it was to no avail…at least at that moment.  While everyone was fast asleep, sometime around 4:00 a.m. in the morning, several owls decided to make their presence known and created quite the screeching chorus.  Timing is everything they say…

Click here for Jayhawk pics.

John Chumbley Earns his Eagle Scout Rank

***The following is a letter Charter Organization Representative – Kip Grosshans sent to all the families at Troop 53.  Kip sat on the Eagle Board of Review for John and recounts the Trail to Eagle of Troop 53’s newest Eagle.

Greetings, Friends:

Without a doubt, last evening was a highlight in my 45+ years of Scouting!  (And not just because I spent several hours with my good friends, Steve Segebrecht and Brian Van Schmus.) 

It’s always a pleasure serving on an Eagle Scout Board of Review — hearing about the depth and breadth of a successful Scouting career directly from the Scout is an honor … a gift, really.  Many thanks to Steve for including me as a member of the Board and for all his hard work on behalf of our Life-to-Eagle T-53 Scouts.  And so sitting around a table with Brian, with Mark Gleeson & Rich Bailey, long-time Pelathe Scouters, along with Fr. Pogue, interim rector at Trinity Episcopal, to review and examine John Chumbley’s Trail to Eagle was an outstanding affirmation of why we commit the time to serving the next generation of America’s dads.

Hearing John’s honest and unvarnished assessment of his years in Scouting was pure “John Chumbley” in style and substance.  His answers were clear and confident and I like to think the maturity he displayed was at least partly born from experiences he gained through Troop 53.  Remembering the fifth-grade John Chumbley as I listened to John-as-young-man caused a smile or two … I’m smiling now.  He handled an intimidating situation (sitting across the table from a *lot* of Eagle Scouts) with grace – especially after Mark reminded him that since he was already 18 years old, there would be no “do-over” if his Board of Review was not satisfactory. 

Well, “satisfactory” does not begin to describe John’s conduct — and that’s why it will be such a highlight.  Julia & Bryan deserve much credit, parents always do, but the real credit belongs to John and his ability to share insights from what he’s learned from his journey.  John knows what every Eagle Scout knows — merit is the honest measure of any man’s ability to have an impact on our world.  As he’s learned valuable lessons *and* he’s able to apply those lessons in his life, an Eagle Scout is uniquely positioned to move forward — giving back to Scouting even more than he has received.

For a little while last evening John Chumbley was *the* newest Eagle Scout in the United States.  But for the rest of his life, he’ll be one of the best.  On my honor, John clearly did his best and we were all proud to have been present as he completed his Scouting Trail to Eagle.

Cheers,

Kip

Service Project – Bike Trails by the Kansas River

A dozen Scouts helped the Lawrence Mountain Bike Association cut some new trails Sunday(October 11, 2009).  The boys worked hard, had fun and looked back with a sense of accomplishment. 

This particular track will be named the “Troop 53 Bike Loop”.  People of all ages can now enjoy some more mountain bike trails close to home.

Click here for trail crew pics

Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” Comments on Being an Eagle Scout

This is an interesting viewpoint on how special the rank of Eagle Scout is from a TV celebrity – Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs”.

View Mike Rowe Letter Click Here.

Fall Float Trip 2009 – Bennett Springs, MO

by Jay Morris

Here are some of the pictures…

Float Trip 2009 – Weekend Pics (Campsite-Niangua Float-Trout Fishery)

Float Trip 2009(Kim Brice pics) - plus old cemetery(late 1800’s to early 1900’s) pics.  We discovered this old forgotten cemetery up the hill above our campsite.

Float Trip 2009 Pics – (Chumbley)

We had a great time on the Niangua river this weekend.  21 Scouts and 5 leaders made the four hour trek to Maggard’s Canoe Outfitter and Campground and got a quick tutorial on how to pitch your tent in the dark.  Everyone passed with flying colors…even Koolaid(John Harman) the K Stater…  

Saturday began at the “crack-o-early”…starting with an OG special…Mountain Man breakfast, Koolaid’s coffee dance followed by a beautiful day to float the 10 miles down the Niangua.  It got to 68 degrees so it was a little too cool to do much swimmin…ask Rhino(Ryan Liston) and Beckham(Adam Auer)…85 degrees would have been better but it was perfect for a whole lotta’ floatin’ and crawdad huntin’. 

The special treat for the boys on this campout is the OG’s do all the cooking.  Saturday night we feasted on steaks, baked potatoes, baked beans, corn on the cob and two cobblers – cherry chocolate and apple/peach.  It was such a fun day most of the boys hit the sack by 9:00 p.m…within 30 minutes of finishing dinner! 

We almost had an OG casualty…after dinner Koolaid and I went to find out if the voices we could hear a “fer piece” uphill from camp were our boys being where they weren’t supposed to be…turns out they were from another Troop.  Coming back downhill to camp, yours truly stepped into a six foot deep culvert.  For a split second not only did I think I just fell into a famous Missouri sink hole but Koolaid thought for sure he was free of ever hearing anything about the Huskers again.  One of us is relieved but the other is still unsure…

Before we left for home Sunday morning, we stopped at the Trout Fishery in Bennett State Park…pretty cool place.

 

Court of Honor – September 2009

Here are some pics from the September Court of Honor.

Click Here

Read LJW’s write up on Troop 53’s Court of Honor. 

Thank you Brian Van Schmus for putting this in the paper.

If any one has more pics, please email them to Jay Morris in an attached file.

Tribute to the Men and Women Who Have Served Our Country

Watch – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – Changing of the Guards                      (5 minute video)

Memorial Day may have been a few months ago but I thought it a fitting tribute to honor the men and women who have served our country. 

Several of the boys completed Citizenship in the Nation last year and I wish I had found this then but better late than never…

August 2007 my family took a trip to Washington DC.  One of the things I wanted my boys to see was Arlington Cemetery.  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a center piece of Arlington and we witnessed the Changing of the Guards.

They rotate in and out of guard duty every thirty minutes, 365 days a year, rain or shine. 

It was a very sobering experience.  Notice in the foreground everyone stood the whole time and not a person was carrying on a side conversation.

Very neat experience for your family to remember.  If you ever get the opportunity to visit our nation’s Capital, then make it a point to take in Arlington Cemetery.

by Jay Morris

Kip “Dalai” Grosshan’s 35 year association with Troop 53 video.

View the Dalai Kippa video here.

Hint…Turn up your sound a bit…

Congratulations Kip!

Tetons High Adventure

15 Scouters and OG’s made the trip to Wyoming and the Grand Tetons in late July for a week of high adventure.

See for yourself how much fun they had…

Tetons 2009 -

Chumbley pics:

- Day1 ,    Day 2,    Day 3,    Day 4,    Day 5,    Day 6

- Baldwin pics 1 - Baldwin pics 2 - Baldwin pics 3

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