It was a great weekend to be camping.  The Old Goat Ranch was at its best.  Who knew playing in and around a dry creek bed could be so entertaining.  It reminded all the OG’s what boys used to do for fun…they made it themselves!  It was a stitch to watch.

Two 4th years, Catfish and Chef, slept in hammocks and the other 10 boys slept in one big tent.  Yea that’s right, 10 boys in one tent!  It was said to be a rather malodorous evening.

Here are a few pics from the fun weekend.

Old Goat Pics

Halverstad Campfire

Now this is camping in December – best weather ever!

The boys did some exploring along the creek bed, orienteering and the ever popular target shooting. After you look at the pictures…no the PoZer was not one of the targets! Although one of our newest OG’s, Mulder, had a certain “X Filian Glint” in his eyes when I was resetting the targets. Someone did yell, “Hey Mulder, there’s the ‘Smoking Man’”…

Halverstad’s

A warm day and a chilly night = Perfect camping weather!!

The younger boys made a rope bridge and the older boys shot up the range. Fun all day!

Oh…and Mielke keeps trying to get it right with his cinnamon roll but once again…”Just not quite right”…guess you’ll have to keep trying.  Darn it all, we’ll just have to keep “suffering” through each and every delicious one…oh the humanity!

Camp Jayhawk

Experience the fun in Scouting!

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 the link below to see an early copy of the information sheet for Troop 53.

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

Please come visit us on Monday:

               October 24

or ->      November 7

or ->      November 21

Start time:   7:15 p.m.

Finish time:   8:30 p.m.

**Call or email me when you and/or your Webelos II den would like to visit.

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

Future Aviators from Troop 53 were given a cool tour of a C-130 transport by Captain Cade Keenan stationed at the Air National Guard base in St Joseph, Missouri.  Capt Keenan provides cool insight into what it’s like to be an aviator.  The result of the evening was everyone earned their Aviation merit badge.

Thanks Jim Kallenberger and Capt Cade Keenan for making this happen.  The boys really enjoyed the evening.

Check out the pics from this fun and interesting Aviation adventure!

Biggest Fall Court of Honor ever!  Lots of stories from Camp Alexander and the High Adventure trip to Northern Minnesota.

SPL “Freight Train” and ASPL “Catfish” handed out numerous awards and achiements earned over the summer.

There were 14 rank advancements, 112 Merit Badges, and many other awards and recognitions for the boys.

Congratulations to Anthony “Bob” Van Schmus as the newly elected SPL for Troop 53!

Fall 2011 Court of Honor pics

Montage of Summer Fun in Troop 53

Temperatures were a bit chilly to do much canoe swamping or crawdad hunting but we still made the float and whipped up some wicked steaks and potatoes.  Mother nature doesn’t always cooperate but we still managed to have some fun.

Check out the pics

2011 Niangua Float Trip

The way is never long when a friend joins your journey
The 2001 OA Fall Fellowship weekend may have involved the best-kept secret of the 21st Century.

Nominations for the Vigil Honor – recognition of exceptional service given to just 1% of each Order of the Arrow lodge – were due in July. Unofficial notice that our nomination of John Toby Harman, current Pelathe District Commissioner and Troop 53 Commissioner, was approved came a few weeks later.

First order of business: find out when and where the honors were to be announced. Harder than it seemed; the location and date changed multiple times because of scheduling conflicts. We finally learned that Sawmill Camp at Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, MO would host its first-ever Order of the Arrow weekend event on September 10.

Second task: make certain – without too much to-do – that John would plan to attend. Harder than it seemed since we’re in the middle of football season & the new date conflicted with the annual Troop 53 Ozarks Canoe Weekend. After some gentle encouragement (and the promise we’d just spend the day), John agreed to attend – “to help support our Pelathe Scouts & help honor good friends.”

Third task: get on the road before dawn & navigate to a location we hadn’t visited before. Harder than we thought as we were stopped near 23rd & Iowa by LPD – slight disagreement on the color of a certain light. Important safety tip: a Boy Scout uniform shirt on a hanger in full view of the responding officer might have had some impact on his decision to wish us a good and safe trip without a ticket.

Fourth task: spend a beautiful, warm, early fall day in the woods with new & old friends. Not hard at all! In fact, we can all provide first-hand positive reviews of the famed “PEACH NEHI FLOAT” experience.

Fifth task: keep John from wanting to depart right after dinner. Some half-truths were employed – no actual “lies” (such an unfortunate term, right?) were necessary … so, not really as hard as expected.

And with all those “irksome tasks” out of the way, the ceremony concluded with a full moon as names of those called to the Vigil Honor were announced. In fact, the moon rose above the trees just in time to see the surprise and humble smile on John’s face as a brief summary of his leadership in service was read to the Brothers assembled in the Sawmill Council Ring. The circle of Vigil Guides was widened to include the 26 members of the Vigil Honor Class of 2011 and the way home to Lawrence late Saturday night seemed short because a friend joined the journey.

John’s vigil will be kept in the next few weeks and we’ll learn his honored name then, but this is the first time since 1976 that a member of the Troop 53 family has been called by our local lodge – a singular honor for John and an excellent way to remember the 40th anniversary of my Vigil Call. Clearly a best-kept secret. And a beautiful day well-spent.
Kip Grosshans
Chartered Organization Representative

4 cups sugar

2/3 cups Karo syrup

2/3 cups honey

2 tsp maple flavoring

Cream together the above ingredients

Add while mixing:

1 1/2 cups ground nuts

19 cups quick cooking oatmeal

Spread in a large sheet pan, 18″ x 26″.  Press it down into the pan.  Bake at 325 degrees in a convection oven for 15 to 18 minutes.  As soon as the bread had been taken from the oven, use a spatula to press it down.  This presses the bread together to keep it from crumbling.  Cut it while still warm.

For home-size preparation, cut this recipe at least in half.  A conventional oven requires a longer baking time.