We had a total of 31 participants and a lot of interesting gifts including a toaster, Billy the Singing Bass, a pair of Nikes, a loaf of bread stuffed with a pickle (and a gift card that may have been overlooked during the steals), an actual white elephant, and many more! -Mr. Shenko

Another chapter of a perennial Troop 137 favorite —our annual game night at the cabin was a huge success! Scouts brought their PCs, Xboxes, PlayStations, Switches, Oculus headsets, and, yes, even some board games for an evening packed with fun. With pizza, cookies, and staying up late, it’s no wonder this is a highlight of the year! We were also thrilled to welcome Pack 137’s AOL scouts, giving us a great opportunity to get to know each other better before they potentially decide to cross-over to the Troop early next year. -Mr. Shenko 

On November 15th all scouts attending the trip to Annapolis showed up at scout cabin at 5:00 PM. It was a beautiful fall night that promised great weather for camping over the weekend. The drive down to our camp sight was roughly 2 hours with mild traffic. Once we arrived at camp, it was apparent the number of troops attending this event, with a field full of various troop’s tents and campers. That said we were fortunate enough to get a campsite that was away from all the commotion. We shared the site with one other troop, and we were a decent ways into the woods. With the first night behind us it was time to head out of camp for breakfast. On this trip we didn’t cook our own food it was already prepared for us to pick up at the cafeteria. This was a nice change of pace and allowed meals to go much smoother. Once everyone was done breakfast we headed off to board our buses that would take us to the Naval Academy. We were guided through the tour by two prior scouts who now attend the academy. We were able to see the expanse of the campus and the impressive buildings and dormitories dotted all over. They also had many monuments and memorials scattered across campus. We also got good looks at the activities offered at the academy such as; swimming, track and field, sailing, basketball, combat sports, and wrestling, just to name a few. After our tour of the school we boarded our buses once more and made our way to the stadium. We made a quick stop for food at the tailgate outside but then made our way in and to our seats. We had a great view of the field from the second floor and everyone was relatively close. The stadium was very lively and packed full of fans. Navy played Tulane and unfortunately lost 35-0. Once back at camp we had some down time before dinner which was chicken that night. Next morning we were up early and ready for the ride back home. We had one last meal before we hit the road and it was eggs, tater-tots and biscuits. The ride back had some impressive scenery of the water and we drove over many bridges. The reception to this trip was overall very positive and a memorable trip.

Thanks,

Cole Abercrombie

This years Cuboree was a blast. We as a troop were able to educate many of cubs on some simple first aid that was used during this time period and is still sometime used today. The cubs were able to get creative on what injuries they had and had fun while doing so. The troop worked well on different shifts and who is working on what. The Boy Scouts came up with creative ways to intertwine fun with first aid with a small game at the end which was an idea that one of the boys came up with on the spot. It worked well like almost everything on the trip and we could tell every cub had a blast!

ASPL, 

Carson K

Due to some storms in the area last week that dropped a lot of debris into the canyons, the Canyoneering portion of the weekend had to be cancelled.  However, we made the best of a tough situation.  The weather was PERFECT and the boys handled the change with remarkable maturity.  I even overheard a scout say, “I like this kind of trip where we have nothing planned and we make it up on the fly, we should do this more often.”  We found a great hike that provided some incredible views and we even got to go to the beach for little while. -Mr. Evans

The trip to Yawgoog Summer Camp started out with a long car drive to Rhode Island, with a stop for lunch at the rest stop. After another hour and a half or so of driving the scouts reached camp Yawgoog.  Once the campsites were set up, Scouts headed up to the dining hall. Dinner service went a little long but the food was good!

The days followed a routine of merit badge classes, lunch, a short break, then off to more merit badges.  Then at dinner there were announcements and some awards were given out like the dandy staff (a staff that was given out to the cleanest campsite, the Scouts that campsite would then be decorated in any fashion). One other thing scouts did was a camp scavenger hunt which involved a search around the entire camp and a questionnaire on the counselors was quite fun.

On Friday there was a merit badge make up day. The whole troop attended the swim carnival, a set of challenges based around swimming, Troop 137 won 2nd Place.  Finally on Saturday camp awards were given out. Troop 137 won an honored troop award and as a collective troop earned 99 merit badges (the most in three-point)

In conclusion, Yawgoog was a fun camp, with lots of scouts liking it and saying that it was a great camp.

-Benjamin N. Shenko

Lots of fish caught and the scouts that went learned about the history of Camp Minsi.
-Mr. Ruff

The troop arrived at the campsite on Friday and got to work setting up canopies and tents. We had originally planned to climb on Saturday, but due to the rain, we had to come up with other options. Some people worked on the prerequisites for the Climbing Merit Badge, some people worked on the Geocaching Merit Badge, and some people took a hike down to the nearby lake. On Sunday we headed down to the climbing spot. There were a total of 3 climbing routes, with each one coming with different challenges. The guides were very helpful with giving advice for both safety and the routes. While the trip was a bit longer than we initially planned, most of the scouts would agree that the trip was worth it.
-Cameron Dustin

Both Troop and Pack 137 arrived early to help clean up the firework debris from the Jaycee’s Country Fair the night before.   Afterwards, we assembled at the Indian Valley Middle school to prepare to march in the parade. The scouts were given bags of candy to toss to the onlooking children along the parade path. When it came to looking good and marching it would appear the scouts had a knack for it because we won a first place trophy for marching!
-Benjamin N. Shenko

7 scouts completed an 8 mile hike at Valley Forge.  As a troop we raised over $350 for the Hike-a-thon.
-Mr. Evans

We arrived to camp with a light mist in the air.  The canopies went up rather slowly but tents went up fast and the scouts were in bed quickly.  Wake up time was 6AM so that we could eat breakfast, clean up and get ready for a four hour bike ride.  At around 8AM we left camp on our bikes to the Gettysburg Museum where scouts watched an informative documentary about Gettysburg and viewed a cyclorama of Pickett's Charge. 

At about 11AM we made our way down to the meeting spot for our guide. We began the bike ride around Gettysburg viewing everything it had to offer and seeing countless beautiful monuments. Once the tour was over we rode down to Friendly’s to get some ice cream!  Afterwards, we arrived back at camp and went over to play mini golf at the small course they had.

On the last day we packed up and headed down to the Eisenhower House. We toured his estate and house where we saw their fashion choices and what a day to day life might look like. Overall it was a great trip and the scouts loved it.

-Benjamin N. Shenko

Scouts and Cub Scouts from Pack 137 started to arrive at 9:00 AM to start the stream clean up. We then split into groups of two with half the groups going up stream and half going down steam. Many pieces of trash were found and we had over 10 full bags of trash collected. It then ended with a group photo and some laughs at the funny things we found.
-Benjamin N. Shenko

When the scouts arrived we went down to the marked area for our testing.  Then judges came by and gave us scenarios and asked to explain and demonstrate what to do for each. Some scenarios were a broken ankle, smoke inhalation and a head injury.  When the scores were announced Troop 137 had won 2nd Place in the Junior division.
-Benjamin N. Shenko

The annual Klondike started out with an early morning breakfast, with the scouts leaving camp at 7:45 AM. The scouts arrived at the parade grounds with their sleds for the opening ceremony.  Afterwards, it was a race to the different stations to earn points. Within each activity the scouts demonstrated handicraft skills, friendship, teamwork and competitiveness while also learning various skills at each station. The day ended with a sled race with each team getting their own time to complete on the track

Overall it was a great time, and Troop 137 won two awards!
-Benjamin N. Shenko

Scouts gathered early on a frigid Saturday morning for a Waterfall Ice Hike! It was a two hour drive out to the mountains at Ricketts Glen State Park.  Once we arrived the scouts got on their gear and were assisted with any equipment issues, but overall it went well. We then took the short hike down to the entrance of the trail and our guide advised on what difficulties to expect, giving a general overview of the hike.

We then started our hike, descending with ease.  After about a mile, we started seeing numerous waterfalls with some truly spectacular sights. We stopped for lunch with some unique troubles - multiple scouts had frozen water bottles and some rock hard food. Then after about 30 minutes we started hiking again, this time ascending which took far longer and was much harder.  The sights were even better, and it was during this part we saw the biggest waterfall of the hike.  It was 98 feet tall and was a spectacle! The hike was 4.5 miles in total, but it certainly felt longer - yet overall it was a great hiking experience

-Benjamin N. Shenko