I have two major updates for this weekend. Saturday will be the final day of Brock's eagle project. Sunday we have a day hike at Cantigny military park.
This troop update is a little later than normal because I spent all day with Brock and his family working on his Eagle project. I want to thank everyone who had time to stop by at some point during Saturday evening and today. We got the building stripped, sanded and painted with only a few sections left to do. Brock will probably be having another work day in the near future so if you have the ability to help him out I strongly suggest you come out and do so. Service hours performed over at Camp Kane are eligible for use in rank advancements and merit badges.
Monday's meeting 9 - 7
This Monday we will be meeting at Good Templar Park at 6p rather than 7p. It will be a challenge but hopefully this change will allow us to hold a meeting while staying ahead of the dark. This meeting will pertain to what we will be doing next weekend and what date we pick for the Wisconsin bike trip.
The original idea for our end of the month trip was to go out to Galena for a camp out weekend which turned into a day trip. If there are not enough participants for that, we can pick a different outing. It is not the place that we go to that matters. It is only that our troop is able to go to some place and do something.
The gentleman that I spoke to at Fort Mccoy in Sparta Wisconsin said that most weekends in October were wide open for campers. The original date for the bike trip was supposed to be the 16th 17th and 18th of the month. If a majority of potential participants are going to be out of town that weekend but not the weekend prior or after we will switch around some dates so as many people as possible have the chance to participate.
Fall Wreath and Popcorn Sales.
As we all know it is now time for popcorn and a wreath sales for the troop. Because 2020 has been the strangest year in living memory we are going to be streamlining our fall sale season to something a little more compact. Unfortunately we will not be participating in the popcorn sales this season. Instead we will be focusing mainly on our Christmas wreath sale. Get the 411 at Monday's meeting.
Last night I received this message from Brock pertaining to his Eagle project. If you can help out this weekend at all any little bet would help. These are log-able service hours for rank advancement and the citizenship in the community merit badge.
This week we have a lot of info and some really good news on the fall / winter meetings front. Some of these sections have been updated and/or re-posted from earlier newsletters. I have made updated headliners to let you know which ones are older or more current. Tomorrow evening will be our Zoom P.L.C. and Tuesday will be the Zoom C.M. I'm going to start tonight off with an eagle project notice.
Brock D Eagle Project
Brock has received the green light to begin his Eagle project. This Saturday (9 -19) at 3p to 7p and again on Sunday (9-20) from 8:00 a.m. To 5P. His project will be at the Camp Kane Historical Site in lingam park, East Side off of Riverside Ave. He will be refurbishing and repainting the 1840s law office.
2nd Monday P.L.C. and C.M.
The Patrol Leaders Council meeting this month (September 14th) will be on the Zoom account and the Committee Meeting will be moved to Tuesday the 15th also on Zoom. The P.L.C link will be sent out Monday afternoon. You can also check the troop calendar for the meeting link. It is already posted there. The link for the C.M. will be sent out Tuesday morning and again check the website calendar for links.
September Calendar - "re-posted from last week"
We all know that this fall and winter seasons will be very strange compared to what we are used to. In an attempt to keep us going down the road of In person meetings we will be meeting at Good Temper Park at 6:00 for the September 21st and September 28th meetings. I hope that since these are outdoor meetings, bumping up the time by an hour will allow us to use all daylight possible before it starts getting dark.
Tonight's newsletter will be longer than a lot of the others. The 1st half will be going over the fall popcorn / wreath sales and our fall activity lineup. The 2nd half I will be talking about our fall into winter meetings. If you have already read my letter from Friday you can skip to the end after I go over the field outings.
Monday's meeting 9 - 7
Because tomorrow is Labor Day and because we usually take that off there will not be a scout meeting. Enjoy your night off and do something productive or kind for somebody else.
Fall Wreath and Popcorn Sales.
As we all know it is now time for popcorn and a wreath sales for the troop. Because 2020 has been the strangest year in living memory we are going to be streamlining our fall sale season to something a little more compact. Unfortunately we will not be participating in the popcorn sales this season. Instead we will be focusing mainly on our Christmas wreath sale. We hope to have all of the details ready to go by the September committee meeting.
Fall Field Trips / Outings Trips
As everyone here is aware most of our spring and summer plans were terminated by current events. With most of the area in some form of reopening we just may have a chance to resurrect a fairly good Q-4 field outings. As I have said in the past keep checking our website calendar for details and updates as things open up or become available to us. Here is a heads up for what I hope to bring to everyone in the next few weeks (fingers crossed).
Friday September 18
The Camp Kane organization has invited us to a meet and greet with the 8th Illinois Cavalry reenactors over at Langan Park (West side off of 25). This will allow the boys to get to know more about this organization, what they do and how we can team up with them. One of the things that I have always wanted to do is become more educated on St. Charles's past. By joining up with the Camp Kane foundation we finally have the ability to do that. Through the Camp Kane foundation we can learn more about St. Charles's history and the Fox Valley area before, during and after the Civil War.
Saturday September 19
The Camp Kane foundation will be holding a public Civil War encampment at Camp Kane from 9a to 3p. They have invited our troop to participate and help them out. The boys will be able to rack up some service hours and become a little more educated in St.Charles history. As most of the boys know by now we have a miniature cannon at our disposal. Fingers crossed we may be able to use it this weekend in a demonstration.
Saturday September 26
After one heck of a year and a lot of inability to do things we will be going out to Galena for a day trip and hike. The boys will be able to work on rank advancements and get out and about for the day.
Friday thru Sunday October 16 - 18
We will be traveling up to Fort Mccoy in Southern Wisconsin and hiking/biking on the Elroy Sparta bike trail. This will be a straightforward and easy camp out. Let's go get back outside with a back to basics camp out.
November-ish, For November I hope to schedule a time at Cantigny where we can tour the museum and grounds for a day outing. We haven't been there in a long time and it's about time that we as a troop go back. Other day trips will follow whether they be a hike on the bike path, a trip out to Brookfield Zoo or something completely different.
Meetings this fall, if you have already read this portion you can stop here.
Fall Meetings
I have received word from St. Marks Church that for the time being all outside groups are prohibited from using the church. At this time scout troops would be considered an outside group. This decision is not only pertaining to St. Mark's Church but all churches in the area. This also means that our ability to meet at the church has been put on hold for this fall into the winter season.
September Calendar
We all know that this fall and winter seasons will be very strange compared to what we are used to. In an attempt to keep us going down the road of In person meetings we will be meeting at Good Temper Park at 6:00 for the September 21st and September 28th meetings. I hope that since these are outdoor meetings, bumping up the time by an hour will allow us to use all daylight possible before it starts getting dark. The P.L.C. this month (September 14th) will be on the Zoom account and the committee meeting will be moved to Tuesday the 15th also on Zoom. Both Joyce and I will be out of town helping family that weekend and thought it better and easier to do the P. L.C. & C.M. online.
Into October
As we get closer to October we will have to go back inside. I think I may have found a solution for our meeting venue issue. The Campton Township Community Center Is hosting people for the fall into winter season. Their pricing is $20 for the full day use. Their pricing is a lot more flexible for long forum meetings and merit badges during our inside meetings. The drawback in using the Campton Center is we would have to move our meeting day to either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. In all honesty a weekend meeting could theoretically be a fun pastime if there are no extra curricular activities through District 303. It keeps everybody busy and away from idle hands.
The troop has not had to meet on a weekend in a very long time but it is not unprecedented. Having a location that we can use on a weekly basis without any extra permissions is exactly what the troop needs going into the winter. If any member of the troop has an alternative solution or has the ability to host the troop for standard Monday meeting(s) please let me know. As the programming director I am definitely not opposed to ideas and other solutions.
I am hoping to come up with the schedule that will be able to accommodate everyone as much as possible, even if we have to switch over to a weekend meeting. I do not believe it will detract from our troops' passion for scouting. After you read this please let me know what your option would be. We need to lock in a reservation as soon as possible to make sure that we have a meeting location throughout the fall and winter
I hope everyone is having a safe and leisurely Labor Day weekend. As we all know scouts don't stop and because we don't have a meeting this Monday I will be sending out three letters over the next few days. The 1st letter will be going over our fall meetings. The 2nd will be camp-outs and outings and the 3rd will be popcorn and wreath sales. There is a lot to go over.
