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Camp Bell 2011 -- Click for Album

In the first two editions of the Camp Bell Blog, we stated to tell the story of a dark secret that few were willing to talk about and most denied.  Yes, I am talking about Manny the Lake Monster who lurks at the bottom of Lake Manning. There are several different events that have to get tied together here because I was unable to post due to the lack of bandwidth. However, I will try to fill in all of the blank spaces from the previous two updates. The final piece of the story was sent to me just moments ago from an anonymous source.  Thank Helen.

By now, most everyone knows that Dion V.  was involved in a terrible water tubing accident on Tuesday that nearly claimed his finger.  Luckily it was only broken, but questions remained about what caused the accident. Dion said that he was just holding for dear life because the boat driver apparently went crazy and started driving erratically at full throttle

For his part the Boat driver would only say that was “big and coming straight for us…” before going to a catatonic state and being taken away by some nice men in white coats. Adding to the mystery was the fact that he was never seen again.

Then on Wednesday, Manny was sighted yet again off the coast of Camp Bell. Black helicopters had also been seen patrolling the lake area during daylight hours but no explanation was given. Locals claim that the something tried to attack a swimmer on the Gilmanton side of the lake and there were reports of a large shadow under the water moving at high speed.

Scouts on camp bell side of the lake immediately began to arm themselves with the knives that the staff had been encouraging them to make all week and many of the younger scouts were seen whittling pointy sticks for no explainable reason. Later they found several logs that appeared to be chewed up but local fish and game officials said that they were beaver logs that were left to float. Paul W. said it must have been one large beaver plus no one could satisfactorily explain what happened to all the beavers. Most of the scouts suspect that it is all part of a massive cover up.

By Thursday, the reports of monster sighting had stopped for no reason and the black helicopters were gone.  That night the commissary sent large pieces of meat to all of the camp sites for dinner. Jack C. and Jacob D. both commented on how large they were. Then they cooked it in a Dutch oven with potatoes and onions. Noah G. said that it looked like beef but kind of tasted like fish.  Again no explanation was given.

By Friday, the camp was mostly calm. Both Jack C. and Jacob D. planned to go fishing for the monster but decided that they needed bigger fishing rods. Everyone spent the last day sailing on the lake with not one unusual thing to report.  By evening it was raining but the camp wide BBQ and camp fire went on albeit in the circus tent.  The highlight of the camp fire was the skit put together by Ross B. and Britton J. who went sliding out of the circus tent on an unexpected wave of mud. It was good stuff and everyone had a good time as they put the week into perspective.

 So what happened to Manny and what meat were we sent on Thursday night.  All anyone would say is that only the Camp Director could address that.  And all Silas would say was that local authorities have all the information and he could not comment.

 I was ready to give up when I received this picture by email this morning.

Click for Larger Image

It seems to answer the question about what happened to Dion’s boat at any rate.  As to what happened to Manny, what was served for dinner on Thursday, and the other questions that came up over the week?  We may never know those answers, at least not until next year.   Yes we are scheduled for week 5 at Hidden Valley in 2012.

I would like to thank Paul Winkley and Rich Henderson who gave up their time to be with the scouts this week.  I would also like to thank Silas St. James and the Camp Bell staff who really did a super fantastic job with the camp and program.  Camp Bell is truly a one in a kind of Scout Camp experience.  Thank you to everyone who made it a great week.

 

 

We do not like to alarm parents with hyperbolic headlines that sensationalize the daily life of their scouts…. Okay, we do but it does appear that the Manning Lake Monster has struck down another unsuspecting scout in the prime of camp.
 

Now, you may recall, that the Manning Lake Monster is locally known as Manny by those in the know and have been seen lurking in Lake Manning as long ago as Sunday although some of the older residents claim to have seen him on several occasions last week.  State officials stress that there is no evidence of a hideous monster lurking in the lake, but they also deny the existence of Big Foot, Unicorns, UFOs, the Lake Champlain Monster, and Honest Politicians as well so there is no surprise there.  The Monster Quest team spent several minutes filming a documentary about Manny but as in every other episode of their show came away with nothing but shamless commercial endorsements. So the mystery remains.

Unfortunately the Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) prevents me from disclosing the name of the scout attacked by Manny and exactly which appendages were cruelly ripped off. Nurse Helen worked through out the night to reassemble the scout using nothing but duct tape. Dion said that it was just increadible to watch her work.  We can now report that scout has in fact survived and most likely has not suffered any permanent damage although biologists are concerned about any toxic affect that the scout may have had on Manny…

In other news we have survived day two more or less intact. The torrential downpour has given us the opportunity to repair the leaks in the camp’s tents for them.  Today the Ghost Buster patrol worked in the Blacksmith shop for the day while the Awkward Silence patrol went water skiing and tubing.  The weather was consistently good, except for when it was not.  Rain was followed by sun, followed by rain, followed by more rain, followed by yet more rain, and finally followed by darkness. We anticipate the darkness to be followed by light but who can say for sure.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, the midway point.  In all seriousness, the scouts have really worked together as a group.  Sorry there are no pictures today but we will be posting them as soon as we overcome some technological challenges here at Camp Bell.

So what happened to the scout nearly devoured by Manny the lake monster, did the scout make Manny sick, is Manny real or just made up by a bored scoutmaster. The half answers to these questions may or may not be answered in tomorrow’s edition of the Troop 200 Blog so please check back.

West Point

Click to See Pictures    More Pictures Courtesy of Heiner Luxem:

http://picasaweb.google.com/uhluxem/Troop200TripToWestPointNewYork02?authkey=Gv1sRgCKSwndfQ-9D-zQE&feat=directlink

Troop 200 just completed its most ambitious trip maybe ever.  The troop spent the weekend at the United States Military Academy at West Point New York and New York City.  To get there we drove 297 miles on the first night with the promise of staying in a Luxury “heated” Cabin on Camp Pouch, Staten Island. Did I mention the Blizzard earlier that day….

Well the Snow was wild dumping over six inches of Snow on Newmarket before blowing out to sea.  By 3:00pm, however,  the sun was out and the roads were clear so we decided to leave as scheduled.  297 miles is a long way but we made it without any problems traffic was even light for the most part although NY tolls were heavy.

As it turned out, our luxury “heated” cabin was almost a mile into the camp and we could not drive to it. Now for the over achievers who picked up on 297 miles and left on schedule ay 5:pm have already figured out that it was midnight when we got to the Camp.  The same over achievers probably figures that it took an hour to check in, unload, and get to the cabin. Did I mention that it was about 5 degrees outside. Needless to say, we hiked to the cabin looking forward to the blast of warm air as we opened the door… No warm air the heaters were off.  Not only were they off but one was not even working.  Needless to say, everyone was cold.

However, scouts are always prepared and Mr. Winkley with the help of the scouts got a fire going in the fire place and then we fixed the broken heater and got it going. And although, it was not toasty warm it was warm enough to sleep comfortably… more or less.

The next morning, Uli was up early and making breakfast. Egg sandwiches if you must know and they were good.  Then the scouts packed their lunches and we were off to West Point.

We spent the afternoon at the museum.  There were lots of things to see.  I could have spent all day there but some of the scouts were getting restless, so we stopped for pizza and then went to the game.

The game was great, Army vs. Navy is one of the biggest rivalries in sports. And besides me, who does not like basketball? The truth is the game was exciting right up until the end when Army squandered their first period lead and lost the game in the last few seconds.

Then we traveled back to the Cabin and this time it was warm.  We made sure the heat was on. The next day, Mr. Huber made pancakes and sausage for breakfast.  We loaded up and moved out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Now here is where things get a little strange.  Three of four cars made it to Liberty State Park.  But, one car did not. While the rest of us were on the MLK express way, Kelly and Mark were in the Holland Tunnel. I don’t want to say they were lost in New York but…

To make a long story short, we all linked up on Liberty Island.  For the scouts who had never been there before it was awe inspiring… For those of us who have been there before it was still awe inspiring.

Well that is the story of the weekend. We made it home safe with most of the scouts we left with. Snow storm, frigid temps, cold cabin, and 600 miles of driving. It was a great time... other than Army losing to Navy… again.  

This kind of trip is what scouting is all about.  I hope that everon had a great time, I did. Don’t forget to check out the pictures

Greetings,

Just a quick before meeting information blast.

First off, for everyone who came to Peter's Court of Honor, thank you. It was a great night and scout participation always makes it better. The BLOG Entry is now posted along with a link to the pictures.

In order to help with information flow, and to make sure that you all can get the latest and greatest, I am reconfiguring the Website and will post information updates to the BLOG Page, the BLOG will become the home screen for the site. Even better, you can sign up as a BLOG subscriber and never miss out on the latest news, stories and pictures.  I will be discontinuing trying to update the home page with information because it is time consuming and difficult to keep up on, plus, I still have to send out an email to let you know that I updated the site. So, hopefully, this will make life easier and reduce Scout spam in your mail boxes. Also, Thank you Peter for offering to take over as the troop webmaster... That will be a big help. Also, Webmaster is now a youth leadership position... anyone interested?

Next,  please bring any permission slips for this weekends trip to the meeting tonight.

We have moved departure back to 5:00 to better accommodate schedules and give tomorrow's snow time to clear out.  The current storm track as the snow ending in our area by mid-afternoon according to the National Weather Service. If you need to make different arraignments for the permissions slips let me know.  I just need an accurate head count for when we buy food.

Tonight, I would like all of the drivers to come to the meeting start.  We will have a quick huddle, go over the route, phone numbers and other stuff so that we don't have to deal with it tomorrow.

We have all of the details from west point now and will review and update the itinerary with the scouts tonight.

Also, wish Alex and Brett luck, both of them interviewed for positions at Griswald Scout Reservation on Wednesday night.  It would be great for both them and the troop if they get the opportunity.

And, just in case it is not one of your favorites, troop website is: www.troop200nh.org and remember to subscribe to the BLOG.

See you tonight.

Click to view pictures courtesy of Heiner Luxem

Saturday, January, 15th 2011, Boy Scout Troop 200 officially recognized it's newest Eagle Scout, Peter Bergeron.

 

This is no small accomplishment. As was pointed out by several of the speakers, less than four percent of all scouts achieve the rank of Eagle. Needless to say, Peter worked had and had the support of his family and friends to make this happen.

 

To earn Eagle, a scout has to complete 21 merit badges and a service project. Every Eagle applicants service project has to approved by a district level committee in advance. Peter's proposal Was one of the more unique ones submitted and the Committee was very interested to see how it was going to develop.

 

Peter decided to create a fly fishing school at the Newmarket recreation department. He worked many hours with Jim Hilton and the recreation department staff as well as Luther sporting ad fishing groups to make it happen. In addition to teaching kids how to tie flies and fly fish, Peter also designed and built a movable storage cabin ate for all of the fly fishing equipment. In total this project was close to 300 hours of effort. The average project is 150 hours.

 

At his court of honor, Peter recognized several people for their contributions.  First and foremost, he recognized his parents for "giving birth to him." it should be noted that this was a very significant event in Peter's life. It is also fair to say that Peter's parents probably made some other contributions as well along the way.

 

In addition to his Parents, Peter also recognized Mr. Jim Hilton from The Newmarket Recreation Department and Mr. Ralph Huber as Eagle Scout Mentors and presented them with the Mentor's Pin.

 

In addition to receiving the Eagle Rank Badges, Peter also received commendations from the President of the United Sates, the Governor of New Hampshire, and several other influential people including T.V. Star Mr. Mike Rowe who sent a genuine form letter with a message for achieving success in the future. or, as Mike Rowe put it,  how to avoid becoming a "human form letter"

 

In the end, it was a great celebration and very rewarding to see a scout work hard and achieve success. now the only question remains? Who is the next Eagle Scout from Troop 200?

Roast Pork with Newmarket Cranberry Kraut

When I was a scout, growing up in Ohio, pork with kraut was a New Year's Eve tradition. I developed this recipe for New Years Eve 2011. If you like sour kraut, you will like this.  It is suprisingly good, give it a try.

Ralph
 

Ingredients

 

lb (more or less) pork loin

 

1 two lb bag fresh sour kraut rinsed (don't use canned)

 

1 bag fresh cranberries

 

1 medium size onion

 

3 apples cut up  (pie sized)

 

1/2 cup sugar

 

1/4 cup maple syrup

 

Garlic powder

 

Salt

 

Directions

 

Heat oven to 350

 

Dry rub pork with garlic and Salt

 

Place in covered pot and roast for 1 hour

 

While meat is roasting...

 

Saute onion and apples, when the onions start to turn clear add the cranberries and continue to saute until the cranberries pop.

 

Turn off heat and add the kraut to the sauted fruit and mix.

 

Add maple syrup and sugar to taste. You do not want it either too sweet or sour. Brown sugar can be used too.

 

Add the kraut mixture to the pork roast and continue baking for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let bake uncovered for last 30 minutes.

 

Let meat rest uncovered for 10 minutes when done.

 

Enjoy.

Scouting For Food 2010

I just wanted to thank everyone who helped out with Scouting for Food on Saturday. It was a great event and the district collected 25,224 items and shipped out over 480 boxes to the local food pantries.

Special  thanks go to Daniel and Ross who helped out to the very end and also to Alex, Jason, Britton, Brett, and Conner who helped out most of the day.

The adults were not to be out done... Thank you to both Mr. Baker and Brie H. For spending their time helping.  Mr. Baker was of course the life of the event moving the people in to load and unload and Brie, Connor, and Jason were quite the team packing boxes Great job all.

Of course it would be nice to take all of the credit for the event but the truth is that this is one of the largest food drives in the nation.  It involved months of planning at all levels. And in just our District, it involved over 20 Scout Troops and 75 volunteers at the Armory on collection day. It is a huge undertaking and nice to be part of the effort.

There was a nice write up in the Portsmouth Herald today. You can view it at:

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101114/NEWS/11140331&emailAFriend=1

Of course we are not done yet, do not forget to bring any canned goods that you have collected to the Court of Honor so that we can distribute them to the Food Pantry here in town.

Thank you for your help and support.

From Patuckaway 2010

This recipe served 15 people with a few servings left over.

Ingredients

7 lbs beef cubed for stew

3 lbs pork cubed for stew

5 Plabano or Anahiem Chili peppers (canned will work too)

3 cans black beans

2 tubes of biscuits (16 large biscuts) (or better yet, make your own)

3 lbs onions

3 lbs apples

2 lbs carrots

Seasoning: Garlic salt, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, parsley, salt & pepper

pre-heat a large dutch oven, for this size crew we used a 20 quart dutch oven. Brown the meat and add the onions & peppers as it is nearing completion.  Then season to taste and add the carrots and beans and water (or other fluid) if needed. Let simmer on medium heat for about an hour or so.  Then add the apples and let simmer for another 30 minutes. Once everything is tender and the stew has started to thicken, lay the biscuits over the top.  Make sure you have plenty of coals over the top so that they brown . This makes a biscuit crust over the top of the stew. If you are making this on your stove top, the biscuits will not brown but will be more like dumplings... also good. When everything is done -- serve and enjoy.

Patuckaway 2010

On October 16th the troop set out on what turned out to be an 11 mile hike through the Patuckaway Mountain Range.  And, I want to be quick to point out, despite any accusations to the contrary, not one scouts feet actually fell of during the ordeal. That is right... none.

It was a great day for a long hike.  It was sunny out and the temperature was perfect for the trek.  The hike started out as always,  scouts hoping for a short hike and the adults being somewhat vague about the actual distance involved.  To be fair, the adults only had a vague idea about the actual distance anyway. Our standard line was about 6 miles from trail start to finish.

Now, the Patuckaway mountains are a particular type of mountain formation called a ring dyke.  A ring dyke is a volcanic formation -- essentially the remnants of an extinct volcano. Take a look at an areal photograph of Patuckaway and you can see it very clearly. of course the area is covered with an abundance of volcanic rocks some small enough to put in your pocket and some big enough to climb.  I know at least one of the scouts is going to say... "but, Mr. Huber, all we found was granite."  And, that would be correct because granite is a igneous rock formed by the cooling and solidification of magma... ergo it is a volcanic rock. NH is called  the Granite State because of the large quantities of granite found here. So this region was once geologically active with many volcanoes and seismic zones. If you go online to google maps and look at the Ossipee Mountains, you will see another Ring Dyke formation this one much larger than Patuckaway with clear lava flows coming out of it.

Anyway to make a long story short, the last time we did this particular hike was about three years ago.  The trail is only about 6.5 miles long from start to finish.  However, the hike to the start point was about a mile, and another half to go to the water point, fill up the canteens and use the latrine, then add 2 more mile to get back to the camp site from where the trail ends, and another two miles for attempting to summit the mountain and losing the trail and there you have it about 11 miles.

Make sure you check out the pictures.  Thee are not to many but there is a nice group shot from from the fire tower on top of South Mountain.  Every scout made it to the top and climbed the tower.  At least one scout was challenged by the height but he made it up with everyone else.  Good job Britton.

When we returned to camp, the order of business was fire and food. The plan called for scouts to make beef stew and the adults to make their own dinner. However, due to the hour and level of hunger, everyone agreed to combine resources and make one big meal using the combined ingredients.  The end result was a new recipe that the scouts coined Patuckaway Death March Stew. It is important to point out that despite any allegations to the contrary, no scouts actually died on the "Death March". The recipe will be posted to the BLOG page as well.  As with all of our recipes, they are written for the average patrol but can be scaled down to family size and still taste good.

Sunday was the normal pack up and go.  The scout had plenty of time to enjoy themselves with their own activities. followed by emptying, cleaning, and repacking the trailer. Not the most fun task for the weekend but one that was long over due.

All in all it was a great weekend.  We saw rain, wind, and sun.  We hiked and climbed mountains, explored a volcano, ate well and had fun.  What more can you ask for?  Life is good.