The Troop Photo Gallery has been updated with photos from Dennis P‘s Eagle project and Eagle Court of Honor.  Also added were photos from the May 2009 Court of Honor, which were inadvertently overlooked.

Please check our newly updated Calendar on the Troop website.  If you use a Google calendar, you can even upload the events to your own calendar.  Click on any event to see full details.  Not only can you see the outings, but also view the topics that will be covered at each Troop meeting.  If you have any additions or corrections to the calendar, please send them to nmhopkins1@comcast.net.

Troop 24 will be traveling to Mammoth Cave National Park on Saturday, March 27, and returning on Wednesday, March 31.  Parents and siblings (1st grade or older) are also welcome to attend.  Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world’s longest known cave system, with more than 367 miles explored.  We will be camping at the National Park or a nearby Scout Camp.  Activities will include multiple guided hikes through the cave complex, exploring other sites at the 52,800 acre National Park and a visit to the Corvette Museum.  Scouts who are going without a parent must have attended at least one overnight camping trip with the Troop.  All those attending should be able to hike at least five miles.

CORRECTION:  The date of the Pinewood Derby is Saturday, January 30!

Pack 24 is in need of some Boy Scout assistance (scouts 8th grade or older, or 1st Class & above) for Pinewood Derby on Saturday, January 30. Service hours are available for these shifts:

8:00-9:00 Help carry tables to the gym (4 scouts)
12:00-2:00 Assist with race (4 scouts)
2:00-4:00 Assist with race (4 scouts)

Please contact Nancy Hopkins at nmhopkins1@comcast.net to volunteer.

Pack 24 invites all boy scouts to their annual family roller skating party on Sunday, February 7, 4:30-6:30 p.m., at Fleetwood Roller Rink in Summit. Admission is free, complements of Pack 24. You can bring your own skates or rent skates for $2.50. The snack bar will be open. For more information, contact Nancy Hopkins.

Troop 24 is planning a overnight outing to the Muskegon Luge, Saturday, January 30 – Sunday, January 31. We will leave from Riverside Presbyterian Church between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. (time will be announced at a later date) and return to RPC between noon and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. The cost is $55. Permission slip, money, and waiver are due by Thursday, January 21. Scouts are cautioned not to wear nylon or brand new coats as their sleeves could rub as they go down the luge. Scouts will stay overnight at a local hotel.

Troop 24 is planning a volunteer opportunity repackaging food at the Greater Chicago Food Depository on Wednesday, February 3. Scouts must be at least 13 years of age to attend. Each scout attending can earn 3 service hours. We will leave from Riverside Presbyterian Church at 5:15 p.m. and return to RPC by approximately 9:30 p.m. There is no cost. The permission slip is due by Thursday, January 21. Scouts should wear their Class A uniforms without hats or neckerchiefs. We need one parent for every 4 Scouts attending, so if you are interested in driving and chaperoning, please sign up. Contact Dawn Gmitro with any questions

Riverside Presbyterian Church, our charter organization since 1939, invites you to attend RPC on Scout Sunday, February 7. The sermon for Scout Sunday, “A Boy Scout is Brave,” is taken from Isaiah 6:1-8.  How is Isaiah similar to a Boy Scout? In Scouting, kids learn new skills and are asked to try new things, including leadership positions. Isaiah speaks of feeling unsure and under-qualified to become a prophet, yet he follows God’s call anyway. RPC’s service begins at 10:00 a.m. Scouts will serve as ushers, acolyte, and liturgists.

The Boy Scouts of America annually celebrates its founding on February 8, 1910, based on the program started by Lord Baden Powell in England in 1907. Scout Sunday was added to the Scout celebration in the middle 1940s. Scout Sunday is always the Sunday preceding February 8. The Scout Sunday tradition was started to make people in houses of worship aware of Scouting, and to allow Scouts to live out their “Duty to God” pledged each week. The Scout Law says that a “Scout is Reverent” and the Scouts of all ages promise to do their “Duty to God”.

Troop 24 will be participating in the Voyageur Trace Klondike Derby in Bemis Woods South, Western Springs, on Saturday, February 13. We will leave from Riverside Presbyterian Church at 8:00 a.m. and return to RPC by 3:00 p.m.
The cost per boy is $6.50, due with permission slip no later than Thursday, January 28.

A Klondike derby is an annual event held by some Boy Scout districts during the winter months and is based on the heritage of the Klondike Gold Rush. BSA units have been running Klondike derbies since 1949. The event varies by district, but the typical Klondike derby consists of a series of stations where units must test their Scoutcraft skills and their leadership abilities, earning points towards a total score. The unit must transport their gear on a dog sled, usually self-constructed and pulled by the Scouts. For photos of the 2008 Klondike Derby, please visit our photo gallery.

We leave for Eagle Cave on Friday, January 15, at 5:30 from Riverside Presbyterian Church! Your scout should bring a sleeping bag, extra clothes, a flash light, money (there is a store there, and they may be stopping to eat on the way home), a garbage bag to put wet clothes in, and plastic to put under and over their sleeping bag (Important!). A ground cloth, a tarp, an old shower curtain–something to keep their sleeping bag dry, because it is a cave. If there is snow, they can go sledding, so they should bring snow clothes. There will likely be room for small sleds, if your scout would like to bring one. That determination will be made at the time of loading, by the drivers.