Happy Birthday Tim M

Drum Corps reminder

The Drum Corps will be performing at the Pack 2 Blue and Gold banquet on Saturday, April 2.


Scouts should arrive in full uniform on Saturday evening at 5:30 PM, at the Immaculate Conception Church Parish Center. Dinner will be provided by the Cub Scouts.

Please let Mr. Chase know if you will not be able to attend this event.

A "Good Scouting" Trip South in 1954

An interesting story from our archives, this one from 1954.

Mr. Pratt had a program in the troop in those years which rewarded scouts who showed "Good Scouting" throughout the year with participation in various trips across the Continental US and Canada.

The trip in 1954 is documented in the Scout News from September of that year.

Six scouts joined Mr. Pratt on this trip - Ronald Parry, Haig Alemian, Fred Belcher, Raymond Tourigny, William Gunville, and Kenneth Sherman.

They left home on June 25th, traveling south to spend the first night at Camp Horseshoe, near Rising Sun, Maryland. They spent the next two days in Washington DC seeing the sites, and even witnessed a hurricane during their stay. (Most likely part of Hurricane Alice. This was a very active hurricane year as people may recall, including Hurricanes Carol and Edna which struck New England later that summer).

They proceeded further south over the next few days, through Virginia, visiting Roanoke Island, Kitty Hawk, and on to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where an emergency struck. Ron Parry had a sudden attack of appendicitis, which required a wild midnight ride with police escort to Conway, about fifteen miles away from Myrtle Beach. A they traveled to that hospital they had to pass through an area that was actively fighting a forest fire on both sides of the road for almost 6 miles. Ron was operated on immediately, and recuperated for 4 days in the hospital there.

The scouts camped in Myrtle Beach while awaiting Ron's discharge, at a beautiful camp on the beach. After Ron's discharge the scouts traveled further south to the remains of Dorchester Fort, between Charleston and Summerville, South Carolina. This was an old ruined town settled about 1695 by a missionary company from Dorchester and Weymouth, Mass. All that remained at that time were the walls of the fort, a ruined church tower, and a spooky cemetery. The following day the scouts proceeded into Florida, visiting the Okefenokee Swamp, staying near Jacksonville. The scouts continued all the way south to Daytona Beach, Orlando, and St. Cloud, staying with the Ford family there. The return trip began July 13th, with a loop north along the gulf coast to Pensacola, north through Alabama and into Chattanooga, where they went to the top of Lookout Mountain, followed by a winding ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway with a stop at Chimney Rock and the Shenandoah National Park through Virgina, a stop in Gettysburg July 20th, and a final 370 mile stretch back to Weymouth, arriving home July 21st.

Some photos of this trip are below.

March Campout Recap

A cool day at Valley Pines, followed by a cold night. Several Life scouts braved the elements to sleep under the stars around the campfire, and many other scouts kept warm in tents. A few found the cold too much to take and opted for the cabin in the middle of the night.

Food was cooked by all scouts on an open fire, and included meats, potatoes and corn, pancakes, eggs and bacon, many soups, and some dutch oven work, producing cornbread and chocolate chip muffins.

When we arrived at Valley Pines there were two immediate priorities - removal of a few broken limbs from the road, and removal of hanging trees that broke over the winter. Another dilemma - lack of firewood. Thankfully Mr. Kelley brought along a splitter, and the wood that was prepared in the fall near the old campfire circle was able to be split and stacked with help from the scouts and adults, including Mr. Chase, Mr. Stronach, Mr. Keenan, and Mr. Kelley. Mr Schneider helped us with the large pine tree that broke off near the pump, and Mr. Wallace came late in the day with coffee and a smile to join us for dinner.

After the work was done and the winter wreckage was cleared, and the logs split and stacked, it was apparent we have enough wood for the season.


Scouts who spent the night were up and out by 8 AM.

Thanks to all who attended for their good cheer. Fun was had by all!

Our next campout is April 16th, and celebrates 100 years of scouting for our troop. This will be the first campout with newly crossed over scouts.

Some photos are below.

Weekend Campout at VP - March 26-27, with historic perspective included

Reminder - we have a campout this weekend at Valley Pines. Scouts should arrive at the camp ground after 9 AM. Cooking as usual on an open fire. The troop will provide tents. Activities will include spring cleanup and wood chopping.

Although we received a dusting of snow, and weather this weekend is forecasted to be sunny and cold, it's not unusual conditions for camping. Several photos of spring campouts from the 1960's are shown below. One memorable campout over the Easter weekend in April included several inches of snow and cold conditions.

Before and After shot, February 21 1956

One of the nice things we've got are candid shots. In many cases there are a half dozen or more shots of the same group photo, as the scouts set up and clown around. Looking back at these we're fortunate to be able to see these young men in a lighter moment, and it gives a great opportunity to reflect on just what they were doing or thinking at that time.

The two photos below are from a campout at Valley Pines in 1956. This was held during the school vacation week, and when they arrived on Sunday afternoon there was four inches of snow on the ground. The scouts had to first clear the snow in order to put up their tents, and then they cooked and camped by patrols. All of the first afternoon and evening was spent setting up tents, cutting firewood and cooking supper. The first night is reported to have been a typical stay up late night, and very few scouts got any sleep.

Monday night there were skits, and the meeting was held there as well. Rank advancement and other activities were held at that time. Some scouts who did not camp on Sunday evening, or who were not able to camp on Monday were brought to the meeting by members of the troop committee, so all could participate.

This campout, and many of the ones in this era, were spent clearing the land around Valley Pines in preparation for the building of the cabin. Besides the ordinary camp duties there was a great deal of work to do cleaning out fallen timber, preparing white cedar logs for the shelter, and preparation of small firepits for cooking. The well had been added by this time, so clean drinking water was available.

Assistant Scoutmaster Ron Parry was in attendance and in charge of the camp, aided by Senior Patrol Leaders Haig Alemian and James Gaffney.

The two photos below show the serious shot used for the Scout News edition, and a less serious shot taken at the same time.

Scouts in this photo include, from left to right in the front rwo, Charles Krabek, Lloyd Archibald, Albert Cicchese, Ronald Parry, Clifford Gaffney, William Glover, and Neil Fulton. In the back row, Peter Marshall, Alan Risley, Alan Alemian, Thomas Peterson and Allen King.

Note the expression on Ron's face over his shoulder at the rabbit ears in the second photo. Unfortunately, history does not identify who the brave, or rather foolhardy, soul is behind Ron....

Photos of this campout, and many others, will be included in our 100th anniversary materials, and will be shown in our Valley Pines display. A future posting will include many photos from Valley Pines spanning the 1950's to present day. Keep an eye on the BLOG for these. And if you have suggestions for posts, please let Mr. Chase know.

Reminder - Sunday Drum Practice

Sunday Drum Corps practice has begun again to prepare for our April - June events.

Practice will be held beginning Sunday, March 20th, at 6:30 PM.

Here's a photo from our archives of a similar practice in 1966.

Happy Birthday Josh

Portage

What happens when you are canoeing, and you meet an obstacle like a hydroelectric dam or a waterfall/spillway?

You have to take the canoes out of the water and carry them around.

This is called a Portage.

It's never easy, usually heavy, and always fun. Here are a few pictures of portages from Troop canoe trips.

Canoes double as a bed or table...

Canoeing can be hard, tiring work, as anyone who has joined us on the long distance trips can attest to.

Here are a few photos from our collection that show our scouts sleeping on, in or under their canoes.

Canoes also make a great impromptu table for eating on, as shown in the other photos. If you look closely you may recognize some of our adult leaders in these photos.

Help Cub Scouts Raise Money - By Going Out To Eat!

On Thursday, March 24th,

Uno's restaurant in Braintree,

will be hosting an all-day fundraiser for

Pack 2 Weymouth.

20% of your check will be donated to Pack 2.

Donation tickets needed for the Pack to get credit. 
Donation Tickets available by clicking the "see more" button.

Simply, present your ticket when you pay for your meal….that's it…just eat….no extra work!

Don't have the time for a sit-down dinner or lunch??? Order take-out….it all counts!

How Many Scouts Can Fit In One Canoe?

I lose count at 10....

Carrying Large Items With Canoes

Canoes come in very handy when we're moving large, bulky objects.

Some examples are below:

Drum Practice Schedule

Drum Corps practice on Sundays will begin this week, and will be held every Sunday from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Weymouth Heights Club.

All drummers are expected to attend Sunday practices. If you are unable to make a practice, please let Mr. Chase know.

March
3/20 - Practice
3/27 - Practice

April
4/2 - Pack 2 Blue & Gold Performance
4/3 - No Practice
4/10 - Practice
4/17 - Practice
4/24 - No Practice

May
5/1 - Practice
5/8 - Practice
5/15 - Practice
5/22 - Practice
5/29 - Practice for Memorial Day Parade
5/30 - Memorial Day Parade

June
6/5 - Practice
6/12 - Practice
6/19 - Practice
6/26 - Ron Parry Memorial Performance

Sunday practice ends until September

AJ Schneider Eagle Project Work Party

Please join AJ Schneider for his Eagle project work party at 30 Camp Street in Idlewell, from 4-5 PM on Friday, March 18th.

Participants will be sorting returnable bottles and cans, and should bring gloves.

Scouting Heritage Merit Badge Recap

On Monday, March 7th we completed two components of the Scouting Heritage Merit Badge.

Many thanks to Mr. Keenan, Mr. D. Chase, Mr. Wallace, and both Mr. Kelley's for patiently answering questions at each of the interview stations. Their recollections, along with the recollections of several other veterans of our Troop, will be compiled for discussion at our next class for this badge.

We also reviewed collections from several scouts. These collections included many Cub Scout memories, as well as scouting ephemera that each scout has accumulated. In each case the scout was asked what the collection meant to them, and what it tells us about them and their interests.

We are nearly complete with this badge, so as a reminder - there are 3 homework assignments, which were due at the meeting on March 7th. In order for your scout to pass this badge, all 3assignments must be completed and turned in to Mr. Chase before the meeting on Monday, March 14th.


1. All Scouts must review the Troop 2 History information on the website (www.troop2weymouth.com) and record 4 facts about the Troop for discussion. This work was due on 2/28.

2. All scouts must turn in their work for Requirement 4b which was due on 2/14 – as a reminder, scouts must review the website for the National Scouting Museum at http://www.bsamuseum.org/ and prepare a paragraph about why this museum is important to Scouting. I also encourage the scouts to write to the address provided under Contact Us, asking for more details to help them work on this badge and specifically this requirement. Instructions are included in a previous note and on the website. Scouts will likely receive a patch in the packet sent to them by the museum. For more details on this homework, please check the previous BLOG entry.

3. Scouts should be assembling their collections of Scout related materials, which were due due at the meeting on March 7.


If you have any questions, please see Mr. Chase.

Observations by Mr. Walter Briggs, Scoutmaster of Troop 2 from 1930-1938.

In February, 1960 Troop 45 of Randolph announced that their scoutmaster, Walter Briggs, was resigning, He had been scoutmaster of this troop for 10 years, and had the pleasure of guiding 6 scouts from recruits to the Eagle rank.

Mr. Briggs was interviewed by Wally Segap in “Forty- Fiver”, Troop 45’s newsletter, and the interview included the following recollections of his time with Troop 2.

Wally - How long have you been in the Boy Scouts Organization?

Mr. Briggs – I joined in 1921 when I was just under 13 years old, and with the exception of about four years from 1943 to 1947 I have had continuous membership

BC - Mr. Briggs details that 34 years as follows:
5 years as a Boy Scout, 4 years as ASM, 1 year on a troop committee, and about 24 years as scoutmaster

Wally - Was all that service in one troop?

Mr. Briggs - No, I joined Troop 2, East Weymouth, and was there 22 years as a scout and leader. I dropped out when the children were small, but when my oldest boy was of scout age, I joined the committee of Troop 19 in Wollaston, MA.

BC – Mr. Briggs also states that from Troop 19 Wollaston he moved to Troop 2, Boston, and then to form Troop 45 in Randolph, where he was scoutmaster for 10 years.

Wally - How has scouting changed during these years?

Mr. Briggs – First, we are dealing with boys a year younger, albeit they may be as mature as the older scouts years ago. Then the tests have become increasingly less difficult. We had the 14 mile hike, scout’s pace, wig-wag signaling, and map making. And, of course, we hiked the 3 miles to our camping spot with packs on our shoulders. Now it is too simplified and easy. An ambitious boy can pass his second-class in two weeks now. The old-time boards of review really gave the boys a reexamination of the rank, but now a board just finds if the boy passes the rank according to the book. First aid has changed more than any other test.

Wally – what was your most interesting experience in scouting?

Mr. Briggs – Well, that is like asking if one grain of sand is better than another. Probably I’ll value the time I refused to sign an Eagle application on the grounds that the boy wasn’t giving what I considered his best. After much heartache the boy abruptly changed, and turned out to be the best patrol leader of that year. Then I was glad to sign it. Most thrilling of course was to witness my own boys get the Eagle badge at the same time. Yes, I will always thrill to hear one of my patrols earn an “Excellent” rating at Camporees. Or, maybe to help present Life Saving medals to two of my scouts stood out. But then, I am easily thrilled!

A photo of Mr. Briggs in 1938 is below:

While Scoutmaster at Troop 2 Mr. Briggs guided 4 young men through the ranks to Eagle Scout.

Mr. Briggs was scoutmaster for Troop 2 from May 1930 until December 1938. He resigned as scoutmaster when he moved to Quincy.

In the December, 1938 Scout News, Mr. Pratt provides the following:

Shortly after his twelfth birthday he enrolled as a scout, and in the succeeding years advanced in rank until he attained that of Scoutmaster. Thoroughly grounded in Scout traditions, he brought to his task a deep love for his boys and a knowledge of how to govern them and inspire them to “do their best”. Moreover his subordinate officers and helpers found him a considerate and stimulating superior to work with. His successors may seek to emulate his example, but hardly hope to attain the measure of genuine public service he has rendered.

In recognition of Mr. Briggs long and faithful service, the Troop nominated him Scoutmaster Emeritus.

Mr. Pratt took over as Scoutmaster from Mr. Briggs in January 1939, and served in that role until 1974. Ninenty seven boys received the Eagle award in Troop 2 Weymouth during the years he served as Scoutmaster.

An avid camper and traveler, Mr. Pratt also camped with hundreds of boys from Troop 2 Weymouth in over 1,000 different campsites in the United States and Canada and Mexico.
He is universally regarded as instrumental in the development of leadership amongst his scouts, and under his guidance the troop continued to grow and prosper in the town.

A photo of Mr. Pratt is below, taken in the 1940's. More information on Mr. Pratt will be included in a subsequent BLOG posting.

Lady Slippers, Trillium, and a Dirigible Base

Many of us have surely read the following in our Troop History, and may have wondered what this was all about …

In 1941, the United States Navy proposed to build a Dirigible Base in South Weymouth and the Garden Club asked Troop 2 Weymouth to remove and transplant Lady Slippers and Trillium plants as a conservation measure.

The story is first detailed in a Scout News recap broadside from early July 1941

Under the direction of Miss Brasill, the Troop is transplanting lady’s slippers and other rare plants from the site of the new dirigible base at South Weymouth to the Bradford Torrey Reservation. This will take a number of afternoons. Miss Brasill has asked our Troop to undertake some nature projects in the Torrey Reservation.

The second mention, in a full Scout News from later that month, is as follows:

Some weeks ago, while visiting the site of the proposed dirigible based at South Weymouth, Mr. Knox discovered a large number of lady’s slipper plants. Meeting Miss Brassill shortly after, they developed the suggestion that the scouts, as a conservation measure, should transplant the plants in the Bradford Torrey Reservation before the government engineers moved in and leveled the forest”

Accordingly, some of the Troop 2 Scouts went to the dirigible base and removed a carload of slipper plants. They were accompanied by Miss Brassill and Mr. Bates Torrey, who kindly volunteered to oversee the work.

Lady’s slippers are very delicate plants. They are biennials, so only plants were taken which had not blossomed. A big shovel full of earth was removed with each plant. A spot in the Torrey Reservation, with similar soil and conditions of light and shade, was selected as the new home of the plants and they were carefully transplanted there. Miss Brassill says they should survive.

The government is apparently going to develop the dirigible base in a more leisurely manner than was at first indicated. This may allow the troop to wait until cooler weather to finish this conservation project. There are also a log of trillium plants which should be removed from the dirigible site before operations are set in.

The Weymouth Garden Club asks the Scout troops in town to each take on some development project in the Torrey Reservation.

The Great Aluminum Drive (from The Scout News, July 1941)

More information on the aluminum scrap drive to support the US Government and homeland defense, from 1941.

The Great Aluminum Drive is over, and Troop 2 certainly feels that it did its share. The big bin in Jackson Square was filled to overflowing, and two big carloads were then taken to South Weymouth, filling the bin in Columbian Square. In this work the Scouts were assisted by Cubs, Miss Elkingtons Girl Scout and the Campfire Girls of Weymouth Heights. Sixteen teams, aggregating about seventy boys and girls, took part in the drive and the collection was practically over in four hours. The territory covered was all of East Weymouth and Weymouth Heights, the central part of South Weymouth, and all the area between Columbian Square and the Rockland line.

Response from householders was whole hearted and the variety of material collected was legion. A spoon made in Germany was a prize exhibit. Vacuum cleaners, radio parts, a heavy pressure cooker, pots and pans, swelled the total. There must have been a peck of hairpins. One lady, who had no aluminum, treated the boys to ginger- ale.

There was plenty of hard work in the drive and many of the boys and girls were tired and foot-sore from the long tramp. There was also a chance for plenty of noise and fun, which the people seemed to enjoy as well as the Scouts. The collection wagon drove along the streets with Scouts perched all over it. Some wore kettles instead of hats. Some had pots for drums and others discovered that a couple of covers made a delightful substitute for cymbals.

Then there was fun throwing the utensils into the bins. If they landed outside, so much the better, They could be thrown in again. This performance always emptied the stores and laughing spectators lined the square in all directions. The other troops in town did equally well in their own areas and perhaps deserve more credit than Troop 2, for they were handicapped by lack of numbers and transportation facilities.