Nathan’s Scouting Memories
stevejb68 on June 17, 2013 in High Adventure, Lessons, Nostalgia, Philmont
(The following article was written by Nathan Blommel, an alumni of Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68. Nathan was a Boy Scout from 1988 to 1993. He has earned the Life Rank. This is the first of a series of guest articles written by former members of Troop 68.)
What Scouting means to me?
Scouting has taught me many things in life. As a scout, Scouting exposed me to fun activities, gave me a sense of pride and belonging, taught me about being responsible, and gave me many fond memories about summer camp and high adventure camp.
Fun Activities
Scouting introduced things to me that I would not have experienced if I had not been in Scouting including: hiking, camping (both in the summer and winter), downhill skiing, pizza parties, roller skating parties, pinewood derby races, and bowling.
Sense of Pride and Belonging
Although selling tickets for a scout breakfast, or selling wrapping paper or popcorn, or helping out with Adopt-A-Highway, wasn’t something that I looked forward to, it taught me about working hard to accomplish a goal. Whether that goal was a troop goal or a personal goal (to raise money for an upcoming trip), it taught me that nothing is ever given to us and that we need to work hard for everything that we have. Scouting also allowed me to get to meet more friends and get to know others in the community. To this day I keep in touch with friends who I met through Scouting whom I never would have had a chance to meet if it weren’t for Scouting.
Summer Camp/High Adventure Camp
Summer camp was always a blast because it allowed you to have a week to be with friends. In addition, you got to work on projects and complete a number of merit badges. It was the week of the summer that you looked forward to so you could be away from home to learn and do new things. My favorite memories of summer camp include frisbee golf, the campfires (with other troops involved), canoeing, cooking, and sail boating.
One of our troop’s high adventure camps that we attended was Philmont Scout Ranch. Philmont is located in New Mexico and consists of more than 214 square miles of camping/hiking. Philmont was where we spent 10 days hiking/back-packing in the mountains. Fond memories include: learning how to live on bare essentials, enjoying and appreciating the views and valleys of the mountains, doing team activities, and encountering live animals (including a bear).
Do I take anything that I learned from scouting and pass it on my family?
Yes, my son is active in Cub Scouts. Although I wasn’t real active with Cub Scouts (I did a lot more with Boy Scouts), when my son expressed an interest in Cub Scouts, I made sure to get him signed up because I knew he would get to experience so many fun things. He has been involved with scouting for less than a year and he has done many fun activities including the raingutter regatta, pinewood derby race, planting flowers, geocaching, touring a grocery store, attending a city council meeting, touring the airport, and building a model rocket.
Because of scouting, I love camping and being outdoors. As a family, we take numerous camping trips each year. Our family enjoys being outside together, fishing, and hiking, and of course- having campfires.
Another cool thing that I have passed on to our family is the game “Roses and Thorns”. Each night before bed, our kids tell us what their rose and thorn was for the day. We’ve been doing this since they were very young. My wife and I enjoy it because we learn a lot about what was their favorite thing and their least favorite thing about the day. At times, we are quite surprised with their answers. I know our kids like playing it too because they are always listening to each others’ answers and they sometimes will say something like, “Really, that was your thorn? I thought your thorn would have been…”
In conclusion, Scouting means a lot to me and my family. I’m very excited to watch my son in scouting and I hope that he gets as much out of it as I did.
