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BSA TROOP 37 NEWSLETTER
Volume 10 | Issue 2 | February 2023 - June 2023
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STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK
SCOUTMASTER’S MINUTE
By Scoutmaster Rob Pfuhler
We had another eventful year in Troop 37, filled with highs (Friday the 13th weekend at No-Be-Bo-Sco), lows (monsoon weekend at Quail Hill), fun (3D Archery at Camp Citta) and challenges (a very cold wilderness survival weekend at Pouch). As always, we top the year off with a Court of Honor, where we reward our scouts for the hard work they have done on Advancements and Merit Badges as well as crown the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year and Scout of the Year.
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As I have said before, one of the best things, if not the best thing about Boy Scouts, is the leadership skills the boys learn. Troop 37 is lead by the boys, which can be messy at times, but the only way they can learn
is if they are allowed to make mistakes.
At Junior Leader Training, one of the things the boys learn is the 4 stages of team building- forming, storming, norming, and performing. One of my favorite parts of this year was watching the Senior Patrol work through those 4 stages, although as they would admit, there were a few times where they dropped back to the “storming” stage.
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They may not realize how far they have come since September, but they have taken huge steps in developing their leadership skills. This will help then not only as they continue to be leaders in Troop 37, but more importantly, in whatever career they ultimately choose. Their Boy Scout career is going to give them a leg up when it comes to competing in the real world.
The scouting year is not quite over though, as we still have our annual week at Hawk Mountain, which is the highlight of the year for many scouts. Additionally, 14 of our scouts will be making the trip of a lifetime to the Philmont high adventure base in New Mexico for 12 days of backpacking in the backcountry.
Looking ahead, the boys have planned an exciting calendar for next year, which will include snow tubing, a trip to a coal mine, a weekend in Washington D.C. and Friday the 13th Part 2 weekend. And of course, Junior Leader Training will take place September 15 -17, when a new group of leaders will be selected to begin the team building process.
BSA Troop 37 | Volume 10 | Issue 2 | February 2023 - June 2023
WINNEBAGO TRIP 2023
By Jonathan Plaza
The Winnebago cabin trip took place on February 24-26. This fun weekend was filled with the usual scout camaraderie, challenges and learning. There were plans to work on advancements and increase each scout’s rank. It was good to see my fellow scouts and the scout leaders. I like these kinds of weekends because no one knows what will happen. As a scout, we must always expect the unexpected.
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When we arrived at the camp it was already dark and cold. The cabins were warm and there were bunk beds. We all worked together to unpack and get our gear inside the cabin. Later that evening we played games like Battleship, War, Uno and Chess. Lights out was by 9 pm and it seemed as if we were all asleep very quickly after a long day.
The next morning we went on a three hour hike into the mountains. We saw fantastic scenery with small ponds and lakes . It started to snow during our hike which made me think of snowball fights and snowman building. A fellow scout took that opportunity to discuss the dangers of hazardous weather and the skills needed for such events. Fortunately, that was one of my advancements. For my other advancements, I worked on using a handheld GPS device and how to find portable water. The other scouts worked on their advancements throughout the events of the day.
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When we got back to camp, we played hide and seek. We had a lot of fun hiding in
the woods, behind rocks and even in the cabins. Afterwards, we played tag. During the game, a friend of mine pounded a large hiking stick into the ground. A large piece of wood ricocheted and hit me in the lip. There was blood and my lip swelled quite a bit. Fortunately, my fellow scouts ran to the rescue and used their first aid skills to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling. I think the best place to get hurt is among boy scouts because no matter what they will be there to help you.
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After the events of the day we all enjoyed tacos at dinner and talked for a while. Later that evening we watched The Longest Yard which was a very funny movie. It was great to spend time with my fellow scouts and enjoy some downtime. Afterwards we hit the bunks and slept soundly.
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The next morning we emptied out the cabins and cleaned up. Each scout waited for their rides and said their goodbyes - for now. It was a great weekend with a lot of fun and learning.
BSA Troop 37 | Volume 10 | Issue 2 | February 2023 - June 2023
CITTA CAMPING!
By Joseph Tenaglia
Our troop campsite had a pavilion and some tents that we set up on Friday night when we arrived. There was still plenty of time before dinner and there was no thunder or rain – yet. All the scouts, including me, put a lot
of effort into setting up the tents to sleep in. Afterwards, we loaded our belongings into our tents to get settled for the weekend.
Just like the Scoutmasters said, it would rain the next morning, but that didn’t start until 10:00am. We woke up from our tents and we heard some scouts already up and about while others were still sleeping. I had gotten out of my tent with Brandon and Jonathan and began to look around the site. About two hours later, everyone was up. We started as usual, and all made breakfast, putting great effort into it. Some made oatmeal and some made pancakes, but all in all, it looked good no matter what it was. After, we all cleaned up I was reciting my stories. I wanted to be a good storyteller that evening. Then after breakfast, it began to rain and we all played until we went to do archery some hours later. We each got our arrows and bows and we all shot at animals (fake ones). It was a great time. We heard the rifle shooting going on somewhere else. After we returned to the campsite, we made dinner and had some snacks and hung out in the rain and our tents. Then, darkness hit. It was the time everyone (especially me) had been waiting for: short scary story time!
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I told three stories instead of one, and some scouts seemed scared, and that was a good thing. After the scary stories, we went to bed. The thunder had already started and it was pouring rain - like cats and dogs were coming down! Jeez! I had a difficult time trying to get to sleep that not. I hoped and prayed it would stop quickly but it seemed to have kept going throughout the night.
The next morning, I woke up relieved that the thunder and the pouring rain had stopped.
I got up and enjoyed the view of the above skies after the storm. The clouds were gone (at least the dark ones) For some odd reason, everyone went near the Pop-Tarts. Of course, Mr. Pfuhler told the scouts that they were for the trip home. After we finished packing our gear, we did our annual rose, bud, and thorn circle. Most scouts’ roses were my stories, and I enjoyed hearing that! Almost everyone’s thorn was the bad weather, and most scouts and scoutmasters said that their bud was either Hawk Mountain or Quail Hill. We went to our assigned cars for our ride home and we finally were handed our Pop-Tarts!
In closing, I’m really excited for Hawk Mountain because of 2021’s and 2022’s nostalgia! I am preparing a new story– The Story of Gail Reynolds: A Lockers Story. Expect to be entertained on this trip!
BSA Troop 37 | Volume 10 | Issue 2 | February 2023 - June 2023
QUAIL HILL
By Ryan Duffy
From April 28 through April 30 Troop 37 stayed at a campsite named Quail Hill. This was my first time ever going to Quail Hill and I’ll say it was quite an adventure. When Troop 37 first arrived at Quail Hill the sun was just setting. The scouts were eager to get all their gear to the campsite and pitch their tents up. After that they all relaxed and enjoyed their sandwiches. Soon enough the scouts were off to their tents and got some shuteye.
When we woke up everything was wet outside our tent. Good thing we put a tarp over our packs so they wouldn’t get wet overnight.
Troop 37 was supposed to do an orienteering activity but because of the rain we couldn’t so we had to find something else to do despite the rain. The first step was to make breakfast. At about 7:30 we started making breakfast. My patrol, the “Pink Panthers” made eggs and bacon. All I have to say is that the bacon was on point. Since it was wet and rainy out, all we could do was hang out under the canopy talking to each other. Some scouts would go into the open field and chase each other. Even though we could only hang out under the canopy we still had a good time.
Soon enough it was time to make lunch. My patrol made chicken patties, which were delicious. Even though it was still raining out some scouts and I went to go play Gatorball. Everybody was diving in the ground and jumping all over the place getting soaked. We headed back to the campsite and hung some of our clothes up in the pavilion. By that time the rain started to slow down and some leaders and scouts were trying to make a campfire.
Before we knew it, we had to make dinner. My patrol made burgers. It was probably the best meal I had the whole camping trip. After dinner I was chosen to do KP. When I was doing KP it was like the dishes could go on forever. But I got it done and was able to relax. By the time KP ended, the rain stopped.
After a long and rainy day we were able to wipe down our wet camping chairs and enjoy the fire. When it was pitch dark it was time for Joe to shine. Every camping trip that I have been on, Joe has always told a scary story. Just like the rest of the other camping trips he told 3 magnificent stories! When Joe’s stories were over everybody went to bed.
The next morning we got our gear and everything out of the campsite and then we did our rose,thorn, and bud ceremony. Then we left the campsite. Despite the rain, Troop 37 still found a way to make the camping trip fun. To sum it up, it was a great camping trip and I can’t wait to go to Quail Hill again next year!
BSA Troop 37 | Volume 10 | Issue 2 | February 2023 - June 2023
CAMP-O-REE
By Antoni Jablonski
The beginning of Day 1 started off like a regular camp. We set up our tents and had
lunch before starting our pack line.
Day 2
Day two of Camp-o-ree started poorly. Someone forgot to cover the pack line, which was a big no-no. After that, we had breakfast.
After breakfast, we went to register for Camp-o-ree, which went smoothly. Then we began our tasks. There were ten tasks in total: fishing, archery, first aid, wood cutting, tracking, cooking, fire building, compass usage, and semaphore.
Let me explain each task in detail.
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Fishing: Two members from each patrol had one fishing rod and they fished for fake fish. Once they caught a fish, their patrol had to identify the species. Once
all the fish were correctly identified, the station was completed, and they moved on to the next one. -
Archery: At the archery station, we had to shoot arrows at targets, which proved to be quite challenging.
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First Aid: In this station, someone explained a scenario where a person got shot in the leg, and we learned how to deal with such a situation.
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Wood Cutting: We had to cut a log using a two-person saw, with the rest of the patrol holding the log.
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Tracking: At the tracking station, we had to search for animal tracks and identify them. There were ten tracks in total.
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Cooking: The cooking station had three tasks. We had to assemble a propane stove, wrap a wet sponge with tin foil to prevent leakage, and make a pancake on a tin can.
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Fire Building: We had to build a fire and light the strings on fire.
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Compass Usage: In this task, we had to use a compass to spell a word following the directions given by the scoutmaster.
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Semaphore: Semaphore is a type of communication using flags. One side knew the word and communicated it using flags, while the other side had to decipher the word.
In the last few hours, we gathered around a bonfire where all the other troops were present. We performed our skit, which turned out to be the best among all the skits. The second-best skit was the light saber skit, where two scouts fought with light sabers.
Day 3
On the last day of Camp-o-ree, we took down our tents and gathered in a big circle to discuss the thorn, rose, and stem. We learned a valuable lesson – Troop 37 never gives up and always goes the extra mile.
