Happy Birthday Ian

Camp cleanup meeting, Monday, August 1

Our next scout meeting will be a camp cleanup meeting, on Monday August 1st. We'll be cleaning and folding tents from camp, renumbering the tents, and putting the last of the equipment away.

Meeting starts at 7:30 PM at the Weymouth Heights Club.

Please wear sturdy shoes (no flip flops). We'll be working until about 8:30/9:00 on this effort.

The Boys Are Back in Town

Another fun and exciting year at camp is complete.

Thanks to all scouts who attended, and particularly those who stayed to the very end to help break down camp on Saturday and clean up the island, and ship the gear back to the mainland on Sunday.

And thanks to the adults who helped at camp - without their hard work and dedication, camp would not be possible.

If your son is missing any of his personal gear - towels, tshirts, mess gear, etc - please check with Mr. Chase - we brought back several bags of personal items when we swept the island on Saturday and Sunday.

Our next meeting is on Monday, August 1st, when we'll be putting away the camp gear and repairing and cleaning the tents and other equipment. Stay tuned for more details!

And please mark your calendars for Summer Camp 2012 - we've reserved the island for one week later, from July 28th to August 5th.

Camp 2011 - Day 8

Saturday - the breakdown begins.  Tent folding and gear packing has begun. Today we work on clearing as much gear as we can. We will sleep under the tarps or the stars tonight.

Much of camp is packed up now. We had pizza for dinner which was a hit with the boys. As a final trip we headed down to Shacketts; the local ice cream / grocery store.

Camp 2011 - Day 7

This the morning KP crew. The boys all work together to clean up the pots and pans from the breakfast prep. Some of these boys got KP because it was their turn, while others got KP because their tents were not clean enough.

The weather continues to be hot and humid. We wrap up all our classes today. Plans call for holding the Mile Swim tonight.

Happy Birthday Derek

Camp 2011 - Day 6

Happy Birthday to Mike and Derek (tomorrow).

This is "canoe wars." The boys break into teams an work to be the last boat above water. It's a great way to spend a very hot/humid afternoon.

Behind the boats you can see Bell Island; a smaller island also used for camping.

Camp 2011 - Day 5

Here is JB working on his water skiing skills. He still has a little work ahead of him. Moments after this picture he had a great (but short) run. Bryan just finished his turn and did fantastic; crossing the wake several times and making good long runs. Joe comes up next and he feels this time he will stay up on his skis.

Right now the weather is excellent but it is supposed to get hot. Tomorrow's forecast calls for 95+ degrees. So far the weather has been perfect.

According to the sign: 

The small gorge through which the Cockermouth River flows at this place was shaped about 12,000 years ago at the end of the Great Ice Age. Rock debris, silt and sand carried in the melt waters were trapped and tumbled against the granite bedrock to carve the deep curves and potholes we see today

Camp 2011 - Christmas in July

We celebrated Christmas in July at camp this year on Wednesday.

When we got up the sun was rising with a red tint.


At breakfast the boys were greeted with a decorated kitchen, and their juice cups were holiday themed. Many scouts kept their cups for the remainder of the week.

The men in the kitchen were dressed in holiday attire, and Santas elf made an appearance.

Candy canes, and corn dogs, among other things, were the lunch fare, and were well received.

In the evening after dinner we held a CPR training class for all scouts.

Santa arrived, and each scout was presented with a commemorative shirt by Santa and his elves, Jonathan and Billy, and after roll call we watched Despicable Me.

Here are some photos!

Camp 2011 - Day 4

A breakfast of french test and hash for everyone (unless they prefer cereal). Today we tackle our hike over the Sugarloaf.

Mr Keenan's Forestry class

Camp 2011 - Hike

Every year we take a hike over the nearby Sugarloafs.  The pictures below were taken by Mr. O'brien during the hike.  Mr O'Brien also added some good captions to these.

Camp 2011 - Day 3

 Mr. Lantz teaches Matt M, Antonio, Nate, Dan, Jackson and Tom C. This is one of the many badges being taught during fourth period today. 

This a view from the beach at the state park. Our island is seperated from the park by a narrow channel about 150 feet wide. The cliffs are on the other side of the island.  Todays weather was warm and overcast with very brief and light showers. The forecast calls for warmer weather tomorrow.

Camp 2011 - Day 2

The gong was sounded at 6:30am to wake the boys for pancakes, bacon and fruit. 

Camp 2011 - Mr. Wallace and the Moose

This week at camp we saw a variety of wildlife. A mouse in the kitchen. A mole nearby. Two deer in the parking lot near the boat ramp. A duck family. Loons at night.

But nothing compares to Mr. Wallace's moose.

Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Chase, and Mr. Wallace were headed to Walmart in Plymouth for groceries on Sunday evening, when we encountered a moose on the side of the road.

We got out to investigate, and as you can see by the picture below, we were able to get pretty close as the moose was below the roadway in a swampy ditch.

Camp 2011 - Day 1

The caravan from Weymouth took a break at a rest area and came across this truck.  

At the Tilton Diner

Troop 2's first recorded visit to Newfound Lake

Our first recorded visit to Newfound Lake was detailed in Mr. Pratt's diaries from the 1930's, when the troop stopped enroute to the White Mountains in July 1936. Two photos from that visit, taken on the Shore Road side, are below:

Camp photos from our archives - Wellington State Park

Here are two shots of the view from Wellington State Park Beach, looking out toward Cliff Island, taken at roughly the same spot, 50 years apart:

Directions to Wellington State Park/Cliff Island

Our Directions:

Take Route 93 North to Exit 23 (Route 104 to Bristol, NH)
Get off at Exit 23, (RT-104 / RT-132 toward Meredith / New Hampton)
Turn left at end of ramp onto SR-104 / SR-132 / Bristol-Meredith Rd
Follow Route 104 into Bristol, then take Route 3A. You should begin to see signs for Wellington State Park.

Follow Route 3A until you reach the Catholic Church, take a left, then take a right at the Ice Cream Stand and the park entrance will be on your right.

The Park is off West Shore Road - The last intersection is Browns Beach Rd. If you reach Lakeview Dr, you've gone too far

Formal address is

Cliff Island
Wellington State Park Beach
650 W Shore Rd.
Bristol, NH
Please note: This is the Ranger Station, the entrance is a few 100 yards before this address

Park Web Sites:  http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/wellington-state-park.aspx
                       http://www.nhstateparks.com/wellington.html

Google Maps: Directions From Weymouth to Cliff Island

Mapquest: Directions from Weymouth to Cliff Island

Please tell the gate attendant that you are with Troop 2. You will not have to pay for your brief stay to drop off your son.

You are welcome to stay while we unpack the trucks and move the troop equipment to the island. All footlockers and personal items are transported once the equipment has been delivered. At that time you can come across to the island to see the camp as we set up. If you plan to do so, please bring a lifejacket for yourself and all members of your party.

Camp Deadline - 7/11

Remember that scouts need to turn in the following on Monday:

• Payment
• Signed Code Of Conduct
• Health Forms (we don't need the parts concerned with Scuba Diving). form is available at: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf

The Troop will be paying out Can & Bottle money on 7/11.  Every parent should already received a statement for their scout.

Bottle & Can - Totals as of 7/4/2011

Our only source of fundraising is our Bottle and  Can program.  The money raised by this program pays for equipment and badges.  It also help us to keep our costs down on events like Camp.

The list below are all the boys who met our request for 100 Cans / Month.  These boys will be receiving a cash payback for each can they brought in.  The Troop is grateful for all donations and appreciates their help.

DJ  4466

Andrew  3816

Ben  3128

Nate  3075

Jonathan H  2286

Bryan 1968
Jordan 1933
Nick C 1880
Joe 1850
Chris Z 1756
Pat 1739
Tyler 1512
Derek 1463
Chris D 1414
Josh 1389
Tim J 1263
Antonio 1241
Tom C 1149
Paul 1146
Jackson 1015

Dan 874
Chris R 733
John* 700
Tim M 628
Mike* 510
Zac* 311
Tom B* 191

* These boys have only recently joined the Troop but have still averaged 100 Cans / Month

Happy Birthday Chris D

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Birthday Taylor

Chilling out at Valley Pines

Photos from the Observances for Ron Parry

The following photos were graciously provided by the Phillips family and are from the troop's observances of the 5 year anniversary of Ron Parry's death.

Our drum and flag corps assembled at the Phillips home, marching first to Ron's gravesite, where we performed a brief ceremony. Many of the scouts were drumming for the first time.

The wreath on Ron's grave was placed by three scouts (Tyler P, Brian C, and Jonathan H) who were among the last group of Cub Scouts that Ron welcomed to the troop before his death.

While at the gravesite, Patrick K presented Ron with a Sunoco toy car that Ron had given him when he was a child.

We then proceeded to Franklin Pratt's grave for brief remarks by two of his scouts (Mr. Kelley and Mr. O'Connor), and three of Mr. Pratts Eagle scouts (Donald Bulens, George Winter, and Jon O'Connor) placed a wreath on his grave. All three of these men received their Eagle scout together, and paid a wonderful tribute to Mr. Pratts memory.




















Thanks to the following scouts for attending the observances

A.J.
Andrew M
Antonio D
Ben M
Brian c
Chris Z
Eric Hicks
Jon B
Jon S
Jon H
Jordan B
Joe K
Matt W
Michael Co
Mitchel S
Nate M
Nick C
Nick S
Pat K
Paul c
Tom b
Tom C
Tyler P

Happy Birthday Chris R